Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve.”
Noah stood up. “Hello, Soren. Long time.”
Soren had grown his hair to his shoulders, and his cheekbones were prominent. He looked harder than he had in college. Crueler. It showed in the lines around his mouth and the gauntness in his face. The narrowing of his eyes.
Or maybe that was just the hate he was throwing Noah’s way.
“What are you doing in my family’s house?”
“I’m just here for Danica.”
“You finally talked her into wanting you back? Makes sense you’d use this kidnapping mess as an opportunity.”
Noah decided not to respond to that provocation. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in New York.”
“I got here as soon as I could. I’m here to support my sister.”
“That’s thoughtful of you.”
“Don’t talk down to me, Vandermeer. You think anything’s forgiven?”
“Did I ask for forgiveness? I don’t regret anything. But for Danica’s sake, I’d like to make peace.”
Soren huffed a laugh. “So holier-than-thou. You act like you’re above it all. But you turned me in because you were jealous.”
Noah stuck his hands in his pockets. “And why would I have been jealous?”
“Because you wanted my life! I decided it would be cool to be a Navy SEAL, so you wanted to do it, too. You were an only child, so you latched onto my sister and tried to make her love you more than she loved me. You think I didn’t notice how you looked at her?
How you followed her around when we were kids? It was pathetic.”
Noah’s skin heated. He hadn’t thought Soren could say anything that would get under his skin. But those comments had stung a little.
“It’s sad that that’s how you view the world,” Noah said.
“I see plenty. I see that you’re trying to worm your way back into Danica’s life when she’s in trouble.”
“You sound like Blake.” The chief of security had said pretty much the same thing.
“Because you’re so obvious,” Soren spit out.
Everything good became distorted in Soren’s mind. He assumed other people were as manipulative and selfish as he was. Soren had always been a taker, even when they’d been in high school.
How had Noah ever considered this guy his best friend?
Noah had been blinded by Soren’s charisma back then. But he’d still been a kid. Now, he understood a lot more about the world. He’d never be able to find common ground with Soren, so there was no use trying—except when it came to Danica.
She was this asshole’s sister, and Noah would have to keep dealing with him forever.
Because that was what he wanted with her. Forever.
“I love Danica. I have for a long time. We’re together. I understand that you’re not okay with it. But you and I will have to find some way to get along.”
Soren scoffed, shaking his head. “You honestly think you’re going to end up with her?”
“I know it.”
“You’re confident. I’ll give you that.” Soren walked around the sitting room. He picked up a glass paperweight from a console table, then set it down again. “Since you and I were friends once, I’ll give you some free advice. Because I’m generous. Danica is just like our father.”
“And?” Noah asked. “What does that mean?”
“You know what a corporate raider does, right?”
“I’m familiar with the concept.” Where was this going?
“William goes into a failing company, and at first? He’s like a savior, offering to give them just what they need. More money. More chances. But you know what he’ll really end up doing? He’ll take them over, use them up. Tear them apart and feast on their insides.”
“How dramatic,” Noah deadpanned.
“William always talked about loving our mom, but it was all bullshit. If she hadn’t died, they’d be divorced.
Because all he loves is winning, and Danica’s the exact same way.
She might seem kinder and gentler because she’s in the nonprofit world, but she’s just as cutthroat as William. My father and my sister use people.”
Soren walked toward him, advancing. Noah stood his ground, crossing his arms over his chest.
“So guess what, Vandermeer? Danica is going to chew you up, and when she’s gotten what she can, she’ll spit you out. That’s what this family does.”
“Including you?”
Soren shrugged. “I’ve never claimed to be any different. But if I were you, I’d cut my losses and run. Because you don’t have what it takes to survive here.”
“You have no idea what survival takes.”
Soren pointed at him. “See, that’s where you’re wrong.
I’ve survived nearly losing everything when my supposed best friend betrayed me.
I survived being all but cut off by my father for being a fuck-up.
I built my way back from it, and I’ve taken down far richer and more impressive people than you. ”
“Is that some kind of threat?”
“I don’t need to make threats. If you choose to stick around, then you’re screwing yourself over.”
Danica appeared in the doorway. “Soren? I thought you weren’t going to make it to West Oaks.” She looked between the two of them. “What’s going on?”
“We were just catching up,” Noah said. He walked over and put his arm around her. He was gratified when he saw a vein twitching in Soren’s temple. But Danica tensed beside him at his touch.
“I came because I was worried,” her brother said. “Blake told me the police caught the kidnappers?”
Danica nodded. “That’s what they say.”
“Can we talk? You and me? It’s important.”
“Not now.” She closed her eyes briefly. “I need a minute with Noah.”
“Fine. You can find me in my room when you’re done. But I’m serious, Dani. We need to talk about some things.”
With one more glare at Noah, Soren pushed past them and left the room.
Danica shut the door behind him. “I’m sorry. I had no idea Soren was here.”
“I’m not concerned about him,” Noah said. “What happened with your father?”
Danica glanced up at the mirror above the sofa. Then she looked away.
“He told me the truth. The reason for the blackmail. The secret he’s…” Her voice cracked. “The secret he’s been keeping. My father asked me not to tell anyone else, including you.”
As Noah had expected. “It’s nothing that would endanger your safety, right?”
“Not my safety, no. And it’s not anything illegal.
” But Danica’s eyes shone, making it clear her father’s secret put other things at risk.
“It’s the kind of thing that makes me second-guess everything I thought was true.
About my parents, my childhood…” Her breath skipped. She was trying not to cry.
Noah had never seen her this way. Not even when she’d been afraid of the kidnappers coming after her again.
Danica looked lost.
Noah could get her out of dangerous situations. But this? He had no idea how to help. “What can I do?”
She blinked, and the tears started to fall. Her fingers tried to brush them away, but they were coming too fast.
Noah went toward her, but she backed up, shaking her head.
“Even if I told you all of it, there’s no way you’d understand. Your family isn’t perfect, I know that, but at least you all have basic respect for one another. My family? Everything’s on the surface. And somehow, I’m the only one who didn’t know.”
“That’s their fault, not yours.” Noah reached out for her again, but she pulled away.
“I heard what my brother said to you.”
He was confused at first by the change of subject. “Just now?”
“Yeah. That you and I won’t work out.”
“He’s wrong, obviously. I’m sorry you overheard.”
“But that wasn’t even the worst of it. Soren said I’d hurt you because I’m like my father.” Tears kept streaking down her face.
“He’s not right.”
“In some ways, he is. The good, and the bad. I’ve never been ashamed of that before.”
She was pulling away from him again. Noah felt it. As if the last few days between them hadn’t even happened.
Danica sank onto the couch, wiping her hands over her face. “Noah, I can’t do this,” she whispered.
“Can’t do what?”
But he was afraid he already knew.
“It wasn’t real,” Danica said. “We were always just pretending.” She gestured around her. “It just isn’t going to work.”
His stomach plunged.
Noah had been trained to ignore pain, shove it away, bear it. Leaving the SEALs had been tough, but most of his friends didn’t even know how much it ate at him. The worst of his sadness, he still kept hidden.
But that disappointment had been nothing to what he was feeling now.
Danica was slipping away from him.
If he lost her again? Maybe he could keep going as if nothing had happened. As if his heart wasn’t broken. But he’d have to act like Danica had never really mattered, and that would be the most unforgivable lie he’d ever told. Not just to the rest of the world, but to himself.
In college, he hadn’t really tried to hold on to her, had he? Because he’d thought it was impossible.
But Noah wasn’t the same man. He’d grown up, and he’d been trained to overcome the impossible. Maybe he couldn’t do that when it came to his back injury, but this was different. Danica was worth so much more than a job.
This time, he refused to let her go without a fight.