12. Eli
12
ELI
A n hour later we’re both dressed, and I’m listening as Noah talks with his contact in the FBI. The conversation doesn’t seem to be going well. He’s gone from calmly explaining our situation to agitatedly pacing back and forth in the small room. I guess he’s not the only one who believes I’m a horrible person based on my family. I have to begrudgingly admit that he’s trying, though—trying to convince a total stranger, another cop no less, that I’m worth saving. What am I doing here? Why am I even allowing this? Noah snaps the flip phone shut and looks at me, his expression pained. I wait for the inevitable.
“She says she’ll help us, but she has some conditions,” Noah says with a shake of his head.
“Of course,” I answer. There are always conditions. That seems to be the human condition, to get whatever you can out of someone else until they’re broken and used-up. Well, fuck that.
“She wants your uncle,” Noah says as he steps closer to me, watching my reaction.
“I don’t give a shit about my uncle,” I say. “What’s the risk we have to take for this?”
“She wants you to testify after she arrests him,” Noah says, sitting down heavily on the bed next to me.
“No.” I shake my head. “That’s absurd. Even if they don’t find a way to kill me beforehand, I’d have to spend the rest of my life running. I’m not doing it.” I slowly lift my head to look at Noah, but his gaze is focused on the floor.
“Okay,” he says, and I lift my eyebrows.
“Okay?” I ask. I was expecting an argument.
“I told you, I’m not going to force, or beg, or try to coerce you into anything,” Noah says without looking at me. “I know you don’t trust law enforcement, and right now I don’t either, so if you say no then that’s it. We’ll figure something else out.”
“What does she have to do with any of this, anyway?” I ask.
“She works in the organized crime division. The Carbones’ case was reassigned last year, and Rossi was supposed to be working with them, but he went rogue for some fucking reason. According to Stacey, the FBI never approved my going undercover in the first place. This was all Rossi. She said he had some sort of personal beef with your uncle, but we see where that got him.” Noah rolls his shoulders before blowing out a breath.
“He knew who I was, and he knew what you meant to me,” I say, more to myself than Noah.
“I know, I tried to?—”
“Don’t,” I cut him off. “I don’t want any more explanations. I just want to get the fuck out of here.”
“So let’s go to the cabin. We can figure it out from there,” Noah says as he finally turns to me.
“They’ll find us,” I whisper, shaking my head.
“So what do you want to do?” Noah asks.
“What if I can get Gianni’s laptop?”
Noah narrows his eyes at me, but doesn’t speak.
“Everything the FBI needs to bring down everyone involved would be on his laptop. Most of my family believe I’m dead, so if I can get the laptop I can disappear and your friend can make her arrests,” I say. Noah flinches with the emphasis I put on the word “friend.”
“We can trust her,” Noah says softly, putting a hand on my knee.
“Maybe you can,” I snap.
“Do you trust me?” Noah turns toward me. I try to fight it, but my face morphs into an expression of incredulity.
“No,” I bark at him. “I don’t trust you, and you haven’t exactly given me many reasons to do that. It’s probably the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever done just to be sitting in this goddamn room with you!”
Noah’s face crumples, but he doesn’t react or argue. He knows I’m right, and it hurts. “Do you…do you want me to go?” he asks, his voice breaking.
“No,” I say quickly. “No…I…I don’t know.”
His face falls even more, and I get up and start pacing the room.
“I want to believe you, Noah,” I say. My hands are wildly gesticulating, but I can’t seem to hold any of this back. Five minutes ago while he was on the phone I managed to convince myself that we would be okay, that we could be together, but as soon as I try to trust him, everything in me just gets…angry. “Damn do I want to believe you, but you lied to me!” Tears start to prickle at my eyes. “You lied to me. You made me believe things that weren’t true. I trusted you, but you weren’t the person you claimed to be. How the fuck am I supposed to believe you now?”
“I don’t know, Eli,” Noah says to the floor. “I wish there was something I could say or do to prove how I feel about you, but all I can think of is making sure you aren’t hurt again, and that takes time, which is something we don’t have.”
“Look at me and say that!” I shout. I don’t even know why. Maybe I just want him to hurt as badly as I do.
He raises his dark eyes to mine, captivating me with their intensity. “I love you, Eli.”
A sob escapes my throat, and I’m torn between rushing into his arms and knocking his fucking teeth out.
“I know my words don’t mean shit right now, but you can trust me. I will never hurt you again. I can’t ,” Noah says. Every cell in my body is screaming at me to trust him, but maybe that’s just my desperate mind trying to cling to a false hope.
“Fuck you, Noah,” I say through strained vocal cords. “Fuck you.” I collapse into the uncomfortable chair in the corner and bury my face in my hands. The tears start streaming freely, but there’s nothing I can do about them now.
Someone pounds on the door, and we both freeze. I glare at Noah, but he looks more confused than I feel.
“Eli, open up! I know you’re in there,” a familiar voice yells. Noah grabs his gun from the table and I grab my .45 from the nightstand. He moves against the wall, just out of sight of the door as I walk up to it. I glance through the peephole and see Reese on the other side. I shake my head. Reese disappeared after my encounter with him. He should be dead, so what the fuck is he doing here?
“What do you want?” I say through the door, moving to the side in case he tries to force his way through.
“I just want to talk,” Reese says. “I have a proposition for you that I think you’ll be interested in.”
“Bullshit. How’d you know I was here?”
“Your father had me put a tracker in your holster,” he says in a slightly lower voice. Noah immediately grabs my holster from the table and starts examining it. He must find what he’s looking for, because after a few seconds he slams it against the table and some tiny bits of metal go flying through the air.
“Come on, Eli, just open the door. I don’t want to shout through it all night,” he says. “Your father doesn’t know I’m here, and he doesn’t know you’re here, either.”
“My fucking father is dead,” I growl back.
“Shit, really?”
“What the fuck is going on?” I bark.
“Just open the damn door, Eli,” he says. I look over at Noah, who shakes his head. It doesn’t look like I have much of a choice, though. Keeping my pistol low, I pull open the door. Noah immediately steps back from his position, his gun trained on Reese as he walks through the door. “Whoa, whoa,” he says, lifting his hands. I can see a pistol on his hip, but he doesn’t go for it. “I just want to talk.”
“What do you want?” I say, moving to his side and allowing Noah plenty of room to shoot him if necessary.
“The same thing you do,” Reese says as he sits down in the chair and throws his arms over the backrest. “Freedom.”
“And how do you propose we get that?” I relax slightly, but Noah remains taut, his gun trained on Reese’s head.
“We kill Gianni,” he says, and turns to Noah with a lift of his brows.
“Oh, is that all?” I roll my eyes.
“No,” he says, and leans forward. “I needed you to let me in so that I could get my place back in the family. I didn’t know you’d have company.” He makes a rude gesture with his hands, and I raise my gun. “Calm down. Listen, Gianni wants to talk to you. All I have to do is bring you to him, by whatever means necessary.”
“Fuck that,” I say. “I went to him after the bust and he tried to have my father kill me, my own fucking father . He wants me dead, nothing else.”
“Maybe so, but all I have to do is bring you to him, and I’m golden. I’m not really invested in what happens to you after that, but with Mario gone he has some real openings in his crew, so that could work out for me, especially if I bring him your little boy-toy, too.”
I can feel the animosity rolling off Noah’s body, and I’m impressed he hasn’t shot Reese yet. I’m sure his trigger finger is getting really itchy right about now.
“You expect me to just go willingly?” I scoff.
“Well, yeah, I mean…you don’t really have a choice,” he says as he turns his gaze back to me. “If I can find you, the rest of the family isn’t far behind. You’ll come back eventually, and maybe Gianni will even let you live. You’ve proven to be pretty damn tenacious.” He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I struggle not to just shoot him. “Listen, I’ll even make it feel like it’s your choice. I’ll go ahead, and you just follow me when you realize it’s your only option.”
I look at Noah, and he lowers his gun. His eyes are pleading, but he doesn’t say a word. Reese shifts beside me and gets to his feet. Noah’s eyes shift back to him and his expression morphs, but before I can react a shot rings out next to me and Noah is slung backward onto the ground.
I don’t think, I simply react, but everything feels like it’s moving in slow motion. Reese turns toward me with a grin, but I lift my pistol and shoot three times, point-blank. His eyes go wide in shock as he stumbles and falls to the ground. I don’t know what he expected to happen, but it definitely wasn’t that. I step over his prone form and kneel on the floor next to Noah. His face is covered in blood and my heart stutters. He turns and moans and I start running my fingers all over his face, coating them in blood. He opens his eyes and gasps, but starts moving on his own. I finally locate a deep gash along his left temple, but apparently the bullet only grazed him.
“Noah! Fuck! Noah, are you alright?” His eyes are wild, but he’s moving. He gets to his feet and looks at Reese with wide eyes.
“Shit, Eli, we have to go,” he says, wincing as he takes my hand.
“Wait.” I kneel next to Reese and dig through his pockets until I find the keys to his Audi. It has to be in the garage. Noah grabs his bag and the flip phone as we run out the door. Our footsteps echo as we get into the garage and I start pressing the buttons on the key. We hear the car chirp from a couple decks above us and run up the ramp as I keep clicking. I don’t even realize that Noah has jumped into the driver’s seat until I’m in the passenger side and he’s peeling out of the garage.
We speed through Montcove, driving as far and as fast as we can. Once we reach the outskirts of the city, we ditch the car. I’m sure my uncle can locate it if he tries hard enough. We go into a gas station where Noah cleans his face, and then we hop a bus to the other side of town. Neither of us speaks until we find a new hotel, one near the airport.
Noah goes inside and reserves us a room. It’s almost dawn, but he comes out with a room key and we head inside. Once there, he puts the “do not disturb” sign out and locks the deadbolt and chain lock, then turns to me. We both stare at each other for a few minutes, neither of us sure what to say.
“What the fuck just happened?” I finally manage to ask.
“Your guess is as good as mine, but I don’t think we’re safe here. We need to go,” Noah says as he puts his weapon down on the nightstand. When he turns back to me, his eyes are dark and brooding.
“My family just tried to kill you,” I whisper to myself. Noah is at my side in a flash, his hands on my shoulders.
“But they didn’t,” Noah says with authority. He’s pissed, but it seems to have steeled his resolve. “And we don’t even know if it was your uncle or your batshit cousin acting alone and hoping to get back on top.”
“What do we do?” I ask. “We can’t stay, we can’t run, we can’t fight. Hell, we barely have a phone, and between the two of us our cash is going to run out quickly.”
“What do you want to do?” Noah asks. He brushes the curls off my forehead and his eyes soften. I search his face for some answer, any answer, but find none. My eyes linger on the deep gash in his temple, and fury ignites inside of me. I knew they were trying to kill me, and I knew they’d want to kill Noah, too, but seeing it sparks a new anger in me that burns deeper than ever before.
“I want to end this,” I say with conviction. “Call your friend. Let’s bring down the Carbones.”
Noah nods, his lips pressed together. I gently touch the wound on his head. He needs stitches, but going to a hospital would be suicide. I meet his eyes again, and they’re dark and calculating, but determined, and I think I see the slightest spark of hope for us. I trail my fingers down to his jaw and lift his face toward mine, pressing my lips gently against his. He pulls me closer, but then stumbles, and I have to catch him before he lands on the floor. I loop my arms beneath his shoulders and help him onto the bed, my heart thumping as he struggles to regain his equilibrium.
“I’m okay,” he says as he settles into the bed. “I might have a concussion, but I’ll be alright.”
“I’ve got you, Noah,” I say as I gently lay him back on the pillows. Both of us look rough. Our clothes are wrinkled and dirty, and we look like we’ve been on a week-long bender. I chuckle to myself because it wasn’t that long ago that I was doing dumb shit like that. In only a few months’ time, I’ve gone from the spoiled, campus-royalty party boy to someone who’s ready to run from it all and escape to a cabin in the woods. To be fair, the spoiled college kid always felt like an act, something that was expected of me more than who I really was.
“Wait,” I say, shaking Noah as his eyes flutter closed. “Aren’t you supposed to stay awake if you have a concussion?”
“Probably,” he mumbles, but his words are slurred.
“Wake up, Noah. You don’t get to scare me like this. I already thought I lost you once today.” I look toward the window. Daylight is streaming through the drapes, and I can’t remember the last time I slept.
“Okay, okay,” he says as he lifts himself onto his elbows, his face contorting into a grimace. “Where’s my phone?”
I grab the flip phone from the nightstand and hand it to him. He squints at it, but finds Stacey’s number and makes the call.
I get up and grab a washcloth and wet it with warm water as he talks to her, only half listening. They come up with a plan to meet here as soon as she can as I bring the damp cloth back to Noah.
“She’s going to fly in from D.C. as soon as she can get a flight. She’ll meet us here, assuming no one else finds us first.” He tries to smile at me, but it falls flat.
I can’t really think about that right now. I’m exhausted and sleep-deprived, but I can’t go to sleep until I know that Noah’s going to be okay. He leans back and his eyes flutter closed again. I grab his shoulders and shake him.
“Noah, stay with me,” I say, and his eyebrows furrow in annoyance. “Come on, let’s go take a shower.” I grab his hands and pull him upward. He groans, but comes with me. He shakes his arms out, trying to force himself back to consciousness as I go into the bathroom and turn on the water. I watch Noah closely as he removes his clothes. He’s clearly exhausted, but still beautiful. His muscles flex and ripple as he pulls the shirt over his head, and I feel my dick harden in response. He notices me watching as he removes his pants, and a slight smirk plays at his lips.
“Am I doing this alone?” he asks with a lift of his eyebrow.
“I won’t be able to keep my hands to myself,” I say as I stand up and start removing my own clothes.
“I’m counting on it,” he says as he steps into the shower.
I damn near hit the ground as I struggle out of my clothes to join him beneath the water. His cock is already hard in anticipation as he leans his head back and lets the water run over his face, sliding and rippling down his muscular body, and I can’t help myself. I run my hands across his abs and chest, grinning like a fool as his dick flexes in response. Noah turns and pulls me under the water, running his hands over me as the water sluices down my skin. He takes the tiny hotel soap and a washcloth and starts running it over my shoulders and stomach, tracing over every inch with his fingers as the soap runs off my skin. My breath catches as he drops to one knee and runs the cloth down my legs. His face is only inches from my pulsing cock, and it takes all my willpower not to grab his face and fuck him right here and now.
He stands back up, soaping and cleaning himself while I watch, my dick getting so hard it’s almost painful. As he rinses himself, he takes his own dick in his hand and starts stroking, his eyes closing as he steps closer to me. He drops to his knees again, and this time I can’t help myself. I take his head in my hands and guide him toward my cock, my eyes riveted on his hands as he pleasures himself. With his other hand he takes my shaft and starts moving back and forth gently, but gently isn’t what I want right now. I take a fistful of his hair and pull him toward me. He opens his mouth and takes me into it, licking and sucking at the tip of my dick, and I’m already so close to coming.
I try to remain still, to let him tease me and prolong the sensation, but I can’t stop myself. I take the back of his head in my hand and thrust into his mouth. Noah chokes and gags, but I don’t let go. He pumps himself harder, releasing a moan against my cock that sends waves of pleasure rolling through my whole body. I thrust my hips again, and he takes it. I can’t tell if it’s water from the shower or tears streaming down his face, but I keep thrusting into his mouth until I can’t hold back any longer and release down his throat. He comes at the same time, choking and gasping for air as he swallows me down.
I finally release his head and he leans back against the wall, a look of pure bliss on his face. I shut off the water and pull him to his feet. We cling to each other, our wet bodies hot and steaming from the shower. I don’t want to let go, but exhaustion hits me like a train, and suddenly I can barely hold my eyes open.
We get out of the shower and don’t even bother to dry off. We just grab the robes out of the closet and head back to the bed, dripping and satisfied. Noah checks his phone as we lay down.
“Stacey found a flight, and she’ll be here in about six hours,” he says. His eyes flutter.
“You should stay awake,” I murmur, but I know I won’t be able to stay up with him.
“No, we both need to rest,” he says.
I don’t even bother trying to argue. We’re both well beyond exhaustion at this point, and I close my eyes as Noah wraps his arms around me. I lay my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat. It sounds strong—determined, even. I won’t let anything happen to him. I can’t.
“I love you,” I whisper, and his arms tighten around me. His chest hitches as he stifles a sob.
“I love you, too, Eli,” he whispers back.