Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Noah hadn’t left town. Call it a sixth sense or gut feeling or whatever, but Sloane knew Noah still lurked somewhere nearby, and for the time being, she was safer staying put, waiting for him to drop his guard, before making a move.
Whatever move it would be. Despite her words to Gage, she waffled between confronting her father and hitting the road again. Both held their own brand of appeal.
She could leave and get a head start to her next location—before Noah or her father followed through on the threat to Gage. Or she could give into the demand to return and try to come up with the courage to fight her father on his own terms.
Wrapping her brain around that possibility took some doing, which was why she thought it best to stay put instead of making a rash decision.
The rest of the conversation with Gage had been heartbreakingly frustrating.
He demanded answers. She avoided giving them, other than telling him vague responses that her family was well-off and expected her to take her place in their ranks.
She’d avoided responsibility at the time because she wasn’t ready.
It wasn’t a lie. She certainly wasn’t ready to do what her father expected of her then—or now. But she also wasn’t ready to fight for her freedom on his terms. To do that meant going to a place—being a person—she didn’t want to be. Never wanted to be.
What she hadn’t told Gage was that the bigger threat was now to him.
Remember what happened last time?
Like she could ever forget.
The comment about how their father would send someone else? She’d seen the flash of pain—or worry?—in Noah’s expression before he’d gone back to his usual smirk. That had scared her the most. Because it weighted the threat even more if Noah couldn’t hide his emotions.
Her back was against the wall. She either had to run—farther and faster than she ever had before—come out swinging—or concede and conform. Those were her choices.
The attack and beating given to her college boyfriend were child’s play in comparison to how far Grant Harrington would go to get his way.
Her father’s desperation to do whatever was needed to secure her compliance bled through Noah’s expression.
Took the seriousness, not that there was ever any lack of that, to another level.
A worse one. All because he couldn’t keep his hands out of other people’s pockets.
And she wasn’t so naive that she didn’t know what those types of clients were capable of.
Given the condition her college boyfriend was in when they were done with him, the only level left was…dead.
She couldn’t pretend it wasn’t a possibility. Didn’t mean someone else wouldn’t appear on Gage’s doorstep or catch him unawares somewhere. Someone who did such things regularly and knew how to not get caught.
The risk to Gage was real and dangerous, and she had to get away from him before something terrible happened to him because of her.
The thought left her struggling to choke down the delicious Thanksgiving leftovers she’d claimed to want. They tasted like sawdust and cardboard and held the delicious flavor of unadulterated terror.
She had to leave. She had to wait until she could sneak off. But she had to leave. The sooner the better.
So her night with Gage had ended in a standoff. Gage kept insisting he could help if she’d open up to him while she sounded like a broken record stating there was nothing to be done. That it was just Noah being Noah and she was the one who had to decide. Another truth about an impossible situation.
But she wasn’t about to pit Gage against her family and their ties to people who made problems disappear without a trace.
On Black Friday, when the majority of the US was out shopping or purchasing from the comfort of their couch, the tourists spending Thanksgiving weekend in Carolina Cove were out and about in droves, keeping the rentals building blessedly busy, so much so she barely had time to think about anything but helping the next customer.
Cole worked as a driver for their more affluent clients, while Sloane spent the day renting chairs and umbrellas, golf carts and game boards—and jumping at every sound and movement, knowing Noah was undoubtedly somewhere nearby watching it all and wondering what it was about this life that was so much better than the one she’d had in Chicago.
Gage stuck close and reluctantly left her alone to handle things whenever customers paid the extra fee for delivery or set up. But Alec and Brooks were both on site, and she noticed that whenever Gage left to do a delivery, one of the other brothers made an appearance to lend a hand.
That was something she’d thought of this morning. The fact they hadn’t hired anyone to replace her so she could train them. Now it was too late. And a part of her hated that she’d leave Gage and Cole struggling again once she was gone.
The door opened as she restocked a shelf of sunscreen. It might be the tail end of November, but the sun was brutal today, and those who’d ignored the item for their Thanksgiving trip had already cleaned the shelf once.
“Not exactly your usual place to shop,” Noah drawled.
Sloane flinched, despite her attempt to remain unmoved. “I realized a long time ago that I don’t need that kind of stuff to be happy.” She placed the last four bottles on the shelf before facing him. “I don’t have time for you. Go away. I’m busy.”
Noah whistled softly. “Look at you baring claws.”
She carried the now-empty box with her behind the counter and made a point of grabbing a box cutter from the drawer and flicking it open with a pointed look at her brother. “Alec is coming right back. You shouldn’t be here when he gets here.”
“Yes, I know all about your boyfriend’s family.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Nice try. But if that were true, then what’s the problem?”
“The problem? Seriously? Would you like being sold to the highest bidder?”
“You’re not being sold. Sloane, come on, you know how things work in families like ours. Every marriage is an alliance in one way or another. This is no different than that.”
“Maybe not but it doesn’t change the fact that I refuse to have any part of it. And— I can’t leave right now.” The words emerged before she could stop them, and while she hadn’t planned on uttering them at all, there they were.
Right. There.
Noah’s gaze narrowed on her, and she took a steadying breath. “I’ve heard your threats, okay? I’ve heard them. So just go home. I’ll— I’ll train the person they hire to replace me, and once that’s done, I’ll return to Chicago. On my own.”
Noah made a low mmm sound. “Nice try, baby sister. But none of us will fall for your game of hide-and-seek again.”
She leaned against the counter and used her frustration to break down the box for recycling. “It’s not a game. Maybe… Maybe you’re right. I am tired of running and—being threatened all the time,” she said with a wary glare at him. “Ever think of that?”
Noah put his hands in his pants pockets and strolled toward her as though he hadn’t a care in the world. “No one has threatened you.”
She lifted her chin and glared at him. “You threatened Gage.”
Noah shrugged. “He’s not you. And you claim he’s not a boyfriend. Besides, you can’t be serious about a guy like him.”
That statement drew her up short. “What’s that supposed to mean? He’s successful and hardworking. He’s a good man.”
“He’s a nobody.”
A huff left her chest along with a sarcastic chuckle. “You sound like Father.”
Noah didn’t like the comparison. She could tell. “Gage is more than wearing a flashy watch every day and driving a two-hundred-thousand-dollar car. He’s real. He’s got substance.”
“Two fifty,” Noah countered. “But that’s not what I meant. He’s not for you, Sloane, because he’s not part of our world. Your world.”
She knew that. She didn’t like Noah pointing it out, but she knew it.
Though not for the reasons Noah spouted.
She didn’t like it because it highlighted Gage’s vulnerabilities.
His family’s weaknesses. Because as rich and well-liked as the Blackwells were, her father could decimate them with a phone call.
He had connections on every level. “How did you swing that car, by the way? It’s a little out of range, even for you. ”
“It was a gift for a job well-done.”
This time an unladylike snort left her that would have her father fuming at her lack of manners. Country-club ladies did not snort. Or defy their father’s orders.
“There are benefits to our life, Sloane. Benefits to you coming home and playing along like the good soldiers we all are. You like the car? You can have one the day you arrive. You know this.”
“I’d rather be a daughter than a soldier. And I don’t need fancy cars and clothes to be happy.”
“All I’m saying is that doing what Father expects of you doesn’t have to be a punishment.”
“Says the one who isn’t going to be auctioned off like a prized thoroughbred.”
Noah braced his hands on the opposite side of the counter and stared at her.
“You’re overthinking this when it’s only going to end one way. You know it though, don’t you? That’s why you’re having your moment. I can understand you needing that, needing time. But the harder you fight the inevitable, the harder you make it on yourself—and those around you.”
She shook her head at her brother, hurt vying for disbelief in her chest. “There’s that threat again,” she said in a bit of a singsong tone.
“Don’t make me the bad guy here, Sloane. I’m merely following orders. Just like you need to do.”
“It’s my life. Why do you or Father think it’s okay to use me like a pawn? Why do you let yourself be used that way, Noah? Do you really want this for me? Want that kind of life for me? If that’s true, all I can ask is—what’s happened to you?”