Chapter 24
Noah
H olding her in my arms, I kiss her forehead. She’s an angel, a sweet temptress put on this earth to pull me out of the darkness and grief. Way too precious for me. But she’s not the same girl I remember from high school, something’s changed her. There is a shadow hanging over her now, one I don’t like. I should have kept a closer eye on her when I left, but I was focused on my football career.
She stands, walking to the bathroom, her long legs all I see under the Bay Raiders football jersey she insisted on wearing when we started cleaning out my mother’s house this morning. I never expected us to end up tangled in my sheets.
Paisley comes back to sit on the edge of my bed. “I should get out of here,” she says sadly.
I pull her back into bed with me. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Noah, this probably shouldn’t have happened. I know how my father feels about you. It won’t go down well if he finds out.”
“I don’t regret it for a second. Do you?”
“Not at all. If teenage me could see me now, she would be high-fiving herself. I’ve always had a thing for you.”
I hold her close, kissing her hair. “I’ll let you in on a secret. I’ve had a crush on you for years.”
“Noah Harrington with a crush. I doubt it.” She laughs, and it’s the sweetest sound ever. I bring her closer to me.
“It’s true, and now that I finally have you here with me, you’re not going anywhere.”
“My daddy would kill me if he knew I was staying at your place. He really hates you.”
“Feeling’s mutual,” I huff. “I know why Parker hates your father, but what happened with you two?” If she tells me he beat her like he did his son, I will go around there tonight and deal with him myself. His life won’t be worth living after I’m done with him. I’m not some scrawny teenager afraid of what he will do to me and my friend anymore.
“It’s a long story.” She tries to brush it off, but I notice the sadness sweep over her at the thought of him. I need to know the truth.
“I have all night. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me. I know something’s wrong, I can feel it.” Her sparkle’s been extinguished, and I would give everything I have to get it back for her.
She considers me for a minute then drops her head, looking toward the wall away from me. “No one knows the truth.”
I take her hand. “Tell me, baby. I want to help you.”
She sighs heavily but still doesn’t look at me. I stroke her hand, waiting for her. “You and Parker had already left town, but the fall my last year of high school, there was a big rematch between the Bay Raiders and the Bluewater Beach Eels. I was crowned homecoming queen, a title I had wanted from the day my mother told me she was homecoming queen her senior year. I wanted to be just like her in every way.” Her voice is flat, and I know I’m not going to like what she has to say next.
A sinking feeling washes over me. “What did he do? If he laid a hand on you…”
She looks me over cautiously. “My father?” She shakes her head. “Not that night. He didn’t do anything, that’s why I hate him so much. I came home that night in a bad way. And he told me I was being dramatic, to stop my hysteria and pull it together. He didn’t care about me at all. This town all thinks of him as some savior, but when I needed him, he turned his back on me.”
“What do you mean a bad way? What happened at the game?”
“I was supposed to catch a lift back to the afterparty with some of the other cheerleaders, but I stayed chatting to this guy from the other team for way too long. So, when I went to find them, they had already left. He offered me a lift with a few of them in his brother’s car. I didn’t know the guys, they all played for the Eels, but there were a few girls as well, so I agreed. I wasn’t even thinking about how dangerous it could be. I just wanted to get to the party, and they seemed nice enough. Just outside of town both cars pulled over, and the girls I was chatting with jumped into the other car. One of them said the boy who was driving, the older brother, was into me and wanted some time alone.” She shakes her head. “I was an idiot and believed them.”
My spine straightens. I think I know where this is going. Anger blurs my vision.
Her face goes pale. “The other car took off, and it was just the two of us. He was older, I think Parker’s age. He checked who I was, asked me like three times if I was Paisley Whittaker. I thought it was strange and started to get creeped out, so I got out of the car before he could take off. I tried to run back through the woods toward town, but he caught up with me. He was so fast, and I was in heels and completely terrified. He tackled me to the ground and pinned me beneath him. I struggled against him, trying to escape. That’s when he punched me across the face, breaking my jaw and nearly knocking me out. He was so much stronger than me.” Tears roll down her cheeks as she forces out the words. I wipe them away for her, wishing I could take away her pain.
My heart breaks for her. “I’m so sorry, baby. You don’t have to go on.”
Her sad eyes meet mine. “I need to, Noah. For years this has sat with me, drowning me in darkness. I need it out of me,” she sobs.
I kiss her forehead, wrapping my arm around her, trying to offer comfort in any way I can. But I already know this is the worst thing that could have happened. I can’t take this pain away.
“He forced himself on me, telling me it was my own fault. That I deserved what he was doing to me. When he was done, he told me to go home to my daddy and make sure he knew next time he fucked up, I wouldn’t be left alive. I was petrified.”
I stare back at her, my chest heaving with the anger boiling within me, a hate running deeper than I’ve ever felt before. Someone is going to pay for hurting her.
“You think I deserved it too,” she whispers, sobs racking through her.
“No, beautiful girl. No.” I pull her into me, holding her tightly, wishing I could take away all her pain. What that monster did to her is horrendous. I will hunt him down and make him pay for ever thinking he could get away with touching her. She cries into my chest, and I let her. She’s carried this pain around for years, not telling a soul. It kills me to know she was hurt so badly and left all alone to deal with it. “You never reported this to the police?” I check with her, needing to know what we’re up against.
“I tried to tell my daddy, but he wouldn’t let me talk. He patched up my jaw and gave me ice, then told me to stop being dramatic. He was cold and completely uncaring. I was so scared, I didn’t understand what any of it meant. I told him what they said. That they would kill me next time. He said I was making up stories. Why would I do that? The following week I took a job at Wild Magnolia and Stella helped me move out. I couldn’t stay living under his roof anymore.”
I brush her hair out of her face. “What do you remember? From that night,” I ask, desperate for details. The asshole who did this to her is going to pay.
“Noah, it was fifteen years ago. It doesn’t matter what I remember now.”
I sit up, too much anger throbbing within me to stay still. “Yes, it does. What did he look like? Any scars or tattoos? I need to know, Paisley.”
She looks me over, confused. “He had an eel slithering up his arm. I thought that was strange.”
“He played for the eels that night?” I ask, confused. I thought she said he was older.
She shakes her head. “No, he played the year you guys won. I remember he got into a fight with Parker and Brody. On the field.” My skin prickles. I know exactly who she’s talking about. Lucas Rosas. That fucker is dead.
I lift her chin so she’s looking up at me. “Baby, was the man who hurt you Lucas Rosas?”
She nods, her eyes filling with fresh tears. “Please don’t tell anyone, especially not Parker, I don’t want him to know. You have to promise me, Noah. Please.” Her sad eyes meet mine, crushing me.
I bring her lips to mine. “I won’t tell Parker.” But I will fix this for her. I wasn’t there to protect her all those years ago and neither was her brother. She was all alone. But I’m going to make the man who did this pay now.
I made promises to her three years ago, promises I have been trying to keep ever since. But back then I never could have imagined how complicated this web of lies was. Now I know everything her father was doing. How deeply he was involved in the underbelly of this town. She paid for his mistake, and now it’s time I get a little redemption on her behalf.
She hurries out the front door of Bay Roaster’s Café after meeting with her father. Part of me couldn’t believe she came as soon as he clicked his fingers. She hates him. But the meeting didn’t go well, from what I could hear. Daddy didn’t get what he wanted for once. And she’s in a rage, storming off down the street, her hair fanning out behind her. Sexy as hell when she’s mad, even better knowing she just severed ties with the asshole who’s been manipulating her for her whole life. Part of me wants to run after her so she can find comfort in my arms. But if I know Paisley, she needs space right now. Her father is a real piece of shit, trying to get her to turn against me. He’s running scared. He doesn’t want her anywhere near me, because I know what he’s hiding.
Three years ago, I left because of him. I didn’t know what I was up against then when he threatened her safety and destroying my career. I had seen what he was capable of with Parker years before, so I believed him when he said he had his ways of getting what he wanted. I wasn’t risking her safety till I had something to back me up. A way of knowing I could protect her from him. But now the tides have turned. He met with his daughter today to try and control her. He’s about to learn I hold all the power here now. Because with knowledge comes great power, and I know all his secrets.
I watch as Doctor Whittaker strolls across the main road toward his clinic, hands casually in his pockets. I send a text off to Kane McAllister telling him to meet me at the clinic.
The little bell above the clinic door dings as I enter. I glance at reception, but the young girl who works here must be on her break as her desk is empty. Not waiting a beat, I turn the handle on his door and stride right in like I own the place.
I take a seat across from the good doctor, smiling smugly from ear to ear. This day has been a long time coming.
“Noah,” he says, surprised. “What the fuck are you playing at? I told you to skip town. We had a deal; you never should have come back.”
I shake my head, disappointed in the old man. “We had a deal! You would keep her safe if I left. Some deal. When I left, I thought I was doing the right thing, but you don’t have the authority to keep her safe. Not with the shit you’re into and who you’re working for.”
His face hardens, lines forming on his forehead. “I don’t know what you're talking about,” he stutters, a small amount of fear creeping into his voice. He knows!
“I think you do. Prescription fraud. Illegal medical procedures. You’ve been a busy boy, haven’t you, Doc? To top it off, you had one of the Rebel Raiders take me out. Did you think I wouldn’t work out who shot me? The thug you sent wore his jacket. And I know for a fact you’re working for them. What do you think this town will make of all this? Should I contact the paper?” I ask, thinking out loud.
He shoves his chair back aggressively. Rounding the corner of his desk, he comes at me, shoving the chair I’m sitting in to the floor, sending me flying. His fist lands on my face, pain radiating through my cheekbone instantly. But I don’t move. His face reddens with fury as his hands move to my neck, squeezing. I don’t fight back. This is him, the real doctor of Deception Bay, a brutal man who will do anything to preserve his good reputation. But I don’t lay a hand on him this time.
“You fucking stay away from her. You’ve caused enough trouble. You might have worked out my secrets, but I know yours. You release one slither of information incriminating me, and I’ll make sure this town knows what you did. Murder is a very serious charge, son.”
I smirk back at him like the psycho I am for her, knowing he can’t touch me. “You don’t know anything, old man. But it must feel shitty to know I did what you were too much of a pussy to. I protected your daughter when you should have. You’re not worth the reputation the good people of this town have bestowed upon you, and when they know the truth, you will get the treatment you deserve. You kept me from my girl and destroyed my career, and now I’m going to ruin you.”
The door crashes open and Detective McAllister stands in the doorway, gun drawn.
The doctor looks toward me then back to him, knowing I’ve set him up.
Kane rushes toward us, reefing him off me. “What the hell is going on here?”
“He attacked me,” I say, looking at the doctor.
Kane places the handcuffs on him immediately. The doctor doesn’t fight him, just glares back at me as he’s read the Miranda rights.
A searing pain lances through my head and chest from the injuries he’s inflicted on me, but I sneer back smugly, feeling satisfied he’s finally getting what was coming to him. Even if it is fifteen years too late. He’s a piece of shit for letting his daughter believe she was to blame for what happened to her. It was his fault. She paid for his mistakes. I read all about it in my father’s journals. According to my father’s notes, Doctor Whittaker didn’t do the job they paid him to and let the leader of the Rebel Raiders bleed out and die on the operating table after he got shot. That’s why she was raped. It was a warning for him not to fuck up again. And now he will rot in jail for his involvement. I’m going to make sure of it.