Chapter 16 Summer
Chapter Sixteen
SUMMER
This has to be some sort of sick cosmic joke.
Maybe it's a dream.
Maybe Noah drugged me again, but he used something different this time, and I'm hallucinating this entire thing.
I might be dead.
That's the only reason why Zoe is standing in the kitchen with a spoon stuffed deep into a container of ice cream. She licks the spoon clean, her eyes locking on mine, a smile curving the corners of her mouth.
I rush across the kitchen and pull her into a tight hug. "What are you doing here?"
Zoe laughs and holds the ice cream out of the way. "Well, how could I refuse a visit to see you?"
"But why?" I look over my shoulder, but to my surprise, Noah isn't lurking there.
I don't know where he's gone, but I'm going to take advantage of whatever time I have with Zoe while I can. It's so good to see someone from home. Someone who can tell me that I'm not going crazy.
"Because I was told you were behaving." Zoe shrugs and goes to sit on one of the bar stools on the other side of the aisle, nodding for me to take a seat.
I don't know what to say as I sit down beside her, my lips pressing into a thin line.
She might be here to take me home. Noah might be finally willing to let me go. He might not need me for his plans anymore. I could get to pick my life up back where it left off, and then I won't have to worry about this ever again.
I could think about transferring to another school. Maybe on the other side of the country, just so I can get away from this shit.
But he's not going to let me go. I know enough about him to know that. I know that I'm going to be here until I die.
My pregnant sister-in-law, as badass as she is, isn't going to be the one to rescue me. She could, but she's caught in the middle of this fight. I can see it in her face every time Aiden has a family meeting, and he talks about what he's going to do with Noah when he gets his hands on him.
I grab the second spoon she slides across the counter, digging into the ice cream with her. "You shouldn't be here. It's not safe. I don't know what game he's playing right now, but I'm sure that it's only going to end in a bunch of hell."
Noah walks into the room and opens the fridge. "You don't have to worry about her."
"Why the fuck not?" I spring out of my chair and stalk over to him, slamming the fridge door shut. "What the fuck is going on here? Why is she here right now?"
He smirks and turns, his body too close to mine for comfort.
Heat flows between us.
I hate this. I hate the way his body can be close to mine, and every rational cell in my body flows straight to my pussy, begging for me to climb him like a tree.
It has to be the hormones. He has to be giving me some sort of hormone to keep me this horny whenever he's around.
Noah crosses his arms over his broad chest. "Consider it a present for your good behavior."
"A person isn't a gift!" I throw my hands up in the air, hating the way his upper lip twitches like he's trying to hold back a laugh. "You can just go and kidnap Zoe because you think I've been behaving. And as for the behaving, screw you!"
I flip him the double bird—immature, I know, but I really don't feel like getting my ass handed to me right now.
Instead, I stalk around the edge of the island again, dropping back into my seat beside Zoe. "Let her go. You're not going to keep her here."
"You're right." He turns and opens the fridge, coming back out with a Coke Zero. Out of all the things I'd think he would drink—the blood of innocents, mainly—I didn't think he was going to pull that out.
"If I'm right, what are you going to do with her?" I grab the second spoon and shove it into the ice cream, picking out a chunk of brownie batter.
"She's free to go when she wants." Noah cracks open the can, his gaze locked on mine even as he takes a sip.
My eyebrows pull together, and there's an uneasy feeling deep in my stomach.
I'd be an idiot to trust him, but he also hasn't been the monster I thought he was either.
Deeply unhinged and in need of significant amounts of therapy? Yes.
A murderer and career criminal? Absolutely.
But he's not what Aiden has painted him out to be my entire life, and the more time I spend around Noah, the more I wonder how wrong I might be about him.
"Look, I might be a lot of things, but I'm not going to hurt my niece or nephew." Noah heads to the doorway. "Enjoy your visit. You have an hour."
I wait until his footsteps fade before turning to Zoe. "I don't know why you agreed to come here, and Aiden is going to lose his mind when he finds out you came."
Zoe puts the ice cream container on the counter. "I know. And I wanted to see you and make sure for myself that you were okay. Especially after the others died before they had a chance to get you out."
"Can't imagine Aiden took that well."
"Of course, he didn't." She smiles and loops an arm around me, pulling me close. "I wish I could get you out of this, but if I try anything, he will keep me locked in some room until I give birth, and you know that'd make Aiden go nuclear."
"It would."
"Noah isn't the worst man in the world. He's difficult at times. You're never going to really know what he's thinking, but he hasn't killed you yet, which I think we both have to take as a good sign."
"You say such comforting things."
"I know." She smirks and puts her head on my shoulder for a second before pulling away. "I don't think he has any actual intention of killing you. He wouldn't be dragging me here to see you if he did."
"What do you think he wants from this?"
"Don't know. Probably wants me to go back and tell Aiden that you're alive and not in the worst shape." Zoe pulls back further, looking over me. "And you look like he's been feeding you and not beating the hell out of you, which is a good thing."
"I thought he'd want to keep Aiden upset and worrying about me." I bite the inside of my cheek, staring at the doorway Noah left through.
Zoe would be the one who knows what he's up to the best, but it's still worrying. She doesn't sound like she's sure about what Noah is up to. More like she's sorting through all the options, thinking about a person she used to know and not the one that's alive now.
I swallow hard and run a hand through my hair. "Is Aiden going to try and get me out of here?"
She looks at me with sympathy in her eyes. "Not right away. Not after I tell him this, either. Attacking the house is too much of a risk, and it always has been. We need to come at this from a calculated angle, which means Noah needs to have you out in the open somewhere."
"I think I could get him to do that."
"Aiden does have people watching you, so it might be an option." She leans closer to me, her mouth close to my ear. "He's been trying to find a way to get you back, and after the auction, he's got a couple more people infiltrating the property and acting as guards."
I nod, taking in the information.
Aiden would send people I'd recognize, but ones that Noah wouldn't. If I can just figure out what shift those people are working on, then I should be able to escape while they're working.
Do I even still want to escape?
It's nothing more than a fleeting thought. One that shouldn't hold any weight, but it's not useless either.
I could do damage here. I could tear Noah apart from the inside. It'd be more than I've ever done for the family before.
But I don't want to do that either.
Zoe glances at the time on the stove. "I'm going to have to go soon, but I want you to know that we're going to find a way to bring you home. It just might take a little longer than it should."
I swallow hard, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. "Tell everyone I love them, then. And tell Aiden not to do anything stupid. I can manage to stay alive here until he comes to get me."
"Anything else?"
I bite my bottom lip. "Noah and Robert are tense. I don't know what's happening, but I was supposed to be sold to Robert, and Noah drugged him. I haven't seen him since."
Zoe hums and holds me tight. "Don't trust Robert, and don't let anyone find this."
Her hand slips beneath my shirt, the cool plastic of a phone pressing against my skin as she tucks it into my waistband.
I swallow hard, letting the shirt fall down as my gaze connects with hers.
This is dangerous, but at least I can contact my family if things get really bad. I have an option.
It's more than I had a few minutes ago.
She steps away and gives me a warm smile.
The first tear slips down the side of my face as I walk with her to the doorway, Noah appearing out of thin air at the end of the hall.
He motions for her to come with him without a word, and she does.
They turn a corner in the hall.
I can't force myself to do anything other than stand there. I stand there until he comes back, and then everything I've been pushing down comes to the surface: the anger, the hurt, the frustration.
And I do what any sane person would.
I grab the nearest vase and launch it at his head. "Fuck you!"
He dodges, not sparing a glance as the ceramic collides with the wall and shatters. "Great, so I do something nice for you, and that's the kind of mood you're in?" His smirk grows wider. "You know I like you like this. Remind me to do nice things for you more often."
My chest rises and falls rapidly as I glare at him. "I don't know what you brought her here for, but you let her walk out of here like it was nothing, yet you're keeping me hostage? What the hell is wrong with you?"
Noah shrugs, striding past me and heading for the living room.
I follow him, not ready to be done with this yet.
He slumps onto the couch, head tilted against the back of the couch, his hand covering his eyes. His breaths are deep and slow, like he's trying to calm himself down for some reason or another.
I could slit his throat right now and be done with it. I could end this entire war with just one flick of the knife.
But I can't bring myself to do it. Not when he looks like he's falling apart at the seams.
Instead, I drop down onto the couch beside him, my thigh pressing against his. I swallow hard, leaning back, not sure what I'm doing.
The leather is soft, the cushions plush. It'd be perfect for a nap.
Noah says nothing, but his hand drops from his eyes.
I put my feet up on the wooden coffee table, crossing one leg over the other. "What the hell was all of that?"
His head turns, gaze meeting mine. "I'm tired of it all.
Tired of the fucking war. Tired of people trying to kill me and having to kill people.
I don't have a single person in my life I can trust, and everything about each one of my relationships is transactional and about as deep as a kiddie pool. "
"I didn't think you'd be the type to care about that."
He snorts, a tiny bit of amusement shining in his eyes. "Didn't think you thought much of me to begin with, so that's not exactly shocking."
My fingers itch to land on his thigh and trace patterns on the denim. To help him see that he's not alone right now.
I don't know where the urge comes from, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's based on the fact that focusing on other people's emotions has always been easier than focusing on my own.
Noah kicks his feet up on the table beside mine. "I have other members of my family to worry about, ones who are intent on fucking my life over in some way or another, and they want to get their hands on what's mine."
His gaze pins me in place, making the butterflies in my stomach flutter to life.
There's something about the way he says mine, as if he's not talking about the family. As if there's far more to it than that.
Almost as if he's talking about me. That I might be his.
And deep down, warmth pools inside me, as wrong as it might be.
"You know, when I have shit going on in my life, I like to go to the top of the Empire State Building to think." I swallow hard, trying to make sense of everything going on in my head, but I don't think it's possible.
He smirks, his eyes lighting up. "Maybe one day we should go there to think about things together. I promise not to throw you off."
My stomach bottoms out, the butterflies trying to escape. I lean into him a little, staring straight ahead at the black screen of the TV.
I don't know what to say or do right now. Everything feels like I'm on fire. Burning up. My skin is tingling.
It'd be too easy to climb into his lap right now and take what I need. Beg him for another orgasm. Lose every horrible feeling I've been having lately in the feeling of him buried deep inside me. He could lose all those things he's going through, too. We could forget together.
But then there's still the question of what happens when it's over.
When the sunlight streams through the windows, and we have to face the problems of a new day. When I can't keep running from my problems and hoping that things are going to get better when I know they're not.
I let out a wavering breath, my gaze drifting to a picture of Noah, Gia, and Zoe on the bookshelves just below the TV. "Have you ever thought about living a different way of life?"
He shifts on the couch, his body pressing closer to mine, his fingers on his own leg only inches away. "Who hasn't? This life is what it is, and I have to take care of things around me. Your brother is a focus, but there are other factors too, and life is exhausting."
"You could just leave him alone."
"He killed my father."
"And you've killed more of my family members than I care to think about. Both of you are giant assholes." I get up from the couch, my hands curling, nails biting into my palms. "I'm no saint either, but at least I'm not trying to keep this shit going for as long as possible with no good reason."
He gets up, looming over me, heat filling the room, his eyes dark with something that looks like it can't quite be controlled. "No, you're just a pawn. Your job is to be used, and I think you like it."
I flip him off again, and he smirks, shaking his head. "Keep going and see where that attitude is going to get you."
I swallow hard, at war between the fear in my mind and the arousal currently coating my panties. "You're not going to lock me up again, are you?"
Noah studies me for a moment, his eyes shifting around my face before he finally shakes his head. "No. As long as you stay in the house, I don't care where you are or what you're doing."
This might be it. This might be my chance to escape.
Things are starting to fall into place, even as I turn out of the living room with nothing more than a nod, climbing the stairs and heading to his room instead of one of the other ones.
And though I know it's stupid, I pull a book down from the shelves, pretending to read while working on my escape plan.
People are going to be in place, but Noah is starting to trust me to some degree.
Which means that if I can pull this off, I might just be able to get out of here.