59. Noah
NOAH
I’ve never been so scared in my life. Hearing her scream woke me from a dead sleep. My head was still pounding, and I thought I was in a nightmare until I tripped getting out of bed and it actually hurt.
I rushed down the two flights of stairs and found her in the dining room, a manila file open in her hands with the fucking Vallero’s crime scene photos falling all over the place.
Fucking Jeremy.
I panicked. I thought I was going to lose her, that she was pushed too far too fast. Seeing those pictures must have brought those horrible memories back, and she was having a full-blown meltdown.
Her screams finally stopped, but she wouldn’t stop crying. Even as I lowered us to the ground with her head against my chest, she continued to cry. The words “I’m sorry” kept coming through between each sob that wracked her body. I was fucking terrified.
When I told her I was coming no matter what, she finally agreed. She told me I’d regret it when I told her I’d do whatever she needed, but that’s just it: I’d never regret anything I did as long as it helped her.
So here we are, driving in my truck up to her childhood home.
She’s driving because, apparently, I can’t be trusted to drive yet with the concussion.
We stopped at a liquor store in Port Huron, and she bought a few bottles of Bacardi and Jose Cuervo.
I have a feeling I know exactly what she wants to do.
We drive in silence along the water. The moon is illuminating the long sections of the country roads. It snowed up here when we barely got a dusting at my house, so the moonlight is shimmering off the blankets of white covering the fields.
It’s beautiful out here tonight. The perfect night to burn that fucking place to the ground.
It’s been a dry winter. There’s so much debris and trash still littering that place, plus her father was an alcoholic.
The fact that alcohol would be in the house and cause the flames to spread faster wouldn’t even be questioned at this point.
“Noah, you need to know something before we get to where we’re going.”
She’s hardly spoken a word since we left my house. Her fingers have been gripping the steering wheel so tightly I can hear the leather crackling.
“I told you before, Willow. Anything you need, I’ll do. Just say the word.”
“You’d risk going to jail for me?” she asks seriously.
I can’t help but scoff. There’s no way I’d go to jail. Plus, I’ve already killed fifty-four people. What’s a little arson added to my list of felonies committed in the name of love for this woman?
“Absolutely,” I say without hesitation.
“You’re crazy. You know that?” she says, but I can see the smile on her face.
I place my hand on her thigh and give it a slight squeeze.
“I’m crazy about you, Willow. I always have been.”
“I need to tell you something. It’s about my past.”
I sit there silently waiting for her to continue. My hand still rests on her thigh letting her know I’m here and she can tell me anything.
“I lied when I said my mother and father died when I was eight. Only my mother died. She was murdered…by my father. They never found him.”
“Is that why you panicked when you saw the photos?” I ask.
“Yes. It was like seeing the crime scene photos of my mother’s murder. I looked into the case shortly after I began school to become a lawyer. I wanted to know if my father had ever been caught, but to this day, he’s never been seen again.”
“Is that why you moved to Texas to be with your grandparents?”
“They weren’t related to me by blood. They were actually part of this program that’s designed for serious cases of domestic violence.
Think of it as a foster care system that helps hide children who have been involved in cases similar to mine.
The records are sealed away so tight that no one can find them. ”
Yeah, don’t I fucking know it. My guy couldn’t even find them, and he’s one of the best hackers I know.
“What I’m about to tell you, well, just know that if you want, I’ll drop you off on the side of the road here and come back to get you when I’m done. That way you can feign ignorance.”
As if I’d let her leave me on the side of the road while she gets to enjoy one of the best bonfires she’ll ever have.
“Nope. Whatever it is, I’m coming with you. So stop asking,” I say, causing her to huff.
“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you or give you an out. We’re going to burn my childhood home to the ground.”