91. Noah
NOAH
NOVEMBER PRESENT DAY
I’ve been sitting here stunned and in complete silence as Willow tells me the rest of what happened that night. She shot James, killed him point-blank and didn’t even bat an eye. I knew she had it in her. She finally got revenge on that piece of shit, and the last four years were worth it.
She continues to tell me about when they got to the hospital. She sat in the waiting room for hours while they did surgery to repair all of the damage that the knife had done. She truly did stay by my side from the second they got me into the room until we left the hospital.
I don’t know what a monster like I did in a past life to deserve her, because I sure as fuck know my blood-stained soul hasn’t done anything in this life to deserve a woman like her.
“So, what happened with the cops? A couple of them came in just to ask me about what I remembered, but other than that, no one has been here,” I ask, and Willow glances at Jeremy.
“I took care of it,” he says nonchalantly.
“How?”
“After the girls left and I was sure the cops were gone, I came back upstairs. I called one of my buddies who has…connections. I went to his house, and the doctor he knows came and patched up my leg. Thankfully, I didn’t need as much blood as you did, but it hurt to even put pressure on it for a while. Hell, it still does.”
He gently rubs the spot on his leg that is stitched up and covered. I never thought that my cousin and I would both be sporting stab wounds at our age, but here we are.
“So what happened next?”
“I made some calls. The cops are looking into it still, but are keeping it hushed. They believe it may have been a previous client who has a grudge. I may have also added a little incentive for them to keep it quieter because of our firm's status in the community. Don’t want any negative press. No news stations reported on it either.”
“Well, that’s good,” I groan as I rest my head back against the couch. “Wait…Does my dad know?”
The second the question leaves me, and I see the look on his face, I know I shouldn’t have bothered asking.
Of course he knows, he just doesn’t care.
As long as I’m still breathing and can fully take over the firm when he retires, he doesn’t give a fuck.
He was probably more irritated at the fact that it could have been a previous client out for revenge, and that I’m going to miss a lot of work.
“Sorry. He’s a fucking ass anyway. You have us,” he says, wrapping an arm around Jenna.
I’m still pissed she was even involved in this in the first place. She shouldn’t have been burdened by this, but she doesn’t even seem phased. None of them do, and that’s what’s worrying me the most.
“Where’s James’s body?” I ask hesitantly.
Is his corpse still in the labyrinth? Did Jeremy’s connections take care of it? And what kind of connections are they? Will I always be looking over my shoulder, wondering who I’m indebted to for disposing of him?
“We took care of it,” Jenna says confidently.
“What? Jeremy, why the fuck did you get her involved?” I can’t help but snap.
This is Willow’s best friend, and he has potentially put her in danger by involving her.
“Hey. He didn’t have a choice. He was on the phone with me, heading back to his house, when he said you texted.
He panicked saying he had to go and that’s when I knew something was wrong.
He hung up with me, but I called him right back and demanded to know what was wrong since Willow was with you.
You should be thanking him,” she snaps, shutting me up.
“Thanking him? You realize you’re now a part of this. A murder…a cover-up. If shit goes south, you could get jail time…”
“None of that is going to happen, Noah. I told you, we took care of it. His body is gone. The blood was cleaned up, and the evidence was burned and disposed of. Your surveillance system was even wiped, and we made it look like the guy who attacked you hacked your system. I’m not some helpless girl, Noah.
I can handle this,” she says as she gestures around at our surroundings.
Jeremy is looking at me while holding back a grin. He loves that his woman is standing toe to toe against me on this. And the fact that she’s so cool about the fact that she not only helped cover up a murder but dispose of a fucking body is honestly terrifying to me. Who the fuck is she?
“Did your connections help with that, too? Is that another person I’m going to be indebted to?” I demand.
“No. They don’t have a clue what happened, and they never will. I only use them to get patched up and call in favors if needed, but I didn’t want to overstep. I know how you are about your privacy. Plus, Jenna had a plan.”
“Okay, fine. How did you get rid of the body?” I ask, finally letting myself sit back and relax on the couch.
There’s nothing I can do about it now. It’s over and done with. I just have to move forward and make sure that I protect all three of them from now on.
“Did you know my uncle owns a crematorium?” she says with a smile.
“Seriously?” I ask, now sick to my stomach. More loose ends that will need to be tied up.
“Yep. An old one downtown. Remember that night at the restaurant when I told you I know how to dispose of a body? I used to help out there during my summer vacations. He does both human and animal cremation. I learned how to do it just in case fashion didn’t pay the bills because he said I could always work there. ”
“You cremated his body?”
“Burned it to a fucking crisp, then let the water take his ashes.”
“Isn’t she amazing?” Jeremy asks, practically fucking beaming at her.
“So what did you tell your uncle?” I ask with a bit of attitude in my tone.
“Nothing. He’s been busy, and I told him to take the night off. Said I needed to clear my head from school shit. I have a key to the place, so Jeremy and I went there at night, pulled the truck into the shop near the cremation chambers, unloaded him, and burned the body and the sheets.”
“What about his teeth? Bones? Anything like that?”
“Dust. Do you know what the process is for cremation?” she asks, tilting her head at me.
“No. Can’t say I do.”
“It takes about two to three hours. The chamber gets to almost 1800 degrees. Any fragments like bones or teeth are put in a cremulator to be ground into a sand-like texture. I didn’t put his body with the teeth remains.
I pulled one of the other bodies of an unclaimed Jane Doe and put his teeth and bones in with hers. ”
“Who the fuck are you?” I ask, stunned.
She just smiles at me before relaxing against Jeremy. She’s acting as if we’re discussing what she did for fun over the weekend, instead of disposing of a corpse.
“I’m just a girl who watched way too many crime TV shows, listened to all the crime podcasts, and loves it when bad people get what they deserve.
After what Willow told me about her dad, I knew that man deserved every fucking thing that he got.
I’m proud of you for shooting him, babe,” she says, looking at Willow, and I watch the smallest smile lift on Willow’s lips.
“And none of this bothers you?” I genuinely ask.
“Nope. Death is death. It doesn’t bother me. Only if it was deserved or not. And James Parker deserved to die,” she says confidently.
My stomach drops when I glance at Jeremy. He knows everything. Not every name, but he knows that I’ve been hunting down scum like James for years and have been enacting my own vigilante justice on them. So, how much did he tell her?
“Before you ask, Jeremy didn’t tell me much else. But judging by the tools you have down there, and the fact it’s like a fucked-up torture maze, I’m assuming James wasn’t the first?” she asks, and my mouth goes dry. I haven’t even had a chance to talk to Willow about this.
“I wanted to be able to talk to Willow alone first, but I guess we’re all in this together now,” I say as I run a hand over my face.
I can feel Willow press herself closer to my side. Her scent and the warmth from her body calm me and help me gain control of my nerves before I tell them everything.
“I realized a long time ago I had demons. A darkness inside of me that I couldn’t quite figure out how to handle.
For years, I struggled with it, especially while searching for her.
When I started shadowing at my father’s firm, I found my purpose, a way to satiate my demons.
I’ve always hated anyone who even lays a finger on their loved ones, especially the ones who managed to get away with it.
My father has helped so many men get the charges dropped.
I hated him, but I realized I could use this to my advantage. ”
I glance at Willow to see her reaction, but she looks calm. How the hell is this conversation real?
“I’ve been hunting them down since I was eighteen.
I’d torture them, making them see what they did using photos from the crime scenes, medical reports, and any other evidence I could get my hands on.
I’d end up killing them and disposing of their bodies before moving on to the next one.
When I bought this place four years ago, it was specifically for the hidden labyrinth.
It wasn’t on any blueprints, except the original ones drawn up by the one who built and owned this place the longest. I found the blueprints at an estate sale they held here, and I watched the house until it went on the market.
I found James shortly after that and kept him here. ”
“Why?” Jenna asks.
“Because I knew one day I’d find Willow, and she deserved to get her revenge on that monster. I wanted her to be able to end him if she wanted, if not, I would somehow let her get her closure before I killed him,” I say, glancing at Willow.
“Aww. That's so romantic…In a horrifyingly fucked up way, but still romantic,” Jenna laughs.
“How many others were there?” Willow asks.
“Fifty-four total. James was going to be fifty-five.”
“Damn. You really went all out with the vigilante justice. And you knew the whole time?” Jenna asks Jeremy.
“No…I only found out recently about that part of his life.”
“What the hell? How?” she asks, shocked.
“Listen, I knew he had his demons, but I never asked. If he felt like he could or needed to tell me, he would. But it wasn’t necessary. I accepted his secrets and just let him know I was here if he ever needed me. He does the same for me,” Jeremy defends himself.
We sit in silence for a few moments, letting the truth of everything sink in. My demons are all out in the open now, and my anxiety is rising as I wait for any of them to say a single thing.
“So what do we do now?” Willow finally asks.
“What do you mean?” I ask. Is this too much? Is she going to leave?
“Like, am I going to move in here? Or now that the thing with him is over, did you want to move?”
“Do you want to live together, Little Rabbit?” I ask, taking her hands gently in mine. “If you want to move, we’ll move. I’ll go anywhere as long as it’s with you.”
“Honestly, as fucked up as it is, I don’t want to move. I love this house. I love the river out back. Now, don’t judge me, but I love it that this is also where I was able to end him. He can’t hurt me anymore,” she says.
Without another word, I wrap my hand around the back of her neck, pulling her to me and crushing her lips against mine.
“You are fucking amazing, you know that, right?” I whisper against her lips. She laughs before pulling away.
“So when do you want to move in?” I ask.
“Well…Jenna and Jeremy have already started moving some of my stuff over. So is now okay?”
“Now is perfect.”
I can’t keep the excitement out of my voice.
“Perfect,” she mimics as she pulls me back to her for another kiss.
Perfect.