42. Noah
Chapter forty-two
Noah
This doesn’t feel like forever…
~ One Week Later ~
Something’s wrong.
I’m not sure what, but I feel… off.
I’ve felt it since I woke up this morning, a knot in my gut that won’t go away. Like when you forget something super important, and all day, your mind will sense that you’re forgetting something. But this time, it doesn’t feel like something forgotten.
It feels like dread.
It’s the same feeling I had when I walked into the care facility—the day we found out Trinity wasn’t doing well. It’s that feeling of knowing something’s about to happen but not being able to put your finger down on what exactly.
When I was on my morning jog with Veronica this morning, she could sense something was off, and when she asked, I told her I felt strange. She said I probably just slept wrong or was hungry and that it would pass. But I didn’t sleep wrong, and I wasn’t hungry, and it still hasn’t passed.
The problem is, I’m not the only one who feels it.
Gabe, who’s usually happy-go-lucky throughout the day, woke up with a sour face.
He told me he kept having a strange dream but couldn’t remember what it was.
All he remembers is a loud crashing sound and running.
And since then, he’s had a strange look on his face, like he’s anxious about something.
We’re currently on our way to the training facility in my Aston Martin for our late morning practice, and I find myself worrying the farther away we get from home.
Just leaving was rough; I didn’t want to go, and neither did Gabe.
I think he held on to Veronica for a good ten minutes before I forced him into the elevator.
Gabe is looking out the window, chewing on his lip with his phone in hand. He keeps sending texts to our girl and breathes out when she replies a few seconds later. My fingers drum against the steering wheel, desperately wanting to grab onto the wheel and turn us around.
“Should we tell her to go to one of the houses? Maybe she could go spend the day with Aubrey and her guard,” Gabe asks, looking at me with uncertainty in his eyes.
“I don’t know…” I work my jaw, unsure what to do about this feeling. What if we’re just overreacting? Maybe we’re just growing impatient with the whole Victor thing. “I’m sure everything is fine. Let’s just get through our practice, and then we’ll go straight home.”
Or maybe we’re just anxious because in two days, we’re leaving for an eight-day away stretch, and it will be the first time we leave Veronica alone for so long.
“Yeah, okay…” He nods, but he doesn’t seem convinced.
“She has security. Marcos and Ricky are right outside the building. Nothing’s going to happen to her,” I tell him, trying to ease his worry and mine at the same time.
“I know.”
A few minutes later, we arrive at the training facility and make our way into the building.
But we get stopped right at the entrance when we notice the whole team waiting around, with Coach and our General Manager talking to someone who works here.
There are big yellow caution tapes blocking our access to where we need to go.
“What’s going on?” I ask as Gabe and I reach Silas, who stands in the front near Coach.
“One of the main pipes burst overnight, flooding the rink and gym,” Silas says, listening in on the conversation happening beside him.
“I don’t think we’ll be doing any practice or training today,” Clay mutters as we wait for the verdict.
Finally, the worker leaves, heading down the hall behind the yellow tape as Coach turns to us. “All right, boys, listen up. Practice is canceled for today since we were unaware of this situation and don’t have a spare place to train with such short notice.” He gives us all a tight smile.
“Luckily, we won’t be needing the facility until we get back from the road, so let’s hope all is back to normal by then. We’ll notify you all if there are any changes. You all head home and enjoy your time off with your families, I’ll see you all at the airport in two days.”
We all turn and head back out to the parking lot, not in the least upset about getting an extra day of rest. “Hey, you guys want to come over for dinner later? Morgan’s finally past her nausea stage and started cooking again; she’s been going at it for the past two days.
Claimed she missed it,” Clay offers as he heads over to his SUV.
“Sounds good to me,” Silas tells him as he jumps into his Range Rover.
“We’ll be there,” Grey says, opening his truck door.
I look at Gabe, who shrugs. “Yeah, sure. We’ll see you guys later,” I tell him as we get back into my car.
My foot’s heavy on the gas as we drive home, that feeling inside of me growing by the second. I don’t know what it is, but I know we need to get home. Even Gabe is getting antsier with every mile we pass, his knee bouncing up and down as he drums his fingers on his thigh.
“I don’t like this… I feel like I’m gonna be sick.”
I look over to him. “Do you want me to pull over?”
He shakes his head. “No. Just get us home.”
I give him a curt nod and step on the gas once more, going over the speed limit and praying we don’t get stopped.
Apparently, luck is on our side because we make it to the underground garage in no time, without being pulled over by the cops.
Except the second I shut the engine, the whole garage goes into blackout mode.
“What the hell?” Gabe steps out of the car, looking around as I do the same.
It takes a few seconds for the backup generator to kick in, and small lights along the walls light up, giving us a dim view of our surroundings. Gabe and I quickly head over to the elevator, but it isn’t responding.
“Shit, the power’s out. Try the other,” I tell him as he jogs over to it and presses the call button, but nothing happens.
“Noh…” Gabe starts.
“I know. Let’s take the stairs.”
We hurry to the stairwell, skipping steps as we make our way up to the twentieth floor. “I have a bad feeling, Noh. This… I remember this from my dream.”
“Let’s just hurry up, we’re almost there,” I say, feeling the muscles in my legs burn the higher we climb.
We’ve just reached the seventeenth floor when the worst happens. A loud explosion sounds above us, violently shaking the walls and ground, making us trip on the stairs.
“FUCK!”
VERONICA
I finish placing the dishes in the dishwasher and start it up, then look over at my phone and notice a message from Gabe. A smile spreads on my face as I pick it up and read his text.
Husband #1
Practice canceled. On our way home. Love you, baby.
It’s dated ten minutes ago, so I don’t bother replying since they’ll be here soon, and I’d rather tell him I love him in person.
I’m just about to put my phone down when the power goes out. It was pretty gloomy outside this morning, so I kept the blinds shut and turned on the lights around the penthouse, not wanting to see the depressing weather outside. But now that all the lights have gone out, it’s dark.
I quickly turn on my phone’s flashlight and walk over to the breaker in the laundry room, trying to see if maybe something jumped. But everything’s still on, which means it’s either a power outage or the whole building that went off.
My phone shrills in my hand, and I jump out of my skin, heart pounding in my chest. “Jesus,” I mutter as I look at who’s calling. ‘Ricky’ flashes on my screen, and I hurry to answer it. They probably noticed something and want to check on me.
“Hey, Ricky.”
“Miss Masters, are you all right?” His deep, rough voice filters through the phone as I switch him to speaker, making my way back into the kitchen.
“Yes, but I think the power went out. Nothing’s working up here.” I try the switch on the wall as I say it, making sure I’m not going crazy.
“Yes, we’re aware. We just entered the lobby. We’ll try to find out what’s caused the outage. Marcos will come up to stay with you until it’s back on.”
“Oh, there’s no need. I’m fine, and everything is locked up here. No need to come up.” Then I chew on my bottom lip as a thought pops into my mind. “Are the cameras in the penthouse still working?”
“Yes, they work through cellular data, just like your phone, so they weren’t affected by the power going out.
We’ve already informed our boss of the situation at hand, and he assured us that someone is monitoring the live feed as we speak,” he reassures me, and some of the tension in my muscles relaxes.
“Now are you certain you don’t want one of us up there right now? ”
“No, it’s fine. Just let me know what you find out,” I say, remembering that Noah and Gabe should be back soon.
“All right, but the minute we find out what’s going on, we’ll be up to make a sweep. Just to be sure.”
“Okay.” We hang up and I put my phone down with a sigh, keeping the flashlight aiming upwards as I look over at the curtains covering the floor-to-ceiling windows.
“Stupid automatic curtains that only work with a remote. How the hell am I supposed to open them now? Didn’t think about that, company, did you?”
I shake off the icky feeling creeping up my spine and turn toward the living room, ready to try and pry them open somehow. But stop dead in my tracks with a gasp when I spot someone already standing there, someone I prayed I’d never see again.
“Hello, Veronica.”
“Victor.” My hands instantly begin to tremble, but I clench them into fists, not letting him see the effect he has on me. Not showing any weakness.
“Not a very smart move telling them not to come.” He tsks me. “Although it does play in my favor. So, thank you for that.” He smirks.
“What do you want, Victor?” I keep my eyes trained on him, looking for any sign of a weapon before making an exit strategy. Just like he taught me to do.
He chuckles and reaches behind him, pulling out a knife with a sharp-looking blade. “Is this what you’re looking for? Don’t forget who taught you, little one. I know all your tricks.”
“I asked you a question,” I bark out, done playing his stupid game. “What do you want?”