40. Chapter 40
Chapter forty
NOAH
I’m not sure what I expected when they said that both Kurt and Heath were arrested but it wasn’t silence.
Glorious, absolute silence. I’ve been throwing shit in boxes over the past week, trying to sort through things and rooms I haven’t really bothered with for years.
I refuse to step into Kurt’s, leaving that bullshit to Declan.
Pretty sure I heard him smashing the chair the other day.
Sebastian and Logan have been going through my parents’ room, bringing me things that may hold sentimental value and I didn’t expect this many feelings to bubble up.
The family pictures, old math tests, and even some of my baby teeth.
I told Sebastian to chuck those after they started making jokes with them.
Gross.
“Bunny, oh my god. Please tell me you used to wear this jumper.”
I twist around to see a small red polka dot onesie hanging from Logan’s hands.
For a moment, I don’t recognize and then the memory hits me all at once, my favorite pajamas that Mom had to literally rip off me to wash.
It’s been happening more often now, memories of my childhood coming back, moments where Kurt wasn’t here and it was just me and Mom and Dad.
I clear my throat, shaking my head. “Nope, never seen it.” But my answer isn’t very convincing, my cheeks heating as he hops onto the couch beside me.
I manage not to wince, the meds helping to keep my head from throbbing but Logan still sees the pain in my eyes. “Sorry, sweetheart but seriously? You must have been so cute. Wait until we find the baby pictures.”
I groan, dragging a hand down my face just as Sebastian holds up a small photo album. “I think I found those.”
“Just pack it. We can look over it later. Ed’s supposed to be here soon and I really don’t want you guys staring at that when he walks in.” Mostly because I’m going to hear a lot of joking and ‘aw you were so cute’ before Declan finds his way down here and then tries to start something.
I’m all for starting something but every time we do, my head starts pounding and I pay for it in tears. There’s a hands off in effect at this moment, just for another day or two when Carl gives the all clear.
I’m more than ready.
Sebastian sighs playfully, just as the front door opens, Ed stepping inside the house.
I’m still a little wary with people walking in here, one of many reasons I’ll be glad to leave.
We’re just waiting for the last bits of the investigation to be laid out before it goes to trial so we can head to Handelbrook.
“I see everyone is in good spirits. Declan here?”
A question that we’ve had to ask more than once. Without any one else to beat to a pulp, Declan has been here but also distant. Logan told me it was normal, that sometimes he just needs a little time to calm down and destress which is much harder here in suburbia.
I gesture to the stairs before grabbing my phone and texting him to come down.
He’s all but sliding down the banister in the next second, shirtless, sweat glistening on his chest. I have absolutely no idea what would warrant that kind of work but I’m pretty sure if I go upstairs, Kurt’s room is going to be a mess of wood shards.
It’s therapeutic, I suppose.
“Present!” Declan muses before tumbling over the back of the couch and gently tugging me into his lap. “What have you got for me, Ed?”
That’s the other thing I don’t understand.
How laidback this man is while his freedom is on the line.
Everyone understood Declan’s reasoning for beating my cousin to a pulp.
However, keeping Kurt locked up in a room for almost two days until he was little more than a heap of bones and skin wasn’t legal–regardless of the circumstances.
Yet another reason we haven’t left yet. Maura’s been counting down the days and I’ve been searching every available home for sale, falling in love with too many of them but knowing that starting smaller and easier is better.
Even so, until all of this is wrapped up, we’re not going anywhere.
Ed rounds the couch and pulls up a seat, gesturing for Sebastian to sit as well.
“First thing’s first is that Declan’s not off scot-free.
An assault charge has been filed since you pleaded guilty but I talked it down to probation and some community service that can be done in Handelbrook.
You and I will go in later this week to settle everything at the station but that’s one issue solved. ”
I’m surprised that’s all Declan is getting, what with the way Kurt’s face looked on the news.
He’s going to be in the hospital for a while and will absolutely need reconstructive surgery.
I should be angrier or even appalled at what Declan did to that man but it feels nice, almost as if he channeled some of my anger and how I felt into that damage.
I drag Declan’s hand into my lap, squeezing his hand a little before focusing back on Ed. “What’s next? You mentioned that they may want to talk to us again?”
Ed shakes his head. “Not for right now. They’ve closed some loose ends and now all of this has to be presented in court.
If it’s anything like what happened to Kurt’s parents, it’s going to take years.
The corruption is just on the surface.” He digs into his briefcase and unearths a few newspapers from the last week.
I’ve stayed away from all that because I really don’t care.
I want to focus on my career and my men and getting out of here.
My eyes scan the first couple of lines from the first paper, horror settling in my expression.
“Wait, what the fuck? He was one of the officers when I was getting interrogated.”
Line after line lists people being charged in connection with Kurt and Heath’s scheme, something I’m still fuzzy about.
Ed catches on, handing me and the others the newspapers.
“Kurt hasn’t said much since he was taken into custody and Heath hasn’t spoken anymore but a warrant or two is a beautiful thing. ”
“Why didn’t they come through here and search?”
Ed grins at me like I’ve just stumbled onto the right path.
“Because they found just about everything they needed in Heath’s office at his accounting firm.
He never kept anything at home, one reason you would have never happened upon it.
But it’s all outlined there–he was definitely the brains behind the operation while Kurt was the charmer, the connections. ”
I sit up a little straighter, hating that I recognize so many names in these articles.
Former superiors, a buddy of mine, Paige.
Fucking hell. “I still don’t really understand what he was doing.
Fucking around with deployments and choosing where we went doesn’t really seem all that… evil? I don’t know.”
“No, it doesn’t. One of many reasons it took so long for this investigation to really get any traction.
Noah, Kurt wasn’t just fucking around with deployments.
He was choosing who would live or die. He had access to names, ranks, missions, all of that.
It took him basically nothing to send someone across seas in the middle of a firefight, unprepared.
There were soldiers coming home who thought they’d be back in the States for a while only to turn right back around and ship out.
” Ed digs back into his briefcase, unearthing a small stack of papers.
“I shouldn’t be showing you this and I know it’s not going to make you feel any better but maybe the explanation will give you closure. ”
I discard the newspaper in exchange for the next set of papers, confused when it’s just a list of names and their current whereabouts. “What the fuck is this?” Declan asks over my shoulder. I know some of these people but nothing that stands out.
Logan and Sebastian crowd in closer, all four of us confused before Ed tells us to turn the page. I do but it’s just more names. It takes me entirely too long to pick up the connection. I flip between the pages, realizing how many of the people share last names.
“Noah, that first page is people currently in the military, many different branches, all of the people Kurt has fucked with since this started five years ago.”
There’s at least 60 names, maybe more on this paper.
“The page below it and subsequent pages are filled with everyone who worked on his parents’ case. Officers, superiors, witnesses. All of them. Kurt’s been busy. He tracked them down, found their children, and made them suffer a fate they didn’t deserve.”
“But,” I stop, chewing my bottom lip, even more horrified than I was a few seconds ago.
“His parents are guilty, right? Declan mentioned a few days ago that Kurt had said something along the lines if they actually did the things they had been charged with.” I’m hoping upon hoping that Kurt didn’t go on a vendetta that actually has some merit.
I need him to be the villain in my head and in my life as terrible as that sounds.
Ed leans back a little, nodding. “Yes, his parents are guilty. Strangely enough, they did something very similar to Kurt. A little more unhinged and a lot more dangerous, stuff that involved paying people for their silence and having reports fudged to edit out failures, create promotions for people who didn’t deserve them, and strip others of their rank altogether.
Where Kurt was just doling out what he thought was vengeance, his parents were actually orchestrating the playing field.
The integrity of the system was damaged and every little piece they touched had to be reinvestigated.
It was a shit show. I don’t know everything that happened, some of those records are sealed and I’m sure that the records in Kurt’s case will also be sealed. ”
This is a lot of information all at once.
Knowing why and what Kurt did helps a little bit but now I’m just more confused.
Then again, he must have been so off his rocker to think that his parents were innocent, that I was the reason they were jailed, and even more so that the only way to right the wrongs was to construct his own payback.
There’s just one last thing that doesn’t make sense. “The one newspaper clipping I saw mentioned that Kurt might have been part of whatever his parents were doing.”
“Nothing I found supported that claim. I think it was just an overzealous journalist, trying to make something out of nothing. What I do know is that Kurt isn’t getting out anytime soon.
Heath, either, for trying to kill you and then also everything found in his office.
Seems he was a little light on the truth. ”
I stare at the pages a little longer, something still not sitting right with me.
For one thing, my men are eerily quiet. The other thing is that this just all feels too easy, again.
“How do you know all this? And yes, I know it’s your job to get all the facts of the case so if you had to present them–I’m not entirely sure what a lawyer does but this is a lot of information. ”
Ed grins, gesturing towards Logan and Sebastian.
“Because I had help. They have more connections than I do, especially Logan. They gave me information and I double checked it to make sure that it was true. I’d have used Declan but he seemed like he was enjoying tearing apart a certain room upstairs. ”
That sets us all into laughter as I lean back against Declan. “Are you done in that room, yet?”
“I’ve been done. It’s my way of destressing. Your bedroom and the office is packed up. I just took a few breaks in between.” He brushes his lips against my cheek, his chuckle rumbling through his chest. “It’s good to know I’m not going to jail, though. Too pretty for that.”
Ed cuts in. “You’ll have an ankle monitor until your probation is over and yes, I made sure you’d be okay in Handelbrook.
Staying out of trouble is your best bet, all four of you.
And until you get the all clear, you won’t have much contact with the base, your superiors, or any missions overseas.
This, I might have used a few connections to get all things you’ll hear in the next day or two when you’re called in to be debriefed.
And that, I believe, is it.” He blows out a quick breath, offering me a small smile.
“Not easy by any means but definitely nearing the end of the tunnel.”
I look between my three guys, realizing how much more involved they’ve been over the past week while they’ve allowed me to decompress in my own way.
Distracting me with soft kisses and memories of my childhood have afforded me a way to deal with all of this shit.
And they’ve been helping me get closure, one day at a time. I’m not sure where I’d be without them.
“So, when do we get to move?” I ask, not caring if it’s not the right time.
Sebastian laughs, pushing to his feet. “Ed called earlier, said that after we’re all debriefed on our current positions and Declan gets his new jewelry piece, we’re good to go. So… three days? Give or take.”
My eyes widen as I let out a little whoop and then immediately regret it, falling back against Declan’s chest. “I’m hoping in three days, I’m all healed. This is bullshit.”
Logan squeezes my thigh. “Bunny, take it easy. We’ve got all the time in the world.”
“Yeah, we do. Don’t we?”