CHAPTER 36 - Noah Black #2
“When did you buy the TV?”
“I asked a friend to bring it over this afternoon,” Luke answers his brother. “She wanted to watch something and the laptop screen was too small.” He shrugs.
God, these two are going to spoil Sadie rotten, and I’ll be right there doing the same, because she deserves the best this life has to offer.
“What do you say we go eat in the next town over?” Bryan suggests, and my body tenses immediately.
“Isn’t it too late?” I ask, not thinking straight.
“I wannnnnt to!” Sadie shouts over my question, jumping up and down. “I’ve never been to town.”
He stands up and takes her little hand, walking toward me.
“It’s only ten o’clock and we’re all exhausted and starving,” he reasons, and I bite the inside of my lip.
“Can I get dressed up? Look really pretty?” Sadie asks, her eyes shining with hope. “Yayyyy!” she shouts when Bryan nods.
She runs off again.
“Sorry,” I say, embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to be difficult. It’s just strange to go out at this hour, to have the freedom to come and go.”
“I don’t want to hear you apologizing again.” He holds my chin and the whole room disappears. There are only his intense eyes keeping me captive. “It’s understandable that you’re hesitant, but in a few days you’ll forget the prison you lived in and focus only on the taste of freedom.”
He lowers his face, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips.
“You’re kissing. You’re kissing.” I push him away quickly when I hear the laughing voice return, filling the room and bursting the bubble I’d wrapped myself in with Bryan.
“Weren’t you going to get dressed?” I ask, and I’m sure my whole face is as red as a tomato.
“I came to get auntie to help me.” She points to Greta, who lets out a laugh. “You can go back to kissing Noah, even though that’s gross. Ew,” she declares, making my jaw practically drop to the floor.
“Is it normal for her to be this smart?” he asks, still staring at the empty space since she ran off again.
I let out a laugh because he hasn’t seen anything yet, but before I can respond, a voice cuts through, ripping away any happiness that had filled me.
“Brittany’s funeral will be tomorrow morning,” Dominic, the guy I saw a lot at the Redoubt, says as he throws himself on the couch next to Luke, looking exhausted.
“And someone needs to keep an eye on Travis, because I wouldn’t put it past him to do something stupid,” he finishes, driving the knife deeper into my heart.
“Where is he?” Bryan asks, his concern for his friend visible.
I never realized I knew Brittany’s brother—after all, she never mentioned his name in any of our conversations—but I recognized him as soon as I went looking for her after Dominic said everything was okay.
Travis is very different from the boy who had offered me weed to unwind, and even though I didn’t have much contact with him back then, it hurt so much to see him holding his own sister’s body.
“At the house where he lived with her and their father. He kicked me out with a fucking 9mm pointed at my forehead,” he grumbles, irritated. “But I only left because Lauren showed up and said she’d take care of him.”
“Good. They hate each other, but something tells me if there’s anyone he’ll listen to right now, it’s her,” Bryan comments. “She won’t let him do anything stupid!”
“I hope so, because if he kills himself, I’ll drag him out of hell just to kill him again,” Dominic declares, leaving the room as quickly as he entered.
My appetite vanishes along with him.
“Let’s go out. We need this, our girl needs it after being cooped up in the middle of nowhere for days,” Bryan declares, leaving no room for discussion.
I don’t say that she’s used to being locked up.
I don’t let the words escape because I don’t want that for her anymore.
It’s time for Sadie to fly. To see the world!
And even though my heart is aching over Brittany’s death, I owe this outing and so many others to my daughter.
The car ride took about thirty minutes, and we’ve been sitting around a table for almost an hour now, devouring pizza after pizza.
I’ll admit that at first I was a bit startled by the amount of food Bryan and his security guards put away, but I got used to it quickly—with their size, they definitely need a lot of fuel to stay strong.
The house was empty, and just as we were leaving, another member of the group showed up. Bryan introduced me to Atlas and explained that he doesn't work security but handles the more theoretical side of the company.
Of all of them, he's the most reserved, and his most striking trait is definitely his silence.
“Can I have one more?” the sweet voice asks, and I smile when Bryan says yes. “Thank you, buddy,” she says, and he raises an eyebrow in my direction.
I hear Greta's phone ring, and from the corner of my eye I see Tessa's name glowing on the screen.
Longing grips my chest—it's been months since I've talked to her.
“Hi, my love,” she answers, lowering her head a bit.
“Really?” Her choked voice gives away her emotion, and everyone at the table turns to her.
“We're at Lake pizzeria,” she continues, and my heart races.
“No, I'm not at the mansion, but I can give you the address of where I'll be staying tonight.
A lot has happened and I think it's better to tell you in person, so I'll send you the coordinates by text. I love you.” She hangs up and turns to me.
“Tessa is a few miles from town,” she says with a smile.
“What?” I turn toward Luke, who stares at Greta in disbelief.
“You know her?”
“We were part of the same group,” I answer for him. “Is she coming here?” I ask, changing the subject as my brother-in-law stands up, making the chair scrape against the floor.
No one says anything, but everyone notices that his outburst is because of my friend.
I had no idea something had happened between them.
“Probably not, because she's working, but she said when she's done, she'll come see me,” Greta responds, her voice full of emotion, drawing my attention again. “It's been over a year since I've seen my daughter.”
“That's going to change soon, and I'm so excited to see her too,” I say, hugging her.
Greta asks for the location, and Bryan types the address for her so Tessa can find where we're staying.
We keep eating, and a few minutes later Luke returns to the table looking calmer, though he doesn't talk to anyone—just focuses on his food and the beer he brought back with him.
“Oh my God, look—Tessa's on TV!” I shout, watching my friend give an interview to a journalist. “The Redoubt.” My voice drops and I look for Bryan's eyes.
He looks at me but quickly shifts his attention to the report.
Behind Tessa, the place is completely burned down.
The young reporter asks what happened, if anyone was there, what was going on at the property. Tessa deflects all the questions, responding professionally, saying everything is still under investigation, then walks away.
The camera lingers on her, and I look away, noticing Luke glued to the TV. His fingers squeeze the beer bottle so hard that the glass explodes in his hand, leaving everyone at the table shocked.
He stands up, apologizes, and a waitress quickly appears to clean up the mess. I don't like what I see in my brother-in-law's expression, but I'll wait to find out more about what happened in the past when I'm alone with Bryan.
I turn my attention back to the TV, noticing she's no longer on screen and the news has moved on to another subject, saying they'll have more on the case soon.
“Since when is Tessa a detective?” Bryan asks thoughtfully.
“A year ago.” It's Greta who answers. “And in that short time, she's really made a name for herself,” she adds proudly.
“I completely forgot about that,” I say, having no idea why she was assigned to this case.
“It's good to have another friend involved,” Bryan says, and I nod. “She'll be glad to know everything we found out, and she can help us clean up any mess we left behind.”
“What are you talking about?” Greta asks, confused.
“That's where I was,” I murmur so Sadie won't hear. Her eyes widen. “I'll tell you all the details later.”
“And the night just keeps getting better,” Luke says sarcastically, drawing everyone's attention again. “Our dear mother has been discharged.” He shows his phone to his brother.
“There are people to get her settled in the apartment, and soon we'll head to Vegas,” his brother responds, but his gaze locks on mine.
Vegas.
Las Vegas.
Our city.
Our new beginning!