Haunted (State v. Sefore) (10 page)

Chapter Twelve

P
ushing the door
open, Noah frowned. No lights meant no Daniel. He did not want to hunt down his brother. He let the door slide shut behind him and shuffled toward the bed. Shrugging out of his leather coat, he sank down on the bed and pulled out his vidcom.

“You do know you can’t create a new life for yourself, right? It doesn’t work that way.” The voice came from the darkest corner of the room.

“Light on.” He looked over his shoulder. Daniel lounged in the armchair. He spiraled a book in his hands. Noah grimaced. “Well, aren’t you going for dark and sinister.”

Daniel quirked an eyebrow. “Did I achieve it? I’ve been practicing. I did have hours on my hands while I waited after all.”

“Cut it out.”

“You first.” He sat up, elbows on his knees.

Noah stood and leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the room. “What kind of act do you think I’m pulling?”

“Oh, you know, innocent Southern boy working a regular job while wooing the equivalent of his secondary school sweetheart. She will find out what you are. Pretending you aren’t a liquidator doesn’t change anything.”

“Why are you here, Daniel?”

“I hadn’t seen you in a couple months. I was curious what kept you away. I’m guessing I know now.”

Noah crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “Not as much fun to cause trouble when I’m not there to lecture you about it?”

Daniel sat back, relaxed. “No one ever declared you my chaperone, least of all me. You’re the one who feels duty bound to hold me to your moral code.”

“You kill people for looking at you the wrong way when I’m not around. What else do you expect me to do? If I don’t follow you around, people die.”

“That’s a given.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

Daniel threw his hands into the air. “Yes, it does. I’m a liquidator. Like it or not, you are too. And no amount of whitewashing or guilt tripping is going to change it. We kill people. It’s who we are. And if you don’t accept that, you’ll have to clean up more messes.”

“No, I won’t.”

“Right, because giving people second chances has worked out so well for you in the last year.”

Blonde cherubic faces flashed before Noah’s eyes again. Then the face of the offender, still defiant, when Noah apprehended and liquidated him later.

Daniel stood and strode toward Noah. “But when you do your job right, the rest of the world is a safer place. CNW and CSW were definitely safer.”

More faces. Rapist. Murderer. Drunk driver. All but one faded away when he blinked. The fifteen-year-old’s blue eyes were hard to shake.

“And where has this moral code gotten you? You torture yourself for actions that had to be taken. You put yourself in unnecessary danger to give everyone else the benefit of the doubt. You’re scraping by on what’s left of Mom and Dad’s insurance settlement because you hand over your salary to the families of your,” he inserted air quotes around the next word, “victims to assuage your guilt. Do you feel better? No.” He jabbed a finger in Noah’s chest. “You have got to accept it—the Elite have deemed you worthy for this responsibility. Do your job.”

Noah pushed Daniel’s hand away. “The whole system is flawed. Justice without accountability is flippant retribution.”

“Thinking like that is going to get you executed. Do you want to die?” Daniel sank back onto the bed. “Don’t answer that question.”

“I’m never going to be like you.”

“So you’ve decided to be someone else altogether? It won’t work. Sooner or later, you’ll run into someone who knows who you are. And that’s best-case scenario. You can’t go off grid. Harrow and McCray will be looking for you.”

“No, they won’t. I’m here under orders.”

“How so?”

Noah sat in the desk chair. “You can’t play around with what I’m going to tell you.” He waited for Daniel’s response. The mocking nod would have to be good enough. “I’m undercover by Harrow’s recommendation. There are rumblings about a rebellion, but no one wanted to be rash.” Another pause to shoot Daniel a pointed look. “So for now, I’m Noah Seforé, CNA at MA-4D. And that’s all anyone can know if I’m going to be able to make contact with this resistance.”

“Go on.”

“Our history is the same, except I didn’t go to the Academy, of course. I lived in Coastal South West MA-6 for the last two years and worked at a hospital there.”

“And Maddison is part of your cover?”

He shook his head. “No. I don’t want her involved.”

“Don’t be an idiot. Of course, she’s involved.” He held up a hand to stop Noah’s interruption. “I talked to Callista earlier. I mention it for the second time today because the crazy stalker had some interesting info to share. Tell me you aren’t completely stupid and you know they were watching you?”

“I know.”
But thanks for letting them know that, brother.

“They aren’t listening now. Since I’m here. Respecting my privacy and all, so you know, you’re welcome.”

Noah almost rolled his eyes but didn’t want to give Daniel the pleasure of a reaction. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, waiting for Daniel to meander around to wherever he was going with this topic.

Daniel kicked Noah’s chair and cursed. “Would you show half as much concern for your own life as you do everyone else’s? They gave you this mission, which probably came with a very specific incentive.”

No way was he sharing the deadline with Daniel. Things would go sideways if he knew.

“Fine, don’t tell me. Callista didn’t know what it was either. But they gave you this mission, and they had a team of people watching your every move. You’d better stop playing house and find that resistance.”

“I’m working on it.”

“Well, work faster. You have the Regional Liquidator’s Office breathing down your neck. You’d better not be getting any ideas. This martyr complex of yours makes me want to kill you.”

Noah smirked. “That would be a little counterproductive, don’t you think?”

Daniel growled. His eyes narrowed. “Callista knows about her, which means McCray does as well. I put in a good word for you with Callista, but when she calls next, you’d better take that call and you’d better lie about Maddison being a part of your cover. If things go wrong—”

Noah’s muscles tightened from his shoulders to his toes, ready to attack. “They won’t.”

“If things go wrong, people will target her to get to you. I should know—it’s what I would do.”

“No one is going to hurt her. Not you. Not Callista. Not anybody.” Still, he ran through protection details in his head. “Are you staying?”

“You clearly need me to.” Daniel walked over to look out the dark window. “McCray seems to think I could be useful as well.”

“Care to explain why, if you knew about me being undercover, you needed to give me the ‘You can’t start a new life’ speech?”

“It’s clear you’re involved with this girl, Noah, and I know you. I needed to make sure you plan to follow through with your objective.” He faced Noah, deadly serious. “Don’t forget—they won’t let you go.”

“Believe me, I know. It’s burned into my brain … and my shoulder.”

“Good. You hungry? I’m in the mood for Chinese.”

Noah blocked the exit. “We need to go over some ground rules.”

Daniel sighed and fell back onto the bed. “Here we go.”

“I’m serious.”

“Noted.”

“First off, you will not seek out Maddison, her family, or her friends. I assume you already know who those people are, since you’ve been so busy this afternoon. You will not involve them in any games you intend to play. They are off limits. Understood?”

“Fine.” Daniel stood. “Can we go eat?”

“I’m not done.” Noah crossed his arms.

Daniel groaned. “Of course you’re not.”

“I won’t tolerate unnecessary trouble here. I already have my hands full looking for this resistance without keeping you on the straight and narrow. If you expect to spend any time with me, you will not terrorize people, guilt them into being extra nice to you, or punish someone beyond their offense. Got it?”

“I understand your position. Now, dinner?”

Noah shook his head, his hands falling to his sides. He leaned over and grabbed his jacket. “We can do dinner a couple of blocks over, if you’re on your best behavior.”

Daniel brushed by him with a smile. “Well, of course, I would never cast a poor reflection on my sainted younger brother. Besides, I’m very good at following orders.”

“Since when?”

“You’re not the only one giving them.” He strutted into the hallway.

Noah froze. “Why did McCray think you’d be useful here?”

Daniel leaned back into the doorway. “Well, for one, he could pull the surveillance team off you, since I would be here to keep tabs and check in with them. You’re welcome again for that by the way. Except I make no promises about Psycho Stalker. She may continue on her own time. As for the other reasons?” His eyes lit up. “I’m not authorized to read you in.”

Noah swallowed the acid in his throat.

“Come on, Mr. Furrowed Brow, what’s the worst I could do?” Daniel winked.

Chapter Thirteen

M
addison twirled from
the oven to the island, making room for the pan of cookies on an already overcrowded counter. After setting them down, she closed the oven door and adjusted the temperature to 325 degrees. Pies would be next. Apple or cherry?

Olivia walked into the kitchen and skidded to a stop. She held her hands up as though she approached a skittish animal. “Put down the oven mitts and step away from the pie crust.”

Sophie barreled in behind her. “I came as soon as I got Jakob’s text. What’s wrong?” She surveyed the damage and let out a long “oh.”

“What are you guys doing here?” Maddison cocked her head. “Wait, did you say Jakob texted you? I haven’t seen him all day.”

Sophie nodded. “He was worried. I can see why.”

Olivia spread her arms wide over the counters. “You have enough food here to feed the whole school. Cookies, cupcakes, wait, is that a chocolate torte?”

“The bake sale is Sunday. I promised to help out.” Maddison scrubbed a spot of melted chocolate off the counter.

“You promised them five dozen cookies. This is enough food for the entire sale.” Sophie took a step closer. “What happened?”

“Do you guys want some scones?” She turned to grab plates out of the cabinet.

Sophie laid a hand on her shoulder. “Maddie, talk to us. What’s going on?” She led Maddison to the kitchen table. Olivia put a kettle on to boil, pulling mugs and tea bags out of the pantry and laying them beside the stove before joining the other two.

“Noah’s brother is in town.” The spidery feeling crept up and down her spine again. Daniel State was a dangerous man. A dangerous man like the one who’d killed her parents and taunted her with the news.

“And …” Sophie prompted.

“He’s very different than Noah.” She couldn’t seem to force the words past her throat.

Olivia lunged forward, conducting her words with an outstretched finger. “In looks? In personality? Wait, is he cute?”

Maddison chuckled despite herself. The tension in her shoulders eased. “He’s all shaggy midnight black hair, light blue eyes, and cocky smirk. He moves like a predator. Not like Noah at all.” Noah controlled his power, every shift of his body deliberate.

“Sounds hot.” Olivia stood and made her way over to the whistling teapot, turning the stove off and pouring the water over the peppermint tea bags.

Sophie shot her a look.

Olivia shrugged. “What? Aren’t you curious after meeting Noah? I mean, he’s an unreal kind of hot. You don’t think those people exist outside of an airbrushed magazine. Be honest, didn’t you lose your breath a little when she introduced him to us?”

Sophie’s glare grew deeper. “Would you be serious—”

“Anyway, it’s logical I’d be interested in whether or not his hotness is a family trait.” Turning the mug handles in on each other, Olivia carried them over and sat one down in front of each girl.

“He’s not your type, Liv.” Maddison wrapped her hands around the steaming mug, willing the warmth to seep into her as well. “He’s a liquidator.”

The other girls froze. “Oh, Maddie.” Sophie sighed.

“Daniel, that’s his name, came striding into the restaurant in all black, looking for his next victim. When he fixed his gaze on Noah, for a second, I thought …” Her voice broke. Sophie’s hand settled on her own. Maddison raised her eyes. “He’s my worst nightmare come to life.” A sob escaped her.

Olivia pushed a napkin into her hands and put an arm around her. “I’m sorry.”

Daniel’s narrowing gaze from Wednesday flashed before her again. What if Noah couldn’t contain him? What if trying made Daniel angry? He wouldn’t liquidate his own brother, right? Anxiety, like a pair of steel hands, pressed against her throat. She couldn’t breathe.

Stop panicking! Noah said he could handle it. He told you Daniel wouldn’t hurt him. You have to trust him
. The hands released her. Oxygen flooded into her lungs. Trust Noah. Okay, she could do that. She took one more shaky breath.
It’s going to be okay. It is
. She wiped her eyes and gave the girls a small smile. “Turns out he just likes to make Noah’s life a nightmare.”

Sophie squeezed her hand. “Is he a threat to Noah? Or you?”

“Noah doesn’t think so.”

“And Noah’ll make sure you’re safe.” It never took long for Olivia to find the bright side.

“Yes, he will.”
Even if I did reach out to Ritchie
.

“So what brought on the baking therapy?” Sophie nodded toward the island.

Maddison’s eyes dropped to her clasped hands. “It shouldn’t matter. It doesn’t change things between Noah and me. But meeting Daniel, it muddles my feelings. Makes me want to distance myself.”

“What do you mean?” Sophie asked.

“Daniel’s so much like …
him
. I looked into Daniel’s eyes and saw the same disregard for human life. The helplessness I felt, it’s right here under the surface. I couldn’t stop it then, and I can’t stop it now. Daniel could kill someone I love because they look at him the wrong way. And I’d have to stand by and watch it … again.” The sobs returned with a vengeance. “I couldn’t stop it. They were just gone, and I couldn’t save them. It didn’t matter that I hid the novel. It didn’t matter because they were already dead.”

A chair scraped across the hardwood floor, and Olivia’s arms encircled her. Sophie’s hand squeezed her shoulder, and she mumbled soft phrases in Spanish, unintelligible yet comforting somehow.

When the tears began to abate, Maddison sniffed back the final set and leaned back in her friends’ arms. “I’ve been lying to myself—because the local liquidators haven’t given me a second glance—telling myself it couldn’t happen again. I’d forgotten how terrifying it is to be caught in a liquidator’s sights, but Daniel … nothing’s changed.”

What if Daniel found out about Ritchie, about the resistance? Her throat tightened again.

“Not true.” Sophie shook her head as she and Olivia stepped back. “Noah’s part of the equation, and he can stop his brother.”

“But not all of them.”
What have I done?
“Noah could get himself killed. I saw it in my dreams last night, and the one before. I don’t think … I can’t watch that happen in real life.”

“What does he say about all of this?”

“We haven’t talked about it.” Her eyes dropped to the table. The wood grain ridged under her fingers. “I haven’t talked to him since Wednesday night. I can’t. It’s too much.”

Sophie reached over and grabbed Maddison’s vidcom off the counter. “Call him. He needs to know.”

“I will. I just want some more time to process.”

“Not alone. Soph and I are here if you need to talk about this, any time.” Olivia smiled. “We’ll even serve as your human buffers so you don’t have to interact with Daniel. But no more dwelling on your fears, and Soph is right, you need to be honest with Noah.”

Sophie stared her down. “We won’t leave tonight until you’ve set up a time to meet him.”

Maddison held her hand out for her com. “Fine.”

“We’ll pick out a movie in case he can’t come over right now.”

Maddison nodded her thanks and waited until the girls wandered into the den before she gave the “Call Noah” command.
Forgive me, Noah, please.
Seconds later, his concerned face popped up on her screen.

Her tear-stained face made something clench in his gut. He raced toward his car. He had wanted to give her space if she needed it. Clearly, that had been the wrong decision. “Maddison.”

“We need to … I need to see you.”

He took the steps three at a time. “I’m coming.”

The corners of her mouth rose, and with an “okay,” she disconnected. Noah quickened his pace. Should he be slower? He couldn’t care less. Within minutes, he backed out of the parking lot and sped toward her door. He’d spent most of yesterday following Daniel around, thanks to his brother’s insistence that they spend the weekend together. Noah quit arguing once Daniel told him that he’d already called the hospital and “politely requested Noah be granted leave.” Daniel had been almost gleeful, and nothing good ever came of him smiling. Noah watched as Daniel set himself up in the penthouse at the best hotel in the area, bumping a local business mogul from the room in the process.

The livid man made his displeasure apparent to Daniel, who pinned the younger man against a wall by his neck seconds later. Noah pried Daniel away before any permanent damage could be done, and by the time Daniel had thrown him off, the young man had disappeared. Smart enough to know when to run for his life.

Daniel seemed determined to make his presence in MA-4 well known and documented. By the time Noah returned home, he fell onto the bed exhausted and disappointed that he hadn’t seen Maddison’s face, in person or over the com, all day. So much for a happy Thanksgiving.

He’d woken up today and rid his body of the tension by running three times his normal route. He’d considered calling her after breakfast, but he wanted to give her space. So he fumbled his way through the day, running surveillance on Nurse Walker’s acquaintances.

He pulled into the last space in the driveway. Next time, he’d pay more attention to his instincts.

As if on cue, Sophie and Olivia exited the front door, loaded down with containers and plastic bags. He stepped out of the car and made quick strides to where Maddison waited, silhouetted by the lights inside. Sophie repeated Olivia’s goodbye and he nodded at them, not slowing his pace. He stepped over the threshold, shut the door behind him, and met her eyes.

The pain there echoed in him, and he pulled her into his arms, cradling her head in one hand. She clung to him and let out a tiny sob.

“What is it?” Whatever it was, he’d make it right.

She pulled back and took his hand, leading them both to the couch. She sat across from him, folded into the corner with her arms around her knees. “It’s Daniel.”

His blood ran cold. “What did he do?”

“He didn’t do anything, well, I mean … it’s what he represents.” She dropped her eyes. “Seeing him, thinking he might hurt you … He’s too much like the man … who killed my parents.”

Her gaze shot back up, apologizing for the connection. But he understood. When she told him about the man who’d toyed with her after killing her parents, the description had sounded eerily like his brother.

“I couldn’t stop him, Noah. I couldn’t do anything to save them, and Daniel, his presence, makes clear what’s always been true. I could lose the people I love any day of the week, and there’s nothing I could do to stop it.”

His eyes slid shut. He couldn’t give her what she wanted, but he could try to assuage the pain in her voice. Opening his eyes, he moved closer on the couch and took one of her hands in his own. “I can’t promise you’ll never lose someone you love, but I will promise it won’t be at Daniel’s hands. And I’ll do everything I can to keep it from happening at anyone else’s.”

Her grip on his hand grew fiercer. “That’s part of the problem.”

“What do you mean?”

A slight blush filled her cheeks, and she fought to keep her gaze on his. “I watched you die in my dreams the last two nights. Over and over again. The scenarios and liquidators changed, but in every one, you died protecting me or someone I love. And in every one, they made me watch.” She shuddered. “I’ll never get those images out of my head. Don’t you see? You’ve become one of the people I can’t lose.”

He couldn’t hold back a groan, pulling her into his arms. “You aren’t going to lose me. You can’t lose me.” He’d make it true. Somehow.

“You don’t know that.” She mumbled into his shoulder. “You’re not as strong as them. I’ve seen what they can do.”

The guilt rose hard and fast. He should’ve been honest with her the day Daniel arrived. At least then, she wouldn’t have been tortured by the idea of him getting hurt. Her eyes wouldn’t be rimmed with dark circles.

He couldn’t leave her in the dark anymore. Keeping the truth from her had hurt her. He’d been fooling himself to think she’d only be in danger if she knew. Daniel was right—now that Noah had involved her, they were both standing on the edge of a cliff. She deserved to know. She’d be less likely to lose her balance if she had all the facts.

He’d been selfish for too long. That’s what it all came down to anyway, and he couldn’t rationalize it away now, not after seeing the pain the last two days had caused.

He swallowed and shifted away from her. “Come with me. Leave your vidcom here.” He laid his on the coffee table.

She gave him a questioning look but complied. He stood up and led her by the hand into the kitchen. The oven fan hummed in the background. Good, that would muffle their conversation even more. He sat them on the far side of the room.

“Noah, what’s going on?”

He licked his lips. “What if I was as strong as Daniel?”

“What are you talking about?”

Man up and tell her, but be smart about it. “I need you to promise to keep secret what I’m about to tell you. You can react however you want, but I can’t keep you safe from the Elite if you tell anyone.”

“Noah, you’re scaring me.” Maddison ran a shaky hand through her hair.

“Promise me first.” The churning in his stomach picked up speed.

“I promise.”

The words slipped out of her mouth without pause. It stung. She had no idea he’d deceived her. He forced his mouth open. “I said before that I know how to pick my battles. It’s true. I learned how to. Because I’m a liquidator.”

The silence that followed was its own explosion, the wreckage written on her face, in her body language. Something died in her gaze. Then, “No, you can’t be. You’re Noah. You can’t be.”

“It’s true. I’m in the area undercover.”

Maddison shut her mouth, eyes hardening with betrayal and hurt, and he braced for the aftershock. “You lied to me. From the moment we met, you’ve been lying. Knowing how I felt about liquidators, knowing my history.” She whispered, but the words shot through him with vicious force. “What else don’t I know? What’s true about you?” Her volume grew. “Does Noah
State
have a girlfriend? Is that who Callista is?”

“No.” The word was as vehement as he felt. The idea of being with anyone else but Maddison made him cold. “Callista is a liquidator. I met her at the Academy, but I want nothing to do with her, never have. She can’t, or won’t, take the hint.”