Haunted (State v. Sefore) (18 page)

“You’re welcome.”

The doorbell rang, and Jakob shot up. “Has to be the pizza. I’m starving.” He turned back to face Noah. “I can’t protect you if they catch you off the couch.”

Chapter Twenty-One

S
unlight slanted into
the living room, casting shadows on the 3-D wall. Stupid shadows. Maddison groaned and pushed off the couch to close the blinds. “Play next episode.” The “downloading from VisEnt” message flashed on the wall before being replaced by
Metro
Seven
’s opening montage.

Noah slumped on the couch. “I still can’t believe you’ve watched every season of this. Don’t you get enough of doctors and nurses during your shifts?”

“That’s why I watch them.” She settled back into his side. “It pokes fun at everything absurd about hospitals. Like the cocky med school interns being instructed by the nurses assisting them. And, it still manages to be medically correct.”

“Oh yes, please save us from an inaccurate depiction,” he muttered.

She jabbed his side. “Nobody’s making you stay, you know.”

“I didn’t say I wanted to leave.”

“Last episode, I promise.” She laid her head on his shoulder.

“Whatever you say.”

His lips brushed her hair, and her eyes slid closed, grateful. He seemed so much better today. She owed Taylor big for letting her use a sick day to stay home and take care of him since he’d had to call in sick himself. Maddison reveled in the peace and quiet. No interruptions, fights, or tension.

Just the knowledge that he’ll be dead soon. And that it’s his brother’s fault.

Tucking her feet up under her, she sighed. “Do you want to talk about it now?”

His whole body stiffened. “No.”

“Noah.” She pulled away enough to look at him. “We need to talk about it. You need to talk about it.”

The muscles in his jaw were taut. “No, I don’t.”

He was like a high-end bank safe. Closed, locked, and impenetrable. The moment she’d gotten angry yesterday, he locked himself away. No, that wasn’t quite right. He’d locked it away. Compartmentalizing better than any man she knew. Maybe they taught that at the Academy too.

A pounding on the door startled her. Noah’s eyes were already trained on the door. “Expecting anyone?”

She shook her head. “Jakob’s with Ethan, and Taylor wouldn’t be pounding.” Worried voices filtered into the house, two female and one male. Not now. She dropped her head on his shoulder. “Maybe they’ll go away.”

He chuckled. “Doesn’t sound like it.”

The voices grew more insistent, proving his point.

“I’m not ready to share you.” It sounded childish, but the calm before the next storm hadn’t lasted as long as she’d wanted it to.

“Come on, they’re worried about you.”

She paused the sitcom. “Fine, but I’m not getting up.”

His arms tightened around her. “I wouldn’t have let you anyway.”

A laugh escaped. She commanded the door to unlock and raised her voice. “It’s open.”

The door burst open. Sophie and Josh elbowed their way in but froze when they spotted her and Noah on the couch. Olivia brushed past her friends and came to sit across from the couch. “Hi, you two.”

Noah’s lips curved up into an indulgent smile. “Hi, Liv.”

Maddison’s head swiveled back to him. “When did you start calling her Liv?”

“Just now. When she brought me breakfast, she told me she expected me to use it the next time we saw each other.”

Gratefulness filled her. For Olivia’s faith in Noah and in her. She locked eyes with Olivia. “Thanks, for everything.”

Olivia brushed her words off, pulling her knees up into the chair to get more comfortable. “I knew you’d come around.”

“Come around?” Josh shouted, startling her and Olivia. Beside her, Noah tensed, but Josh chugged forward, gaining speed. “He comes to town with a liquidator brother following, misleads and hurts her, and then gets her pulled into a fight with his brother, and you think she should ‘come around’?”

Anger rose like a flash flood. She shot to her feet, hands clenched. “First off—”

“First off,” Sophie said, “are you guys okay?” She shot a silencing glare to Josh, who deflated like a helium balloon.

Maddison let Noah tug her back down on the couch but didn’t relax.

“When I signed in this afternoon, everyone asked me if I knew about the fight and recapped it for me. I knew the details had to be exaggerated at this point, but we hadn’t heard from you, and you weren’t there. I worried the entire shift. Maybe we overreacted.”

Noah nudged Maddison, a bump asking her to calm down. She let her shoulders fall. “I’m okay. Noah’s the one with the bruised ribs and sore face.”

Sophie looked over at him. “You’ll be okay?”

He smiled. “I’ll be fine. Thanks for asking.”

“So what’s the real story?” Leave it to Sophie, ever the investigator.

“You know Ralph Emerson?” Maddison waited for confirmation from Sophie, who nodded. “The idiot picked a fight with Daniel. Noah had to get involved, saving Emerson’s skin but riling Daniel in the process. I just rushed in and yelled at Daniel to stop. He did but had already knocked Noah unconscious at that point.” Her last words didn’t hold the uninvolved tone she’d begun with.

Noah squeezed her hand.

Josh glared at Noah. “Serves him right.”

The blood rushed to her face, and she opened her mouth to tell him to get out when Noah responded with a simple, “Yes, it does.”

Josh closed his mouth and dropped into the chair. Placated, but only for a moment. “She could’ve gotten hurt because of you.”

“I got word my brother had someone cornered. I was too focused on defusing the situation to note her arrival. But you’re right—it would’ve been my fault if something had happened to her.”

She shrugged away from Noah, and his self-loathing, and stood glaring at them. “You both are ridiculous jerks.” She fixed Josh in her sights. “You, more than him. Did it ever occur to you that I’m a woman with a brain and self-will? Do you think someone lured me into this fight like a defenseless twit tied to some archaic train tracks?” Behind her, a giggle escaped from Olivia. “I weighed the risk and chose to get involved all by myself. I’m suggesting you quit making Noah the villain in this scenario because we have enough of those already.”

She faced Noah, pointing a finger at him. “Quit trying to take responsibility for me.”

The calm demeanor fell from his face. “Not going to happen. I’m not about to stop protecting you.”

“Then quit trying to stop me from doing the same.” Her hands fell to her sides. “I know you want me to stay out of the way, and I will try to respect that. But I won’t,” stupid tears filled her eyes, “I can’t stand by and watch you die.”

He stood, wincing, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Okay, I hear you.” He pulled her closer. “I hear you.”

But he didn’t make any promises about the future. Her arms slid around his waist, clutching him close.

“So, I guess you two have made up,” Sophie said.

Olivia burst into giggles. “The cuddling on the couch wasn’t clear enough for you? I think your powers of observation are slipping, Soph.”

Sophie threw a pillow at Olivia but laughed as well. Maddison and Noah joined in as they broke apart. Even Josh cracked a smile.

Olivia bounced in her seat. “So, what are we going to do now that we’re here?”

*

Maddison waved at Noah and waited until his car disappeared out of sight before heading over to hers. She didn’t have long before the meeting with Ritchie. She deactivated the locks and slid into her driver’s seat. “Start ignition.”

“Identify destination, please.”

When she’d decoded the message yesterday, the address was one she knew well. The park at her primary school would be deserted at this time of night. Nonetheless, she’d parked a street away. “Two hundred Cedar Birch Way.”

“Destination accepted.” The GPS calculated her route and estimated she’d arrive at 8:58 p.m. Two minutes before the meeting would start. As the car pulled into the street, she glanced back at the house. Neither Taylor nor Jakob stood in the windows. Good. The last thing any of them needed tonight was another fight.

She’d almost decided not to go tonight. With Daniel’s presence in the metro area and the threat of Callista’s surveillance, not to mention Noah’s injuries and revelations. But that’s what made up her mind.

Noah. If they were going to have a prayer of keeping him alive, he needed to get in touch with the resistance. And she could do that. The rest of the plan would come, she knew. But first, she had to make contact with them, and she would. For him.

It was almost like fate.

She looked out at the houses as her car pulled into the neighborhood bordering her old primary school. They were all lit up at this time of night; the people inside going about their normal lives, unaware of the trouble brewing around them. At least most of them were.

Her car slowed down and pulled over to the curb. Across the street, two streetlights lit up a fenced-in basketball court. Several guys bounced a ball between them, but no one made for the hoop. A girl approached the court from the other end. Seven people in all.

8:59 p.m. This was it. She shut the car down.

Don’t.

The admonition sounded like Noah’s. Weird. She reached for the door handle.

Don’t do it. Stay in the car.

Definitely Noah’s voice, but maybe a little deeper? She looked at her vidcom in the center console. The screen was clear. When had her conscience started sounding like Noah?

9:00 p.m.

She didn’t move. The risk suddenly seemed much bigger than her justifications warranted. Noah would be furious with her when he found out. Stupid. Reckless. Impulsive. That’s what this plan had been. No one even knew where she was. She should’ve told him or Jakob. They were supposed to be a team. She had to remember that.

But she was stuck now. If she powered the car on, her headlights would shine toward the court and draw everyone’s attention. So she sat and watched the entire meeting from a street away.

When the meeting ended, everyone scattered. One guy walked straight toward her. He wore a long gray coat with the collar popped up around his neck. As he came closer, he shook blond hair out of his face. His blue eyes met hers. Brandon? His pace stuttered for a second, but he kept on going right past her car.

How had Brandon met Ritchie? And how had he gained an invite into the group in such a short amount of time?

*

Noah closed out of the surveillance program, opened the
Innocent and Uninvolved
file, and typed in the twentieth name: Barbara Whitlock. If only the list in his notebook wasn’t three times as long. He cracked his neck and stretched.

Noah State’s vidcom rang. He glanced at the screen. Callista. He answered anyway.

“Congratulations.” Manic glee danced in her dark brown eyes.

“For what?” He got the feeling he didn’t want to know.

Her smile grew wider, white teeth flashing, like a piranha. “Your tip. We caught them.”

Don’t react. “And?”

“Problem solved.”

And that was why he hadn’t wanted to pass his instinct on to McCray. At noon yesterday, a janitor had walked past him in the cafeteria whistling the childhood jingle, “The Wheels on the Bus.” At four, he heard the same tune out in the hallway while he charted the patient in 204’s blood pressure. By the time he overheard it in the parking lot that night, he had a decent hunch. The resistance hadn’t interfered with anything in the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry, and Transportation yet, and disrupting the public transit buses would get plenty of attention and cause lots of chaos. He only called it in because a bomb anywhere in the public transportation system would mean major casualties.

When no phone call came last night or this morning, he breathed a sigh of relief, assuming he was wrong. “How many?”

“Only three.”

Three lives. He sighed. “Did they have a bomb?”

“Not this time, but the hacker headed straight for the computer mainframe.” She sneered. “They planned a metro area standstill, complete with in-vehicle entertainment. But thanks to you, we were there to stop it. McCray’s ecstatic we got the hacker, bragging to whoever will listen. More importantly, that should cut the head off their organization.”

“Unless they’re like a hydra.”

Callista rolled her eyes. “Please. This is a victory. Quit being such a downer. You need to lighten up. Take a lesson from your brother.”

Pain erupted. Nope. Not going there. He had too much on his plate. He didn’t have time to indulge in what Daniel’s betrayal meant.

Callista tilted her head, and long black curls fell over her shoulder. She licked her lips. “I could come over.”

Shudder. “No. You couldn’t.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Because of Little Miss Class Four?”

Careful, man, be very careful.

“Callista, I’m undercover. I’m not supposed to have any contact with the Elite. If the wrong person were to see you here, it would ruin months of hard work.”

“Daniel can see you.”

“Daniel’s my brother. You know that’s different.”

She huffed. “Sure. Fine. Whatever. I’ll just go celebrate with the rest of the team then.”

“Sounds good.” He forced a smile. “Have a good night, Callista.”

She gave him a small smile in return. “Night, Noah.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

H
e lounged against
the hotel wall. Like an angsty teen idol, complete with dark look and leather jacket. Maddison quickened her pace toward him. “What are you doing here?”

His eyes danced. “I’m here to see my baby brother. Maybe take him out for a bite.”

“What are you up to, Daniel?” She stood in front of him, arm cocked on her hip.

He threw his hands up. “Oh, alright, you caught me. I’m really here to snag his keys. Got a hot date tonight and need a car for the evening.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re here to pick another fight, aren’t you?”

He stood up, leaning forward inches from her face. “You should go inside and wait for your boyfriend.”

That stupid smirk of his ticked her off. After everything he’d done. Enough was enough. “No.”

“Go inside, Maddison.”

“What’s your plan? You want to add to his three bruised ribs, black eye, and concussion? Maybe do some permanent damage this time? Damage a kidney, break those ribs, and leave him in a coma?”

Something worked in his jaw. “You. Need. To. Leave.”

“Why? Does it make you uncomfortable to be called on the pain you’ve inflicted on your own brother?”

“Stay out of it. You don’t know all of the circumstances, and you could get hurt.”

Like Noah?

“Oh, but I know enough. You make his life miserable because you can’t stand to be miserable by yourself. For a while, watching him clean up your messes filled that sick need, but something’s changed. Now you have to play with his head and knock him around too. Sound about right?” She might not have any physical advantages, but she had perfected the withering glare and steel-laced tone over the years. “What, it wasn’t enough that you condemned him to a life he hates? It’s not enough that they are going to kill him because of you?”

“What did you say?” His tone was ice.

She cursed herself. Noah hadn’t wanted him to know.

Noah turned the building’s corner. Maddison and Daniel stood toe to toe in front of him. A crack split the veneer inside him. “What’s going on?” He fixed his brother with a warning stare.

“Your little girlfriend,” Daniel spat the last word, “seems to think someone’s going to kill you and it’s all my fault.”

Well, she’d be right. Noah’s hands curled into fists. “Maddison, get in my car.” For once, she didn’t argue but headed around the corner where he’d parked.

“Obedient little thing, isn’t she?”

Noah growled. “You. Shut up.”

Daniel took a step forward. “What was she talking about?”

“Did you get me placed in Class One?” Adrenaline pulsed through his veins. Part of him catalogued the fact that there was no one within twenty yards of them. No one to see him use his full strength. Another part noted the gravel scattering the pavement—he’d have to move with that in mind.

Daniel frowned. “What?”

“You heard me.” He stared Daniel down.

“Noah—”

“Ryan tells me someone fixed my file. If you want my ‘gratitude,’ you’ll have to ’fess up to it.”

“Says the shortsighted kid who thought fixing his own scores was a smart idea. Class Three? Please. I saved you.”

He would’ve been Class Three? It had worked? His right fist flew out and connected with Daniel’s face. Daniel stumbled back. Noah advanced. Left hook. Right hook. An uppercut with his left. Daniel hit the ground. Noah reached out and grabbed Daniel’s shirt collar, pulled him up, and hit him again. Once more.

Daniel kicked Noah away, using all his body weight. Noah landed several feet away. They both shot to their feet, circled each other. He and the brother who was the cause of every single minute of panic and regret in the last two years. The brother he’d defended and made excuses for. He jabbed. Daniel ducked away.

Daniel spat a mouthful of blood on the ground. “Only you would be angry making millions of dollars a year and having unlimited power.”

Noah lunged, his shoulder connecting with Daniel’s midsection. They both went down, but years of wrestling training gave Noah the position of strength. “And the cost was just my soul.” He landed a right hook.

Daniel used Noah’s momentum against him, rolling them over. His face drained of emotion. His hand closed around Noah’s windpipe. “I’ve been enhanced longer than you.”

“Well, I’m angrier.” He reached up and grabbed Daniel’s hand, twisting and applying enough pressure to snap bones, then head-butted him, knocking Daniel off.

Noah sat up on his knees, leaned back. “Get out of my life.” He delivered the final blow, exactly on target. Daniel lost consciousness.

He stood. Brushed himself off. Walked away.

*

“Hey, Seforé, wait a minute.”

Evidently, his shower and evening plans would have to wait until he dealt with whatever John Henderson wanted. He about-faced and made eye contact with the towering man.

Henderson’s mouth scrunched in disgust. “I don’t much like you.”

“Feeling’s mutual then.”

The man huffed, staring at the ground. “Well, don’t change much, but what you did the other day … it was alright.”

“Noted.” Did Henderson consider that an olive branch?

Fierce brown eyes locked with his. “Don’t make it easy for a man to own up, do you?”

Noah crossed his arms.

“I might’ve been wrong ’bout you. If you’d step in to help somebody you don’t even know, you can’t be that bad.”

Noah let his arms fall to his sides. The man’s demeanor irritated, but his intention seemed sincere. “I appreciate that.”

“You run interference with your brother before?”

“More times than I’d like.”

“He always beat you unconscious?”

Noah raised an eyebrow.

Henderson’s eyes flickered around the desolate parking lot before locking gazes with Noah for the first time. “You have problems with all liquidators or just him?”

“Daniel is the least of my problems.”

Henderson nodded once. His frown evened out. “Reckon Lynn read you right after all. You open to meeting some people?”

“Anytime.”

“Okay, then.” Henderson turned and sauntered away without a backward glance.

Something had finally gone in his favor. Why did it make his stomach churn?

*

Maddison opened the door to a frowning Noah. The pointer finger on his right hand tapped against his pant leg. What had happened at the hospital today? “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Noah shut the door behind him. “Doesn’t matter. Tonight I want to be normal: carry some dusty boxes down from the attic, put up your Christmas tree, and drink some coffee.”

“I think we can do that. Wanna start with the coffee and some ginger snaps?”

His posture relaxed. “Yes, ma’am.”

Once in the kitchen, she grabbed a clean mug from the dishwasher, filled it with coffee, then turned to face him. He leaned against the island, staring. Heat filled her face.

She held the mug out, and he took it, placing it on the counter beside him. His other hand encircled her wrist, pulling her into his arms. She rested her head against his chest.

“I missed you today,” he whispered.

“Is that what brought this on?”

“Are you complaining?”

“Nope. Just making an observation.”

He pulled her closer and buried a hand in her hair. “You smell like cinnamon and oranges.”

“It’s the orange cranberry muffins I made earlier.”

His head dropped down again, and he kissed her, his hand cradling the back of her neck and tilting her head to the side. His lips met hers at this new angle, and he deepened the pressure of his kiss. Warmth spread through her, and she leaned against him, grateful for the arm around her waist keeping her upright. When he drew back, he smiled, his fingers trailing along her jaw. “Taste like them too.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You complaining?”

He swept down and captured her lips again. “Making an observation of my own. Where is everybody?”

“Taylor took Jakob and Ethan to a baseball game for his birthday.” She fingered a button on his shirt.

The smile fell off his face, and his arms slacked. “Did he say anything when he got home last night?”

Before she could answer, the front door clicked open. Taylor entered the kitchen first, arms loaded down with takeout bags. “Jakob wanted Thai, so we picked some up on the way home.”

Jakob shuffled in a minute later, anxiety written on his face. “Do we have any coffee? I’m going to need some with dinner if you guys are going to boss Noah and me around all night.”

Noah picked up his cup and handed it off. “Here. I haven’t touched this. You start on it, and I’ll pour another cup.”

Jakob gulped some down and made a horrible face. “That’s awful. Didn’t you put anything in it?”

Noah laughed, shook his head. Maddison pulled the sugar container from the countertop and passed it to Jakob with a spoon. Taylor busied herself by sticking serving utensils in the containers she set on the island.

“Hey, why isn’t there Christmas music on yet?” Jakob wandered off to the living room and the sound system.

Maddison took a step to follow him, but Noah laid a hand on her arm. “I don’t think he wants to talk about it yet. He will, when he’s ready.”

Taylor nodded. “You’re right. When Ethan ribbed him today, he always changed the subject. It’ll do him no good to talk about it now anyway.” She piled a plate with food and handed it to Noah before starting another. “So, let’s get cracking on those Christmas decorations.”

Maddison giggled. “Cracking?”

“Oh shut up,” Taylor said. Strains of “White Christmas” filtered through the house.

“Are you guys eating without me?” Jakob poked his head back in and grabbed the plate being passed between Taylor and Maddison.

“Hey, get your own.” Maddison tried to snatch it back. No luck.

“I thought I did.” He gave her a cheeky grin and headed back into the living room. “Hey, Noah, you do know there are twenty-three boxes of decorations, right?”

“Is he being serious?”

Maddison pushed him toward the living room. “Of course not, it’s just nineteen.”

Noah groaned, but his eyes twinkled. Taylor followed them in with a tray stacked full of mugs, the coffee pot, a plate of cookies, and her own dinner. She sat down and addressed Noah. “What is your favorite part of Christmas?”

He put down his plate. A moment later, his adorable lopsided smile appeared.

“Every Christmas Eve, Mom would bundle us up in coats and blankets and give us huge steaming cups of cider. Then Dad would drive us around the historic district to look at all the houses lit up and decorated for Christmas. We had the heater on full blast and the windows rolled down so we could smell the fresh pine and hear the carols blaring from a house on the corner.” He shook his head, a wistful look on his face. “My dad always tried to make it educational, spouting off about the historic nature of each house, but at some point, my mom would shush him and weave her arm through his.

“The last year we went, I was thirteen. Daniel was …” He sank back into the couch. “Well, it was a long time ago.”

Maddison reached over and squeezed his hand. He was so far from okay.

“Would you mind …” Taylor tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Her eyes darted around the room. “Re-creating your tradition with us this year? It wouldn’t be the same, I know, but our historic district does the same thing. We’d love for you to celebrate with us and include some of your traditions with ours.”

Maddison felt emotion creep up her throat. For Noah, who would’ve celebrated Christmas without anyone for the last four years, unless Daniel decided to crash his party of course. For her aunt, for making such an effort to include him as a permanent part of their little family.

Noah cleared his throat. “I’d like that.”

“Great.” Taylor brushed her hands off on her pants and stood. “I expect you to join us for all of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as well.” She headed for the kitchen.

Noah stared after Taylor. “Did she…?”

Maddison nodded.

He looked back and forth between Jakob and her in a daze. “Okay then.”

Jakob bounced up. “How about we start moving those boxes?”

Noah’s smile returned. “Lead the way.”