Haunted (State v. Sefore) (22 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

M
addison turned to
the cabinet to pull out some cinnamon, catching Noah’s gaze as she did. “I’m beginning to believe making snickerdoodles is a ruse. Admit it—you just wanted an excuse to stare at me.”

His smile widened, mirth dancing in his eyes. “Would that be so bad?” he asked, sitting on the kitchen counter.

She laughed. “No, but you could ’fess up to it.” She mixed the cinnamon and sugar to dust over the cookie dough.

“Where’s the fun in that?” He made a grab for her sleeve when she passed him on the way to the sink. She let herself be caught. He drew her into his arms. “You smell nice.” He dipped his head down to capture a quick kiss.

She melted into his embrace, grateful for a moment of peace. Taking in a deep breath, she savored his cedar and peppermint scent. “You don’t smell so bad yourself.”

“How’re your bruises today?” He fingered the collar of her sage turtleneck.

Pulling the collar down, she showed him. “Almost gone. By tomorrow, I’ll be back in my scalloped neck tops. So no frowning, okay?”

“A week’s a long time to carry bruises like that. Makes me worry about tissue damage.”

“You sound like an actual hospital employee.” She smiled. “It’s fine. I promise.”

He nodded, but the furrows on his brow didn’t disappear. He brushed an errant strand of hair behind her ear.

She cupped his face in her hands. “No worrying tonight, remember? Callista’s gone. I feel fine. Daniel hasn’t caused any, well much, trouble, in the last week. And McCray’s been so busy ranting about how the resistance got to Callista, his team hasn’t been working on recreating that list. Let’s enjoy the brief reprieve we have, okay?”

“Okay.” He kissed her forehead.

“Help me roll this dough, so we can get the cookies in the oven before everyone arrives.” She hit his knee to get him moving off the counter and over to the island where the pans and sugar mixture waited.

He smiled, coming over and rolling up his sleeves. She had to focus on the cookie dough to keep from staring at the corded muscles of his forearms. Thinking about them caused her to blush and bite her lower lip.

“You can stare too, you know.” He winked.

A laugh bubbled up and out of her, and she swatted at him with a towel. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She pointed at the bowl filled with snowy, sticky dough. “Roll.”

He saluted and went to work. He formed the balls, and she rolled them in cinnamon sugar, placing them on the cookie sheets. Working in tandem, they finished in a matter of minutes; the sounds of AnnMarie Michaels’ crooning filled the house. She slid a full pan into the oven and turned around to begin cleaning up the mess. Noah leaned over to kiss her cheek. “You’ve got cinnamon on your cheek.”

“Thanks for the heads up.” As she washed her hands off, she caught her reflection in the window over the sink. The doorbell rang. “Would you let whoever that is in while I clean up real quick?”

He headed for the door. “Don’t be long.”

She dashed to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face and twist her hair back into the loose braid she’d fashioned earlier. She grinned at her reflection in the mirror. Tonight’s carefree Noah made her happier than she could put into words. She imagined it was the way he would act if they lived in a world with no Elite or liquidators. She’d never see enough of this Noah.

When she reentered the kitchen, Noah leaned against the island while Olivia pulled out napkins and Sophie programmed the coffee maker.

“Do you want some?” Sophie glanced her way.

“Nope. I’ll be up all night if I do.”

Sophie nodded and hit the start button. Maddison had never said yes. Still Sophie never failed to ask. Seconds later, the smell of brewing coffee mingled with the vanilla and cinnamon scents wafting from the oven. The timer dinged, and Maddison pulled the first pan of cookies out while slipping a second in. Jakob and Josh filtered into the kitchen, right on cue.

“So what’s on the agenda tonight?” Jakob grabbed a cookie off the hot sheet, cradling it in his hand so it wouldn’t break. Josh snatched one as well, throwing it in his mouth and drifting to Sophie’s side.

“How you two manage that without burning your fingers or the roof of your mouth astounds me.” Maddison leaned against Noah’s side.

“The burn’s worth it,” Jakob said around a mouthful of cookie while Olivia transferred the remaining cookies to a cooling rack.

Sophie poured steaming mugs of coffee. “What are we doing tonight?”

“Well.” Olivia smiled. “It was my turn to choose the movie.”

Josh groaned, and she shot him a look.

“And I did take into account the guys’ feelings about my touchy-feely, artsy movies, as they’ve labeled them.”

“So, what is it?” Maddison snagged two cookies and handed one off to Noah.

“I chose …” Olivia paused, drawing everyone closer with a raised eyebrow. “
Inception
. Remake of a classic.”

“Perfect,” Noah said, earning him beaming approval from Olivia. Jakob agreed, and Josh shrugged.

Weird. Three weeks ago, Josh wouldn’t have admitted to agreeing with Noah on anything. Maddison took another look at her friend, who leaned against the island, holding his coffee cup in his left hand. Wait. He was right-handed.

Her eyes flew to the other side, expecting an injury. Shock rippled through her. His right hand was intertwined with Sophie’s.

“When did that happen?” Maddison pointed at the clasped hands.

All conversation stopped. A slight red color crept up Josh’s neck. He opened and closed his mouth without words, looking very much like a fish.

“New Year’s Eve.” Sophie’s answer was bland enough, but her shoulders stiffened. “We’ll talk about it later. Back to the movie, isn’t it the intellectual mystery with the artsy twist? By the director you adore?” She hadn’t understood the last two movies by this director and evidently didn’t want to spend another evening watching a movie without a clear storyline.

Who cared? How had Sophie and Josh gotten together? Did Sophie’s parents know? And why hadn’t anybody told her?

“It has Michael Hudson in it.” Olivia smirked.

“We’re in,” Maddison and Sophie answered.

“Keep in mind that I’m sitting right beside you as you watch.” Noah’s lips brushed her earlobe, sending a shiver down her spine.

She stuttered out an okay, all thoughts banished from her head. Heat crept up her neck and face, earning a chuckle from Noah and stares from everyone else.

The timer began beeping again. Thank goodness. She grabbed the second pan out of the oven and set it on the cooling rack. Jakob pulled the milk from the fridge, filling the glasses Olivia put on the counter. Everyone filled napkins with handfuls of the hot, spicy-smelling cookies and grabbed their milk or coffee before heading toward the living room.

For the first time since last week, Maddison didn’t flinch when she came around the corner and spotted the mantel and wall she’d been pinned against. Noah noticed and nudged her hip in encouragement. They settled in the loveseat by the front window while Jakob stole the oversized, blue chair she’d begun to think of as his now. Olivia settled on the floor while Sophie and Josh dropped on the couch. Maddison couldn’t pull her eyes away—she needed answers. After two years of pining, she’d thought it would take a huge disruption in their lives for Josh to voice his feelings. They looked so at ease together, like they’d been a couple for years. She had to get Sophie alone later.

“Hey, do you guys have plans on the thirty-first?” Sophie asked.

Olivia and Josh both murmured no. Maddison nodded her head. “Noah and I have the pig pickin’ at the Yanceys’.”

“Ben Yancey? The one who works at the hospital?”

“Yeah. He and his wife invited us out since Noah’s missed Southern food so much. Ben said it’s turned into an all-day event.”

“Oh, okay.” Sophie turned her attention to the others. “Do you guys want to do dinner at my house that Friday? My nana, mom, and I’ll be making enough tamales for the whole year, and we’ll do a big dinner at the end of the day.”

Jakob and Josh jumped in to accept the invitation, speculating on how many tamales they could each put away. Olivia chimed in her RSVP as she found the movie on the VisEnt database.

Maddison leaned back against Noah’s shoulder as he slipped an arm around her waist. Her mind wandered forward two weeks. Noah had been skeptical about her attending the cookout, not wanting to put her in a potentially dangerous situation, but she’d overridden him. Noah’s actions had set the Regional Liquidator’s Office back, but McCray hadn’t budged on Noah’s deadline. They had thirty-one days to figure out how to save everyone, Noah included, and a trip to the Yanceys’ could be key.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“H
ave we done
something to get on Ben’s bad side?”

In Noah’s periphery, Maddison stared out the passenger window at the barren landscape. He didn’t dare take his eyes off the winding country road, waiting for the Mustang’s GPS to signal an end to the maddening curves they’d experienced in the last thirty minutes. “Why do you ask?”

“Because this looks like the kind of place you take someone to kill them without anyone knowing.”

The car traveled yet another mile down the tree-lined road. They hadn’t passed a business in at least twenty-five minutes, and the houses sat farther apart. He couldn’t help but agree with her assessment.

“I think Ben’s family owns some land out this way.” Noah shifted his gaze over so he could read her expression. “Are you nervous?”

A smile broke out on her face. “With you? No. Just remarking on the desolation around here.”

As they rounded a corner, the GPS indicated a right turn ahead, and he spotted the lone green street sign in the distance. The odometer confirmed they were on the right track. Slowing down, he made the turn. The terrain changed from pavement to dirt. Dust swirled up behind them as the car traveled between the dead trees guarding the road.

“Admit it, it’s kinda spooky.” Maddison nudged him with a finger.

“Okay, it’s a little weird.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Meeting Ethel better be worth this drive.”

He chuckled. “Oh, I promise, it’ll be worth it.”

Spotting an opening ahead, he drove forward. His mouth fell open. A field lay in front of them, bright with sunshine and complete with a restored twentieth-century farmhouse in fire engine red.

Beside him, Maddison froze. Probably for the same reason he did. The picturesque scene didn’t surprise him—no, the wet cement filling his feet and creeping upward was courtesy of the sheer number of people in the field. How could this many people gather without raising a red flag with the RL’s office? How had they gotten here? Only twelve cars sat to Noah’s left.

“There have to be three hundred and fifty people here,” she whispered.

He resisted the urge to back out of the opening before someone spotted them. “Stay close.”

“Okay.”

Her instant compliance heightened his anxiety. He maneuvered into an open spot with the Mustang’s front end pointing toward the road. In case they needed to make a quick exit. As soon as he powered down, a fist rapped on his window.

Ben grinned and stepped back so Noah could open the door. “You guys made it. We’d almost given you up for dead.”

He nodded. “I didn’t realize how far out we needed to come until I plugged the address into my GPS, and by then it was too late to adjust. You didn’t tell me you’d invited the whole MA.”

“Just everyone important.” Ben smiled over the car at Maddison. “Including you two. Come on, let’s get you some food.”

They agreed and followed Ben, Maddison’s hand reaching over to take Noah’s. Ben led them toward the throng of people. His sons and Stephen Henderson were throwing a football around. The teens wore knit shirts and jeans. They must’ve been playing for a while because everyone else still sported coats.

Several people nodded at Maddison as they passed, including a couple of janitors from the hospital. At the back of the house, the barbeque grill smoked and food filled dozens of tables. Billy Yancey leaned against the farmhouse wall with a snarl on his face but didn’t come over. It seemed the universe could throw a small favor Noah’s way every once in a while.

Ben turned to Maddison. “Ethel’s in the house dealing with some female drama, but I’ll make sure to introduce ya later. You two fill on up and mingle. I’m sure you’ll run into quite a few people you know.”

Maddison clutched Noah’s hand. “Thanks.”

He called after Ben’s retreating figure. “We’ll catch up with you later?”

“Oh yeah, I’ll be around. Putting out fires. Get this many people together, and somebody’s bound to hurt someone else’s feelings.” Ben laughed. “Have fun. I’ll find ya in a bit.”

As Ben walked away, Maddison leaned in. “Feel like eating?”

Noah shook his head. “No, but we might as well.”

“To blend in.”

He’d never been so glad for her perceptiveness. Three hundred and fifty people didn’t gather in broad daylight without questions being raised. Odder still, in the last week, he’d talked to at least twenty of the people they’d passed—no one had said a word about the event, which made no sense.

Come on, this isn’t a social gathering, and you know it.

He sighed and prepared for confirmation. They filled their plates and looked around for somewhere to sit.

Nurse Walker waved them over from her blanket on the ground. “Unless you get enough of me on the job, I’d love for you to join me.”

“No, a familiar face would be wonderful.” Maddison sat down on the blanket. “It’s a little overwhelming.”

She nodded with a wave of her hand. “Ben never warns newcomers about this bash. They all show up wide-eyed like deer in headlights.”

“Thanks, Nurse Walker.” Noah settled in next to Maddison.

“I thought I told you to call me Lynn.”

He smiled. “Lynn.”

Today her voice held no traces of either the in-control supervisor or the anxious victim. Her eyes sparkled with humor, her posture relaxed.

“How long have you been coming to these?” Maddison took a bite of the steaming chopped pork. “Wow, this is good.”

Lynn laughed. “A couple of years. Ben took pity on me ’cause I don’t have family in the area.”

“Same with me,” Noah said.

“He’s great at taking orphans in and making them part of his family. Life would be much lonelier without him and the rest of this group.” She took a sip of the hot chocolate she’d been nursing and smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Where are you from?” Maddison asked.

The nurse mentioned she’d traveled around a lot but grew up in a metro area in Upper North East, an area fascinating to Maddison. As Maddison peppered her with questions, Noah surveyed the crowd. Teens gathered on the edges in gaggles while parents stood around sipping coffee and chatting. A group of older men guarded the grill, arguing and gesturing. College-aged youth huddled around a campfire, leaning in and exchanging whispers.

To that group’s right, he spotted an anomaly.

Coastal South East’s Regional Directors of Agriculture and Education stuck out like sore thumbs in their business suits. Why would they be here? He needed to get closer. Laying a hand on Maddison’s shoulder, he interrupted her and Lynn’s conversation. “I think I see an old friend from MA-16. Mind if I go hunt him down?”

Maddison shook her head and locked eyes with his. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He squeezed her hand. “I’ll be quick. I promise.” He stood and nodded at Lynn before heading into the crowd. Weaving through the groups allowed him to pick up pieces of their conversations. Parents talked about their children’s education and future. Some discussed the food. One group murmured about God and the Bible.

Their topic brought him up short, and he pushed himself to keep on walking without a shift in his facial expression. Marcioni’s ban on the practice of religion made mention of it a liquidation-worthy offense. But he wasn’t supposed to be able to hear anyone’s speech from that far away. He would stop and observe them once he finished eavesdropping on Directors Beckett and Mason.

Passing the Elite members, he stood on the fringes of a group about fifteen feet away and listened to the two men. Impatience rang in their voices. Definitely not here for the food or company. They kept circling a topic but never naming it.
Come on, give me something
.

A booming voice joined the dialogue. “Gentlemen, don’t you think you ought to take your coats off, loosen those ties, and leave the business alone for a little while?” A warning rang in the man’s undertone.

Fabric rustled, and the Regional Director of Agriculture said, “Oh, quit with the liquidator stare. You aren’t one anymore, or don’t you remember?”

Noah froze. When the jovial voice spoke again, Noah paid even closer attention to the accent and cadence. “You don’t forget faking your death, Beckett. And you don’t stop being who you are because you’re on another side either. I’m still a mercenary, and you’re still a pompous paper pusher.”

Beckett sputtered but came up with no response.

The third voice, Mason, chimed in. “I think we’d better change the subject or take our conversation somewhere else. This is a party, remember?”

“As I’ve already said.”

Their voices began to fade away, and Noah turned to get a look at the trio. His pulse raced. Presumed dead liquidator Gary Bullard walked away from him with an arm around both companions’ shoulders. His presence proved two things: He’d been in league with Billy Yancey for some time, explaining why Yancey had never been punished, and the Elite no longer held his loyalty. Faking his death to escape them proved it.

Noah quickened his pace back as much as possible without drawing attention. Maddison sat on Lynn’s blanket, alone and looking panicked. Making eye contact with her told him she’d put the pieces together as well.

Standing, she grasped his hand, her eyes wide. “I saw Ritchie and Brandon.”

“I watched one of your MA’s dead liquidators walk away with two other regional officials.”

“I see you two have figured it out.” Lynn walked up to them with a serious look on her face. “I told Ben you should’ve been informed the minute you arrived, but he thought you might want to enjoy the party before he let you in on the secret. I’m sure you have questions for him to answer.”

“Why Ben?” Maddison gripped Noah’s hand.

“Well, as the leader, he’ll be the best one to fill in the blanks racing through your heads.”

Ice trickled through Noah’s veins. Ben Yancey was the leader of the resistance? The smart but country janitor corralled these three hundred some people into a movement? It wrecked Noah’s brain.

Maddison swayed beside him. He needed to keep her close. Look for an exit. He had to protect her. Ben hadn’t invited them out here to kill them—he must think they would welcome the opportunity to join, but Noah couldn’t bet on that. Nothing would separate him from her side, and he’d fight their way out of here if necessary.

He hoped it wouldn’t be.

“Noah? Maddison?” Lynn sounded unsure, the last thing they needed.

He forced a calm tone. “Sorry, that’s a lot to process all at once, but lead the way. We’ll follow wherever you go.”

Her smile returned. “I knew you guys would want in. Some people had their doubts, but I told Ben you were okay.”

“And Lynn has great discernment. She’s never been wrong about someone.” Ben walked up to the group, familiar smile in place. His speech, however, had a sharp, distinct cadence it’d lacked before. He stood taller somehow. “You’ll forgive me for investigating you both a little before we invited you. Several of our members, Billy included, had some reservations because of Daniel. You understand. I wanted to assuage their fears.”

The earth shifted on its axis. Ben had been spying
on him
for months? The thought made Noah’s throat dry, and he attempted a swallow. Ben had crafted a very convincing cover persona.

The older man set his gaze on Maddison. “Lynn and Ritchie Callum both vouched for you some time ago, but we wanted to let you come to us.”

Maddison stiffened, but Ben didn’t seem to notice.

“Ritchie told me you’d expressed interest several years ago. Because of your parents, I assume? He thought you backed off to protect your brother. An admirable decision, and since then you’ve proven you’ll go toe-to-toe with any liquidator with the way you’ve handled Daniel and the new female liquidator. We knew you would join us when the time came.”

Ben trained his gaze on Noah and clapped him on the back. “Especially once you became involved with Noah. You two seem to give each other courage, and that leads to action.” His face took on an almost apologetic look. “I knew you were one of us from our first conversation, but I haven’t spent the last five years being cautious to grow careless at the end. I know you must have been frustrated with Lynn and John giving you hints then leaving you with more questions than answers. I needed to be certain, considering you’re not from around here, and I wanted to see how you would react to their hints. See if you could be cautious too.” He beamed. “I’m proud to say you passed all my tests. I’d like you to join the leadership. We could you use a young man with your convictions and self-control. I’ll vouch for you myself. What do you say?”

Noah’s head swam, trying to process all the information thrown at him in the last ten minutes. He wanted to walk away and recover from the blows. Instead, he planted his feet and met Ben’s stare with a confident one of his own. “I’m in.”