Chapter 17
Noah paced back and forth, trying to ignore the TV. His mind kept playing an endless loop of everything that had happened over the last twenty minutes.
Detective Shaw had come to retrieve Noah from the holding cell.
“It’s over,” Shaw had said. “I’m getting you out of here.”
Noah didn’t need much prompting. He had felt like he was going to suffocate in the cell. He had kept telling himself it wasn’t the same thing. He wasn’t in a dog crate, watching one of the people he loved be brutalized, but that didn’t help keep the memories from flooding back.
“What happened?” Noah had asked.
“Later,” Shaw said. “We’re leaving now. No.” Shaw had stopped Noah as he started toward the door to the bullpen. “This way. Trust me.”
Noah had. He went to the back hall and found Detective Shaw’s car waiting with a passenger in the backseat.
“Grandpa,” Noah said. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m breaking you out,” Walter had said. “Do you speak Spanish? We’re heading to Mexico. Two men on the run!”
Noah looked toward Detective Shaw with more than a little panic.
“Tell me he’s kidding,” Noah said.
“He’s kidding,” Shaw said with a grin. “You’re in the clear. My Captain and the DA have all signed off on it. Now keep your head down.”
Noah didn’t know what was happening, but he did as he was told. He expected to be taken home, or maybe to Cassie’s place. Instead, he realized they were headed to Pamela’s, of all places.
“She’s not home,” Walter had said as they went to the door. Noah had a key among his personal effects, which Shaw had given back to him in the car. Noah let them all in.
Once inside, Noah turned to them and demanded someone fill him in. With a look of concern passing between Shaw and Walter, they did.
That’s when the pacing had begun.
Walter had put the TV on to see if there was any mention on the news. That was all anyone was talking about. And not just the local news. It was all over CNN, MSNBC, Fox, and any other news station that they happened upon.
Noah watched dozens of talking heads giving their opinion.
“I’m not sure what’s happening in that town,” one anchor said. “We went from the bluster of an ADA assuring everyone that they had their man, to seeing the ADA taken by the police and replaced by the image of some of the bravest women I think I’ve ever seen.”
Walter changed the channel and another talking head spoke.
“We all remember the news when Nathaniel James Hunt had been taken into custody. We were told a young boy had emerged from that dungeon. I’m sure we all wondered the same thing: who was that boy and would he turn out like his father? If you believe these women, he’s nothing like that man.”
At one point, Noah spotted a familiar face. A woman in pink nursing scrubs sitting next to another news personality.
“You were one of the nurses that helped these women and the boy in the days following their release,” the slick-looking newsman said. “What do you remember of them, particularly the boy, Noah?”
“They were close.” The nurse’s name displayed as Marybeth. “All of them. Some of them were just so happy to be free, others seemed terrified.”
“And did they all take care of Noah?”
The nurse considered the question. “I’d say they all took care of each other. At times, Noah seemed lost. He’d never seen so many people. It was overwhelming, I’m sure. For all of them. But they all seemed to care for one another. I remember at one point, one of the women started to get very upset, crying hysterically. Noah went over and talked to her. Helped her calm down. We all remember thinking that he was trying to be there for those women, but not letting anyone be there for him. It was very sad.”
“Change the channel please,” Noah said.
Walter didn’t argue. He flipped the channel and it showed another news anchor describing the day’s amazing events. She was a pretty blonde, her face filled with sympathy.
“So from what we’re hearing,” the woman said, “ADA Stewart was never authorized to hold that press conference. Noah Hunt was brought into custody on his authority. And the police looked into the matter and found evidence that he simply could not have committed the crimes Stewart was insisting he had. This all took place today, when Mr. Hunt had just buried his mother not two days ago.”
The woman shook her head. “In response, the women, one of whom is heavily scarred and hasn’t come out in public in some time, decided to offer statements on their own. What I’m now learning is that while they made their statement, Noah was being escorted out of the police station, completely unaware of what those women were doing. While we still have many questions, one thing is for sure: these women all love the child they helped raise. Let’s take a look at their statements.”
The screen shifted to a shot of Captain Fuller ordering the ADA to be escorted inside. Noah listened to the Captain’s statement, grateful for his words, even though he felt like the Captain was too nice.
He wasn’t surprised when the Captain turned the mic over to Diana. He liked the things Diana said about his mother, and agreed that he was raised by all of those women. That was something he was proud of.
He breathed a sigh of relief when Diana finished, but found he couldn’t breathe when he realized that Paige was stepping up.
Why did she have to speak as well? Noah thought. And why is she talking about me like I was some kind of hero? I was never able to get Nathaniel to stop hurting them.
Next, Amber stepped up, escorted by Ben.
“How the hell did Amber get there?” Noah asked.
“She came for you,” Walter answered. “Now hush.”
Amber stepped forward and pulled the hoody off, revealing the face that, to this day, Noah still thought of as beautiful.
Amber’s statement was short, but it left Noah undone. When Pamela stepped up next, he needed to sit.
Noah heard that she was shaky, but sober. After she was done, he wondered if her words meant she was ready to forgive him.
Cassie stepped up, and Noah took to his feet once again.
His heart broke when she announced to the world that she loved him. How could she love him, after all of this?
“Why didn’t you stop her?” Noah asked Detective Shaw. “I don’t understand.”
Shaw walked over, put a hand on the boy’s shoulder, and looked into his eyes.
“Because that’s what you do for someone you love,” Shaw said. “And my daughter loves you, so deal with it.”
The detective pushed Noah down into the chair.
Walter leaned in. “It’s only fair. You rescued her. She returned the favor.”
* * * *
Amber was the first to arrive at Pamela’s, escorted by Ben. Immediately, she went to Noah and embraced him.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Noah said to her.
“Yes,” Amber said. “I did. You needed me.”
Noah held on to her. He looked over her shoulder and mouthed a thank you to Ben. Ben nodded.
“I had to speak up,” Amber said into Noah’s chest. “Those things that man was saying about you. I had to let people know how wonderful you are. How you can still make me feel beautiful.”
Noah stepped back so he could look into Amber’s eyes. The same eyes that he had looked at when he was small and afraid.
“You are beautiful,” Noah said.
She smiled and cried in his arms. “I met your Cassie today,” Amber said. “I liked her. She’s a very lucky girl.”
Noah didn’t believe that for a moment.
The doorbell rang and Ben answered it. Paige came in with Brady and Megan. Noah went to Paige’s side and helped her to a chair.
“Thank you,” Noah said.
She pulled Noah into an embrace. “There’s no reason to thank me. I love you.”
Noah held her tightly. “I love you, too.”
Paige kissed his cheek. “See, you can say that to someone.”
Noah smiled and looked up to see Brady and Megan approaching him.
“We need to talk to you,” Brady said.
Noah nodded. He brought them to a small room off to the side. It was a room made up for a nine year old girl, pretty and pink. Noah explained to them that Pamela kept the room for Claire, even though she hadn’t seen her since she was a baby.
“What’s up?”
Brady and Megan looked at each other.
“We did something we shouldn’t have,” Brady said. “I was on my way to your place when you got taken in. I want you to know that we were coming to see you about this beforehand.”
Noah nodded. “What is it?”
Brady explained the times that he and Megan had followed Noah.
“We felt like you might have been hiding something,” Brady said. “And we wanted to know that it wouldn’t hurt Cassie. Although, mostly, it was fun—until we followed you here and saw what happened with Pamela.”
“When she hit you,” Megan said, “and you just took it and then held her when she cried, we didn’t know what to think, but we knew it was private.”
Noah was stunned. He had tried to sound boring, not mysterious.
“Pamela is having a rough time,” Noah said. “She’s not always like that.”
“We get that,” Brady said. “She was sober today and very nice, but what we’re trying to say is…”
“I get it,” Noah said. “I’m not thrilled, but it’s done. And I appreciate that you came and told me. We’re good.”
He shook Brady’s hand and hugged Megan. New voices floated in from the other room. Noah went out to find Diana and Pamela.
“Cassie has my car,” Diana said. “She went to get her brother from school. She should be here in a minute. She’s something, that girl of yours.”
Noah smiled. “So are you. Thank you. I love you.”
They hugged again. Noah saw Pamela approach him. Her head was down and she wasn’t making eye contact.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Noah went to her. “For what?”
“That night when you came over,” Pamela said, “I can barely remember what happened. I know you came over. You come whenever I call you, but I couldn’t remember the time or even the date. If your friends here hadn’t been following you…” She began to cry. “God Noah, you could have gone to jail, when I should have been able to vouch for you. And I slapped you.”
“You have reason to be angry after what I did,” Noah said.
“Stop it,” Pamela said, looking into Noah’s eyes for the first time since she arrived. “Stop doing that thing where you let me beat up on you. Dammit, Noah, you saved my little girl. Your sister. Nothing comes before that. God knows what Nathaniel would have done to her. And when he realized you tricked him, he whipped you senseless. He tossed you into us like a piece of trash. And you just said it wasn’t as bad as you expected. You knew what he would do to you. Somewhere out there, my little girl is alive and happy. She doesn’t wake up in the middle of the night afraid that he’s going to come into her room and do things. And that’s all because of you. You put my daughter first.” She wept in his arms. “You always put us first. Well, today we got to return the favor. We put you first.”
Noah hugged her. He had tears in his eyes, but didn’t care if people saw him cry. “I know you did. You all did. Thank you. I love you.”
Pamela looked up at him. “You still do, even after all this time?”
Noah kissed her cheek. “Always.”
Pamela sniffed. “Well, things are going to be different. Diana is taking me to a rehab place. I’m going to kick the booze. I’m going to pack now. And when I get out, you promise me you’ll bring your girl over for dinner.”
Noah held her tightly. “I promise.”
Diana took Pamela into the other room to pack. Noah saw Cassie had arrived with her brother. Tyler had already made a beeline for Paige who introduced him to Amber. Cassie stood there, smiling.
He went over, trying to find the words to tell her how he felt. Instead, he kissed her tenderly. When the kiss ended, she rested her head on his chest and he held her tightly.
* * * *
Detective Shaw told Noah he needed to get back to the station. He wanted in on whatever was happening to the soon-to-be-former ADA Phil Stewart. Diana said goodbye to everyone as she helped Pamela into her car. The rehab center was about two hours away, so they needed to get going.
Megan announced she needed to get home to get ready for a date. Brady and Ben wanted to have some time to get Brady’s apartment ready for when Brady’s parents came to visit in a few days.
Amber and Paige had started to clean out Pamela’s cabinets, getting rid of any and all booze. Tyler was helping them.
“Can we help?” Cassie asked.
“Yes,” Amber said. “Go to the store. I might as well cook dinner for us all.”
“What should we get?”
“I’ll make you a list,” Amber said as she found an unopened bottle of chardonnay. “I think chicken in wine sauce should be nice.”
They took the keys to Paige’s car and headed out. Noah drove to the store, but pulled off the road halfway there.
“Noah,” Cassie said, “what’s the matter?”
Noah shut the engine and turned to Cassie.
“We haven’t had a chance to talk,” Noah said. “First off, thank you. Not just for what you did, but for believing in me.”
“I never doubted you,” Cassie said. “Diana told me how you wanted her to find me and convince me that you had nothing to do with the attacks. I didn’t need any convincing.”
Noah looked out the front window. “I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had. And I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want anything more to do with me.”
“Noah…”
“No, let me finish,” Noah said. “I’m not a normal guy with a normal family. And I can’t promise you the worst of it is over. As long as there are more of Nathaniel’s victims out there that need to be brought home, I’ve got to keep going to see him. And I’ve got to keep his last name. I don’t know what Stewart was up to, but he may have just really believed that I did it. That the son of Nathaniel James Hunt has to be responsible. And there will always be people out there like that. People who look at me and see Nathaniel.”
“Most of those people have never seen him,” Cassie said. “I have. And I see you. Noah, I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Noah said, but he didn’t look at her. “I’m scared. I never went looking to fall in love with you, Cassie. I never thought I’d ever be in love. I never thought I could ever take that chance. I assumed I’d go through life without ever making love to a woman, because I was terrified of what it might bring out in me. You look at me and say you see my mom and my grandfather, but that’s not entirely true. I’ve got his build. His face. His blood type, for the love of God. He’s there. He’s inside of me.”
Cassie wanted to dismiss what Noah was saying, but she knew he needed more.
“Whatever it is,” she said, “it’s not twisted like it was in him. You may have some physical attributes, but you’re not him. You’re the man that saved me. The one that takes care of anyone he hurt. You see him every year just to bring peace to others. You saved Claire, and I believe that you’ll probably be there when she’s reunited with Pamela. Have you had any luck?”
Noah nodded. “Actually, yes. We think so.”
“So,” Cassie said, “Pamela will get to be a part of her daughter’s life? See her grow up? Someday be there when her daughter gets married and has children?”
“I hope so.”
“I think that’s good,” Cassie said. “Do you?”
Noah’s mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. His head shook in disbelief.
“Of course I do. Look, Pamela is still struggling, but I think that’s understandable. She’s going to rehab. She’ll ge
t better.”
“I hope so,” Cassie said. “But what about that girl out there? Should she be able to have a family? Raise children of her own?”
Now Noah just felt confused. “Why wouldn’t she?”
“Because she’s not just Pamela’s daughter,” Cassie said. “She’s Nathaniel’s daughter. She’s got a part of him in her. She’s your sister.”
Noah took a deep breath. There had been times where he had pictured Claire and wondered what she would be like today. He hoped to meet her someday. He had actually harbored a fantasy of being close to her. He remembered her as a baby, so perfect and sweet.
“There’s nothing wrong with her,” Noah said.
Cassie reached out and took his hand. “I agree. And she’s going to need her big brother to remind her of that.”
Noah nodded. When he opened his eyes, Cassie smiled at him.
“I love you,” Noah said.
She leaned in and kissed him. “I love you, too.”
When the kiss was over, Cassie looked at the list Amber had given her. “You know, there are only a few things on here. Chicken, lemon, and pasta.”
Noah nodded as he started the car. “I think Pamela had the rest.”
“We don’t need to go to the store,” she said. “Drive to my house, it’s just around the corner.”
When they arrived, she pulled Noah into the house and up to her room.
Noah took her face in his hands and kissed her slowly. He slowly unbuttoned her shirt, and then let it fall to the floor. Within moments, her bra followed.
She felt his mouth work its way down her neck while she pulled at his belt and then pushed his pants down. As she grabbed him, she felt him stiffen. She moaned as his hands massaged her breast. They shared another kiss, and then separated just long enough to shed the rest of their clothing.
Then she pulled him to the bed and onto her.
His hands explored every inch of her as he used his mouth to work his way down her neck. He sampled each breast until she begged him to take her.
When he entered her, their eyes met. Noah grinned as he moved, enjoying the pleasure displayed on her face, adoring the moans that escaped from her in fits of ecstasy.
Just Breathe Page 21
