Chapter 5

Chapter Five Noah

While it may seemlike Scar is being too trusting of this man that’s virtually a stranger to her now, I can still see the shrewd calculation in her eyes. She takes everything with a grain of salt and I know we can trust her to make the right decisions. Even the ones as emotionally charged as this one.

Luca and Kade know it too, even if they don’t agree with her.

I finish gathering the intel that will help me get into all the right places and know where to look. Charles gave me more to work with than I thought he would. I’m wary of how much he knows even though he isn’t involved. It’s clear he’s been watching his father for a long time, or he’s close to the man.

Leaning back into the couch, I squeeze Scar’s knee and her eyes pop open, shining a vibrant green as her mind races with thoughts and plans.

“How suspicious will your father be about you not coming home last night?” she asks.

He shrugs like it isn’t a big deal. “He most likely didn’t even notice. If he did, he would assume I was out with a partner. He won’t ask.”

Makes sense. He is a grown man after all. Why would his father be keeping track of his every move?

“That makes this easier,” Scar says. “You can go home as if nothing happened.”

“And then?” he pushes.

Is she going to ask for more from him? It looks like she might still be undecided. She tilts her head back and forth as if mentally going through the pros and cons.

“Keep your eye out for anything that has to do with Romano. I’m guessing your father is hiding him and he’s first on my list to die.”

There’s not a flicker of disgust or remorse as he nods along to her words and agrees. There’s something off about this man, but I just can’t put my finger on what. He isn’t reacting like any sane person would react in this situation. He was all too eager to join in on her chaos. Does that make him a threat or an ally? I can’t tell.

It seems as if Scar has decided an ally until further notice.

“I’ll find out if any of our properties are being used,” he offers.

“Don’t do anything that will garner suspicion,” she warns.

He heeds her warning and they go back and forth a while longer solidifying plans. I’m relieved when Scar states we will be heading back home. It hasn’t even been two full days since we left, but I’m already craving the comfort I’ve found in St Graves.

There really is no place like home, especially when it’s been carved out for you in blood and destruction. We’ve poured our blood, sweat, and tears into that city to make it ours. Now I just want to go back to it. Bring Roe back home to us.

We won’t be able to until we rid the world of Romano, but that makes me all the more eager to get back to my equipment so we can lockdown his location. Charles may help us refine the search, but I refuse to put any stock in his help. We have no proof of how useful he will actually be further than the information he’s given us.

For now, his job is to keep an eye on his father and report back to Scar. No more, no less.

Speaking of, there is one more thing I need from him.

“By the way,” I interject as they’re finalizing their plan to get him home. “What is your father’s name?” For all the information I gathered, we skipped the simplest and most important fact. Scar knows, but I figure better to get it out of the way now. Put a name to the demon.

“Christopher Donahue.”

Sounds as evil as he is. At least it’s on brand.

I notice Declan jerks a little forward at the name. I’m not the only one who notices either. Scar turns to him and tilts her head in question.

“He and my father were friends,” D confirms. Charles nods along with his words. He must have recognized Declan this whole time. I guess he really is still as relevant in their circles even if he stays out of the limelight.

That must be the connection to why his father had the photos of Scar. By the disgust on everyone’s faces, it’s clear we all had the same thought.

Scar clears her throat and starts talking to Joe about the best way they can get Charles back to Fairmore.

“Take one of the cars from the garage,” Declan offers. “The keys are all hanging in the black cabinet to the left of the door.”

She gives him a grateful smile. “Joe, you can drive him back.”

“My car will still be at the hotel, you can take me there.”

“Just bring the car to our house or yours,” Declan adds. It’s obvious he’s not too worried about it. With Romano and all of his associates gone from St Graves we no longer have to move only by the tunnels. We can afford to relax our defenses a little bit. It only means we don’t have to burn every car we use. Scar may have the money to burn, but damn. That overhead was starting to weigh on me. The only reason I could excuse it was I knew it was keeping us safe. Keeping Roe and the kids safe.

Joe nods his goodbyes and starts to head out of the room to gather his stuff. Charles hesitates, giving Scar a once-over that makes my blood boil, as if he’s contemplating moving towards her. D’s hand tightens on her shoulder and I tense, moving forward to intervene if he even thinks about trying to touch our girl.

Before he’s even made a decision one way or the other, Kade is in front of him. I don’t know when he moved, he appeared so suddenly. He doesn’t even pause in his movement before winding back and landing a solid punch right to his midsection.

“Fucking Kade,” Scar yells as Charles doubles over, the wind knocked out of him. He can’t straighten or even speak as he tries to catch his breath.

Kade turns to Scar, arms folded over his chest in a look that tells all of us he doesn’t regret what he just did even for a moment. Even knowing it very well may bring her wrath on him.

“Tell me he didn’t deserve that,” he argues.

Scar puts her head in her hand just as Joe walks back into the room after hearing the commotion. “Please tell me you have something for me to smoke,” she pleads to him without responding to Kade. She already admitted to us that Kade and Luca were justified in their anger. Joe pulls a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of his pocket and deftly tosses it to her. She catches both with an ease and immediately lights up.

Declan doesn’t seem bothered by it, so I just roll with it. She doesn’t smoke often, especially recently. Usually only when she’s really stressed. I do give a pointed look to Kade at pushing her to this point. At least he has the wherewithal to look slightly sheepish.

After several inhales where she focuses only on the smoke spilling from between her lips, she faces Kade again. “Are we done now? Got it out of our system?”

“If that’s an offer,” Luca pipes up only to shut back down as she glares at him. “It’s not like I got a turn,” he finishes quietly.

“We’re done now, right?” she asks, leaving no room for argument or smart ass comments this time. She pins each one of us with a deadly stare, waiting for our acknowledgement.

“I’ll be good now,” Kade promises, somewhat begrudgingly. I scoff, I don’t think he knows the meaning of the word. He flips me off but Scar rolls her eyes.

“Please leave. Now,” she directs to Joe and Charles. “Before I get an even bigger headache.”

Whatever had him hesitating before, it is no longer. He moves slowly, still clutching his midsection and panting as Joe ushers him out of the room.

“That mean we can go home now?”

Everyone releases some of the tension they’ve been holding when she nods yes. She finishes her cigarette and heads back to her room to pack up her stuff. It’s less than an hour before we are back in the van and heading back to St Graves.

* * *

There’sthe telltale sign of the pitter-patter of feet that just barely prepares me to catch Roe before she flies around the corner and launches herself into my arms.

I drop Scar’s bag and catch her just in the nick of time as she squeals and giggles. I chuckle as I tickle her sides. “Hi there, sweet girl.” Her laughter fills the room and the exhaustion that was seeping into my every fiber evaporates like it was never even there.

Kade laughs behind me and picks up Scar’s bag as I walk further into the room. I don’t make it even two steps before I almost trip over both of the twins hurling themselves at my legs and wrapping themselves around each one.

“Shit,” I curse as I stumble and barely manage to right myself. Kade claps his hand down on my shoulder and squeezes.

“Good luck,” he cheers happily as he pushes past us and makes his way into the house. I laugh as he curses when Blu comes running from the back of the house, hearing the commotion, and does his best to take out Kade as he jumps up on him.

All three of the kids giggle as I take long slow steps, dragging the twins with each one. This is probably their favorite activity in the world. They take every opportunity they have to be dragged around like this.

“I didn’t know I was going to have such a good surprise waiting for me when I got home,” Scar coos from behind me. Sweeping in to steal Roe from my arms. At least now it’s easier to move. I bend down and pick up Cal into my arms so I only have to drag Kai behind me. Just as we are about to reach the living room, Ian must come into his line of sight because all of a sudden he releases my leg and jumps to his feet.

“Daddy!”

Cal immediately starts wiggling in my arms, simultaneously trying to turn to look and get down to his feet. I let him down and he’s off like a rocket, chasing after his brother to jump on their dad.

I’ve missed the chaos that only kids can bring into this house. Even with as loud as we can all be, it’s too quiet without them.

Ian manages to sweep both boys up into his arms and carry them after us into the living room. I don’t know how he does it. Scar snuggles Roe, even as she giggles and tries to break free to say hi to the rest of the guys. Scar teases her and tells her she has to stay with her now. Her squeals of delight ease the anxiety and stress of the last twenty-four hours.

Kade appears from the back hall, probably after putting Blu back outside. He’s still just a pup and often still pees when he gets too excited. Kade sneaks behind Scar to swipe Roe from her without her noticing. She shrieks in surprise as Kade lifts her to his chest before tossing her in the air and catching her. He catches her and cuddles her into his chest.

“Dang, Roe baby. You’re getting heavy. I almost dropped you,” he teases.

“Daddy’s being silly,” she laughs, shaking her head and refusing to believe he almost dropped her.

“That’s right, baby,” Ryder agrees, stealing her from Kade. “Tell him if he thinks you’re heavy, he needs to spend more time in the gym.”

Ian groans. “Please don’t tell any of these psychos that.” Jade shakes her head as she walks up to him, taking Kai from him. He eagerly climbs into her arms and rests his head on her shoulders, yawning.

The taunts continue as the kids say hi to everyone and we all begin to settle in. Just as we all get comfortable sitting down, Charlene walks into the room with trays of sandwiches.

“I thought everyone might be hungry,” she announces as she sets the trays down on the coffee table. Kai and Roe both pop up from where they were laying down in Jade’s and Scar’s laps. I grab a plate for all three kids and grab the heart-shaped sandwiches obviously meant for them and the three of them settle on the floor to start eating their food.

I have a feeling it will be naps right after they finish, if the big yawns and tired eyes are anything to go by. They’re much quieter as they settle in on the floor and dig into their lunches. Cal takes one bite before stopping and searching for his dad. “When Trev going to be here?”

Ian ruffles his hair and takes his own seat on one of the chairs with a plate in hand. “I don’t know, buddy. Let me call his dad. Okay?”

Cal nods along and starts eating again. I smile as I watch Roe pick back up her own sandwich and focus on her food again too. Apparently all three of them had been wondering when Trevor was going to get here.

Ian pulls out his phone and makes the call only to pull it away from his face moments later with a frown. Just then I can hear a commotion coming from the back hallway.

“Couldn’t wait two more seconds to see my face?” Holden teases as he walks into the room, carrying a very sleepy Trevor in his arms.

Ian scoffs, “It wasn’t you we were missing. Cal needed his partner in crime.”

Holden feigns shock as Trevor rushes to get out of his arms and sit with the other kids. Charlene goes to get up to make another sandwich but Holden waves for her to sit back down, telling her they already ate.

I keep my eyes on Scar, watching how she eases back into herself when she’s surrounded by her people. The absolute mundaneness of today is a direct contrast to everything else we’ve been dealing with. The tension that has been riding her shoulders almost seems gone as she strokes Roe’s hair with her fingers and chats with Jade.

No one brings up the last few days. The things we’ve discovered, the work that needs to be done. No one asks any questions or volunteers any information about everything we’ve learned or what our next steps are. The past year has taught all of us just how important it is to turn that part of our lives off every once in a while. To relish the quiet moments.

It’s become obvious just how much Scar needs these moments to keep it together. To survive this world with her heart and soul still intact.

We finish eating and keep the conversations light. Time passes quickly and I chuckle as Roe starts to sway back into her mom’s touch, barely managing to keep her eyes open.

“Come on, Roe baby,” I call out as I get to my feet and pick her up and cradle her to my chest. “Let’s get you down for a nap.”

“I want Mommy,” she whines, fighting against me. My mouth drops open and I’m not the only one. Roe isn’t one to throw fits. Ever. Her wanting Scar is nothing new, but the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks certainly are.

Scar is quick to jump to her feet and smooth over the moment. “Come here, sweet girl. You must be tired.” She presses her face into her mom’s chest and cries for a few moments as Scar hushes her. Charlene watches the interaction with a knowing smile as Scar carries her out of the room. I hesitate as I watch them go, not knowing if I should follow, but Charlene waves me to sit back down.

The boys start to act up now that Roe is gone and Ian and Holden are quick to get them moving down to a guest room as well.

“She’s been missing her momma,” Charlene explains as she comes over and pats my knee. I give her a smile to reassure her that I’m not offended. I love that little girl something fierce and I know she loves me right back, but sometimes you just need your mom.

“Has she been having nightmares again?” I ask hesitantly. She’s been sleeping a lot better for months, but the continued separation from Scar and the rest of us can’t be good. We may do our best to shelter the kids, but kids are smarter than we give them credit for. It’s entirely reasonable they know something is going on, even if they don’t understand it.

“No nightmares,” Charlene explains. “Just asking for Scar a lot more frequently.”

“We’re close to eliminating Romano,” Luca tells her. “Once we do, we will be able to find our new normal. One where we aren’t so far from each other and get to spend more time all together.”

Everyone is quiet for a moment as we let his words sink in. Almost at once we all hop up to get back to our own tasks, ready for this break to be over so we can move that much closer to a life without Romano’s shadow looming over us.

* * *

I markanother property off the list.

A sigh escapes my lips as I crack my neck and run my hands over my face. Two weeks of endless digging into mostly empty estates. The monotony of the task is a much larger threat to my sanity than any of the shit I’ve been exposed to since meeting Scar.

Who knew the Donahues would have so many goddamn properties that could easily hide a madman like Romano? I underestimated just how many threads I would have to pull loose to unravel this mess.

My phone rings jarring me out of my thoughts. I look down as Charles’ name flashes across the screen and tilt my head to the side as I answer it. It’s only been a day since we last spoke and I’m really hoping he’s calling to help me narrow down my search rather than expand on it.

“Hey, I just wanted to let Char,” he coughs, cutting himself off, “Scar, know that I had that list she wanted.”

I tap my pen against my desk and wrack my brain trying to recall what she asked for this time. “Uh huh,” I hum, hoping Charles will fill in the blanks. This would be a lot easier if she would either just talk to him, or run all communication through me. Instead, she has taken to texting him from different burner phones and then throwing them away before he has the chance to even think about responding.

“She wanted to see if I could add anyone to her list of potential abusers,” he explains, picking up on my hesitations.

I snap my fingers. “Oh shit, yes. Send that to me. We’re looking for any business partners, friends, even associates, anyone that could have had a correlation with either your father, hers, or Romano. Even the James family. Just anyone that would have even the slightest reason to have been in that office that night so we can have a master-list to reference back to.”

“This list is a long one.” I can hear the warning and hesitation in his voice as he tells me. I try not to curse at the amount of work that I know is coming my way.

“How is that different from any other conversation we’ve had?” I scoff. Each one leads down a whole new road of leads to chase. Hours and hours behind a computer screen tracking down every name, every property, every possibility that could lead us back to the answers we so desperately crave.

I feel Scar’s presence enter the office before I see her. Can feel her eyes burning into my skin like the brand they are. It was odd that she didn’t beat me here this morning. She’s never spent more time locked away with a computer than these last few weeks. The only times she isn’t here is when she’s with Roe or when she’s training. I’m positive she would even be sleeping in here if we didn’t drag her to bed every night.

“Well, I’ve never heard of an underworked hacker,” Charles chuckles, drawing my attention back to the conversation and a surprised laugh eddies up out of me.

I immediately freeze and my laugh tapers off awkwardly. Charles clears his throat on the line as well. “Right, well,” he continues awkwardly. “I have confirmed Romano has not left the country and I’m fairly positive he’s not on the West Coast anymore. My father extended his initial visit here, but his movements have been erratic since he abruptly changed his departure date again. I think he may have taken him back east.”

I sit up straighter in my seat. That eliminates more than half my list and cuts down on the work I need to do. I look down at my own list I was slowly working through to cross properties off and sure enough, all the ones that I have been able to confirm he wasn’t there have been either on the West Coast or out of the country.

“That narrows down our search a lot,” I respond, not able to keep the thread of excitement from my voice.

“It does. My father has been reaching out to contacts back home and I’ve been tracking his movements. I’m fairly sure he’s trying to decide if Romano is worth keeping alive at this point.”

I tap my pen against the desk as I swivel my chair to meet Scar’s eyes. They’re lit up with a hungry hope that can only speak to her bloodlust. I start to smile at her but it freezes as I notice the hard and possibly hurt expression on Kade’s face as he studies her. I hadn’t heard him sneak in behind her and I don’t think she realizes he’s there either.

I sink my teeth into my lower lip as my gaze darts between the two of them. Are they fighting again? Everything has seemed just a little off-kilter since the gala. Like the balance we worked so hard to achieve is no longer as stable as it once was and one wrong move could leave us knocked on our side all over again.

“Do you know who he’s been in contact with?” I ask Charles, pushing my worries about Kade and Scar away for the moment. They may fight, but they always find their way back to each other. Scar needs to sort out everything that has been eating away at her and once she gets her head back on straight she will make things right with Kade.

Scar starts making her way towards me and I give one last lingering look to Kade to see how he’s going to react. His jaw clenches and his fingers twitch at the sound of Charles’ voice but he stays where he is. I turn back to my computer as I listen to Charles.

“They’re all highlighted in orange on the list I just sent you.”

I open a new tab and pull the document he sent me up and can’t help but chuckle at the color-coded list he sent.

“Red is for the associates I have confirmed have participated in illegal activities in the last twenty years. Yellow is for the ones I have found evidence of but only going back the last five years. Green are the ones I have found no evidence of but have worked closely with at least one of our families.”

Not only are they all organized by the most likely candidates, each one has detailed notes about the family, who they’ve interacted with, in what capacity, and any other detail that might pertain to our investigations. Even the least likely candidates have as much care and attention as the most likely ones.

“I’m impressed,” I admit. I can feel Kade’s rage burning into my back even from where he stands at the other side of the room. I clear my throat again. “Thank you, Charles. I’m going to give this list to Declan to see if he can add anything else to it. Call me if you have any more info about your father.”

“Of course,” he answers quickly, but I can sense his hesitance. An awkward pause fills the line, I hold my breath to hear what he has to say, and Scar’s fingers dig into my shoulders. He sighs and I can feel her tense in anticipation but he just says goodbye before hanging up.

I toss my phone down on the desk and pull her into my lap. Her fingers find the soft tendrils at the base of my neck and she winds them up, softly tugging on them. I hum at the familiar feeling and lean into her touch.

“Am I overworking you?” she asks jokingly.

I nod vigorously. “You really are,” I tease her. “I deserve compensation.”

She laughs but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes as they wander away from mine and look over the information I have scattered across the desk and computer screen. “Do you need me to stay and work through these with you?” Her eyes dart over my shoulder to Kade, they were supposed to train together today.

“No, Charles actually just lightened my load for the day. I’ll be fine.” I press my lips against her cheek, but she doesn’t react the way she normally does. I pull away to study her face and find the now familiar faraway look once again glazing over her eyes.

Any mention of him trips her up now. I wonder when she’s going to allow herself to forgive him and move forward. It’s clear to me she is already starting to, but for some reason she finds it hard to accept that it’s what she really wants.

I look over my shoulder and meet Kade’s hard eyes. Maybe it’s not just about her after all.

“Go, baby girl. I’ll hold down the fort while you and Kade work out.” I bring my hand down against her thigh and squeeze her, drawing her out of her thoughts. I push her hair back behind her ear and press my lips to her ear. “It’s all going to work out. Don’t worry so much.”

She leans into me and takes a deep breath, smiling when she gets back to her feet. Her hand runs through my hair as walks towards Kade.

“Come on, Big Guy. It’s been too long since I’ve kicked your ass.”