I thank the officer and take a seat in the waiting room. After fifteen minutes, Violet comes through the door and has exactly the same conversation with the officer before taking a seat next to me. Next up, a fancy looking lawyer comes strolling in who is let through to the back after Violet demands that he tells Noah that she loves him and not to do anything stupid.
Before I know it, I’m sitting amongst Violet, Eddison, Tully, Aiden, and Spencer. Every single one of them here to support Noah and do whatever they possibly can to get him out of this fucked up situation. To be honest, I’m not surprised at all.
Four hours pass before a door is opened down the hallway and I see Noah being led out by the two cops who showed up at his home. Violet sucks in a breath, clearly not enjoying the sight of her son being led around by cops, but unfortunately for me, this isn’t a new thing.
Noah sees me first and gives me an encouraging smile before realizing that the room around me is packed with his loved ones. He shakes his head but the amusement is clear in his eyes.
Both Eddison and Violet are on their feet in seconds, anxiously waiting for Noah to get a move on and get his ass over here. An older guy murmurs something to him and Noah nods but there’s an uncertainty in his eyes that puts me on edge.
Noah comes through to the waiting area and I get to my feet as Violet and Eddison crowd him.
“What happened?” Violet rushes out as Noah’s lawyer comes up behind him. “What kind of trouble are you in?”
Noah shakes his head ever so slightly before taking my hand. “Not here,” he murmurs low. “We’ll talk at home.”
Both Tully and Violet’s brows pull down and they somehow manage to look exactly the same. Everyone glances to the lawyer who gives a firm nod, agreeing that whatever needs to be said, needs to be done in privacy and just like that, we all start for the exit.
“Are you ok?” I question, leading Noah out to my Supra as his mom stands on his other side, needing to be close.
“Yeah, fine,” he says, giving his mom a reassuring smile that doesn’t meet his eyes. “I just want to get out of here.”
With that, we drop down into my Supra and the drive home is excruciatingly silent.
By the time we step through the front door of his home, Tully is already there with the rest of the family, demanding to know what the fuck is going on. “What happened?” she rushes out, throwing herself to her feet as her need to know outweighs her need to be cool, calm and collected. “What’s going on? Are they going to charge you, or what?”
Noah lets out a breath and makes his way into the living room and stands before everyone. I hurry over to stand beside Tully so I can see his face because hearing the words aren’t going to be enough. His eyes are going to speak volumes and I don’t want to miss a single thing.
Noah looks to me with that same uncertainty I saw in him earlier before turning to his parents. “They want to offer me a deal.”
“What kind of deal?” Eddison says slowly.
“They want to bust Anton’s operation wide open and if I tell them what I know, they’ll drop all my charges.”
Violet’s face brightens as though it’s the best news she’s ever heard. “That’s incredible,” she beams before attempting to throw her arms around her son.
“Mom. No,” Noah says, pushing her back. “Don’t you understand what this means? I’d be a rat and if this doesn’t work and Anton finds out what I did…I’d be fucked.”
“You can’t,” Tully says, her eyes flicking to mine before focusing back on her brother. “It’s too risky and not to mention, things have changed now. He’s not just the guy who took advantage of you as a kid anymore, he’s Henley’s father and the man who saved Aria.”
“I know,” Noah says, his eyes cutting back to mine, showing me that this is the exact reason for his uncertainty. “What do I do?”
I shake my head as emotions begin to overwhelm me. Tully is right. This is my father and the man who saved my little sister. I owe him my life and that’s exactly what I’ll be paying with, but on the other hand, he’s the man who destroyed Noah and the man who will have no issue taking him out if he was to find out what the hell was going on.
“I can’t. I…I don’t know, I can’t answer this for you,” I tell him, struggling to find the words I need to explain what the hell is going on in my head.