Page 50 of H E R
“Justice, you okay?”
I cross my arms over my chest, ignoring the small crowd of our nosy neighbors that’s already formed. “No thanks to you,Noie.”
Noah’s shoulders slouch forward as if the weight of the world has been set on them, and he sweeps his hand through his hair nervously. I was beginning to like the way his hair felt between my fingers. But now, I can’t stand to look at him without feeling repulsed. His face is beat and I don’t even care enough to ask what happened. He wasted too many opportunities to be up front.
“I thought I told you to stay the fuck off our property!” Jule’s voice shouts.
I look toward our trailer and see him jumping off the steps with Jasmin not far behind.
I wave him off. “It’s okay, Jule. I got this.”
Noah’s eyes scan our surroundings, and he locks eyes with Dylan. A history of their own crackles in the blistering heat surrounding our shadeless standoff. From the corner of my eye, I notice Dylan giving him a solemn nod, and Noah gulps.
“I’m the one who called the cops the day you had the gun. I needed to warn Vork, but… I couldn’t come up with another way.”
“You?” But… “Why, Noah?”
“They knew about… my connection… to you. And your blog. I was in charge of keeping you away.”
My bottom lip falls and the corner throbs. I wince, but it’s not due to the physical pain of my minor injuries. This hurt gathers somewhere in the hollow of my chest and pulses. It jabs at me from the inside out.
“How many times, Noah?”
“Justice, I’m sorry. I had no choice. They threatened to take my mom.” Max snarls and moves to stand in front of me, between Noah and me. “Can you tell your hound to back the fuck off?” He glares at Dylan, who raises his hands up.
“Hey, he’s doing this of his own accord.”
The rookie isn’t lying. I’ve seen Max stand up for me, even to his own master. I’m not sure why he’s decided to defend me against anyone he thinks is a threat, but I want to get close. So I walk up to stand next to Max and place my hand between his ears to stroke his fur. He looks up and lets out a soft whine. “It’s okay,” I whisper, and he sits.
Behind us, Jasmin reaches out to grab Jule’s arm. She talks to him gently, and he crosses his arms and stands still.
“Did you delete the footage?”
Noah looks to the ground and stuffs his swollen knuckles into his pockets. His guilt-ridden eyes snap up to mine.
I walk slowly up to him and look up. His light brown eyes are glossed over and pain stricken, but I don’t care. “Somewhere deep inside, I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you.”
“Justice, please—”
I stab a bloodied finger into his chest. “I let you in, and you fucking lied to me.”
“I didn’t have a choice—”
“There’salwaysa choice!” I yell, spit flying out. “You work forhim, Noah. What did you think was going to happen?”
Behind me, Max growls, sensing my growing anger and desire to rip Noah apart. It was all a lie.
“I never met with him directly, I swear.”
“Oh, well, that makes it better.” I nod and smile sarcastically.
Noah glares at Dylan when he lets out a soft chuckle. “You think you can give me and my girl some privacy, Detective?”
Max growls, and Dylan’s entire frame straightens, his jaw clenches, and it looks like it’s about to break from the pressure. A vein in his neck pulses, making the inked flesh rise up. I lift my hand up to him and turn to glare at Noah.
“I’mnotyour girl.”
Noah winces and lowers his head. “I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”