Haunted (State v. Sefore) (12 page)

Chapter Fifteen

S
unlight streamed around
the sides of the curtains, blinding her. Maddison slammed her eyes shut and burrowed deeper into the blue chair. She took a deep breath, searching for a hint of the sandalwood cologne her dad used to wear. She could almost pretend he held her in his arms. Almost, but not quite. Why couldn’t he be here? She really wanted her daddy.

To her left, Jakob muttered something unintelligible. She squinted one eye open as he shifted, closer to the edge of the couch. A twinge of joy pulled a corner of her mouth up. At least she had Jakob. He hadn’t left her side since telling her the news. She tried to stare through the door. Was Noah still parked across the street? A stab of pain twisted in her chest, and she fought back a new round of tears. When had life become so complicated?

When Jakob had burst back into her room with the news that Noah sat across the street in his car, fury and betrayal fought for dominance. She didn’t want Noah outside her house or anywhere near her. And Jakob’s blatant disregard for her wishes opened a fresh wound. Until he told her about Daniel’s threat. Fear released a deluge of icy liquid, washing everything else in its path away.

“Are you sure Noah’s telling the truth?” The question had an alkaline taste to it. He wouldn’t lie about her safety, not now, but another lie seemed better than reality.

“You didn’t see his face, Maddie.”

Jakob told her about Noah’s plan, and she had to admit it made her feel better to know he stood guard. Noah still made her feel safe. It didn’t change anything, but it would help her sleep.

Or so she thought.

She’d tossed and turned for hours, seeing Daniel’s mocking face every time she closed her eyes. Finally, she gave up and started downstairs to make some tea. When she opened her door, there lay her little brother, asleep on the floor. They had gone down to the kitchen together, deciding on hot cocoa instead of the cinnamon rooibos she craved. She confessed her inability to sleep, and he suggested they pull up a season of
Confidence
from the VisEnt archives for a marathon. Her favorite show about a con man always made her laugh, so he didn’t have to twist her arm. Halfway through season one, she’d drifted off to sleep.

Her sleep must’ve been nightmare free, or Jakob would’ve woken her. Looking over at him now, so young and innocent in his sleep, she pondered his very grown-up behavior in the last twelve hours. He’d been her rock. What would she do without him? She hoped she’d never have to find out. Stretching, she stood and folded the blankets covering her. Jakob didn’t stir, so she left him sleeping and wandered into the kitchen.

A note on the table confirmed that Taylor had left for work and would bring home some Japanese for their usual Saturday night dinner together. Maddison groaned. Taylor would have plenty of questions about the situation if Noah’s car remained parked outside the house. The fact that she hadn’t already begun an interrogation served as a small miracle.

Oh well. Maddison would construct her story after a shower. Heating up some scones and pouring two glasses of milk, she carried one set to the den and set it down on the coffee table for Jakob. “Jake, I’m going upstairs to get dressed. Breakfast at your three o’clock if you want it.”

He muttered something, stretching the kinks out of his neck before reaching for a scone. For such an easygoing guy, he sure could be a zombie when he woke up. She headed back to the kitchen to grab her breakfast before going upstairs.

She walked into her room, and the message indicator on her vidcom caught her attention. She let it continue blinking. Stepping up to her front window, she pulled the curtain back a couple of inches.

The Mustang hadn’t moved. Noah stared right at her.

*

Maddison rubbed some moisturizer over her clean face, glad it didn’t feel tight anymore. She applied some mascara and a coat of lip gloss with a pursing of her lips. Her rose tunic brought out a little color in her cheeks. That would help. She managed a somewhat believable smile in the mirror. Being put together did wonders for her attitude.

Coat of armor on, she went in search of Jakob. She needed a game plan and help to come up with it. Her foot landed on the third step when she heard the extra voices—three to be exact. Her friends. Time to see if the armor held up.

Sophie spotted her first. “Are you okay? We called and called when you didn’t show up for breakfast. It’s not like you to not check in.”

“Jakob said you had a rough night. You aren’t contagious, right?” Josh smirked, but his lowered eyebrows gave away his concern.

Olivia jumped up, pointing to the door. “Why is Noah parked across the street?”

Maddison stepped back. Would they see the bags under her red eyes? “One question at a time, guys.” She glanced around for Jakob but didn’t see him. He must be the one clanking around in the kitchen. “I’m fine, sorry about breakfast. I forgot and overslept. Jakob and I stayed up late watching TV, and I left my com upstairs.” She turned to Josh. “And no, Josh, I’m not contagious, but thank you for the concern.”

“And Noah?” Olivia tapped a foot.

Maddison frowned. Why did her friends have to be so observant? “He decided to stay there after I told him about Daniel.”

Olivia opened her mouth, snapped it closed.

Sophie cocked her head. “And he didn’t stay in the house, why?”

Maddison took a deep breath.
Here it comes
. “Because we broke up.”

“When did you start dating him?” Josh asked.

Oh. She couldn’t even really say they had. No matter how much this felt like an actual breakup. “Nevermind. That doesn’t matter. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Sophie walked over to stand in front of her. “Did he hurt you?”

Maddison locked her arms at her sides. Her fingers might itch for a lock of hair to twist, but doing so would announce her anxiety to the room. “Soph …” She sighed.

“I’ll make him leave.” Josh headed for the door.

Jakob strode in, a towel gripped in his hand. “He’s here for a reason.”

Josh’s head whipped back around, and Maddison laid a hand on his arm. “He’s protecting me. Jakob and I agree he can stay.”

Josh sank back into the chair he’d occupied, his attention flitting from Sophie to Maddison to the door. Maddison shifted, left foot to right foot. She needed a distraction.

Sophie raised a finger. “I thought you said Daniel wasn’t a threat? Is this for your peace of mind or is something else going on?”

Maddison looked at Jakob for help. He shrugged his shoulders. What would satisfy them without provoking more questions?

“Noah wanted to be sure Daniel’s not a threat. He knows his brother better than Jakob or I, so we …”

“We’re following his lead, until it’s resolved,” Jakob said, and Maddison sighed. Beside Jakob, Olivia clasped her hands in front of her and smiled.

Sophie’s face didn’t relax. “And you won’t tell us why? Or who initiated this?”

“It was me. I ended … whatever it was. He’s not who I thought.” An image of an onyx ring flashed before her eyes, and she shivered. “That’s all I’m going to say.”

Josh crossed his arms, his brow lowering. Sophie planted a hand on her hip. “You’ll talk things through when you’re ready?”

Maddison nodded. She wanted their opinions more than anything else, but she couldn’t risk their lives. “When I’m ready, I promise.”

“I’m sorry, Maddie. I know how much you liked him.” Olivia’s quiet, sweet words dripped into the tender places in Maddison’s heart, and the sorrow rose again.

She swallowed it down. “Thanks Liv.”

Olivia chewed on her bottom lip, crinkling her nose. “And I’m sorry if this makes it worse, but I want to make sure I understand. You broke things off with Noah yesterday, told him you wanted nothing else to do with him, and he still stayed outside your house to keep you safe?”

“Stayed awake all night too. He hasn’t left since he got here at eight thirty last night.” Respect rang in Jakob’s tone.

“Wait, he broke curfew for you?” Olivia’s eyes could not have been wider. “How did he … he could’ve got himself killed! And he’s not the man you thought he was?”

Direct hit. The shards rammed into Maddison again, reopening yesterday’s wounds, and she stifled a gasp. Nevertheless, she stiffened her spine. “He’s just not.”

Olivia marched into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a mug of coffee and four steaming pancakes wrapped in a napkin. Everyone watched dumbfounded as she opened the door and headed across the street. She didn’t talk long with Noah after handing over the breakfast, and when she returned, she zeroed in on Jakob.

“I told him he could come in and use your bathroom, shower and such.”

Still no one moved or spoke. They’d never seen Olivia so serious before. She always flitted along behind the rest of them, happy to go with the flow. Take charge? That phrase had never been used to describe her.

Olivia came up to Maddison and wrapped her in a warm hug. When they leaned back, Olivia locked eyes with her. “I love you, Maddie, but you’re wrong. He’s exactly who you thought.” One more squeeze and Olivia released her, turning to usher her other two friends out the door as well.

Within a minute, the living room stood silent and less three occupants. “Did that just happen?” Maddison stared after them.

“Pretty sure she’s right, sis.” She whirled to face Jakob. He held both palms held out in defense. “Hear me out. I did some research last night after you went to bed.”

He couldn’t say anything to erase what Noah’s Class One status meant. She rolled her eyes and walked past Jakob into the kitchen, sitting down at the kitchen table and looking out at the remaining leaves on the trees, stragglers one and all.

Jakob followed with his sketch pad. “I’m not saying it’s okay he lied to you, to us, but I think I understand it a little more this morning.”

She gaped. “How could it be okay for him to be dishonest about being a liquidator?”

“His superiors gave him an undercover mission, and we know he’s been trying to protect you. Daniel’s not the only one who might be unhappy about Noah’s cover being blown. Being honest with you put you in danger, and he didn’t want to do that. Kinda like how we aren’t being honest with Aunt Tay and your friends to protect them.”

She couldn’t argue with him there. She didn’t want to keep them in the dark, but she understood the need to protect the people she loved. If Noah had withheld anything else, it wouldn’t sting this way. “But he knew how I felt about liquidators. He should’ve told me then.” She hated the whine in her voice.

“Yes, he should have, but I understand why it was so hard for him to come clean. Honesty meant putting you in danger, putting himself at risk—not that he seems to take that into account—and losing you.”

“Wait, what do you mean, putting himself at risk?”

“Turns out liquidators aren’t as free of consequences as we thought.” He flipped open the sketchpad. “I copied this word for word from the government website: If a liquidator terminates a member of the Elite, that individual will face a tribunal to determine the rightness of his or her actions. Furthermore, any actions which are deemed treasonous by the Elite will result in the offending liquidator’s immediate liquidation.”

He paused, letting the words sink in. “Outing himself would be considered treason by the Ministry of Justice and by CSE’s regional liquidator, someone called McCray. I did some reading on him as well, seems like he’s not big on second chances. It’s not just a matter of protecting you or me. This is bigger than us, Maddie.”

She stared down at the table. Could this situation be even grayer than she thought? Maybe the decision had weighed on Noah. But would she ever be able to trust his word again? And what about the fact that he had killed people?

“Look at what else I found.” Jakob pointed to the middle of the page.

The paragraph in question defined entrance requirements for the Academy, the liquidators’ two-year training school. She was familiar with the information about the Gifting and Aptitude Placement but not the score necessary to be drafted.

Noah and his brother were geniuses.

Less than one percent of the population could achieve that score, and Noah and Daniel had. Her brain struggled to realign its perceptions. She continued reading until she reached the last line. “Those who qualify to enter the ranks of the Elite must accept the weighty responsibility to serve without reservation. All those who are selfish or weak enough to refuse will be eliminated.”

She read the words three times before their meaning sharpened in her brain. Her breath leaked out of her lungs. “Every placement’s compulsory. How did that never occur to me before?”

“Can you imagine being Noah?” Jakob ran a hand through his hair. “I thought about it last night before I fell asleep. He was my age when they drafted him, and the one choice he had—judge or die?” His eyes rose to meet hers. “Then to live every day, trying to make the right decisions. Do what no one else wants to do. To do his job and still be able to live with himself. Just to keep his head? It makes me hope I score real low.”

Jakob drafted into the Academy? The thought made her nauseous. Suddenly, even Josh’s placement didn’t seem so bad. Noah’s ability to hang onto his kind, protective heart while fighting for his life was an anomaly she couldn’t account for.

“That’s a lot to process, Jake.”

“Tell me about it.”

A hopeful voice within her cheered at the idea that maybe she hadn’t been wrong about Noah. However, it went against every paradigm about liquidators she had, so she silenced the hope.

“I’m going to go upstairs, I guess. Think some more, maybe rest.” She stood and squeezed Jakob’s shoulder. “Thanks. For everything.”

He shrugged and smiled, his cheeks coloring. “It’s my job.” She made it several steps toward the staircase when he interrupted her. “For what it’s worth, he really cares about you. He made it plain enough last night.”

She smiled a little and opened her mouth to respond, but the roar of a motorcycle drowned her out. Moments later, the motorcycle’s engine died in what sounded like their driveway. Across the street, a car door slammed.