Page 115 of Defend Me

NOAH

I don’t know how long I’ve been walking along the narrow winding path through the woods that skirt the bay between the grandiose houses of the Way and the rest of town.

Penny pads at my side, unbothered by the cold. I feel numb. Without Patrick to testify, I can’t stop the crawling panic that creeps up the back of my throat. I’m out for so long, I start to lose feeling in my fingertips. Finally, I decide it’s time to head back.

I’ve left my phone on Do Not Disturb and when I go to check my messages, I see several from Von as well as five missed calls. She answers on the first ring.

“Where have you been?” she cries.

“What’s happened?” I ask.

“We got a break, Noah. A huge break.” I can hear her smile through the phone. “I think…I think it’s going to be okay. Get back to the house now.”

“I’m on my way,” I say, picking up my pace to jog through the woods toward Everton, Penny loping along at my side.

When I get back to the mansion, Von is outside on the front porch.

“What are you doing out here? It’s freezing,” I say.

“I’m not cold,” she says, her breath puffing out in the night air. She’s bouncing on her toes, wrapped up in a thick wool coat, a huge smile on her face. “Have you ever heard of a Lazuli Bunting?”

“A what?”

“It’s a bird. My new favorite bird. I’m going to name all my future children Lazuli Bunting.”

“Von, you’re freaking me out,” I say warily. She laughs.

“Okay, let’s go inside,” she says.

Ten minutes later, we’re sitting at the kitchen island with steaming mugs of tea, as

Von tells me about her trip to the Screw and her call with Mr. Sanderson.

I make her tell me again, just to be sure I heard her right.

“Video?” I say.

She nods, beaming.

“There’svideoof me? On my dock? That morning?”

“That’s what he says. Grayson is already on his way to Florida to pick up Mr. Sanderson and the tape. They’ll be here in a few hours.” She reaches out to grip my hand. “We can do this, Noah. We can prove it wasn’t you.”

I stare at her blankly, my mind almost unwilling to accept what it’s been hoping for.

Then I leap up and sweep her off her chair, spinning her around as she squeals with glee. “You’re a genius!” I say.

“No, I’m not,” she says, laughing. “I said the right thing at the right time and stumbled on the best witness possible.”

“I’ll say,” I tell her, placing her back on her feet and pressing my forehead to hers. The tip of her nose is the tiniest bit coldwhere it touches mine. I run my fingers through her hair, the red strands catching the light as she tilts her chin up toward me. She grips the front of my shirt.

She swallows hard, her eyes full of vulnerable determination. “I’m falling in love with you, Noah.”

My blood roars in my ears as my swollen heart bursts into a thousand glittering fragments that rain down like stars inside my chest.

“I’m falling in love with you too,” I say.

We stand there in the dim light of the kitchen, sharing a kiss I never want to end, in a world that suddenly seems so full of hope and possibility.

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