Page 62 of Saving Noah

“Are you sure he’s dead? Maybe that’s a lie they’re feeding the media because he’s escaped or something.”

“No, he’s dead. I already called Caleb, and he confirmed Donovan’s dead. It was Moretti. He told me it looked like a suicide, but they’re still investigating. They think maybe he was murdered.”

Zach’s heart ached in agony, knowing how much terror Noah felt at the moment. He wouldn’t let Noah down. Hecouldn’tlet Noah down. Like a fucking coward, he hadn’t been able to tell Noah how he truly felt. Now…he might never get the chance.

“Maybe the FBI moved him? Would they do that if there’s a question about Moretti being murdered?” Zach asked quickly. “They would do something like that, wouldn’t they?” Cameron could have been lying to them last night, tricking them into letting their guard down so the FBI could rush in and take Noah away.

“I…guess. I don’t know. Shit, no they wouldn’t call him and make him pretend to be talking to you and then knock me senseless. That isn’t FBI style. It’s something else, Zach.” His eyes begged Zach to forgive him. “It’s something bad.”

“Hey,” Wayne interrupted. “Don’t go there. Both of you need to keep a clear mind to work through this. Noah is depending on you guys…on us. We can do this.” To Connor, he said, “Do you have any contacts with the FBI? Does anybody know who Noah’s liaison with the FBI was?”

Zach and Connor frowned at the same time. Connor clenched his jaw, but Zach didn’t hold anything back. “What the fuck do you know about liaisons with the FBI, Wayne?” Suspicion curdled in Zach’s gut. His mistrust of Wayne exploded to a dangerous level.

“Stop, Doc,” Wayne said gently. “I know what you’re doing, and I understand why you’re doing it. You’re wrong, though. How I know anything about the FBI, liaisons, and witness protection has nothing to do with your Noah. I have my own shit to deal with, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help you with yours.”

“Why should I believe you?” Zach demanded. “You suddenly appear in my life, and the next thing I know, Noah’s missing. Give me a break here, Wayne. What else could I think was going on?”

“No,” Wayne answered quietly. “You suddenly appeared in my life, Doc. I lived here eight months before you showed up. You’re also wasting time we could be spending on trying to figure out where Noah is.” He looked down at Connor. “You both need to figure out whether you’re going to trust me or not. If you can’t, I’ll leave. I sure the fuck don’t want to be a distraction.”

The room fell silent and Wayne turned away. Connor stopped him by catching Wayne’s hand in his own. “Zach’s scared, babe. I’m scared. He had to ask the question. You and I have already had this discussion and I trust you. You know this.”

“I understand why Zach doesn’t trust me,” Wayne answered. “I also understand if you all want me to go.”

“No. Stay. You’re right, though—we are wasting time. Time Noah doesn’t have,” Zach finally agreed. “Hey! How about Mack in security? Can you call him, Conn? He would let us review the security footage, wouldn’t he?”

Two hours later, Zach felt like he’d blown through the first four stages of grief, but since he refused the final stage, acceptance, he’d started all over again. As he rode in the backseat of Connor’s truck, he knew he was firmly lodged back in the denial stage again. They were on their way to Cameron’s penthouse. Connor was going to demand answers about Noah and, in his words, he would get themone way or another. Zach, though his heart knew there was a zero possibility of it being true, had allowed the denial stage to convince him Noah might be with Cameron.

Maybe the FBI was in the process of moving him, and he’d be with Cameron, ready for transfer to a safe place.

Maybe they’d pulled him out until the investigation into Moretti’s death was completed?

Maybe he’d been miraculously cured from his social phobia and decided to go for a fucking walkabout…after knocking Connor unconscious.

Shit, he was firmly back in the anger stage again.

“Are you sure about the address, Conn?” he asked for the tenth time. “Are we almost there? He’s got to be there. There’s nowhere else.”

“Yes, I’m sure about the address. My friend at the DA’s office gave it to me. We’re about forty-two seconds away from being there. Try to stay calm, Zach. You know I’m not going to let anything happen to Noah.” He took a deep breath that was shaky and weak. “I won’t fuck up again.”

“You didn’t fuck up, Conn. I know that. Hell, I knew it when I said all that shit back in the apartment.” Zach scraped his hands over his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m just scared. I…I never told him I loved him,” he whispered, mostly to himself, but Wayne and Connor no doubt heard his shame. “He gave me everything, and I couldn’t give him the one thing he wanted.” Tears threatened to fall. Again.

They’d fallen like raindrops when they’d knocked on the door to the security office where Mack was always stationed. Where Mackusedto be stationed. When no one answered the knock, they’d barged right in and found Mack sitting in front of the countless television screens in front of him. His throat slit from ear to ear. His empty eyes unfocused on theblankscreens Zach and Connor had hoped would give them answers to Noah’s disappearance. While they’d waited for the police to get there, Zach had sat in the corner of the room, crying like a baby, while Connor busied himself by reviewing the security tapes. Apparently, they’d been erased and then a virus had been uploaded to corrupt the whole security system, including the backup drive.

With that door slammed in their faces, they’d headed out to confront Cameron. The asshole didn’t come across as capable of pulling off something like this, but then the whole lazy, incompetent persona might have been faked to lure them into dropping their guard around him.

“Noah told me he loved me exactly six times. I never told him once.” Zach could remember each and every damned time. He could also remember the fucking fear that gripped his heart and soul the moment he’d tried to open his mouth and tell Noah he felt the exact same way. Now he might never get the chance.

“Noah knows you love him, Zach,” Connor said quietly.

“Sure, he does,” Zach mumbled. Of course, Connor would say what Zach needed to hear right now, anything to talk him off the ledge.

“What the fuck?” Wayne muttered as he craned his neck in every direction. “What’s going on?”

Three police cars with flashing lights, an ambulance, and a fire truck sat in the parking lot of Cameron’s apartment building. Yellow tape blocked anyone from getting close, and a cop stood outside the tape signaling folks to keep moving. Zach’s heart plummeted straight into the pit of his stomach. Connor drove up to where the cop waved wildly for him to move on, rolled down his window, and motioned the cop over.

“Listen, buddy. You need to keep moving. This is a crime…” Surprise etched across the cop’s face, but then he quickly moved to step up to Connor’s window. “Sorry, Detective. I didn’t know it was you. Did you get called in on this one?”

“Nah, just on my way to visit an acquaintance living here. What happened?”

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