Page 64 of Tank
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Nadya
I stopped the truck in front of a one-story cabin. It was the only thing out here for miles. I had no idea what was going through Noah’s head and I was sure my silence only set him more on edge. I couldn’t talk, I knew if I did I’d spill everything and I wasn’t sure how he’d react to it all. I figured it was just best to get him here as fast as possible. I was sure once he saw that his son was alive he would be alright.
Inside the cabin, the air felt tight. I tried to inhale but it was like my lungs were frozen. He would know soon and I had no idea where that would leave me. And I actually found that I felt sad.
But it wasn’t about me right now, it was about him. So I stood tall and did my best to put up a front, even if I felt completely gutted.
A woman walked out of the hall and Noah’s head whipped to look at her so fast I thought it would snap. She was tall, with long, black hair and a face with features I recognized so well. Features that were a bit more delicate than the ones I’d spent the last few months staring at. This had to be one of his sisters. For a moment Noah looked stunned and confused, then he started to steam with anger.
“Tank, how did you…” Her words died in her throat as she flung herself into his arms. I could hear her soft sobs even though they were muffled by his shirt as he wrapped her up tightly in a hug.
“So, this is the boy’s dad?” The guy that she had called Grant asked.
This was it. This was the moment of truth and I had no illusions that I would be forgotten completely once the beans were spilled. And that was alright because I knew Noah would be happy and his life would go on with his son. Even if it was without me.
His sister looked over at Grant, he gave her a firm nod and took a seat on the couch, his butt perched on the edge like he was ready to jump up at any second. This guy was trained. It was not only obvious from his tight stance but from the way his eyes danced around the room, never lingering on one thing for too long. I knew nothing about this situation and who this guy was. The only thing I could guess was that this was some sort of safe house and he had been placed to play guard dog.
Eyeing the small space, I saw a few toys scattered about, a coloring book rested on the table next to a romance novel. If it weren’t such an intense moment, I might have chuckled at that.
“Why are you here?” Noah asked looking down at his sister before turning to me with a pensive look on his face. “And how did you know?”
“Tank, there’s something you need—just follow me,” Darcy said capturing his attention once again.
I stayed rooted in place as she took his hand and led him down the dark hall. I wanted to follow. I wanted to witness the moment the happiness returned to his eyes. And after hearing him talk about his son, I wanted to see them together. But at the same time, I didn’t think I could handle the hurt that was to come, because there was no denying that as soon as he saw his son, the world would be shifted and I’d no longer have a place there.
“You look familiar,” Grant said, jolting me out of my thoughts. I leaned my shoulder against the wall and looked over at him with a shrug. I didn’t want to look familiar to anyone, that was never a good sign. “Marco Perez.”
One name that made my blood run cold.
“I was there,” he said, shocking the fuck out of me.
The one job that I’d fucked up, well besides Noah. It seemed like I was on a roll lately. Maybe Silas was right, I should hang up my hat.
“How?”
“I was working with the FBI. My team had been called in to help with a case. We knew you were there, but we kept it from the FBI. Figured it was better if we let you get to him first. The things he’d done…” Grant blew out a harsh breath as he shook his head. Clearly, he knew more about the guy than I did. I mean, I had an idea that Marco had done some unsavory things, but during my week watching him I’d never seen anything too bad. “What happened with that?”
“I was all set up and ready to go. I saw the FBI approaching the house, and I knew it was now or never. But then that little girl came into the room and I had to make a choice. She had to have been, what, five? Six? It was between her seeing her dad’s brains splattered everywhere or letting her see the FBI take him in. Figured it was bad enough her dad was a monster, she didn’t need to be scarred by what I was about to do.”
“The lesser of two evils,” Grant mumbled.
“Yeah, sure.” I didn’t have a good reason for it all. I would have liked to have said that it was all bullshit, but then again maybe it was the truth. I didn’t let myself think about it because it was easier to move on that way.
“What?!” The word angrily roared down the hall in a tone I’d never heard from Noah. My eyes shot to the darkened space of where Noah and his sister stood. I wanted to go to him and calm him down.
I couldn’t imagine it was easy news to find out. To know that what you’d been going through—feeling—the last few months had all been a lie. To learn that the weight you had been carrying around on your shoulders, and the death you were trying so hard to live with, wasn’t real at all. It couldn’t have been easy to swallow.
“I can’t imagine how he’s feeling,” Grant said, though my attention remained on the hall. “You should go to him.”
“No, this is his time. He needs to be alone with his family. I’m just the delivery girl.” I could feel the tears stinging my eyes as I said those words but I didn’t let them fall. I held my head high like I’d always done. This was just a small bump in the road. I’d be able to move on, or so I tried to convince myself.
