Page 117 of Never Quiet

Noel and Rick walked out of the bedroom Roark and Ash shared. Hayden put her on her feet and her aunt crushed her in a hug that shook down all her defenses.

Amanda cried quietly, brokenly, and rambled incoherently. “He’s a monster and he almost killed him and they could have died and now he’s hurt and it’s my fault and I hate him and I’m tired and I’m angry, No-No.”

“I know, sweetheart. Hayden didn’t die and Ash is going to be just fine. It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.” After a little while, Noel wiped her tears. “Breathe. Settle your emotions so your mind can come back online. I need your brain, Amanda. Breathe with me.”

Nodding, she focused on the woman who’d first shown her how to calm herself in any situation. For two minutes, she stared into eyes identical to her own and breathed through almost debilitating stress and fear.

Finally, Amanda exhaled roughly. “It’s time to change tactics.”

Noel smiled slowly. “There you are. Almost thirty people are currently in your apartment. Most of them have never watched your logic in action. I want you to explain your thoughts, why you confronted Winston Winters…” She smoothed Amanda’s hair away from her face. “And why you plan to do it again.”

Hayden pulled Amanda’s back against his chest. “She won’t get near him again. Never, Noel.”

“Yes, I will,” Amanda said softly as she stared into Noel’s eyes. “Now, more than I was an hour ago, I’m determined to go at him until I break him.”

Elijah and Harper appeared beside them and Hayden turned her to face him, his hands gripping her shoulders.

Rick signed translation for Noel, a skill he’d perfected during their missions together.

Firmly, Elijah told her, “You cannot engage him, Amanda. You’re not equipped…”

“Yes, I can and I’m better equipped than anyone in this room because it has nothing to do with fighting ability. I’m not in the wrong for calling the monster out from beneath my bed.”

“He will try to have you killed…”

“No. He’ll try to kill everyone around me. He didn’t want me harmed before our conversation tonight. Now, I’m sure he has a special plan for me. I imagine he’d drag out my torture for years, keeping me alive to kill me over and over.”

Tawny lifted her phone. “Rick already translated this for Noel but everyone else in the room needs to hear it, Amanda.”

The redhead played back her exchange with Winston Winters at the theater while Noel watched Amanda intently.

Harper hissed, “He’ll stop at nothing!”

“I don’t care. I don’t fucking care. What makes my life more valuable than his other victims? Money? My relationship with Hayden? My badass aunt? Why should those things give me a higher place on the to be saved list? Let him do it then, Harper. Fucking let him.”

Elijah murmured, “Amanda, you have to understand…”

“Do you understand that, while I’m known for my love of science, my second love is computers? I duplicated an algorithm Hayden wrote me years ago, one he later perfected. I changed a few small pieces of code and it was incredible what I was able to find on this fucking animal.”

She stared into green eyes that had seen as much horror as Hayden’s. “Winston Winters needs to be destroyed and what you’re doing isn’t working.” Harper gasped softly. “You’re all trying to be subtle. Doing everything under cover of night, no names, no publicity. Meanwhile, he runs companies just like Harper. He owns land just like my dad. He goes to events like the ones Caroline throws. He gets to go to the theater with normal people and live a normal life in the daylight while he rapes, tortures, and destroys one person after another.” She said through her teeth. “It will not stand.”

Harper asked carefully, “What would you do, Amanda?”

“One thing that protects him is being from old money. The ultra-wealthy have a code. They don’t cause a fucking scene. They may ostracize but they don’t draw attention to a monster in their midst.”

“She’s fucking right there,” Hayden said sharply.

“For a man like him, the root of everything is power. Right now, he has all of it. No one says his name. No one lays his crimes at his feet. You try to take him out during covert missions but that isn’t working because his people will die for him. He maintains his power, his holdings, his fucking reputation.”

She looked at Elijah. “I want to call him out. Let him lay proof of his innocence beside my proof of his guilt. I’ll face him in court, in the press, and keep saying his fucking name. Even if he never does time, he’ll become a pariah in acceptable circles. He’ll lose investors. He’ll stop getting invited to galas. He’ll be audited, followed, harassed. That’s what I would do.”

“Try him in the court of public opinion and make him an outcast,” Harper murmured. “Without power, holdings, or reputation.”

“I’m not old money and I can’t match his power in your circles, Harper. My power is viral celebrity and no one in this room has as much of it right now as I do.” She rubbed her temple. “Get more people on my family…”

Elijah said, “Noel did that within thirty seconds of Tawny’s text at the theater. We didn’t expect Noel’s response to be laughter. It was terrifying.”

Amanda nodded. “Noel knows I’m not bluffing. She’s been stashing data packs all over the world during her missions. Each one has a geo-tracker with a ten year life and her server has all the locations.”

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