Chapter 177

I hated lying to Andrew, but he left me with no choice. I needed to get Bob behind bars immediately. This case was the case to do that, and Noah was the man to help me.

I just prayed to the Moon Goddess that Andrew would be able to forgive me.

I could not give that much thought as I sat at a table inside Miranda’s Brew. The café was one of my regular haunts, so no one would think anything of me eating there. At the same time, it was inconspicuous and low-key enough that no one would really think to come looking for me there, either.

It was as close to complete anonymity as I could get anymore.

I had told Andrew that I was checking in on Ever After Weddings, which I had, earlier that morning. I just didn’t tell him who I was having lunch with afterwards.

I smiled and stood as Noah approached my table, carrying a coffee in one hand, a sandwich in the other, and a bouquet of yellow roses tucked under his arm.

“Noah! It’s been too long,” I said as he set his food on the table across from mine.

“Yes, far too long,” Noah replied, not meeting my eyes. He took the flowers from under his arm and held them out to me. “These are for you.”

“Oh, Noah, you’re too sweet.” I accepted the roses and brought them to my nose, inhaling their scent deeply. “You really didn’t have to—”

“Yes, I did.”

Noah kicked at the ground as he stared at our feet.

“Crystal, I’m so sorry for how I acted when you were…arrested. And for not being in contact since then. It was wrong of me.”

“You were just doing what was best for you—”

“But I should have thought about what you were going through. Of course you didn’t—” his voice dropped— “kill Mr. Brown. I should have known that.”

I waved my hand, trying to dismiss the matter.

“You weren’t the only one whom I had to convince of my innocence. Very few people believed that I was.”

Noah’s nose crinkled.

“But Andrew did, apparently.”

I shrugged but decided to change the subject.

“Let’s sit down and get eating. I don’t want to take up your entire lunch period.”

Noah smiled as we sat down.

“I can’t think of a better way to spend my time than with you.”

I grinned and blushed, setting the flowers aside.

“So—” Noah unwrapped his sandwich— “why did you want to meet up today?”

I blew on a spoonful of my tomato bisque and sipped at it before I replied.

“I wanted to talk about the case against Bob. It’s imperative that we pick it up again.”

Noah watched me over his sandwich. He took a bite and chewed slowly, as though considering the prospect.

“Wouldn’t you rather lie low after…Mr. Brown?”

I shook my head.

“No. I need this case to be successful. I am not exaggerating when I say that my life depends on it.”

Noah swallowed a mouthful of sandwich.

“You’re that serious about revenge?”

Again, I shook my head.

“It’s not about the revenge anymore. Not really.”

“Then what is it about?”

“I’m sure that you’ve seen the various attacks against me on the news.”

Noah cringed.

“Yeah. I have. I’m sorry that I haven’t been there for you during all that—”

“That’s not why I brought those up.” I leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “Those were not the only attacks against me.”

Noah’s eyes widened. His voice dropped to a whisper as well.

“There were more?”

“Yes. I’ve been stalked, stabbed with silver, thrown to vampires—”

“You were thrown to vampires?”

I closed my eyes. I could not take the pity in Noah’s expression and fight off a flashback at the same time.

“Yes. I’ve been attacked several times in several ways, and the attacks were not always random.”

“You mean…Bob orchestrated them?”

I nodded.

“The reason that he hasn’t succeeded in killing me yet is because of Andrew’s resources, specifically his personal guard.”

Noah’s face went cold.

“It’s no wonder you have stayed with him for so long.”

I decided to ignore that comment. It was better for me to stay focused on the task at hand.

“In his most recent attempt, he teamed up with a crime boss who wanted me dead—”

“Why did a crime boss want you dead?”

My body tensed. That wasn’t a topic that I was ready to talk about in depth, but I knew that I would need to explain some of it to get Noah to understand exactly how drastic the situation had become.

“I killed his favorite assassin after Bob hired him to kill me.”

Noah’s mouth soundlessly formed an “o”. He did not press me for more details. I supposed that that was the best outcome that I could have wished for.

“The only way to keep me safe is to put Bob away on some charge. That way, he won’t be able to put out another hit on me. We have a solid case against him.”

Noah put down the last half of his sandwich and rubbed the back of his neck. He hesitated long enough that I worried that he would refuse to pick up the case again.

I reached forward and grabbed his free hand in both of mine. I looked at him with pleading eyes.

“Please, Noah,” I begged. “You’re my only hope.”

Noah sighed and placed his other hand on top of mine.

“All right. I’ll do it.”

I raced over to Noah’s side of the table and flung my arms around his shoulders, pulling him in for a tight hug. He awkwardly held my arms in return.

“Thank you, Noah! Thank you!”

Noah hesitated.

“There’s something that you should know, though.”

I pulled away to look Noah in the eye.

“What should I know?” I asked suspiciously.

Noah motioned for me to sit down. I obeyed, my gaze never leaving him.

“A few weeks ago, someone approached me asking if I had any information on Bob.”

My blood ran cold. Had Bob caught on to our investigation and tried to put an end to it by intimidating Noah? I swallowed against the hard knot forming in my throat.

“What did you do?”

“Well, I didn’t give him anything at first.”

“At first?”

“He offered me a lot of money…”

“Noah!” Tears sprung to my eyes. “How could you?”

Noah held up his hands in an attempt to pacify me.

“Crystal, you don’t have anything to worry about. I recognized the man.”

“What?”

“He was a private investigator. I’ve worked with him before. He would never work with the likes of Bob, but he would certainly work against him.”

I wiped the tears away before they could stream down my cheeks.

“So, you think that someone else is investigating Bob as well?”

Noah nodded.

“They would have to be rich, too. A private investigator like this man would not come cheap.”

That was when it hit me. Someone rich who had reason to investigate Bob.

Andrew.

“That son of a bitch,” I whispered.

“What?” Noah asked, taken aback by my sudden change in demeanor.

“Andrew has been investigating Bob all this time—” my hand curled into a fist— “and he never even told me.”