Chapter 197

A couple days after the press conference, I waited for Noah at Miranda’s Brew for lunch. I nibbled on a turkey sandwich while my coffee cooled. Soon, I spotted Noah at the counter as he paid for his coffee and salad.

After Noah finished at the counter, I waved him down. I smiled broadly as he brought his food and briefcase over to the small table at which I sat. He returned the smile timidly.

“Good afternoon, Noah,” I said as he sat down.

“Good afternoon,” he replied, although his response was missing his normal enthusiasm.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, no, of course not.” He paused. “So, how did Andrew take the flowers?”

I cringed.

“Not well, at first.” I brushed the matter off with a wave of my hand. “Don’t worry. We got past it.”

Noah frowned but nodded.

“That’s good, I suppose.”

He opened the lid of his salad and poured some dressing on the lettuce.

My voice dropped to a whisper.

“Did you have an update on the Bob case that you wanted to tell me about?” I asked as he took a bite of salad.

He swallowed quickly. His voice matched my volume.

“Yes. I think that we might be able to put him away soon.”

My heart fluttered. Could there be an end in sight? No, no, I couldn’t get ahead of myself like that.

After all, Andrew kept saying that his investigation would allow us to get rid of Bob “soon,” and yet he was still out there, making threats to the people I cared about and me. No, it was best that I reined in my expectations.

“How soon is ‘soon’?” I asked.

“If the lead I have pans out, any day now,” Noah said.

I wanted to leap out of my seat and hug Noah, but I restrained myself. There was that sticky little word again, “if”. “If” was not going to get me Bob’s head on a silver platter. If I wasn’t careful, it would get mine delivered to Bob instead.

“Well, let’s take a look at it and see if it’s worth pursuing,” I said. I was so excited that I had all but abandoned my sandwich and coffee.

Noah reached down for his briefcase, then hesitated. He sat back up and stared at me, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly as though he meant to say something.

I tilted my head at him.

“What is it?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just…there’s something that I need to ask you before we proceed with this case.”

My brows scrunched together in confusion, but I nodded all the same.

“Go on,” I said, motioning for him to proceed.

Noah’s eyes darted about. He then leaned forward conspiratorially, dropping his voice so low that I could barely hear him.

“Is it true that Andrew has had…dealings with Matteo Barone as of late?”

The corners of my lips pulled downward. A vein in my temple twinged. I crossed my arms over chest and narrowed my eyes at Noah.

“If you watched the press conference the other day, I’m sure that you already know the answer to that,” I said in a firm tone.

“Yes, but he clearly was not telling the full truth.”

Inwardly, I cringed. If it was obvious to Noah, who else might have caught on to Andrew’s lies?

Noah’s a lawyer, I assured myself, he deals with lies and deceit all the time. That’s the only reason that he was able to recognize Andrew’s tells.

“What does this even have to do with Bob’s case?” I asked indignantly.

“I would just like to know the kind of people that I’m working for—”

“First of all, you’re not working for Andrew, you’re working for me,” I snapped, stabbing the table with my index finger for emphasis. “Second of all, it does not matter whether Andrew’s had ‘dealings’ with Mr. Barone or not. He is a good man.”

Noah gestured for me to lower my voice.

“Yes, I’m working for you, but you are deeply involved with Andrew,” he argued. “Everything that he does, affects you.”

“That’s why you should know that he would never do anything to negatively affect me.”

“But if he really is making deals with crime bosses—”

I pounded my fist on the table and leapt to my feet. Several people turned their heads towards us, but I did not care. Noah was plucking at my last nerve.

“You need to respect that Andrew does what he does for the betterment of werewolf kind,” I said through clenched teeth, “and, more importantly, for my safety.”

“But…how is it for the betterment of werewolf kind? Or for your safety?” Noah asked, sounding meek but not backing down.

I lifted my chin at him, showing him that I was every bit as strong and powerful as my boyfriend…under certain circumstances.

“You don’t need to know the how. You aren’t authorized to know the how.”

“Then how can I trust that Andrew hasn’t gone dirty on us?” Noah hissed.

My hands curled into fists to the point that I could feel my nails digging into my palms. My blood pressure shot through the roof. I forced myself to take a deep breath so that I could speak without losing my temper.

“I’m sorry, but if you can’t just respect that what Andrew does is for the best, then I don’t care how close we are to a breakthrough, I cannot work with you anymore.”

Noah appeared crushed. He dipped his head in submission and sighed.

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry,” he said, his voice soft and apologetic. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I won’t bring it up again.”

He bent over and grabbed his briefcase. I sat back down as he took out some papers and his laptop.

“So, we’re close on the money laundering case.” Noah lowered his voice to a whisper. “However, I think that I have someone who will be able to testify that he murdered Mr. Brown…”

This revelation should have had me on the edge of my seat, but my mind could not focus. I kept thinking about Noah’s insistence on knowing what Andrew was involved in and wondered how many of Andrew’s other constituents must be asking the same questions, even after the press conference.

“We’ll need to arrange some sort of witness protection, but I thought that Andrew would be willing to help…”

I wasn’t sure how much longer I would be able to keep up this charade. If we didn’t get Bob behind bars soon, Andrew might lose the trust of his constituents, and it would all be my fault.

“Do you think that he’d be able to do that for us?” Noah asked.

“Do what?” I asked, realizing that I had not been paying much attention to what Noah had been saying.

“Arrange witness protection for the person who wants to flip on Bob.”

“Oh, yes, I’m sure that he’ll be able to do that.”

Noah eyed me suspiciously as he closed his laptop.

“Are you okay, Crystal?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Yes, yes, of course.”

“You’re just acting a little…off.”

“My mind is just in a million places, that’s all.”

Noah still stared at me like I had three heads, but he proceeded to put his papers away.

“Whatever you say, Crystal.”