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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Phoenix

I didn’t see Noel until later in the day. He was heading to Saintly Sweets—said something about it being his turn. Hazel and Four went with him.

Aziza sent over some information for me to read about hypnosis and uncovering things that were hiding in my mind.

She wasn’t surprised when I explained that I wanted Noel there, but she did tell me I shouldn’t have a room full of people, that a calm, quiet environment was best for a fulfilling outcome.

It was around lunchtime by the time Gabe entered the living room and asked if he could turn on the news. I didn’t care—I was huddled under a blanket in the corner with a book, and reruns of The Office were playing.

Shep was fixing sandwiches, and the aroma coming from the kitchen told me he was probably roasting a chicken for them. My stomach was going to miss all this yummy goodness after I left.

I knew Gabe was keeping an eye out for news about Adonis, but I was becoming really good at being able to shut that off every time they’d begin talking or a news reporter would touch on it. It seemed everyone was counting down the days until the next victim was displayed or he was caught.

Hank Zaffy was nowhere on the news, and I knew it likely had to do with the authorities trying not to startle him, but if what Rose said was true, the warrants would do that on their own.

We were just sitting to eat when Noel, Hazel, and Four returned.

“Hey.” JJ smiled. “Food’s on the counter.”

They all went about fixing their dishes, and warmth spread through my chest when Noel sat beside me.

“How was your day?” he whispered to me once everyone else was occupied with their own conversations.

“Quiet.”

“Perfect, then.”

His glasses were on the top of his head, his hair pulled into a bun so every inch of his face was exposed. He was stunning, and the urge to lean in and kiss his plump lips almost made me choke on my sandwich.

“You okay, Nix?” Hazel patted my back.

“Yeah…” I coughed. “Wrong pipe.”

“I got an interesting call today,” Angel interrupted, taking the attention off me, thankfully.

“Oh?” Mason asked.

“Agent Rose asked me why one of my brothers was wondering why the FBI didn’t interview Hank Zaffy’s father and brother.” Angel quirked a brow at Noel.

“Why’d he call you? I’m the one who messaged him.”

Angel released a gruff laugh. “He doesn’t like you…his words.”

“Rude.” Noel pouted, and I wanted to poke his bottom lip. Oh, my God . What is wrong with me?

“It’s a good question.” Four defended Noel. “He gave us Hank’s name. A simple Google search would show people in Hank’s life. What did he say?”

“He didn’t say much. I asked him why he didn’t as well. Noel hadn’t made me privy as to why he asked, but I knew he had his reasons.”

“I did some digging into Hank’s life. He runs the funeral home with his father and brother, so it stood to wonder why they weren’t voices Phoenix was asked to listen to.”

Angel nodded. “Well, he told me that Hank was the one who does all the orders. The father, Randall, doesn’t work much anymore due to rheumatoid arthritis, and his brother, Jaron, only works the books. So Hank is the one who does the physical work.”

“Um there’s a huge flaw in that—many, actually.” JJ wiped his mouth. “If Jaron does the books, he would be the one ordering. And just because Hank does the physical labor doesn’t mean he’s the sicko behind this. Any one of those two could do it, RA be damned. Or they all are.”

Angel grunted. “Which is what I said to him.”

Nick patted Angel’s shoulder. “See, I told these guys you were always smarter than you looked.”

“I will rip your hand off and shove it between two slices of bread and chow down.”

Nick laughed but hastily removed his hand.

“And?” Mason gestured for him to continue.

“It seemed to catch him off guard—which is a little jarring, if you ask me, but eventually he said he’d get those recordings to us.”

Shep hummed. “This is why I don’t trust the authorities. Well, one of them. They take shortcuts, are understaffed, and lack the resources they need to achieve an optimal end to their cases.”

“Mendez was always saying things like that when I’d call about my stalker.” Matt was home today, and this was the first time he’d really spoken about his stalker—James, his ex-landlord.

“In the end it took Nick and Angel, and of course all of you hacking into places you shouldn’t to save me.”

Hazel held up her glass of water. “Then I’m grateful we’re here and have you to help Nix.”

Everyone followed suit. Even me, reluctantly, when Noel elbowed my arm.

“Yeah, seriously. Thank you, guys.” I sipped my water, and the conversations moved from Adonis to something about Four wondering if Lizzy would like going to a cooking class for a date.

Since it was family night again, we had Panera for dinner and watched Wicked , which I was in heaven to see. It was more amazing than I’d hoped.

Afterward everyone went their separate ways and oddly, I found myself lingering outside Noel’s door.

“So, we had all the bedrooms soundproofed because there’s far too much sex that goes on in this house, and we did not want a porn symphony.

You’ll have to knock.” Angel was walking by with a cookie in his hand.

He never paused, just kept going right along.

He was a bit standoffish, but you knew what you were getting with him.

Why was I even here? I’d been in my room reading, the book pretty hot and heavy, and Noel’s smiling face had popped into my head. I’d gotten a momentary jolt of bravery and decided I’d go and say…what?

Just then his door opened, and he didn’t seem shocked to see me.

“You’ve been out there for ten minutes.”

I looked down the hallway where Angel had gone. “Angel said the rooms were soundproofed.”

He lifted his finger up, and there was a small camera above the doorframe.

“Ohhh.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled. “What’s up, wanna come in?” He moved out of the way and motioned for me to enter, so I did.

“I was um…” No way I was admitting to what I was doing.

“Bored?”

I whipped around to see his face, hoping he wasn’t thinking that I came here for him to entertain me. But he had a playful smirk, almost as if he knew why I was really here.

“Reading.”

“Reading?” He sat on his desk chair, and I went to the comfy-looking oversized beanbag chair.

“Yes, and then there was a character that reminded me of you, and I was wondering what you were up to so, here I am.”

He narrowed his eyes, always analyzing. “What book?”

I patted the beanbag. “This is insanely comfortable.”

His face bloomed into the most gorgeous grin, but he spared me. “I stole it from Nick when Matt moved in. They looked cramped.”

“So generous of you.”

He shrugged. “I’m the giving twin.”

“Taking.” I snorted.

“Same thing.”

It wasn’t, but I decided to let him have the win.

I tilted my chin to his many monitors. “What are you doing here?”

“Everything.” He shifted a bit so I could get a better look. “The shop, the house, the grounds. Here are some socials on the Zaffys, and there’s Tor.”

“Tor?”

“Dark net. But Tor is actually a legal platform that Zaffy uses to sell his weird-ass roadkill creations.”

“Oh…eww.”

He sniggered. “Very unsettling.”

“Noel, can I ask you a favor?”

He spun around from where something had snagged his attention on the monitor.

“Of course, what’s up?”

I took a deep breath. He’d likely say no; I wasn’t really worth any favors…no, that was Adonis speaking. When I met Noel’s gaze, it was warm and inviting. He’d be truthful and kind, and if he said no, it wouldn’t hurt.

“Will you kiss me?”