Enigma

Chapter 45

Harvey's call came shortly before they landed.

The confirmation that Lillian had asked for was secured. The person Harvey had apprehended was, indeed, the person who'd raped her.

"Thank you, Harvey." Noah hung up, gripping the phone so tightly it cracked. He had no need to tell Lillian. Harvey's voice would've been clear to her wolf ears.

Lillian's face showed no emotion except a subtle tightening of her lips. But Noah felt her turmoil through the budding bond between them.

"Excuse me," she said, standing up. Arthur and Elle were focused on the screen of the laptop, but they would've heard every word, too.

Lillian went to one of the corner seats of the jet.

Noah picked up one of Lydia's files and flipped through it, not really seeing the words. He shifted in his seat, throwing the file on the table and looking out the window. The darkness below sparkled with distant city lights. He only lasted a few minutes before moving next to Lillian.

He sat next to her. She didn't turn away from the window. The muted lights of the interior made her reflection in the glass faint, haloed by the black sky outside.

The bond between them pulsed with sadness and anger and fear, a tangle he had no idea how to help her unravel. He hated feeling helpless.

"I'm afraid to see him," she finally whispered. "And it makes me angry."

"You don't have to see him." Even as he said it, he knew he was wrong.

"Yes, I do," she said, her voice tight. "I have to see him and shake the hold he has on me. I don't want to live in fear any longer. I-"

She gulped. Noah put his hand on hers and squeezed, keeping his silence until she continued. She turned to look at him, her eyes dark pools limned by blue.

"I want to kill him," she whispered, her voice tremulous. "Does that make me a bad person?"

He leaned forward until his nose was inches from hers. "I want to keep him alive and torture him. Slowly. Cut off his limbs and castrate him, make him crawl for you, beg for your forgiveness, then I will pluck his eyes out, bleed him out, let him heal enough just to be tortured all over again. When he no longer knows who he is or why he is punished, then I will kill him," he said. "Who's the worst of the two of us? You or me?"

Lillian touched soft fingers to his scarred cheek. "I won't let you. I don't want him to taint my-our-lives any longer. I just want him gone."

"Then he will be gone," Noah said, turning his face to kiss her fingers. "If you want to do it, I will hold him down for you. If you don't want to, I will end him for you. Whatever you choose to do, I'll be there. You won't have to endure anything on your own again."

Her bottom lip trembled. She closed her eyes, and a tear sparkled down her cheek. Noah leaned his forehead against hers and sighed heavily. He wanted nothing more than to go back, tear the bastard to shreds and go home to the twins. But they needed to see this to the end. Otherwise, Lillian and the twins would always be in danger.

The sky was still dark when they landed in Washington DC. The drive from Arthur's private hangar to Senator Brady's house took an hour. One of Arthur's vampires stationed in the city had driven them from the airport, parking the car several streets away from the house. They closed the distance on foot.

"He has tight security around his house," Arthur said, walking down the street in a t-shirt and jeans. Elle, who had ditched her visible weapons, much to her complaints, next to him. The two looked like a couple out for a night stroll. If you didn't notice the patch on Elle's eye, the way she moved like a fighter ready to attack, or the dark look in Arthur's eyes.