Come Back to Me

Chapter 40: Present Day

Thad's house—small mansion—was as beautiful as the man himself. I shouldn't have expected anything less. The modern blocky structure of his bachelor palace created the perfect juxtaposition with the backdrop of a soft, luscious forest. It was lit up like a lantern in the snowy darkness. The backlit silhouettes of Thad and Beth in the kitchen were clear to me as Noah guided his new SUV up the long, curvy driveway. Mark and Joshua were standing in the living space.

All the boys had traded in their vehicles for new ones, Noah had explained, as a precaution. If Stephen knew where we were living, then it wasn't a small jump to assume he also knew what cars they had and even the license plates. They had even sold Riley's flashy black car and the money was already in my bank account.

It looked like the Range Rover showroom had been running a buy one, get one sale. Noah parked his pristine black one next to a dark grey version which was parked next to a matching blue one. The blue one must be Joshua's. I shook my head, exiting the SUV and taking Noah's offered hand.

"Did you get a preferred buyer discount?"

He adjusted the box of wine he was holding so he could shove his hand into the back pocket of my jeans and give me a squeeze. "Not me. Thad."

"What do you mean?"

"All the cars are in Thad's name. Can't be traced to us."

I stopped, shocked. "Why would he do that for us?"

"As cavalier as he comes off, Thad has always helped my family, especially me. I've known him since I was fourteen when my dad hired him, and he treats me like a little brother. All three of us, actually. I don't think he will ever not be grateful for the opportunity my dad gave him and the support he provided to help Thad achieve his dreams."

Noah sighed, looking up at the impressive house. "He feels like he owes us something, I think."

I followed Noah's gaze, and we both took a few minutes to stand and appreciate not only the house but also Thad's help over the last week—sharing his apartment with us, the cars, and taking in Beth. Although I doubt that was a sacrifice on either of their parts.

I shivered and Noah frowned down at me. "Let's go inside. I didn't mean for us to be out here so long."

"Are you still not going to talk to him?"

"Just because I appreciate what he's done doesn't mean I'm okay with him spying on my naked girlfriend. Twice."

Noah knew about the gallery office camera. The police had requested all of Thad's footage for the evening. Even though he had deleted the video of Noah and me from his phone, the sneaky voyeur failed to explain to me that it was still saved in the security system's online database. The police had the full video, and I kind of wanted to die. Someone was studying that recording, mainly for the footage that included Stephen sneaking in and out of the office, but were they also fixating on the oral sexcapades of Noah and me?

Thad seeing us excited me a little bit, and I ultimately didn't mind if he still had a copy of the video. Honestly, it turned me on thinking about him getting off to a recording of me getting off. I was beginning to realize exhibitionism might be one of my kinks.

Just add it to the list.

"You can't go the whole night without saying anything to him. He's our host."

Noah grumbled, "Watch me." Then he led me up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the bell.

I heard a chorus of voices... Beth calling something to Thad...Joshua responding...Mark yelled something at both of them and then the thud of footsteps down the front hall.