Page 109 of A Violet Obsession

“No, he rightly concluded that you and Ms. Jenkins were brought here to reveal where it is.”

“How many men?”

Noah’s lip curls, a predator’s smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Not enough.”

“He can’t possibly think this will work.”

“Alaric has never been entirely all there. Or what you’d call a clear thinker.” Noah’s voice drops, laced with something cold. “He takes being a malignant narcissist to a whole new level. But he’s also a coward. He’ll back down when he sees that he’ll have an actual fight on his hands.”

“You know him?”

“We were at boarding school together.” A dark expression crosses his face. “We’ve never really seen eye to eye. I think his mother told him he was a special little prince one too many times, and the obnoxious little fuck genuinely believed her.” He shrugs, but the movement is too controlled. “Either that or he’s done enough hallucinogens to finally fry his brain. Hard to say. Either way, I don’t appreciate him showing up at my grandfather’s home with a small army.”

“Army?” Lily echoes from behind me. The door opens further as I pull her closer, my arm sliding around her waist, feeling the rapid rise and fall of her breathing against my side.

Noah waves a dismissive hand. “Nothing to worry about. My helicopter’s inside the walls. We’ll provide cover when you take off.”

“We?” I shouldn’t poke at him when all signs say he’s going to help us leave, but there’s something about Noah Tate that doesn’t add up. The benevolent grandson routine feels like a second skin he could shed at will.

A dangerous light glints in his eyes, and the polite mask vanishes for a heartbeat. “Yes, we.” He holds my gaze, unblinking. “When I said my men, Mr. Markham, I meant my men.”

I file that away. Whoever this man really is, the version that apologized for his grandfather is only a carefully polished piece. I make a mental note to dig up the rest the second I have a keyboard.

“What’s the plan?” I press. “Because I’m not putting her into a helicopter on the word of a man I met an hour ago, then watching as Voss put rounds through the tail as we lift off.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Noah’s already turning away, but not before I catch the faint curve of anticipation at the corner of his mouth. “Alaric and I have a score to settle anyway.”

It sounds like he’s been waiting years for the chance.

I grab our bags. Lily scoops up Hera, who voices several loud, indignant opinions about it, and we move out the back of the main building, past several smaller structures. The compound feels different now. My free hand stays near the small of Lily’s back, ready to shove her behind me at the first sign of trouble.

The helicopter appears between the final two buildings. Unmarked and with obvious signs of a reinforced cockpit, this is not a rich man’s toy. The rotors have already begun spinning, sending a low whine through the air that vibrates deep in my chest.

“Ms. Jenkins,” Noah stops short of the rotor wash. “It was a genuine pleasure. Lovely to meet you. Perhaps next time I’m in Atlanta...” He inclines his head, flashing that practiced smile.

“Fuck off,” I tell him, as I usher Lily toward the helicopter, my body angled to shield her from his gaze.

Noah laughs and pulls the door shut behind us. Signaling to the pilot, he strolls back through the compound without a backward glance.

When we start to climb, Lily crushes Hera to her chest. The cat’s ears are pinned flat by the noise. I spare her a moment of sympathy before watching Noah Tate’s figure shrink below us, already disappearing into the maze of buildings.

“He’s kind of scary, huh,” Lily says, her lips brushing my ear to be heard over the roar. Her hand finds mine again, clinging tighter than before.

I turn my head to look at her. The fear in her eyes is real, but so is the trust. I lean in, pressing a quick, fierce kiss to her temple.

“Maybe that’s not the right word,” she continues. “But there was something⁠—”

I don’t answer because I know exactly what she means. Noah Tate bears watching. And whatever storm he’s about to unleash on Alaric Voss, I’m just glad we’re already in the air when it hits.

39

LILY

Two black, Elite SUVs greet us on the tarmac when we climb down the steps of Noah Tate’s jet, their engines idling, sending white puffs of exhaust into the frosty night air.

I barely manage a hello as Finn greets Brady and Vincent.

Because past Leo, who is leaning against one of the SUVs, looking like he hasn’t slept in days, I see…