Song - Toxic, Britney Spears

In the time that we waited, I thought about Noah and his hidden life. The information that Roman had transferred to a flash drive was still here with us. No one wanted to look at the images. Except I did, not for pleasure but for research.

Noah had named every file with the date that it happened. So, with a pen and paper, I wrote down the dates. While I was in the horrid files, I also took notes about the women. There was a variety in their appearances, but I noticed that one thing dominated. Noah was a breast man.

Not only did I notice it in the view of the woman but in how often he pawed at them. There were even images of them dressed, and he was copping a feel.

I was a little top-heavy, and when I looked at my chest, I understood why Noah might have chased me. There might have been other reasons. Who would know? He said he loved me but then, he also said that he'd found the only woman that could please him. I guess he must have been talking about someone else.

Jasper was stalking around the warehouse, complaining about many things, but the most was that he couldn't take too long off work. Otherwise, someone would get worried and send a care basket or check-up on him. It meant that the doors to the other section were open and he didn't like it.

The only time we could leave this place was when I went to kill Noah. The underground movement would not be pleased with us regardless, but Roman had warned them that I wasn't going to sit around and let Noah get away with his crimes.

Jasper stopped, looking at my notes as he leaned on the opposite counter.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to figure out if Noah has a type."

"Yeah, breathing."

"And hopefully legal too."

Jas said nothing in response. I looked up and saw a plain face. He shrugged, which was not helpful.

"Jas," I chided.

"Guild girls are always legal, no matter what deals are made or whatever other nonsense they get up to. As for Noah and his conquests, I don't know. From the brief view I had of those images, they looked like adults. I didn't want to look at them, so I didn't really pay attention. You're the one that's had your nose stuck in the laptop for the past couple of hours."

I sighed, closing the lid of the laptop.

"Yeah, he's legit. Isn't he just a legend?"

Jas snorted a laugh. Roman wandered over, sliding up onto the stool next to me. His phone, which he'd spent most of the morning on, was dumped on the counter.

"So, the movement has been tracking all updates, information, and any notes made. There was a meeting between Otis and Barney, as well as a few hunters and department heads. Did you know that they hold regular meetings?"

Roman grinned as he toyed with his phone by turning it, distracting me for a moment. I frowned at it and then at him.

"I don't know anything they do."

"Well, apparently, it's a thing that the hunters do so much that it was deemed necessary that a bug was placed in the meeting room. The underground have stated that they are incredibly pleased with Jasper's efforts."

Jasper lifted from the counter, bowing with an extravagant flourish as he accepted his adulation.

"Today's meeting included your darling husband, who has been hauled over the coals."

"Really?" I hummed with intrigue. "What for?"

"Well, after this mysterious woman was seen at the Christmas party and killed two of their hunters, they took stock of the situation. They also included other deaths because Marnie is dead and it's believed that Bella is also dead. Otis questioned his son, probably knowing he was hanging out with them. Noah must have said something about Steve being the one who abducted you. You might like to know the accomplice was actually Bella."

"What a lovely revelation," I muttered.

"Yeah, Noah said that one of them must have left the door unlocked. Noah checked the safe, and it stated that it had been cleaned out. Otis is pissed that it happened because it was obvious that it wasn't broken into. He accused his son of having the code written down somewhere. The overall view is that they think that Noah is being targeted by the vampires as punishment for what we supposedly believe is an attempt to take us down."

"How so?"

"You were dumped in a vampire hotspot."

"Oh. He was trying to blame the vampires for killing his wife, and Otis thinks that the vamps figured it out."

Roman nodded.

"They also think that it was the vampires that have killed everyone as they were the ones with you the night you died. Essentially, they were Noah's alibi, and now that they're dead, he has nothing. It was Barney that suggested the vampires are taking out witnesses which would mean that there is no proof of vampires being involved in your death. Which leads us to one little problem."

"Security around Noah?"

With a grim nod, Roman turned on his phone and opened up a message. There was an image of my former home. A guard could be seen ushering Noah to a town car.

"He does not leave the house at night, and during the day, a security team collects him to take him to work."

Frustrated, I huffed. This was going to make life difficult. Didn't Noah know how much I wanted to kill him?

With the phone back on the counter, Roman shifted to face me.

"There is a bonus, though. One that you might like."

"It would have to be pretty big."

"How about Noah being banned from going to Mon Crief?"

"What's Mon Crief?"

"It's where they hold the trials to become a hunter." Jas offered. "It's also where they hold the guild girl parties."

I chuckled.

"Seriously?"

Roman nodded with a beautiful smirk.

"Daddy said no more playtime and no becoming a hunter until he's free from issues, and without a wife declared dead and the police breathing down his neck, Noah's chances of returning are hanging by a thread."

"I wonder if he remembered that his training book was in the safe."

We both looked at Jasper, who shrugged one shoulder.

"The man had a code of one-two-three-four on a safe with highly classified information in it. Clearly, he's not the brightest spark in the world. Are we free to send the video yet?"

"They asked for a couple more hours as there is going to be a meeting soon. Apparently, Otis is going to take control of getting the cops to declare you dead. I guess he thinks that if it comes from him rather than Noah, it will look better. He's probably hoping they will not try to pin it on him. It was agreed that if Noah is going to come out from hiding behind his father's security, it will be done when he thinks there is no threat."

"Vampires are always going to be a threat to a hunter. What difference is it going to make if Dani's declared dead or not?" Jasper asked.

"He has to give the appearance of a grieving widow. Not a man who is enjoying his newfound freedom."

Roman shrugged, much to Jasper's obvious frustration. He wanted to go back to work, and until this was over, he was stuck within these walls. With a huff, he wandered off to the gym. Seconds later, I heard the punching bag being given hell.

When I turned to look at Roman, he rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

"I know he's right. For the record, I agree with him. As long as we live in the same city, we are always going to be a threat to each other."

"Do you really think that Noah's going to emerge once I'm declared dead?"

Roman nodded.

"Once it happens, his ban will be lifted, and he'll be ready to start his new life. I get it. I understand why they told us to wait. If he's free, he will try to get into the trials. When he looks for his book, he will realise it's missing."

"Maximise his suffering, dragging it out for longer than just a few days."

With a mean laugh, I wrapped my arms around Roman's neck. He shifted me onto his lap, smoothing his wayward hands over my backside.

"You could be in the gym, preparing for the finale." he purred against my lips.

"Or I could be somewhere else, maybe with you buried between my legs."

He hummed softly, biting his bottom lip as his gaze lowered. The tempting offer had been made, and Roman was always ready to accept.