And I’m hoping that through doing this, he gets that I’m trying and that he lets me in on whatever has everyone on edge, without being afraid of how I would react.
I was right.
Noah sneaks out at night.
I watch my husband tiptoe out of the room, leaving the door open just a sliver.
I’m not proud of it, but earlier I pretended I was falling asleep while he was rocking Adrian. I let him kiss me on the forehead afterward, wondering how many times he’s done that in the last two weeks. I stayed as still as I could, slowing my breaths to an even pace to feign sleep as he lingered, his knuckles grazing my cheek.
I knew he was staring at me, watching me sleep, and I let him.
I grab the baby monitor, making sure the video camera is on and Adrian is visible. Then, I follow him out of the room. I’m greeted by Mina’s surprised face as I pass her on the way out the door.
Clearly, she was getting ready to sit with us in the room as Noah’s proxy, which just adds to my theory that something is wrong.
Especially when I spy her weapon on her hip.
“Ria, was there something you needed?” she asks quietly, stepping in front of me to block my way to the living room.
I quirk an eyebrow at her. We’ve gotten close these past few weeks and the slight pinch in between her eyebrows tells me she’s stressed. Right now, she’s on alert, which puts me on alert too. Knowing she would never forcefully keep me here, I nod my head towards the hallway, a silent way of asking her to let me through.
When she sighs in defeat, I give her a tight smile of gratitude.
“Please watch over Adrian. Excuse me.”
I sidestep around her and head straight to the basement door.
I get there just as Noah is punching his fingerprint on the pad to unlock the door. I bypass him and open the door myself. I don’t give him the chance to stop me as I run down the stairs, Noah’s feet chasing behind me.
I stop at the bottom of the stairs, mindlessly scanning the room. I’m shocked at how quickly they put this room together when I could have sworn this basement was storage before.
I spin around to face Noah just as he’s reaching for me. I take a step back, letting his hand fall.
A flash of something akin to hurt crosses his face, but he masks it with a faint smile.
I’m too caught up to focus on whether or not I just hurt his feelings because damn it, I deserve to know what’s going on.
“Ria, what are you doing in here? I thought you were asleep.”
“Forget that. Tell me what’s got you so riled up, Noah.”
Before he can answer me, something familiar on Agent Walker’s monitor catches my eye. Ben notices me squinting my eyes, trying to get a better look, and he adjusts himself to cover the monitor.
For an FBI agent, he’s not very slick.
NowIknowthey’re hiding something from me.
Noah tries to block my path as I glare up at him.
How dare he keep more things from me?
“Ria, can we talk outside? Let the boys get back to work.”
I shake my head in frustration and stomp over to Ben’s desk.
Then I seehim.
He looks exactly like he did six years ago, when he walked out of the condo I shared with his ex-girlfriend. Noah had driven him out, scaring the shit out of him.