“What’s the game plan here?” Noah asked.
When had Noah grown up so much? He sounded just like Thomas. The corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile. Somehow, in Noah, Thomas had managed to get the devoted acolyte and son he’d so desperately wanted. Noah believed in Thomas’s vision. He truly saw the benefit in turning villains into anti-heroes.
“We can’t even begin to break this down until I know what Thomas knows. I have someone looking into the deaths of Thomas’s family. I’m hoping we can see who was on the case and work our way forward. If Calliope has her hands on the video, then I’ll leave that analysis to her.”
There was the sound of something brushing over the speaker and then Noah said, “Did…did Dad say anything? About…what the video implied? Do you really think he did it? Do you think he killed his own family, Aiden?”
“He didn’t do it, babe. He’s not like us,” Adam said before Aiden could answer.
Aiden wondered how much of Adam’s confidence in Thomas was faked for Noah’s comfort. But maybe Adam really didn’t think his father was capable of committing murder. Of course, Adam would see that as a weakness. But it was clear Noah’s confidence was wavering. The last thing Thomas needed was Noah and the rest of the feelings faction losing faith in him.
“Of course, not,” Aiden reassured him. “Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat this. Whatever happened to his family is bad. And he clearly feels guilty about it. But your dad would never hurt an innocent person.”
“Parents are rarely innocent,” Noah said bitterly.
“But his siblings were killed, too,” Aiden reminded him. “They were children. Tommy would never hurt a child. You know that.”
The sound of Adam choking on something alerted him that he’d said something shocking.
“Did you just call him Tommy?” Noah asked, sounding stunned.
Aiden felt his face flush. He had. He really fucking had. “Noah,” he warned.
He didn’t need his nickname for Thomas hitting the feelings faction group chat. The one that didn’t include Aiden.
“What? You’re the one who said it,” Noah said, his voice filled with mock innocence.
“Don’t you dare tell the others,” Aiden muttered.
Noah snickered. “You think Adam isn’t texting your brothers as we speak?”
“We’re not his brothers. He’s our new stepdad,” Adam called.
“Adam, stop being a dick,” Noah snapped.
“It’s kind of my default setting, Noah,” Adam said, mimicking Aiden’s earlier statement in a crude mockery of his own voice.
“Adam,” Noah said, tone terse enough to cause Adam to make a whining noise like a dog.
“Are you sure you didn’t kidnap Dad for another reason?” Noah asked.
“Noah,” Aiden snapped.
Adam’s voice was in the speaker again. “This is your problem, Aiden. You never take the opportunities presented to you. You’ve been in love with him for forever. You two are finally alone together after all this time. Maybe you should, like, you know, use this time to your benefit?”
“You’ve been in love with him forever.”Was he that obvious? Weretheythat obvious?Was it when he’d reversed the adoption? Before that? The night in the library. Right after Adam met Noah. That was when things had changed. Before he’d made it legal. He wasn’t sure if he was pissed or embarrassed. Maybe a little bit of both.
“What are you talking about?” he mumbled.
Noah was back. “You guys aren’t subtle, dude. Everybody knows. We all know. We all support you. We all want you two to figure your shit out so you can come home once and for all and stop living in the woods like some kind of antisocial survivalist nut-bag.”
“I don’t know what you mean?” Aiden lied.
“Oh, my God. Do you really think we don’t see it?” Noah asked. “You guys have secret meetings we aren’t supposed to know about. He bought a house near you, has cars near you, keeps a jet at the airport closest to you.”
“It’s for work,” Aiden managed.
Noah continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Gives you more jobs just as an excuse to talk to you. Pouts when you go out of your way to avoid him. Do you know you’re the only one he insists on handling personally? Just you. Oh, and even though you’re never home, Dad finds a million reasons to bring you up a hundred times a day.”
