Owen inhales, and I cannot tell if he’s angry or surprised by my answer.
“Let me fight for you. Please.”
It’s a broken plea, and I want to say yes. I want to let him in. I want to give in to this beautiful illusion we’ve created.
I abruptly pull back, and Owen drops his hand to his side.
“You have to fight for yourself first,” I choke out. It’s the truth, and he must realize that.
Owen shakes his head. “I’m already a lost cause, Nova.”
I want to ask him what he means when there’s a loud knock on the door. We both jump at the sound, and Owen swears under his breath. He gets up quickly and pulls on his sweatpants before striding for the front door.
Tiptoeing behind him, I grab a knife off the kitchen counter and keep myself hidden behind the kitchen wall.
“Noah.” Owen’s voice sounds relieved.
“I didn’t hear from either of you, so I forced your brother to give me this address.” Noah sounds furious.
Stepping out from the doorway, I lower the hand holding the knife.
“Morning, Noah. We’re fine,” I say as Noah’s eyes drop to the weapon and my bare legs.
He raises an eyebrow, suddenly amused.
I point the knife at him. “Don’t tempt me this morning. I’m not in the mood.”
Noah laughs. “In that case, I’ll talk to the boss while you go get yourself a cup of coffee. You look like you need it.”
I scoff but storm back to the kitchen. The two men step outside into the garden, and I watch them for a while from the kitchen window.
Noah’s features soon melt from anger to something resembling joy, and it’s not hard to imagine what Owen is saying to him. It’s easy to become enraptured with Owen, and I realize now that’s part of the reason why he’s so successful at what he does. It’s also why I’ve been so drawn to him since the moment I met him.
Once they both realized neither of them was a threat to me, it appears they’ve developed an unlikely friendship. A friendship that will likely be ruined by all my secrets.
I’m not only lying to Owen. I’m lying to Noah, too. And though Noah understands a little more about why I need to, it still leaves me feeling defeated.
As their conversation drags on, I finally pull away from the window and decide to take a look around the house.
There isn’t much, but I start in the living room and scan the shelves of books. Most are on topics such as botany, herbalism, regenerative agriculture, and permaculture. There are a few on business and a few suspense novels, but that seems to be all.
I make my way to the couch and plop down on the soft leather, taking another sip of coffee. My eyes catch on the stack of books on the side table, and I cock my head to read the titles.
One of them has my heart stopping in my chest.
Nature’s Poisons and Their Ecological and Biological Uses.
With a shaky hand, I set down the coffee cup and carefully pull out the book.
Flipping through the pages, I find highlighted lines and notes in the margins. Owen focused on plants that grow in California, highlighting their properties, where they are found, and the potency of the poison. There are calculations of doses in the margins with question marks.
Fuck.
This is the evidence I’ve been looking for. It’s staring me right in the face, and I suddenly find myself shaking so hard I cannot even turn the pages.
As if the book burned me, I chuck it on the couch, staring at the open page it landed on. After what feels like minutes, I force myself to grab my phone.
I have no intention of sending anyone photos of the book or Owen’s notes, but I realize if I’m going to fight for him, I have to know what I’m up against. I snap the photos, hoping they don’t turn out blurry because of my trembling hands.
