Page 12 of Silent Fire

Stop it. You’re not staying. You can never stay in one place for too long. Gritting his teeth, Noel turned back to his food just as his phone buzzed in his back pocket. He glanced at his sauce-covered fingers with a twist of his lips, shrugged, then licked them clean before fishing out his phone.

The text on the screen made his heart thunder so hard his chest hurt.

Miss me? Been thinking about you. Is that town as cozy as it seems? Winking emoji. See you soon, love.

Brian.

Bile rose in the back of Noel’s throat. His lungs constricted, making it difficult to breathe. No. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. He’d been so careful, never staying in one place too long. How had Brian found him?

The phone trembled in his white-knuckled grip. He had to get out of here. Had to run. Had to—

“Noel?” Tomas’s concerned rumble cut through the static in Noel’s head. He was suddenly right there, standing over him, brows furrowed. “What’s wrong?”

Noel quickly shoved his phone into his pocket, controlling his features from a longtime habit. “Nothing. Everything’s cool.” He tried for a smile, but it felt brittle, cracking at the edges. Exactly like his mind was doing.

The look in Tomas’s brown eyes said he knew Noel was lying. But instead of calling him out on it, he settled onto the stool next to Noel.

You need to run. Can’t bring that bullshit here. Not when they’ve been so nice to you.

He wasn’t hungry anymore, but he forced himself to keep eating mechanically. Chewed and swallowed past the lump of dread in his throat. Anything to keep his hands busy, to keep from vibrating out of his skin.

Was Brian watching Sin’s? Has he seen Noel on the back of Tomas’s bike? Fuck. He raised a hand and ordered another rum and Coke, asking the bartender to make it a little stronger. Then he ordered another. The alcohol burned going down, but it dulled the sharpest edges of his fear. Made the world go soft and hazy around him. He knew he was drinking more than he should, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Not after the rum kicked in, making his body and mind buzz, the fear blessedly forgotten.

He felt Tomas’s heavy gaze on him, studying him silently. Noel avoided his eyes, afraid of what he might see in them. Pity? Judgment? He didn’t want either. Just wanted to forget. Always wanted to forget.

The text from Brian sat like lead in his stomach, a ticking time bomb waiting to blow his fragile sense of safety to pieces. Noel knew, deep down, he couldn’t outrun someone that determined forever. That eventually, Brian would catch up to him.

It was all unraveling, the threads of his tentative peace breaking, one by one. But that peace was an illusion, just like his hope that he could land somewhere like Sin’s and call it home.

Tossing back the rest of his drink, Noel relished the burn. He couldn’t do this. Couldn’t drag Tomas and the others into his mess. He had to leave, had to draw Brian away before he brought ruin down on the only place that had ever felt safe.

He shoved to his feet abruptly, swaying dangerously. The room tilted and spun, forcing him to grab the bar for balance. Shit. Maybe that last drink had been a mistake.

“Easy there, cariño.” Tomas’s strong hands gripped his waist, steadying him. The heat of them seared through Noel’s shirt. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Bathroom,” Noel lied. The word was too loud, too clumsy on his tongue. “I gotta...I need to...”

“I’ll help you.” Tomas slid off his stool, arm slipping around Noel’s shoulders.

“What?” Noel wrenched away, stumbling back a step. Several heads turned their way at his outburst. He swallowed hard. Lowered his voice. “No, I’m fine. I got it.”

Concern etched into every line of Tomas’s rugged face, watching with those piercing eyes as Noel turned and wove unsteadily through the crowd.

Noel didn’t go to the bathroom. He headed straight for the back door, shouldering it open and stumbling out into the cool night air. It was a shock after the stifling heat of the tavern. He gulped lungfuls of it greedily, trying to clear his head.

Shit, shit, shit. What was he doing? Running again, like a coward. Breaking his promise to Tomas not a full hour after making it. But there was no other choice. He was poison, a harbinger of bad luck and violence. Tomas was better off without him. They all were.

Noel staggered toward the back of the building and down the alley, no idea where he was going. Just away. Away from the soft thing unfurling in his chest whenever Tomas looked at him. Away from the tiny spark of hope he’d foolishly let take root.

Away from the home he might’ve had if he’d lived a different life.

Noel wiped at the tears, cursing Brian’s name, cursing his misfortune of ever meeting the bastard, of stupidly falling in love with a monster.

A block away, a dark figure stepped out of the shadows ahead of him. Stumbling to a halt, Noel blinked several times, trying to force his eyes to focus.

Chapter Four

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