Page 110 of Hush (Fighting Fate)

Kaeli flinched a little, but she looked determined. “I’m sorry, but it’s important.”

“Okay. What do you need to know?”

“Would you agree with me that Noah has more than one particular type of personality?” she said, her eyes never leaving mine.

“Uh…of course,” Adam said, clearly confused. “Kaeli, what’s this all about?”

“I know it’s probably confusing, but I need you to bear with me for a second, okay?”

There was silence for a split second before I heard Adam’s voice again. “Yeah, okay, but just tell me, is Noah alright?”

“He’s fine. He right here, listening to you. So, other than the fun, happy, playful Noah we all saw yesterday, what other personalities would you say he had?”

Adam exhaled heavily over the line. “Shit, well, there’s the pissed off, grumpy Noah when he’s tired…the serious, caring Noah he shows to those who mean a lot to him…there’s a really immature, childish Noah that could be mistaken for the playful one you saw yesterday…uh…I guess there’s angry Noah too. He comes out when you push him too far, but I think that one’s mostly reserved for brothers…” He paused, chuckling a little, making the corner of my lips twitch. “There’s flirty Noah. That one was quite prominent while he was in high school…And then there’s bossy Noah…”

Kaeli’s lips curled a little. “What was bossy Noah like?”

A soft laugh floated through the speaker. “Exactly how you’d expect the youngest of five boys to be like, having to continually prove he’s tough enough to play with the big boys.”

“Did bossy Noah like to be in control?”

“Hell, yes.”

Looking me right in the eye, she went for the kill. “Did you think it was a bad personality trait to have?”

There was silence for a few heartbeats. “Of course not. That side of Noah may have been bossy, but he was loyal as hell. You messed with someone he cared about, bossy Noah made you regret it.”

I stared at Kaeli for a long time. I still had absolutely no idea why she was here with me. She was amazing.

“Noah…” Adam’s voice broke into my thoughts. “I think I might have a little bit of an idea what this is about. You should listen to Kaeli. She’s right.”

Kaeli’s lips curved up even more. Yeah, I was starting to think she might be. Walking over to the dresser, I lifted my finger to the screen.

“Thanks, Adam,” I said. Then I pressed the end button.

Chapter 65

Kaeli

Noah’s gaze didn’t leave mine the entire time Adam was on the line. It was as though he needed to watch my every movement to make sure I honestly believed what I was saying.

I was so thankful Adam had backed up the point I was trying to make. I knew it could’ve backfired on me in a massive way, but I didn’t know what else to do. He’d looked so tormented.

Slowly, he moved towards me

“Do you really believe what you said?”

“Yes, I do,” I said without hesitation.

“But don’t you see? Mitch isn’t a great guy, Kaeli? He did some bad things. Really bad.”

I shook my head. “Noah, what Mitch did was what he needed to do to survive. To protect himself, to protect you, to protect me, to protect your job. Tell me, did he enjoy doing those bad things?”

Pain flashed across his eyes. “Sometimes.” His voice was almost a whisper.

I searched his face, trying to understand what was going on inside his head. “What parts?”

“Putting a bullet in that guy’s head who was about to slit your throat.”

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