Page 2 of Specter

Benji’s exclamation brought Noah back to the present. His gaze latched on the necklace Tommy held. It had a huge stone that matched Tommy’s eyes perfectly. Noah imagined he would look stunning in the piece. Tommy looked blown away by the gift. He spoke against Max’s ear. Max looked as if he physically fought the urge to hug Tommy. Noah could see how much he cared.

After a moment, Max seemed to lose part of the battle. He touched Tommy’s shoulder and squeezed. “You know money is nothing to me. But I don’t want you to ever feel trapped again, and this necklace is worth as much as a house. I know Kage is a good guy, but I want you to have the option to go if he ever changes. Promise me you’ll keep it and enjoy it while also knowing you can sell it if you’re ever in trouble. I need to know you’ll always be safe.”

In one statement, it was like the past slapped Noah in the face again. He never stayed away for long.

“I need to know you’re safe and that old saddle I had you practice riding on was about to snap in several places. I’d never put you on a real horse with that thing.”

Noah wanted to smile at the gorgeous leather saddle Duke had bought him, but a new saddle might be hard to hide. Ted would definitely see him if he ever got on a horse. He knew Duke didn’t understand. Noah didn’t know how to explain.

“You don’t look happy.”

A smile snapped to Noah’s lips. “I’m happy. We’re alone. I’m always happy when we’re together.” Noah couldn’t let Duke think anything else. He was the only good part of Noah’s life.

Duke’s expression darkened. Sometimes, Noah thought Duke saw too much. This was one of those times. “Stay with me. I’ll fire Ted tomorrow and you’ll never have to worry again. You’re nineteen. There’s no reason you can’t choose me.”

“He’d kill me.”

“The hell you say. No one is ever hurting you again. Do you understand me?”

Noah wished that was true. Falling in love with Duke had never been part of his plan. Duke had just kept pushing his way into Noah’s life, finding reasons to spend time with him, and then Noah had been lost. But he feared for Duke all hours of the day and no good would ever come of them. If he were a better person, he would let Duke go.

Duke held his waist while he stared at Noah like he could move mountains. “Tell me. I can help.”

Tears welled in Noah’s eyes. He had been trapped for too long. He didn’t know how to break free. He wanted to say he would stay. Desperation choked him. Duke offered him a lifeline he didn’t know how to take. Ted might kill them all. He was crazy like that.

“I knew it.”

Noah’s head whipped around. He jumped away from Duke. Blood covered Ted from head to toe. The shotgun in his hands shook with the same madness and fury that filled his eyes.

“Your momma tried to say I was crazy, but I knew I wasn’t. I told her you two had been making eyes at each other. I won’t have it. I’ll see you both dead first.”

“You said you had the perfect daddy once. What happened to him?”

Noah blinked as he came back to himself at Benji’s question. Three sets of eyes stared at him expectantly. Noah couldn’t stand to see their expressions change from curiosity to pity. He moved to his stomach and chose a red crayon. With his gaze locked on his hand, he traced the outline of Santa’s suit while he answered.

“Loving me killed him.”

And Noah had died with him.

Tiny white puffs filled the air with each breath the horses took. Duke no longer felt the cold. He hated this time of year for a whole other set of reasons. Yet he still couldn’t make himself leave the barn today. He didn’t know if it was the horses that brought him comfort or if the freezing temps numbed the constant pain. Hell, maybe the smell of hay just reminded him of the best nights of his life… and one of the worst.

The wind whipped outside, making the barn creak beneath the onslaught. Duke automatically looked up. A pain hit Duke in the chest when he realized what he had done. He closed his eyes and let the past carry him away.

Ted’s stepson rarely came outside when anyone was around. That was why Duke noticed him. Noah didn’t stand out. In fact, the light brown coveralls and jacket he wore looked like every ranch hand’s on the property, but Noah was too small to be one of the men. Duke watched him sneak around the outside of the barn with an overstuffed backpack clutched to his chest. He didn’t follow until after Noah slipped inside.

Duke kept his pace slow and natural. He didn’t want to draw attention to his movements, so no one else followed. There had been something suspicious about Noah’s body language. If he was up to no good, Duke needed to be the one who sent him back to the house… unharmed. Noah’s stepfather, Ted, had a notoriously bad temper. There was lots of speculation around the boy’s small size and rare appearances. Some thought he might have some sort of mental disability. Most, including Duke, figured the boy got the snot beat out of him if he stepped a single toe out of line. Likely, his momma kept him in the house to keep him out of harm’s way. But honestly, Duke didn’t think the kid’s mom was any better. She was an alcoholic who was always out of it. Duke suspected it was more than alcohol, but that wasn’t his business. She wasn’t his employee. As long as Ted showed up every day sober and put in a full day’s work, then Duke kept his nose to himself. Farm hands were hard to come by these days.

Duke stepped inside the barn, moving as stealthily as possible. He didn’t want to spook Noah, especially if he was hiding from Ted. Each stall Duke came to was empty. As he reached the final one, he wondered if Noah had slipped out the back and kept going. Maybe that backpack had been filled with his things and Duke had just witnessed a prison break. If so, Duke couldn’t blame the kid. As he turned to go, hay fell from the sky and hit his face. Duke swiped at his skin as he looked up. He caught a glimpse of movement above him. His gaze moved toward the ladder that led to the loft. He didn’t know if he could make it up without being seen. Duke also didn’t know why he didn’t walk away. This wasn’t his business. Plus, he didn’t care to get caught alone with his employee’s kid. Yet his feet moved toward the ladder and Duke climbed the first rungs with zero thought to self-preservation.

He moved as slowly as possible. When he peeked over the edge, he froze. In pink bunny pajamas, Noah sat on the floor with a pile of toys in front of him. His coat and overalls were in a pile beside him. Duke couldn’t move. The bare bulb above him cast a glow on Noah’s face, highlighting his features. His eyes were both black, but it looked like old bruising in various stages of healing. The dark marks only highlighted Noah’s baby blue eyes. He looked younger than his years. Noah had to be at least eighteen by now. He had been ten or twelve when Duke hired Ted as his ranch manager eight years ago. Yet here he was, sitting in footed pajamas and playing with toys. Maybe the kid had some mental issues after all.

Duke moved to leave. The ladder creaked. Noah’s chin shot up. Their gazes collided. The look of pure fear that etched Noah’s features caused something in Duke’s chest to shift. Without a real plan, he climbed into the loft.

“What do you have there? Is that a racetrack? I used to love putting those together.”

Noah’s expression didn’t change. He sat frozen in obvious terror as Duke moved to sit with him.

Duke tried keeping his tone as friendly and unthreatening as possible. He picked up two of the cars that sat waiting for their track to get built. “Oh, wow. You have the 1971 Evil Weevil.” He checked out another. They were both worth probably three thousand apiece. “Damn. These are some nice cars.”

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