Unhinged(Necessary Evils #1)(51)

Thomas nodded. “He’s a detective now, about to be made captain.”

Noah’s only response was a forced exhalation of breath, like Thomas’s words were a physical blow. Adam tightened his grip on Noah, as if he could somehow absorb some of his pain through touch.

“If cops are actively participating, it makes sense why their little pedo ring has never been found out,” Atticus said.

“You want us to kill a cop?” Asa asked. “Isn’t that risky?”

August shrugged. “Being a cop is a dangerous job. Accidents happen, convicts want revenge. We can stage the crime scene, frame the narrative to read any way we like. A dead cop is probably a much easier sell than most.”

“Conan Greevey, on the other hand, has friends in high places. He rolls with city council members, district attorneys, the archdiocese.”

“The man in the lower left corner is a priest,” Noah said. “He liked to make me call him Father…during. Was into role playing. He wore his collar.”

“Christ,” Thomas said, writing the word priest over the man’s head with a sharpie.

“So, we’ve got a cop and a priest and a youth sports director with friends in high places. This is way bigger than we thought. You get that, right?” Adam asked his father. “This could become a problem.”

Archer spun in his chair. “It’s only our problem because you made it our problem.”

“Yeah, we’re not your boyfriend’s personal hit squad,” Atticus added. “I think we should scrap the whole project.”

Adam exploded from his chair, taking Noah with him, stomping towards Atticus. Noah jumped in front of him, hands on his chest, scrambling to walk backwards as Adam continued to advance on his brother. Atticus had this ass whooping coming for years, the smug piece of shit. Atticus was now also on his feet, calmly removing his glasses like he found Adam tedious.

“Adam. Adam!” Noah shouted. “Stop.” He did stop, looking down at Noah with a frown, nostrils flaring, chest heaving. Noah cupped his face. “Stop. They’re just trying to piss you off. Don’t you see that? Stop letting them bait you. Breathe, baby.”

Adam took in a deep breath and let it out, the cool touch of Noah’s palms on his cheeks soothing the heat burning through him until the throbbing red rage faded back to just mild irritation.

“I told you,” Asa said, talking not to Adam but to the others.

“Told them what?” Adam growled.

“That Noah has superpowers,” Avi snarked. “That he somehow keeps you from raging out or, at least, from staying enraged.”

“So, you were being a dick to Noah as some kind of test?” Adam asked, his anger trying to make a comeback.

His father raised a hand. “I needed to see how Noah reacted to you at your worst. Asa and Avi said I didn’t have anything to worry about but I needed to put it to the test. I asked the others to be deliberately provocative.” He looked directly at Noah. “I’m very sorry we were rude to you. Please, forgive us. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Noah looked around the room, gaze finally settling back on Thomas. “It’s nice to meet you guys, too.”





After the dust settled, Adam returned to his seat with Noah perched on his lap. He was hyperaware of the others’ heavy stares. The only one not watching him was Adam’s father, Thomas, who was not at all what Noah expected. He’d seen photos of the man in newspaper clippings and magazines, but they somehow failed to show just how young and hot Adam’s dad actually was.

He certainly didn’t look old enough to have children in their early thirties, but Noah supposed it was because he hadn’t actually created any of them, just raised them. Raised them to be killers.

Noah watched as he pushed a button on a strange boomerang shaped object in the center of the table. Noah half-expected a strange futuristic 3D model to appear over it, but it was just a speaker.

“This is your friendly neighborhood oracle speaking, how may I service you today?” a voice chirped in surround sound.

“Hi, Calliope,” Asa and Avi said in unison.

“Hello, boys. I see Adam didn’t leave you at the airport. I’m assuming you’re all calling from the Batcave.”

Noah’s lips twitched. This was much nicer than the Batcave. In addition to their shiny white wall that allowed for scribbling, there was another wall of computer screens and a bar that ran along the length of another. They clearly spent a lot of time down there in their secret room.

“We need some real time information. Can you help?” Thomas asked.

“How dare you question my abilities in front of mere mortals?” she asked with mock offense.

Noah’s eyes widened, looking to Thomas, relieved when he only chuckled. “My mistake. We need some information.”

There was the distinct sound of a chair spinning. “I’m ready. Shoot.”

“Noah was able to identify Paul Anderson and a priest, whose name he can’t remember. Can you cross-reference Paul Anderson and Wayne Holt along with Gary and see if there’s any overlap? There has to be something. A baseball team. A prayer group. A men’s league.”

There was a series of clicks, and then she said, “Uh-uh. Nothing. But if it’s something like an AA meeting, there would be no record of it.”