at her brain, making her hands shake with the need to… She wasn’t even sure what she needed to do, and that was part of the problem.
Tomorrow she’d promised to call her father, and then she would probably have to go back to Louisiana because they couldn’t keep a 24/7 guard on her for long. She would go home and be that poor pitiful girl she’d been. She loved Papillon, but gossip was a big part of life there, and she would be a story. A cautionary tale about what happened when a young woman tried to fly too high.
Sanctum was her home for now. Given what had happened to Madison, they hadn’t been willing to risk even letting her go back to Hutch’s place. She was stuck in what they called a “safe room.”
It was late and Sanctum had finally closed down, though Hutch and Big Tag were still talking, and MaeBe had promised to run by Noelle’s place to grab some clothes for her. Kyle had been the one to settle her into this room. She wondered how many other “safe” houses had spanking benches in them.
Tomorrow Chris and Cara would figure out if they had enough data to charge Jessica Layne. They would decide if she would try to get more. There had been a lot of talk about how she would get back into the building. Hutch had shot every single scenario full of holes until the special agent had thrown up her hands and told Ian Taggart she would talk to him tomorrow.
Where the hell would she be in a week’s time? Back in Papillon, hoping someone would let her teach high school chemistry? Would she be fighting off a lawsuit that would take everything she had? Jessica Layne wasn’t known for backing down. Even if she was in the middle of an indictment, she would still come after Noelle.
Her life was utterly changed, and she had no idea how to stop it.
There was no stopping it. This would change her life as surely as the car accident had. She’d never seen it coming, and it would affect her forever.
There was a knock on her door, and there was no question who was on the other side. “Go away, Hutch.”
She didn’t need to hear about how heroic he’d been. She didn’t need to hear about how he’d risked everything to ensure she wasn’t prosecuted for a crime she hadn’t even come close to committing. Did he think she didn’t know anything about the law? She’d grown up in a law enforcement family.
The door opened even though she was sure she’d locked it. This man didn’t need keys to get through a door. He’d proven that tonight. Of course she was also in a space he felt comfortable in.
He walked into the room carrying his laptop bag and another she recognized from her place. It looked like MaeBe had found one of Noelle’s tote bags and filled it with a change of clothes. She didn’t care about any of it.
“Noelle, we need to talk. You are not taking part in this investigation.”
She got to her feet, reaching for her cane because she had to go toe to toe with this man. “You don’t get to make that choice for me. You’ve made enough choices for me.”
His gorgeous face looked confused for a moment. “Is that why you’re upset with me? You think I made a choice for you? Baby, what other choice was there to make?”
“I don’t know because I wasn’t allowed to make one.”
“What should I have done?” The question came out quiet, his sincerity hard to deny.
But her anger had a place, too. “You should have told me what was happening. Not only am I the woman you were sleeping with, I was your client. And don’t tell me you couldn’t have found a time.”
“I was going to explain everything to you this evening.” Every word he said was soft, as though he knew she was a powder keg and he didn’t want to be the one who made her explode.
The trouble was she kind of wanted to explode in a spectacular fashion. It might be better to destroy everything good left. She could do it herself before anyone else had the chance.
“After you ruined my career.”
He paled slightly. “I didn’t have any intention of ruining your career. Did you forget the part where your boss was selling your research to the bad guys? Did you think they’re going to hire you to finish