Noah's Adventure - 21. Flash Bangs and Asshats

When I finally came to, I was no longer in the hotel.

Panic hit first.

My head pounding, ears ringing like church bells on steroids. I scanned the room wildly until I spotted Shiloh lying beside me on the couch. He was breathing. Alive. Unbound.

Okay. That was something.

I could hear Grandma and Uncle Matt talking to someone I didn’t recognize.

“Was it really wise to deploy a flash bang in such close quarters?” Grandma hissed.

Ah. That explained the ringing.

“We needed the upper hand, Megan,” a man replied sharply. “The one person who should have known those officers were decoys missed it.”

He let the words hang.

He was talking about Grandma.

Uncle Matt crossed his arms. “The question is, were they really police?”

“Oh, they were real police,” the man said dryly. “Just not on official business.”

“So what do we know?” Grandma demanded.

The man laughed.

“You’ve been sidelined.”

There was an audible gasp.

“You don’t mean that,” Grandma whispered.

“This has spiraled completely out of control,” he continued. “Yes, we know Tristan is responsible. But you could have stopped it.”

“How exactly was she supposed to do that?” I snapped, forcing myself upright.

Grandma rushed over instantly and sat beside me. “How do you feel?”

“Fantastic,” I muttered through clenched teeth. “If fantastic means like my brain was microwaved.”

I shot a glare at the stranger.
“And who is this guy, Grandma? Because he’s being an asshat.”

The man burst out laughing. Shiloh stirred beside me.

“What’s going on?” he asked groggily.

“Flash bang grenade,” I said. “Surprise edition.”

The man stepped closer so I could finally see him.

“He’s definitely a Matthews,” he said with amusement. “Grayson Matthews. Tristan’s brother.”

“Wait,” I said. “I thought Grayson was a lawyer.”

“He is. So am I. Or was.” He smirked. “I’m his fourth-great-grandfather.”

I closed my eyes.

Of course you are.

“So what happens now?” Grandma asked.

Grayson sighed — the deeply irritated kind.
“Tristan is searching for his twin. The rest of the family is trying to restore order. With the courthouse destroyed and the Senator on the run, we have a lot of loose ends.”

“Were those people working for the Senator?” I asked.

“That’s our assumption. And we have evidence to support it. What I don’t understand is why they were so brazen.”

“We could debate motivations all day,” Grandma said. “Who’s hunting the Senator?”

“That was a difficult call,” Grayson admitted. “We needed someone who knows that world. The money. The politics. The shadows. Tristan and Jackson are focused on T3. That leaves only one option.”

“CC,” Grandma said quietly.

Grayson nodded.

“That’s if T3 doesn’t find him first,” I muttered.

“That is a very real concern,” Grayson said grimly. “He’s blown up planes before. There’s no telling what he’ll do.”

The air shifted.

Then Tristan appeared out of nowhere, Little B tucked under one arm like a wriggling football.

“Found this little bugger,” Tristan said, slightly breathless.

“Let me go!” Little B protested, kicking. “Why can’t I disappear?”

“Because the elders placed a hold on your abilities,” Tristan replied.

Little B looked up and spotted me and Shiloh.

Tristan set him down.

He launched himself at me, wrapping his arms around my neck.

“I saved you, Noah,” he said proudly.

“You did,” I said, hugging him back. “My hero.”

Little B beamed.

The adults did not.

“Thanks for saving him, Little B,” Shiloh said warmly.

Grayson folded his arms and fixed the kid with a stare.

“Now, Brody,” he said, “you have some explaining to do.”