Noah's Quest - 15. Burn Baby Burn

“What are you doing here?” Shiloh asked, looking completely confused.

Behind me, I could hear Little B letting out a quiet, mischievous snicker. That kid.

“Where is Damian?” I asked, my eyes darting around the space. I hadn’t been over to Uncle Nathan’s in a while, and he had clearly made a few renovations to the floor plan.

Uncle Nathan suddenly stepped into the hallway. “Noah? What are you doing here?”

“Where is Damian?” I repeated firmly.

“He’s in the other room with his brother and the rest of them,” Uncle Luca answered appearing next to his husband.

Shiloh was still frozen in the doorway, staring at me.

“I need to talk to Damian about his gold chain.”

“You know, you could have just called,” Shiloh offered, his voice laced with heavy sarcasm.

I cut my eyes to him, flashing a cold, unbothered glare. “And you could have avoided jumping into bed with the very first person you ran into, but here we are.”

Shiloh’s jaw dropped in absolute shock.

“I have my sources,” I added simply. Turning back to Uncle Nathan, I asked, “Which room?”

He pointed down the hall. As I brushed past Shiloh, I made a point to firmly shoulder my way through.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Shane snapped, leaping up from the sofa the second I walked into the family room.

“Damian, we need to talk,” I said, completely ignoring Shane and locking eyes with my cousin.

“You need to leave,” Shawn chimed in, puffing out his chest to sound threatening.

Shane took a step toward me, but Little B instantly materialized right in his path. Little B’s eyes flickered with a faint, terrifying glow. Shane stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes wide.

Uncle Nathan took one look at Little B, paled slightly, and barked, “Shane, step back. Now.”

“Damian, please,” I said gently.

Damian looked at me, took a slow breath, and stood up from the couch. He gestured toward Uncle Nathan’s office. Shane moved to follow us, but Little B blocked the doorway again, giving a simple, dark shake of his head. Shane didn't dare push past him.

We entered the office, and I shut the heavy door behind us. Damian sank into the sofa and motioned for me to sit beside him. Without a word, he reached up, unclasped the heavy gold chain from around his neck, and handed it to me.

“I know what he did,” Damian whispered, looking at the floor.

“You do?”

Damian nodded, tears instantly welling up in his eyes and spilling over his cheeks. “I... I don’t even know where to begin.”

“It’s okay, Damian,” I said softly, throwing a supportive arm around his shoulders.

We sat in quiet solidarity for a moment as he gathered himself.

“There’s a safe-deposit box and a property that hold all the answers,” Damian murmured, wiping his face. “A place the cops would never think to look.”

“Let me guess—it’s under another name?”

“Yeah. He changed his alias several times and hid everything behind shell corporations.”

“Come back to the house with me,” I urged. “Let’s sit down with Grandpa and lay it all out.”

Before Damian could answer, the deep, obnoxious rumble of a loud sports car echoed from the driveway outside. Damian rolled his eyes, letting out a heavy sigh.

“That would be Parker,” Damian muttered, a heavy dose of annoyance dripping from his voice. “Shiloh’s person.”

“His... person?” I repeated, my brow furrowing in confusion.

“Yeah. His person. The guy doesn't like labels—unless they’re printed on designer clothes.”

“Ah. So he’s a shallow douchebag. Noted.”

Damian looked at the floor, his shoulders dropping. “Noah... I’m so sorry for what I did to you and Shiloh.”

“Honestly, maybe it was for the best,” I shrugged, leaning back against the cushion. “Chase is definitely a massive upgrade.”

Damian let out a small, wet laugh. “I know I’m supposed to be disgusted and remorseful, but... yeah. Chase is ridiculously hot.”

I chuckled. “He sure is.”

“So... does this mean you’re going to be my Cousin-Uncle, or my Uncle-Cousin?”

We both burst into breathless laughter, the heavy tension in the room instantly breaking.

“Tell me more about this Parker fellow,” I asked, wiping a tear from my eye.

“A puddle has more depth than he does,” Damian smirked. “His dad is filthy rich, and Parker won’t shut up about his BMW M5.”

“Well, I’m rich thanks to my maternal grandmother,” I noted coolly. “I’ve got my dad’s truck, the Super Bee, and a car you haven’t even seen yet—my BMW X5 M60.”

“You got a high-performance SUV?”

“I looked at the M5,” I smiled, “but literally every single person I’ve ever met who drove one was an absolute tool.”

“Well, Parker definitely qualifies,” Damian laughed. “Oh, fair warning though—he’s utterly terrified of Little B.”

“Sweet, innocent Little B?” I said in a ridiculous, exaggerated Southern drawl. “Why, that sweet child wouldn't hurt a fly!”

We both cracked up again, knowing damn well that given the chance, Little B wouldn't hesitate to set a fly on fire.

We finally stood up and walked back out into the living room. The second the office door swung open, the suffocating stench of cheap Axe body spray hit me like a brick wall.

Yep. Parker is definitely a douchebag.

“—what do you mean he just showed up unannounced?” a whining, nasal voice was saying from the center of the room.

“We weren’t expecting him, Parker,” Uncle Nathan was explaining patiently.

“Do you even care about Shiloh’s mental health?” Parker snapped back.

I picked that exact second to stroll casually into the living room.

“Uncle Nathan,” I drawled out, heavy on the Uncle. “Damian and I are heading back to the main house to talk with Grandpa.”

The silence in the room became deafening. Shane and Shawn glared at me with pure venom, while Dominic just sat on the armchair, staring blankly at the rug.

“Dom, maybe you should come with us,” Damian said softly, looking over at his brother.

“Honestly, maybe you all should go,” Uncle Nathan sighed, taking in the chaotic energy of the room.

“You can’t just come and go as you please! This is Shiloh’s home!” Parker barked, spinning around to face me. He was wearing an overly crisp designer polo and looking at me like I was something he’d stepped in.

I sized him up in about two seconds flat. I could take him in a fight without breaking a sweat; the guy had clearly never received a punch to the face in his entire privileged life.

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” I asked smoothly, looking around the foyer. “This entire property belongs to a family trust—a trust that I happen to be the Successor Trustee of.”

“For now,” Parker scoffed with a dismissive laugh.

I stared at him like he was profoundly stupid. Which he clearly was. “No one in your family, nor anyone in this room, can change that,” I said flatly, before shifting my gaze to Shiloh. “You are a guest here.”

“Uh, Noah...” Uncle Nathan interjected quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. “We officially adopted the boys.”

I turned to Uncle Nathan and slowly shook my head. “We all make mistakes.”

A high-pitched giggle echoed through the room. I knew instantly it was Little B, though from the looks on everyone else's faces, no one else had heard it.

“Adopting them,” I said, gesturing vaguely toward the triplets, “doesn’t change the legal framework of the trust. Grandma and I are the only two people who can make changes. You, Uncle Luca, and this suburban trash are effectively just tenants.”

“Noah!” Uncle Nathan whined.

“Uncle Nathan,” I mocked back. “I’m honestly surprised you’re sitting here letting Parker try to kick me out.”

“Well, you did show up unannounced!”

“So did Parker!” I retorted instantly.

“I invited him,” Shiloh snapped, crossing his arms.

I didn't even look at him. “No one asked you.”

“Don’t you talk to him like that, you peasant!” Parker stepped forward, pointing a finger at my chest.

I burst out laughing. “The only peasants here are you and the quadruplets.”

Parker smirked, thinking he had me. “Wow, you really are dumb. There are only three of them.”

I turned my gaze slowly toward Shiloh. “So... you didn’t tell him about Silas?” I asked softly. “Guess you two aren’t as close as you pretend to be.”

Shiloh went completely pale.

“Silas?” Parker snorted. “Is that all you could come up with? Another S name?”

Little B suddenly tugged gently on Uncle Nathan’s sleeve, looking up with wide, innocent eyes. “Unca Nathan... do you have stuff for S’mores?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Parker take an instinctive step backward away from the kid. I laughed internally.

“We can’t make a fire tonight, buddy,” Uncle Nathan sighed, patting his head. “It’s way too late.”

“Oh, but the fire out in the driveway is amazing,” Little B said, bursting into the widest, sweetest grin I’d ever seen.

Uncle Nathan’s face went dead white. “...Driveway?”

Right on cue, a loud, thunderous BOOM echoed from outside, rattling the living room windows.

Parker shrieked, sprinting toward the front door. Apparently, his precious BMW M5 was no match for an eight-year-old supernatural arsonist.

Afraid of little Ole Little B? Why would anyone be afraid of him?
S'mores anyone? 🔥
So Noah shows how much he's grown.
Nathan adopted the boys... so does that complicate things?
Why is Parker a douche canoe? Wait until something else about him is discovered. 
What if I told you what Noah know's didn't come from Little B?
Wait until Silas makes an appearance.... will he do Parker in?
So Jack has a hidden residence that contains secrets. What will we learn?
Thanks for reading.
Comments and reactions welcome.