Beyond the Sea

“I told him he was a creep just like his dad,” I went on, and a hint of amusement entered Noah’s eyes. “Then he got mad and tried to grab me. I wasn’t sure what he planned to do, but I remembered I still had your knife. I pulled it out and ended up slicing his top. He let go, and I managed to get away.”

Some of the rage receded as Noah shot me an approving look. “You pulled a knife on him?”

I inhaled sharply. “I didn’t plan to, but yes.”

Mirth danced in his eyes. “My, my, what would Jesus say about that?”

“Jesus never had to deal with immature, petty teenagers like Kean and Sally.” I shot back, getting a quiet chuckle out of him.

A silence fell, then Noah said, “Don’t worry about Kean and Sally. I have a funny feeling their sunny little existence is going to see a few thunderstorms very soon.”

I raised both my eyebrows at him. “Thunderstorms?”

“Maybe even a tsunami. And the damage done won’t be easily repaired.”

I sent him a questioning look, and he leaned back, his hands braced on the sand. “What I’m about to tell you can’t go any further than the two of us. I need your word on that,” he said, eyeing me.

I brought my hand to my chest, my voice sincere. “You have my word. I won’t tell a soul.”

Noah looked out at the waves, then said. “I’m sure you already suspected, but I haven’t been befriending my parents’ old pals for no reason.”

A dark look crossed his features, and something about it made me nervous. “Oh?”

“I started monitoring Hawkins a while back,” he said, and a memory surfaced of the papers I’d found in his room, the ones that contained a list of someone’s daily comings and goings. “I found evidence that he was stealing government money meant for the school to line his own pockets. Skimming off the top, as it were.”

My raised eyebrows practically disappeared into my hairline. I just couldn’t picture it. Hawkins seemed so strait-laced. “Are you sure?”

“Very sure. But it goes deeper. I found a connection with Mayor McBride, so I decided to worm my way into a job at her office. That access allowed me to sneak a look at her accounts. It turns out she’s been doing the same thing with town funding. I didn’t know how she and Hawkins were cleaning the money, and that’s where Enda Riordan and Matt O’Hare entered the frame. They launder the money through Matt’s pub and Enda’s factory.”

I sat back, reeling from what he just told me. “Aoife’s mam works in Matt’s pub.”

Noah cast me an apologetic look. “She may have to start concentrating on her catering business full-time.”

“You’re going to expose them?”

“Yes, when the time is right.”

I studied him now, my thoughts going a mile a minute. “Why are you doing all this? Why start looking into Hawkins in the first place?”

“I have my reasons.”

“And those are?”

“Personal. Look, I’m telling you this so you know Kean and Sally’s rosy lives will be taking a bad turn very soon. The little shits deserve worse for what they tried to do to you.” A pause as his expression darkened. “Maybe I’ll pay them a visit.”

“Noah,” I said, deadly serious. “Don’t do anything crazy. I don’t want you getting into trouble on my behalf. And at least now I’ll know not to trust people who seem overly nice in the future.” I exhaled, my eyes meeting his. A sudden burst of attraction washed over me. I didn’t want to talk about all this dark, serious stuff. For today, I just wanted to enjoy his company.

I placed my hand on his. “I have a suggestion. Let’s try to forget about all the shitty people in the world for a while.” I nodded to the shore. “We should go for a paddle.”

“A paddle?”

“Yes,” I affirmed. “A paddle on the beach is the cure for all life’s woes.”

He cast me an affectionate, sidelong glance. His eyes skated over my profile, and my skin tingled at his focused attention.

“Okay,” he breathed, his earlier tension seeming to melt the longer he looked at me. I couldn’t handle the intensity, so I turned away, focusing on slipping off my shoes and socks as demurely as possible. Noah’s gaze travelled down to my feet, and something about his look had arousal swarming in my belly. I rolled up the ends of my jeans then stood.

“Are you coming?”

Noah still sat on the sand, gazing up at me. Lazily, he scanned my body, from my bare ankles to my lips. I clenched my thighs at the desire brewing inside me from his heated looks.

“Go on ahead. I’ll join you in a minute,” he said.

I strolled down toward the shore, sucking in a gasp when the cool, fresh water met my toes. The coldness invigorated me. I looked down as I walked, avoiding the small pebbles and seashells, as my thoughts wandered to the future.