His Secret [Completed]

Chapter Forty-Five

"Are you sure about this?" Lia tugged on the cuffs that were locked behind Noah's back, making them stop just outside the police station. It was 7 a.m. the following day, the day Sophia would be leaving, and their plan was already in motion. Within the few hours he'd stopped at the coffee shop, Noah and Lia had come up with a plan and although it wasn't a genius idea, he was sure it would work. At least as the first stage.

They stood outside the police station in the early morning, risking their lives and careers. The chance of success was high, which gave them comfort, but the actual execution in getting the information they needed... now that had a low chance of success.

"I am," Noah replied. "How do I look?"

"Scruffy, the beard really does it," she told him. Over the vacation, Noah had allowed his beard to grow out, not worrying about grooming it because he didn't see it necessary. He wanted to let go once in a while and knowing he didn't have to impress anyone other than his fake fiancée while on vacation only urged him to follow through. Noah didn't care about her opinions of him, they were meaningless. His hair hadn't been washed that morning, nor combed, leaving it to its own devices. He was wearing cheap clothes: a pair of joggers two sizes too big were tied tightly around his waist, a hoodie was thrown over his torso and a baseball cap was pulled low on his forehead. The items were not clothes he usually wore, but needed to look the part.

Lia was wearing her police officer uniform and plastered a look of anger onto her otherwise beautiful and young face. She gripped the cuffs again, twisting his hands in an awkward position as she marched into the station. Only a few people occupied the ground floor of the building, as it was still early and Lia turned on her acting as she approached the front desk and gave a brief explanation of why Noah McKenzie - also known as Harvey Johnson - was cuffed and being dragged into the station.

"This fucker ruined my calm morning," Lia said, tugging on the cuffs again, giving Noah his own form of punishment for leaving his best friend all those years ago. "Anyway, I'll see you later, Kat. Gotta take this bastard up for questioning."

She kept pushing him in the direction of the elevator and each time he slowed, she pushed a little harder. After a while, Noah started to feel the strain on his wrists and once in the safety of the elevator, Lia let go of the cuffs. "I think you're taking this a little too seriously," Noah told her.

"Nope," she said in a calm sing-song voice. "It's payback for all those years you abandoned our friendship."

"I thought as much," he muttered as the elevator reached a floor and the doors slid open for a young petite woman who was carrying a box. She smiled at Lia and then faced the door as the elevator continued to their desired floor, the floor where Brad would be.

Lia regained her cold-hearted expression and tugged on the cuffs once the doors had opened. Noah's heart rate picked up, it was the first time he'd been in cuffs at a police station and he was a little nervous (though he didn't admit that to Lia, because he knew he'd never hear the end of it). He recited the plan in his mind as they approached a lone desk on one side of the room.

Step one, he thought, locate Brad. Step two, piss him off. Step three, bolt across the room. Step four, allow him to tackle me to the ground. The final step - step five, hope he asks Lia to go out with him for the eighth time.

Their plan started with taking down Brad because he was, after all, the reason Brooke couldn't be arrested for stealing the money. Noah had physical proof in the form of text exchanges and notebook entries that detailed what Brooke wanted and sometimes, he wondered whether she'd left those there for a reason. Did she want to get caught?

Lia led him over to her desk and with a little more force than necessary, she pushed him down onto a chair which attracted just the right amount of attention from the other officers in the building and, of course, one in particular.