Chapter 468: Noey!!!

By the time lunch was over, there was little left on the table besides empty shells and a few wedges of lime. Even those who had started with small portions had gone back for more. Nick had declared that he couldn’t possibly eat another bite, then reached across Dion for the last piece of fish.

Flora and Chloe were still talking at the table when everyone else began to drift away. In the training yard, Eve had joined Ivy and the others for martial arts practice. They had only just made friends, but from the laughter coming out of the yard, one would have thought they had been training together for weeks. Ivy was trying to show Eve where to put her feet. Eve insisted she had it right up until she lost her balance, grabbed Ivy by the arm, and nearly took her down with her.

Dion and Nick were already on their way back to the water. Nick had spent the better part of the morning trying to get one good picture of himself surfing. Dion thought there were several good ones. Nick, after examining every last picture, had informed him that in all of them he looked like he was about to fall.

As Dion had pointed out, he usually was.

They had gone out again anyway.

From the balcony of the office, Miles could see the pair of them carrying their boards down the beach. Beyond them, sunlight lay in broken patches on the sea. He rested his hands on the railing and watched a wave wash over the sand where they had just passed.

Nora Conner stood beside him. They had been talking for a few minutes already.

"Great Aunt Noey, did you know about it?"

Nora kept her eyes on the forest growing towards the sea.

"Yes," she said. "I’ve always known."

Miles turned his head toward her.

"I promised your great grandfather that I would never tell anyone the truth. Your grandfather was the only other person he ever told. No one else knows."

She said it quietly. Below them, someone dragged a chair across the paving stones, and a moment later Flora laughed at something Chloe had said. Miles waited until it was quiet again.

"Whatever it is, you’ll always be my Great Aunt Noey."

Nora turned to him then. Her lips parted, but she took a moment to answer. She was looking right into his eyes.

"Thank you," she said. "When you say my name like that, it sounds like your father calling me."

Miles’s fingers curled a little tighter around the railing.

"Even though I’m not truly your family, I was treated so well by all of you." She drew a breath. "It was a mistake, Miles. I forgave your great grandfather a long time ago. I don’t hold any grudges against him or against the family. If someone decides to make it public, I’ll speak up for the Sterlings myself. You don’t have to worry about that."

She smiled at him, and the corners of her eyes creased.

"Whatever anyone says, I’ll always be your grandfather’s baby sister."

Miles could see that her eyes were wet. Nora had looked him in the face through every word of it. Only now did she turn back toward the sea.

"Doesn’t it make you sad?" he asked.

"It does." Her answer came at once. "It makes me very sad."

A breeze lifted a strand of hair across her cheek. Nora tucked it behind her ear.

"But my parents were the ones at fault. Your great grandfather was trying to save his family. I think a lot of people would have done what he did if it meant protecting someone they loved. And he never intended for things to turn out the way they did."

She looked down at her hands.

"My mother was bedridden. He took responsibility for both of us. He could have left me to find my own way, Miles. If he hadn’t taken me in, I wouldn’t have had anywhere to go."

"You’re very strong," Miles said at last. "You’ve been fighting all your life."

"A life without struggle makes you weak for life," Nora replied, then let out a small laugh. "Who am I saying that to, of all people?"

She studied him again. Miles could almost tell what she was going to say from the way her smile softened.

"Whenever I look at you, I think of your father."

"Great Aunt Noey..."

Before he could say another word, she reached up and gently ruffled his hair.

Miles lowered his head a little without thinking. By the time he realized what he had done, Nora had already drawn her hand back. A smile had crept onto his face.

"Sorry," she said. "I missed doing that."

"It’s okay."

Her eyes were still wet, but she was smiling more easily now.

"And thank you for helping my son," she said. "Those rumors were making things difficult for him. I’m glad I could help you."

"We’ve dealt with the people behind them, including the one who was actually selling the map. He should be able to get on with his project now." Miles leaned his hip against the railing and looked at her. "Thank you for trusting me with it."

"You’re family."

She said it as readily as she’d said yes when he asked whether she knew. This time, Miles let himself smile before answering.

"Leave this other matter with me too. I’ll deal with it myself." He paused. "Now tell me how you liked the Launchpad. Did we wear you out?"

"Not at all. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that many bright young people together in one place. They were so polite to me, too."

"Of course they were. You’re a legend in the business world."

"Oh, you made far too much of that."

"We don’t lie."

"Of course you don’t," Nora said, giving him a look that made him grin.

"You’ll stay for a few days, won’t you?"

"I already asked to be on the panel tomorrow. I want to hear what ideas they bring in." A little of the eagerness she’d shown at the Launchpad came back into her voice. "And I wanted to see Chloe. I’ve been watching her. She works hard, that girl."

Miles glanced down at the table. Chloe had leaned closer to Flora, listening with her chin in her hand.

Nora followed his gaze. "You hit the jackpot, boy."

"I couldn’t agree more."

He answered so promptly that Nora laughed.

She turned to look over the grounds. From where they stood, she could see the training yard, the paths between the buildings, and people going about their afternoon. A little girl darted across one of the paths and disappeared around a corner.

"What is this place, anyway?" Nora asked. "You call it a school, but it looks like an entire village. Who are all these people?"

Miles took a moment before answering. "They’re from the ancient clans."

Nora looked back at him. "The ancient clans? You mean those old martial arts clans?"

"Yes."

She waited, perhaps expecting him to add something that would make the answer sound less extraordinary. Miles simply looked back at her.

"You never stop surprising me," she said. "So is this place yours or theirs?"

"I bought it. I maintain it and pay the taxes. But it’s theirs now, too."

"Does the government know?"

"What?" Miles turned to her, caught off guard by the question. "It’s a licensed school. We’re just particular about which students we accept."

"Of course you are."

Nora went quiet. For a little while, they watched the clan members in the yard. Eve had finally got her feet in the right position and was looking over at Ivy to make sure she’d noticed.

"Have you ever thought about really moving on from your past?" Nora asked.

Miles chuckled. "I’ve been trying for months."

"And?"

"Something always comes up." He rubbed his thumb along a small rough spot on the railing. "Every time I think I’m done with the chaos, it finds me again."

Nora looked at him for a moment. "Will you be at peace when all of this is over?"

Miles tipped his head back. There were a few thin clouds over the island, moving so slowly that he had to look for a while to see them change position.

"Sometimes peace can be depressing," he said.

Nora’s brow furrowed.

"I don’t think it would be anymore," he added. I want to be at peace with the people I love. And I won’t let anyone take that away from us."

"You sound like an old man."

Miles chuckled. "Do I?"

"There you are, big bro!"

He turned to find Hope coming toward them, slightly out of breath. She glanced around the balcony before she came all the way over, as if the person she was looking for might be standing right behind him.

"Did you see Asher?"

"Are you playing hide and seek?"

"Yes."

"Then you’ve got to find him yourself."

Hope planted both hands on her waist and puffed out her cheeks.

"Big brooo."

Miles gave her a very serious look. "I can’t tell you that Asher is behind that tree. That would be cheating."

Hope’s eyes flicked past him toward the grounds.

"You’re right," she said solemnly. "I’ll find him myself."

She turned and walked away at a pace that might have passed for casual if her arms hadn’t been swinging quite so hard.

"See you, Great Aunt Noey!" she called over her shoulder.

"See you, honey."

Nora leaned over the railing. Hope appeared on the path below a moment later. She looked left, then right, and headed straight for the tree.

"She’s clever," Nora said. "Look at her. She’s going right to it."

Miles laughed.

"You cheated, though."

"When?"

Nora looked at him. He managed to hold her gaze for all of two seconds before his mouth twitched.

"You’re a child yourself," she said with a sigh.

That only made him grin.

"Great Aunt!"

They both looked down. Chloe was standing by the table now, one hand raised to shade her eyes as she looked up at the balcony.

"Do you want to go to the beach with us?"

"Of course," Nora called back. "Let’s go."

"Enjoy yourselves," Miles said.

Nora took a step toward the door, then stopped. "You’re not coming?"

"I’ll be there in a while."

She looked at him for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was low enough that only he could hear.

"Don’t worry about it too much, Miles. I’ll always stand by your side."

"Thank you."

Nora gave his shoulder a gentle tap as she passed. He watched her go inside, then turned back toward the sea.

"Do you ever take a break, General?"

Miles looked over. JK was walking toward him from the office.

"Even here," JK said, "you’re still working."

"I’m relaxing and working at the same time."

JK glanced out at the beach. "I see."

He came to a stop beside Miles, and his voice dropped.

"You were right about the Secret Service. There are more agents involved, especially among the ones assigned to the Vice President."

Miles turned away from the railing.

"And you were right about the Chief of Staff," JK continued. "She and the Vice President have been best friends since university. She’s in on it."

"That makes a lot of sense," Miles said quietly. "I’ll alert the President."

He looked through the open balcony door, toward the hallway Nora had just gone down.

"If the Vice President has more agents on her side, the Chief of Staff has to go first. Then we need to check the President’s security detail. If any of his agents have already been replaced, she could know every move he’s about to make."

JK waited as Miles thought it through.

"The Vice President had someone covering for her from inside his own office," Miles said. "That’s why he couldn’t find her. Neither could we."

"I might have a clue."

Miles turned toward the voice. Null was walking toward them with his laptop in hand.