Nora Kelly Series Novels & Stories

Nora got in the back seat. Kane’s eyes hit the rearview. Five minutes. That was the deal. He pulled away from the restaurant while her phone buzzed with Paul’s you on your way? Nora left it unread. She sat in the dark behind her driver with the dress already at her hips, nothing underneath, and put her own fingers on her clit because he had told her to start before the alley. Kane watched. The car drifted a little. “Don’t you come,” he said.

Then, Adrian Kane being questioned by federal agents. Nora listened and didn't say anything. She'd known this part was coming. She'd known the story would get out and land on all their heads eventually. She'd done her piece of it. That was enough for right now. Priya's phone started ringing and wouldn't stop. Rachel's did too. Margaret's a second later. Nora didn't have a phone anymore. Hers got smashed on Desmond's floor. She stood there and watched the other three try to keep up. Rachel finally answered. She listened, nodded twice, hung up.

CALLIE I blinked at her, still trying to process what just happened. "Wait a minute. Nora, are you telling me you’re an undercover agent?" Nora scratched the back of her head, her smirk now replaced with a sheepish grin. “Yeah… kind of.” My jaw dropped. “So, the whole story about your dad killing your mom, the tragedy that supposedly brought you here… that was a lie?”

In turn, Noah was crafty and funny around her, illustrating none of his usual intensity. More questions than answers pushed around in her skull, shoving for space and attention. He had a girl-a niece supposedly-hidden away in the middle of nowhere, who had burn scars on her arm. Though the girl seemed educated, she was socially awkward. Bodyguards were everywhere, milling about. The house had a security system that could trump NASA. There was a panic room, for goodness sake! After an hour, Noah sensed her growing unease and bid everyone a goodnight, claiming they'd tuck Aubrey in for the evening. Raven didn't know whether to be relieved or worried she'd finally get her answers. Just who the

The sun had already set by the time I finished work. Jaime always called this place a remote village. Every minute here felt like torture to her. I thought she would not be able to stand it and would leave. To my surprise, she waited outside my office door. When she saw me, she stood up at once and hurried to my side. “Joseph, you still haven’t told me what happened. Did your mother really die?” I stopped walking and looked at her. A cold laugh escaped me. “My mother died. Isn’t that what you wanted? Your mother’s so‑called killer finally paid the price. Are you satisfied now?”

She gave herself ten more seconds of it, which she recognized was a negotiation with herself that she was losing, and then she opened her eyes and set the phone face down on the mattress beside her. Nora was very clear-eyed about this, in the way that people who spend a lot of time living inside their own heads learn to be. She knew exactly where she stood in the landscape of Benjamin Damien’s world. She had observed enough, listened enough, paid enough quiet attention to know the shape of the girls he moved through. They were the kinds of girls who took up space easily, who laughed loudly without checking first whether it was appropriate, who wore the right things without appearing to try.

My instincts kicked in so fast that it took every ounce of my self-control not to shift in place. Kellan did it for me, stiffening like a trap sprung. His voice cut through the silence, low and sharp. “You feel that?” “I do now,” I muttered, scanning the shadows of the courtyard. And then she stepped out of them. Nora. Hair wind-tossed and tousled, cheeks flushed pink with a storm she hadn’t quite explained yet. Her eyes, those inhuman, dragon eyes, focused on us both with mathematical precision, and my spine caught. “I followed it here,” she said. No pleasantries. No idle chitchat. Just that.

Instead, she hired someone to keep a close watch on both women. With Elara's wedding only two days away, tension eased a bit —until her private phone rang. She answered on the first ring. "Speak." "A package reached Nora.” "Who sent it?" "We don't know. But Liam Kingsley has already begun investigating." Silence followed. "What about Sophia?" "She suspects nothing... for now." Elizabeth's fingers tightened around the phone. "Find whoever sent that package." Her voice turned cold. "Before Nora learns the truth.”

She has learned that lesson the hard way. On the screen, Nora moves alone through the hallway toward the front door. She kisses David on the cheek just before she steps out, and promises to be back home soon. Wouldn’t be so sure if I were you, Maya thinks to herself. Nora steps out holding a black leather bound book that Maya is sure is the ledger, and gets into her car. They wait a few seconds till she’s down the street, then they start their own cars and follow, a safe distance away. Nora makes several turns until she’s on a familiar street Maya knows from all the research she’s done on Nora over the years.

I asked, crossing my arm over my waist. Nora squinted her brows, cocking her head as she stared at me. "Things happening? Has anyone died again?" she asked. She looked really eager to know if there was another kill, rather than being worried about her safety. It was crazy. I nodded my head. I would definitely tell her... maybe that will make her care more about her safety. "Yes, Horace killed Gaius." I revealed. Nora staggered backward as she placed her palm on her chest. What? she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.