Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Noah’s sneakers pounded into the asphalt.
It was his favorite time of day to run, just as the first rays of sun were lighting up the sky.
Trees and hedges bordered the road, sheltering the houses beyond from view.
Far below the edges of the cliffs, the ocean was calm. A few seagulls glided by overhead.
Last night, after dinner with Gramps and Ginger, he’d decided to stay over. A morning run in the hills had sounded appealing. It was Sunday, and he had no other plans for the day. Work or otherwise.
Most of the time, he took his morning runs on the path by the beach. His condo was in a tall building on Ocean Lane, and he liked seeing the town wake up at the start of each day.
But during the periods he’d been deployed overseas and had thought of home, these views in the hills had always come first to mind. How peaceful the world seemed on mornings like these.
Danica had used to run every morning, just like him. In fact, they’d been running partners for a few weeks one fateful summer.
And though he’d been doing his utmost not to think about her since their conversation yesterday, he’d failed miserably.
He needed to check on her, make sure she was safe.
Noah’s usual running path took him past the Foster-Grant property. How would her father and her security team react if he just strolled up and knocked on their front door? If he even got past the gate.
This would’ve been much easier if he had her current phone number.
His speed increased as he neared Danica’s house, his breaths rhythmic. His back twinged slightly in protest, and as usual, he ignored the discomfort.
Noah slowed at the gated entrance to the Foster-Grants’ driveway. There wasn’t a soul around except for a guard inside the kiosk, who glanced up.
“Can I help you, sir?”
“I—”
Then he turned and saw Danica. She’d just jogged to a stop, having come up the opposite side of the road.
“Noah? What’re you doing?” A pair of bike shorts and a tank top hugged her curves. Her high ponytail swung back and forth as she tilted her head, and her bangs were pushed back.
Noah’s pulse raced much faster than the exercise alone could account for. “Danica. Hey.” He held up his hands. “I come in peace.”
The guard inside the gate kiosk stepped out. “Do you know this guy, Ms. Foster-Grant?” he asked gruffly.
“I used to.” Danica’s eyes lit up with amusement as she tugged the Air Pods from her ears. “I don’t think he’s a threat.” She gestured at her running mate, a sturdy woman who so far had remained silent. But from the gun holster she was wearing, Noah guessed this was Danica’s new bodyguard.
“This is Rosie Consuelo. She’s on my new security team. Rosie, Noah Vandermeer. A…neighbor.”
Neighbor. Damn. That was a downgrade. But fair.
Rosie shook his hand. She gave him a polite nod, not revealing whether she’d heard his name before.
“I didn’t know you still lived up here,” Danica said.
“I don’t, most of the time. But I stayed over to visit my grandfather and his wife.”
“Oh? What about your mom and dad?”
“They’re out of town. But not together. They got divorced.”
“I didn’t realize. I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry for. They’re both fine.”
There was an awkward pause. He remembered when it had been effortless to talk to Danica. That summer before his sophomore year of college, they’d spent hours upon hours together. Talking, laughing…flirting.
Danica tucked her ear buds into a small pocket in her shorts, then gestured at the road. “Are you going this way?”
“Do you mind me tagging along with you? Or will your security team try to take me out?”
She smirked, her full lips twisting. “I don’t know. You do look like a shifty character. What are your intentions?”
“Entirely innocent. Even if I’m not your bodyguard, I wanted to check on you. As a…neighbor.”
“You have a neighborly concern for me?”
“Exactly. Very neighborly.”
Her eyes flashed playfully, a glimpse of the Dani he’d used to know, and Noah’s body filled with adrenaline.
“All right. You can join me. Let’s see if you can keep up.” Danica took off.
Noah sprinted to catch her, then fell into step beside her. Rosie lingered a few yards behind them.
“What company did you go with for your new detail?” he said quietly.
“Valoris.”
“You’re happy with them?”
“I like Rosie. I think she’ll be great. And she vouched for the other two bodyguards who’re switching off with her.”
Then that was good enough for Noah, though he would’ve preferred that Bennett Security protect her instead. “Any news on the police investigation?” he asked.
“Not much so far. But…” She looked like she was holding something back.
And there was a brief flash of something on her face.
Fear.
“Dani, what’s wrong?”
She blinked rapidly, and that glimpse of anxiety was gone. “It’s been stressful. All of this. The kidnapping attempt, not knowing what they really wanted.”
“Yeah. Of course. Is there anything I can do?”
Danica’s eyes remained steady on the road. “How can I trust you if you’re not honest with me?”
He felt those words like a punch in the gut.
For a couple of minutes, the only sounds were their footfalls, their breaths, the waves, and the gulls. Then Noah spoke again.
“I want to tell you what happened with Soren. But it doesn’t feel like my place.” He kept his voice down, not wanting this to be overheard.
“Why the hell not?” Now, her gaze was unflinching. “If you won’t tell me, who will?”
A fair point. Back then, he’d wanted to tell her all of it. He’d wanted to ask for her advice. But it would’ve been impossible and unfair to pull her into it.
A white work van exited out of a neighbor’s driveway and coasted slowly past them.
“You already know about the cheating ring at our college,” Noah said. “That I reported Soren.”
“Yeah, he told me that. And then the bigger scandal came out. The bribery. Everyone knows about that.”
“But not everyone knows that Soren was sleeping with one of our professors. Apparently, that’s how he got the tests he was trading around. And that’s how I found out. They were together in the apartment that Soren and I shared, and I walked in on them. She was married.”
The Foster-Grants had managed to keep those little details private. The affair had been just one small piece of the scandal, and it had been easy enough for them to bury it.
Danica’s gait faltered, and she slowed to a walk. “That’s unbelievably shitty. But it’s almost smaller than what I was imagining.”
“What were you imagining?”
“That…” She made a face and spoke the rest of the sentence so fast he could barely catch it. “Soren said you reported him out of petty jealousy. I thought you and Soren were fighting over some girl you both wanted.”
“Fighting over some girl?” She’d really thought that? He hated that she’d assumed he could forget her so quickly. “Dani, you were the girl I wanted. There was no one else.”
There’s never been anyone else. Not really.
Flutters spread through his chest at this silent admission.
Two dots of pink appeared on her cheeks. “If I had a ridiculous theory,” she said, “it’s your fault for not talking to me.”
“True. But I was trying to give you space so you didn’t get caught in the middle. I thought you’d get in touch if you wanted to.”
“But how could I, if I didn’t know what really happened?”
They charged up the next hill. By the time they reached the top, they were both breathing heavier. The burst of energy felt good. A way to channel his frustration at his old self for hurting her, though he’d tried to do the opposite.
“You’re right. But I’m not sure you realize how much Soren hated me. He said he was going to kill me.”
“He what?”
“Soren went after me, right in the middle of the quad.” Noah didn’t feel the need to describe how he’d bloodied Soren’s nose and blackened one eye with two vicious jabs.
All the fight had gone out of his friend, and Noah had hated seeing it.
A hundred witnesses had agreed that Soren threw the first punch.
“Then he said, ‘If you ever come near me again, I’ll kill you.’ Hyperbole, obviously. But his feelings were clear enough.”
“Shit. What a mess.”
“So you can see why I didn’t want to drag you into it.”
He hadn’t wanted to sully her with all that ugliness. He did regret losing her, even though it probably wouldn’t have worked out. As a SEAL, he’d been deployed six months out of the year. And even his periods stateside had been hectic with training.
But he did wonder. Sometimes.
“Will you tell me now what’s bothering you?” he asked. “Something about the kidnapping investigation?”
She shook her head as if shaking off a thought. “I’m not sure there’s anything to tell. I’m still trying to sort it out in my mind. Might be nothing at all.”
“How about I give you my number, and you can let me know when you’re ready?”
“All right.” Danica took her phone from her shorts pocket. He recited the digits, and she typed them in.
They were nearing his family’s house. Noah saw the turn up ahead. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her yet.
He’d made the mistake of not saying enough before. He wasn’t going to do that again. Even if this friendship—if he could call it that—lasted only so long as she was in town, he was glad for it, and he wanted her to know.
“Whatever you need,” he said, “all you have to do is ask. I’ll make it happen.”
“Why? You’re just that upstanding and honorable? Navy SEAL swooping in to save the damsel in distress?”
“You’re no damsel in distress. And my reasons might be slightly more selfish. I want you to be safe, of course. But I also like being around you, and I’ll take any excuse to do it.” She’d wanted honesty, so there it was.
Danica pushed out a breath, hands on her slender hips. “Noah. I wish you wouldn’t say things like that.”
“Am I supposed to pretend I can’t stand you?”
Her smile reappeared. “Let’s go with that. We’re neighbors who barely tolerate each other. Sounds about right. That’s how I used to think of you when you were Soren’s bratty little friend.”
Ouch. That stung. But he was grinning. “How long will you be in town?”
“I have a big fundraising gala coming up this Thursday, and I take off after that.”
So little time. Less than a week. “What if I see you out here again some morning?” he asked. “Can I join you?”
“It’s your neighborhood, too. I can’t stop you.”
“Will Rosie?” He glanced back at the bodyguard.
Danica laughed. “I’ll tell her to go easy on you. Though I can’t promise I will.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”