4. Noah
Chapter 4
Noah
There was absolutely nothing in this world that could have prepared me for what was happening.
When a man, or anyone, was sound asleep, dead to the world, nothing would get them up faster than gut-wrenching screams. Especially when they were accompanied by the sounds of breaking glass, a baby crying, and the cat yowling and racing through the house. There were thumps and hisses, and more loud cries. They filled every cell of my being.
It had me fully awake in an instant.
“Mara!”
I jumped from bed, fighting the covers in my haste as my wife’s hysterical sobs rang out through the quiet house. I tripped more than once as I tried to get a grip on what was possibly happening. My sleep-addled mind was going straight to the worst. I was a cop; I knew the horrors this world tried to hide.
I scrambled my way along the hall, dodging Sammy Belle as she made a hasty retreat. She wanted nothing more than to get away from the chaos. I followed the sounds of the crying, my heart leaping in my chest.
Jesus Christ.
My hands were shaking by the time I got to the end of the hall and turned into the kitchen. That was the longest twelve seconds of my entire life. And I’d been in some seriously dangerous—life-threatening—gunfire and fire kind of situations before.
Mara was on the floor, shirtless, our daughter in her arms, her body blocking my view of the baby. There were remains of a glass on the floor beside the now empty jug of orange juice; its contents were now covering the floor.
The fact that my girl was rocking and sobbing—it gutted me. Was she hurt? Was the baby?
“Mara, love, are you okay?” I reached for her, trying to not startle her more.
“I think...someone’s outside…window.”
“Fuck. Stay down.” My instincts jumped to life, and without thinking, I ran for the living room, grabbing my gun from the hall closet and rushing out the front door. There was no one in sight, but I knew that could change quickly. I kept my hand down, the gun not pointing at anything until it needed to.
I was careful on my way around the house to the back. The darkness around me makes everything a little more uneasy. I may be armed but I am in no way dressed for the task at hand. There was no time.
I scan the whole area around me. No shadows running away, no one standing on the porch or down on the sand. I looked over the back of the house as it fully came into view. The window covering on the windows facing the back porch and the beach were open slightly. Enough that I could see shadows inside.
Dammit! I thought I’d closed those earlier.
No perps though. I moved down around the walkway, my feet making quick work to eat up the distance to the beach. There were footprints all over this area, since we’d all sat out here just hours ago, I couldn’t tell if there were new ones. I hurried up the back steps. There were sprinkles of sand on the stairs and the decking. But again, that could have been from us.
I dropped my hand more, tapping my leg with my gun. I just wasn’t sure. With one last look around I made my way back around the house, scanning the whole time. Nothing looked out of the ordinary here.
Could it have been something as simple as a reflection? With the fridge door open and it being dark out, it was a possibility. We were both sleep-deprived and that could do a number on someone’s cognitive reflexes.
But my gut said this could be more. If I caught someone peeking in on my wife and daughter… Frustration rolled through me at the possibility. Having a stranger encroaching on our home. Looking at my wife and child while I slept. Or anytime.
What would happen if someone ever got inside and I wasn’t here? Nope. Stopped that train before I popped a blood vessel.
I put my service weapon away and made my way back toward my wife.
Mara was crying into the phone by the time I made it to her side. I gently moved closer, wrapping my arm around her. She let me take the cell, her free arm holding Kelsey against her. She was shaking and pale.
Kelsey, at least, had stopped crying. Her little grunts as she nursed eased part of my terror. It would seem that nothing came between the princess and her next meal.
Now, to calm my wife down.
“Mara! Answer me, heffa. Fuck, I’m on the way.”
Before I had a chance to realize who was on the phone, or say anything in reply, the call ended. I know better than to call back and say all was okay. Lord knew I would probably need Brenna to help calm Mara down.
Postpartum Mara was a whole new beast that we’d all had to encounter. I said that to say, it wasn’t her fault. She was in overload, and it was my job to be here to help her. It broke my heart though. She was so over-emotional, nothing like her normal self. If I could only take it all from her, I would in a heartbeat.
“Come on, love, let me get you to the bedroom and a top back on. The cavalry is coming over. Let’s not flash your boobs at everyone.”
“I’m…sorry…” She let out a long, frustrated breath as she wiped at her face.
“Nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart.” I pressed her into my side with a hug, my lips firmly pressing against her temple. “I’ve got you.”
“The kitchen?—”
“Will clean. It’s alright. Come on.”
“I—I was thirsty. There was no sense in waking you up. Dammit. I’m sorry, I should have gotten you up. But you’re so tired...”
“Love, it’s okay. You don’t need my permission to get out of bed. You can do whatever you want in your house. You can wake me or not. If I can help though, wake me up.” I gave her a smile before pressing another quick kiss to her temple. “Please, don’t freak out about a little mess.”
I helped her down the hall and into the bedroom. She angled toward the rocking chair in the corner, and I helped her settle into it, Kelsey still latched on and enjoying her middle-of-the-night feeding.
I chuckled. She was definitely my kid when it came to food.
I looked around the room for Mara’s nightshirt. It lay haphazardly on the side of the bed where she’d left it. It was easier for her to take it off, rather than fight to get straps down, in her sleep daze, when she got up with Kelsey. Midnight was rough for everyone.
I felt like a heel for not hearing the baby or her actually getting out of bed.
With guilt flooding me, I helped Mara into her top, without disturbing Kelsey too much. There my girl sat, one foot under her butt, the other pressing into the floor as she rocked our daughter. She had tear streaks on her cheeks, puffy eyes, and looked absolutely gorgeous.
I plopped down on the end of the bed and watched my girls for a moment, just taking in the sight.
“You’re looking at me?—”
“I’m allowed to,” I chuckled.
“Like I’m a snack,” she finished her sentence like I hadn’t said a thing. “Those kinds of looks are off limits for at least five more weeks, ya know. Maybe more.”
“I can look—get my fill of you, woman.”
She huffs. “Not when I look like this.” She motioned to her body.
“We’ve had this discussion, Mara.” My tone was hard. “You are simply beautiful. You’re mine, for eternity. I don’t want you thinking anything will ever change that.”
Tears rolled down her cheek, but she swiped them away quickly. “I’m bloated, my boobs are…I’m a hot mess.” She lifted one arm. “I probably smell too.”
“If it wouldn’t hurt you, I’d lay you over my knees and spank that kind of thinking right out of you!”
Her cheeks flushed, and she looked away. I gave her a minute to let those words sink in. She looked up, her gaze meeting mine. “I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. All of you. Never doubt that. Now…why don’t you tell me what you saw in the kitchen? Please.”
She rubbed her forehead for a minute. “I thought I heard something. It was probably Sammy Belle. She was meowing for a treat… I turned ready to take a drink of OJ… I swear there was someone there. Outside on the back patio. I jerked, knocked the jug over, dropped the glass as I tried to cover myself and Kelsey… Jesus. I scared us all. I’m sorry, I was?—”
“Hey,” I moved to kneel before her, “There is nothing to be sorry for; you got startled. It happens. I searched out there but didn’t see anyone around. Maybe it was just your shadow? I’ve?—”
“Noah Lawson, I swear, I will punch you in the throat. I know my shadow from a face in my window.”
I held up my hands. “Easy, love. I didn’t say you didn’t see someone. It was merely a thought.”
“It wasn’t my shadow!”
“Noted. Not your shadow.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’m sure whoever it was got scared off.”
“Them seeing me topless scared them off? Is that what you’re saying? I’m so hideous, they just?—”
“Mara, stop it. I am not saying that.” I glared at my wife, trying to keep my fear and temper in check. She wasn’t herself right now, and the last thing I wanted was to upset her more.
I squeezed her thighs, my gaze never leaving her face.
“Baby, listen to me, please. For the love of all that is holy, just listen.” Reaching up, I cupped her cheek, my thumb running over the tear tracks there. “I meant the loud noise of the glass breaking or your scream would have scared them off. They could have seen me running for the door. Any number of things. We’ll make sure to keep the windows covered from now on. And, as an extra precaution, I’ll get Abel to help me put up ring cameras on the front and back porches.”
“I’m sorry. I’m such a bi?—”
“Mara!”
“Yo, bro, where are you?”
Brenna and Abel’s voices traveled up the hallway. I stood and went to the door.
“In here, don’t go into the kitchen; there’s glass on the floor.”
I was pushed aside as Brenna barreled her way into the bedroom.
“Oh, Mara. What happened? You okay?”
I met Abel at the door and motioned with my chin for him to follow me.
“What happened? I was dragged out of bed and told there was trouble.”
“Mara saw someone peeking in the window. Scared the shit out of me hearing her scream like that.” I rubbed my face with the palms of my hands.
“You see anyone?”
“No. But there’s sand on the stairs and deck, footprints all around. It could all be from us, or us and a stranger. No way to tell.”
“Shit. What do you need me to do?”
“Man, I’m not sure where to start.”
We both went to check on the girls after making a plan to get cameras in the morning—later today. I should have had them up already. In these days and times, you just couldn’t be too careful. Crazy people had a bad habit of finding their way into our lives. And when I said our, I meant cops.
Not everyone supported the blue line; some people did the opposite. It was their mission to take us out every chance they got. Could this have been someone I’d had a run-in with?
Or was this all just a simple case of my overtired wife seeing her own shadow? Man, I hated to think she was this upset over nothing.
My head was pounding now, and I wanted nothing more than to get my wife and daughter into my arms and make all of this better. It was going to be a long-ass night. I just knew it.