Chapter Twenty-Two
Jess has been looking around town for jobs with no luck, when I suggest a remote job like mine she jumps at the idea. Working from home isn’t for everyone, but she thinks she’ll like it, and I agree. She has a few different interviews scheduled this week, so I invite her over to help her prepare. Making a good first impression is always helpful in interviews and having at least a basic knowledge of the systems used and the job description never hurts.
We’re in the middle of running through some typical interview questions when someone hammers their fist against the front door. The knock startles us both, the guys are at work and I’m not expecting anyone, but it could be a delivery or something, so I get up to look through the peep hole. What I’m not expecting to see is Adam fucking Noble standing on the porch with a scowl .
I hold my finger up to my lips, signaling Jess to be quiet so he won’t hear us, but it’s a waste of time.
“I know you’re in there Zoe, you too Jess. I saw you through the window. Open this door so we can talk, this has all been blown up and it’s time to put an end to it.”
Shit. He’s crazier than I thought if he thinks we’re just going to open the door and invite him in. Instead of following his ridiculous command I lead Jess down the hall and call the guys at the shop.
“Revved Up, where we would do anything to rev your engine.”
He must have seen the caller ID because there’s no way Nate says that to customers, Liam would have a cow, but now isn’t the time for jokes.
“Nate, we need help, Adam is at the house.”
That catches his attention and the change in his tone is immediate. “What do you mean Adam is at the house? He was arrested.”
“He must have gotten out on bail because he’s standing on the front porch telling us to let him in so we can all talk about this big misunderstanding.”
I’m trying to keep my voice steady because Jess is already wringing her hands together, I need to be strong right now, for both of us .
I can’t believe he came back again. What could have possibly gone through his brain to make him think this was a good idea? Getting out on bail is one thing, coming here to harass us isn’t going to look good for him. He’s still yelling at us to open the door while he beats on it like that’s helping his cause.
“Shit, don’t let him in, Hot Rod. Liam is calling the cops now and we’re on the way. Stay inside with the doors locked and wait for us. I’m going to hang up and call you on my cell ok.”
The call disconnects with a click before I can even say goodbye, but I know it’s because they’re probably running out the door. As promised my phone rings again immediately and Nate’s picture fills the screen.
“Stay on the phone, we’re on the way but I don’t trust that bastard.”
With good reason.
Adam’s pounding finally stops, but instead of giving up and leaving he decides to go for more drastic measures. The unmistakable sound of glass breaking echoes in the living room and his voice gets significantly louder as he continues to yell while Jess panics.
“He’s in the house, oh my God he’s in the house, Zoe.”
She’s standing right next to me so Nate hears every terrified word and all three of the guys are losing their shit on the other end of our call. Reynolds tells the guys to hold on, pushing the car to the limit trying to get here from the sound of it, while Liam’s voice is in the background passing on information to the police and Nate panics in my ear.
“How the fuck did he get in the house? Where are you?”
“I think he busted a window.” I keep my voice low, hoping Adam won’t hear us. He might be in the house, but he doesn’t know where we are. Yet. Help is on the way; we just have to hold out until they get here. “We’re in your room.”
Nate curses, which is not the response I wanted. “My window is jammed, it doesn’t open. If you can get to Reynolds’ room he keeps a bat next to his bed, and his window opens right next to that big bush. You could get out from there, but don’t risk moving if you think Adam will catch you. If you need to stay in my room lock the door and wait for us, we’re on the way baby.”
I’m afraid to answer. Adam’s footsteps are leaving the kitchen, which means he would definitely see us if we made a run for it. Quietly as I can I tip toe across the room to lock the door like Nate said, but Adam beats me to it and throws the door open just before I reach it. Jess and I both scream as he bursts into our hiding spot and without thinking I throw the only thing in my hand at him. The phone nails him right in the middle of the forehead, but now I don’t have my only connection to the guys. Hopefully the line is still connected, but I don’t have time to worry about that now. Adam pushes me backwards, tripping me up over my own feet as I go flying to the floor while he sets his sights on Jess.
She tries to get away from him, but there isn’t enough room for her to get out of his reach. Pictures fall and glass frames shatter across the floor as he slams her into the wall, his hand is wrapped tight around her upper arm so she can’t escape.
Instead of cowering or backing down my new friend snarls at our attacker and fights back. Her nails rake down his face as she screams and for a moment he lets her go, but she doesn’t get far.
“You stupid bitch!” His fist snaps out, landing on her jaw with a sickening crack before she falls to the ground.
In a fit of rage, I jump at him from my spot on the floor, but he swats me away like an annoying fly. Before Jess can get away he pushes her back down, wrapping his hands around her throat as he tries to choke the life from her. She’s scratching at his arms, twisting beneath him and kicking out, but nothing she’s doing is helping.
“You had to listen to her, didn’t you? Tried to leave me, do you know how embarrassing this has been? I told you, you would never be able to leave me, why couldn’t you just fucking listen?”
He’s lost his mind.
Jess is gasping for air when I jump on his back and wrap my own arm around his throat. I hold on like a spider monkey while he tries to throw me off, but he can’t fight off both of us at once. In a tangle of limbs we wrestle all over the floor until he manages to knock Jess out. Without her to help distract him he focuses all of his attention on me and slams backwards into the wall knocking the breath from my chest.
“This is all your fault, you ruined everything! ”
I’ve seen Adam angry more times than I can count, but I’ve never seen the murderous rage filling his eyes right now. “I’m going to fucking kill you. I’m going to kill you and leave you right here for those assholes to find.” Scooting my way along the wall I try to get away from him but he’s faster than I am.
Unfortunately for him he’s not faster than the police that burst into the room. Watching Adam get thrown to the ground and handcuffed is the best thing I’ve ever seen. He’s still screaming about how this is all my fault, but I’m not listening to him anymore, I’m more concerned about Jess. She’s still laying across the floor, but she’s coming to as the police officer we spoke to at the station talks to her.
“Don’t try to move just yet ok, I want the paramedics to check you out. Do you know your name?”
He stays with her, keeping her talking until the paramedics make it in. The guys must have pulled up right behind them because I can hear them yelling on the front porch, but whoever is out there isn’t letting them inside. Now that I know Jess is going to be ok I follow the sound of angry voices to the front porch. I know they’re going to need my statement and I should probably get checked out too, but I have to see them first.
Nate sees me before the others and shoulders around the officer blocking their path just enough for me to throw myself into his arms. “Holy shit Hot Rod, I think my heart stopped five times on the drive here.”
I know what he means .
The officer halfheartedly tries to separate us until his captain shows up and orders him inside. Captain Nickles has been involved in Adam’s case since Jess pressed charges. He knows everything that’s happened, and he knows the guys aren’t the ones causing problems.
Reynolds and Liam each take a moment to hug me before we turn around to talk to the Captain. When we do Nate pulls me back in front of him so he can wrap his arms around my waist and the others both hold my hands. We all need to reassure ourselves everything is ok, thankfully the Captain doesn’t comment on our relationship, he just jumps straight to the point.
“I hate it happened this way, but Mr. Noble just sealed his own fate. He’s not going to get out of this one, he’ll be put away for a long time.”
He’s right, there were plenty of police in the house that heard his threat to kill me. They saw what he did to us and there’s evidence of him breaking in, he violated his parole by coming here but he’s not getting the outcome he was hoping for. On top of all that I also watched him fight back against the arresting officers, who knows how many charges they can add for that. He thought he could scare us into rolling over and giving up, but we aren’t weak.
Watching Adam being dragged out the front door and thrown in the back of the cop car fills me with satisfaction. He’s finally getting what he deserves, everyone will finally see him for the monster he is. The Captain was right, he’s not going to get out of this now. He’s going to rot in a cell for everything he’s done .
Adam glares at us through the window, but I can’t hear what he’s screaming anymore, it’s just muffled nonsense now. It doesn’t matter anyway. Turning my back to him I don’t offer the bastard a second glance. Instead, I go inside with the guys to check on Jess and give the officers my statement.
After being cleared by the paramedics, Jess and I spend hours at the police station answering all of their questions and giving them everything we can think of. It’s hard, but we do it together.
The guys stay at the station the whole time we’re there, when we’re finally done we all get in the car together but Jess surprises me when she asks to be dropped off at my house. I assumed she would want to stay with us tonight after everything that happened.
“I finally feel like I can breathe.” Despite her injuries Jess is smiling as she explains. “We all know he’s not getting out on bail this time. He’s not going to get away with what he’s done, he’s going to suffer for it, but he can’t hurt me now and I refuse to let my own fear of him dictate my life. So, I’m going home and I’m going to move on. I’m going to create a better life for myself and be happy in spite of everything he did to me.”