Chapter Sixteen
Aubrey
The trip back down the mountain was uneventful, and Bree felt like herself for the first time since those awful pictures had shown up at her house. The trip to the lake was perfect, and she loved that Noah was lighthearted and able to laugh at himself. She’d dated other men who were competitive to a fault and who would’ve made her feel bad for taking the painting thing too seriously. Instead, he praised her work and seemed happy that she was happy. They pulled into her driveway, and Noah cut the engine. The happiness buzzed in her chest, and she felt like she could float. Noah cared about her, she thought giddily.
“Wait for me,” Noah said with a smile, hopping out of the car and quickly coming over to her side. He opened her door and offered her his hand, and she felt that familiar jolt of electricity at the touch. This was a man she could fall in love with. For once, that thought didn’t scare her. Noah looked down at her and threaded his fingers through hers. They walked up to the porch, the heat from Noah’s body reassuring her. She was safe. She didn’t have to worry, not when Noah was around.
The door creaked open, the sudden sharp sound painfully loud as it opened up into the dark space. Bree felt anxiety creep up in her chest, trying to suffocate her joy. She didn’t like the dark. Hadn’t she left the light in the kitchen on? Bree frowned and tried to remember. Well, it either was burned out, or she forgot to turn it on. Either was likely the way her luck was going.
Noah chuckled. “We definitely needed to oil that up. It sounds like nails on a chalkboard.” He said, walking over to the table and tossing the keys into the bowl.
He reached to turn on the light when a shuffling sound came from the dining area. Bree felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and her heart raced. Noah threw his hand out in front of her, pressing a finger to his lips to indicate the need for quiet.
Duh.
Bree watched as Noah quickly contemplated the best course of action, clearly torn between investigating the sound and staying with her. It’s not like their arrival had been a secret. If someone was in the house, they certainly would’ve heard the door creak open.
Noah flipped on the lights, immediately grabbing Bree and pulling her behind him so she was between him and the wall. A flash of black sprinted through the space, clearly as surprised to see them as they were to see him. The intruder flung open the back door and disappeared into the night. Noah drew his weapon and took a step to follow the man before turning to look at Bree. She could see the wheels turning in his mind as he lowered the weapon to his side.
“Bree—” he said softly. “We need to go back to the car.”
Her heart was still pounding in her chest. She probably would’ve agreed with anything he said right now. “Okay.”
Noah grabbed the keys from the bowl, his eyes fixed on the back door. He took her hand in his, and led her out the front door, not bothering to pause to lock it behind them. The back door was wide open. They raced over to his car and he opened the door for her to get in before walking over to his side, holstering his gun, and getting in as well. He pulled away from the curb and handed Bree his phone. “Call Theo, please.” He said shortly, placing a warm hand gently on her knee while scanning the mirrors far more than he usually did when they drove.
“What’s going on, Noah? Who was that?” Bree said, her heart thumping along in her chest and confusion clouding her mind. Panic drummed in her chest. Someone had been inside her home. Inside.
“I’m not sure. We’ll figure it out, sweetheart. Just call Theo, please.”
Bree nodded and dialed Theo’s number, waiting impatiently for him to answer.
“How’d the ‘not date’ date go, man?” Theo’s voice asked, coming through the car’s sound system. Bree noted the word choice through her brain fog and filed it away for later.
“It was perfect. Can you check the security footage for Bree’s house?”
“From a specific time period or in general?”
“Tonight from probably four-ish until—” Noah glanced at the clock on his dash, “eleven.”
“Anything specific I’m looking for?”
“Someone was in Bree’s house.”
Bree felt the blood drain from her face. It felt different hearing him say it out loud. More…real? She felt tears roll down her cheeks and wiped them away quickly. She hated crying.
“On it. What else?” Theo said.
“I”m going to call local PD to give them a heads up and see if a unit can meet us out there. Can you and anyone who isn’t out on assignment meet us in Rhodes Town Square by the coffee shop in about 90 minutes?”
“Sure thing. I’ll also have the info for you by the time we get there.” Theo said.
“Appreciate it, brother,” Noah said before ending the call.
“Noah—”
“You saw the man run out of your house?”
Bree nodded and took a deep breath, tears still silently falling. She was safe. Noah was there. She had no reason to cry. She told herself over and over. Maybe then she’d believe it.
“Bree, there was also a bouquet of flowers sitting in the middle of your dining room table.”
Bree furrowed her brow. What an odd thing to notice. “Okay…”
“There weren’t any flowers on your table when we left earlier. Also, your back door had a pane broken.”
Her eyes widened. Someone broke into her house and left her flowers? Bree laughed maniacally. How was this her life? This was ridiculous.
“Don’t worry, Bree. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” Noah said.
She nodded, not certain she believed him, but too tired to put up a fight.
***
An hour and a half later a black SUV pulled into the parking spot beside them near the coffee shop. The passenger side window rolled down, and Theo stuck his head out and gave Bree a little wave. “All good?” He asked, making eye contact with Noah.
Noah nodded tensely. “Yeah. PD cleared the house within fifteen minutes of us calling. No sign of the intruder. Will you follow us back to Bree’s? Zach and Peter in the field?”
Theo nodded, “They’re out on joint surveillance tonight.”
Ten minutes later, they were back at her house, the black SUV following them as Noah drove. Bree rubbed her hands nervously on her jeans, afraid of what they’d find when they returned. They pulled into the neighborhood, and it looked just as it did every evening—normal, quiet since the majority of her neighbors work tomorrow, and safe. Noah turned off the engine and got out. He walked behind and spoke with Theo and the other guy before shaking his head and returning to her side of the car, opening the door slowly.
“Theo and Eli are here. The others are on an overnight assignment tonight. You’ve met Theo, but I’ll introduce you to Eli. You’re safe with both of them.” Noah told her as she got out of the car. They walked over to the men, and Bree smiled tentatively at them. The man next to Theo was tall with cropped brown hair, tan skin, and a sleeve of tattoos running down his right arm. Some of them looked like drawings a child might do, while others looked like works of art.
“Hi,” the man said, extending his sleeved arm toward her. “I’m Eli Walters.”
“Aubrey Gray,” She said, reaching out to shake his hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“You as well.” She said, eager for the pleasantries to be over so they could get down to business. Some of her feelings must have been evident in her tone because Noah chuckled a little. Small talk was…challenging. She could do it, but it took a lot of effort.
“Theo, what’d you find?” Noah asked as they walked toward the front door.
“There was a man here, but I wasn’t able to see his face. He seemed to know where the cameras were.” Theo seemed particularly frustrated, but he couldn’t have predicted that.
“Any identifying features?”
“Not that I was able to see. Normal gait, normal clothes. He seemed like he’d just blend in anywhere. Average height, dark hair, nothing noticeable about him.”
“Great,” Noah muttered, placing his hand on her hip and drawing her to a stop as they arrived at the door. “Wait here with Theo, Bree. Eli and I are going to clear the house.”
”The police already came out and did that.” Bree pointed out.
”They did, but we want to make sure no one came in while we were out since your back door can”t be secured.”
Bree nodded and watched as Eli handed Noah a flashlight. Noah and Eli nodded at each other, drew their weapons, and went inside the house. As soon as the door shut, she turned and looked at Theo.
“It isn’t your fault that he wasn’t on camera, Theo. You can’t anticipate everyone’s movements.”
“I’m one of the best, Aubrey. I always know which shadows these guys are going to lurk in.” He said, frustration lacing each word.
“Well, this time you didn’t, and that’s okay. Besides, he struck at night, which technically means it was all shadows.” She tried joking to reassure him.
“Cameras can see in the dark now.” Theo pointed out, observing her closely. “How are you?”
Scared. Terrified of being alone. Frightened. “Scared. I keep trying to remind myself not to freak out until there is something to actually freak out about, but that’s not going so well.” She grimaced.
“Understandably. Do you want to footage sent over to P.D. or should we keep it?” Theo asked, observing her closely.
”That”s fine. You can send it to Detective Ramirez.” The idea of sending footage out to anyone made Bree feel like she was going to break out in hives, but she wasn”t going to sit on evidence. Even if there wasn”t anything identifiable caught on tape.
A few minutes later, the door opened again, and Noah re-holstered his gun. “It’s clear.” He said, guiding her into the house as Theo followed behind.
Bree walked over to the table where Eli was standing and looked at the flowers sitting innocuously on the table, a folded piece of paper in front of them.
“What does it say?” She asked, looking at Eli.
“You can’t trust them to keep you safe,” Eli said.
Noah practically growled behind her.
Theo walked up and took a look at the note, careful not to touch it. “There also seems to be a piece of artwork printed on the note.”
“A famous one?” She asked.
“If it is, I’m not familiar with it. It reminds me of a Picasso…what do you call that? Abstract?”
“Hmm.” She said, walking over to look at the note. “It looks like Willem de Kooning’s Woman-Ochre.” She remembered reading about the painting, but couldn’t remember why it had stuck out to her.
“What kind of flowers are these?” Eli wondered aloud.
“Does it matter?” Noah asked, frustration lacing his words.
“It can,” Eli said simply.
“These are gardenias,” Bree said, gesturing to the large white flowers in the bouquet. “And the little ones are baby’s breath. And the last are yellow…carnations?” She looked a little closer at the bouquet and nodded. Those were definitely carnations.
“Bree, we”ll need to update the police in the morning. They probably weren”t looking for flowers as a sign of a break-in.” Noah said, resting his hand on her lower back. It seemed like he was staying as close as he could get right now, and she wasn’t objecting. “You’ll need to file a report.”
Bree nodded and placed the call. Dispatch said deputies would be out shortly to take pictures and collect evidence. How was this even her life right now? The thought of staying here alone—especially at night made her skin crawl. Would she even be safe? What if he broke in again and it wasn’t to leave her flowers? Dread pooled in her stomach, and her chest felt tight as her breaths began coming in faster and faster.
Noah rubbed her back and whispered in her ear softly, “Breathe, Bree. Deep breaths.” He guided her through the next couple of minutes until the panic faded and she looked at him tears blurring her vision. She wanted to ask him to stay or to take her somewhere else. Anywhere else. But she didn’t want to be a burden. Maybe she could just go stay at a hotel. Then maybe she’d feel safe.
***
Noah
“Aubrey,” Noah said calmly after the deputies had collected the evidence and their statements, “Would you be willing to stay with me? At my house?”
“Are you sure? I could just as easily stay at a hotel.” Bree asked hesitantly.
His gut clenched at the thought. Over my dead body, Noah thought angrily. Hotels could be hard to defend properly. Bree wouldn’t be as safe there as she would be at his house—in his arms—his brain added unhelpfully. He took a deep breath and tried again. “Just for a little while. Or you could stay with one of my teammates.”
“Don’t you think you should ask them first?” She asked good-humoredly. “I imagine their wives wouldn’t appreciate a random woman coming to stay with them.”
“They’re not married, but they wouldn’t mind. Not if I asked.” It would be a favor, but one any of them would do for each other’s woman. Not that Bree was his—Noah tried convincing himself.
“I’d rather stay with you, but I can stay at a hotel, too,” Bree said quietly.
A burst of pride shot through his chest. She’d rather stay with him. “Over my dead body will you stay at a hotel with an unknown person stalking you. You’ll stay with me. Let”s pack a duffel bag for tonight, and when it’s daylight tomorrow, we’ll get your bags packed and grab whatever you need for work.”
“Oh, since I’m retired, I don’t really need anything,” Bree said softly.
“You mentioned you had a side job. Painting? We can take whatever you need.” Noah said, hoping to be encouraging.
Bree’s eyes filled with tears again, and he felt his heart stutter. Did he say something stupid?
“Umm, Bree?” Noah asked, walking toward her hesitantly.
“They’re happy tears, Noah. I just…I appreciate everything you have done and are doing for me. You’re…you’re the best.” She croaked.
He brushed the tears away and pulled her into his arms, concerned that everything going on was weighing on her more than she was letting on. “I’m glad they’re happy tears, but I still hate seeing you cry.” He admitted through the emotion in his own throat. This woman would be the death of him. And boy, it would be the best way to go.
Theo and Eli walked back into the living room, and Noah turned to look at them. “Can you meet us back here around ten a.m. tomorrow? We’re going to move some of Bree’s stuff into my house.”
“Yup,” Eli said.
“I’ll be here,” Theo added.
“Thanks,” Noah said. He looked down at Bree. “Your room is safe sweetheart, why don’t you go pack what you need for tonight and then we’ll head out.”
Bree nodded and disappeared down the hall.
“Do you think he’ll come back?” Eli asked seriously.
“It’s hard to say. I think it depends on why he was here. Bree is supposed to go through the house tomorrow to see if anything is missing so we can add it to the police report.” Noah answered.
“It’s weird, man. Why is he trying to warn her off of you? Are we sure it’s a stalker for Bree and not some chick hung up on you?” Theo mused.
They went back and forth with several different theories until they heard Bree’s quiet steps coming up the hall. She looked wiped out. Theo grabbed her bag and Eli made sure the doors and windows were shut and locked—broken pane on the backdoor not withstanding—while Noah grabbed the keys and guided Bree to his car. Once the house was locked up and Bree was comfortably in his car with her bag, Noah waved to Eli and Theo and slipped into the driver’s seat. Today had been long, and tomorrow was shaping up to be even longer.
***
Aubrey
The drive to Noah’s house was uneventful, but honestly, he could have been driving through a parade of elephants, camels, and the Wizard of Oz, and she still wouldn’t have been able to keep her eyes open. Exhaustion sat heavy on her bones, and she was so tired of all of this. Tired of the threats. Tired of the photos. Tired of someone thinking they had the right to break into her home—regardless of what they left or intended. Her brain felt full, and her heart heavy.
She closed her eyes until the car came to a stop on Noah’s driveway. He pressed the button to open his garage door while Bree looked around surreptitiously. At night, there wasn’t much to see. The street was dimly lit, with street lamps evenly spaced out as far as Bree could see. A few porch lights were on, but it was late enough that most lights inside and outside of the houses were off.
The garage opened, and Noah slowly pulled in, waiting until the door shut completely behind them before getting out of the car and walking over to Bree’s side. He opened her door and took her backpack, shouldering it gently before reaching his hand in and helping her out. She wobbled slightly, a little off balance, and had to wait for a moment to regain her equilibrium. Noah kept a steady hand on her elbow and guided her to the door. He unlocked it with a key from his key ring, and she raised an eyebrow in question.
“Most people don’t lock their garage doors.” He shrugged. “Garages aren’t that hard to break into, generally speaking. So locking the door between the house and the garage is one pretty simple additional layer of security.”
Bree nodded. She saw an episode on a crime TV show once where the killer was getting in using garage door openers and taking advantage of the unlocked door between the garage and the home. She shuddered. She needed to start locking her garage door. One more layer of security between her and whoever was out to get her didn’t feel like enough, but it was more than she currently had going for her.
They walked into the dimly lit hallway and Noah locked the door behind them once they entered. “Your room will be just down the hall.” He said, walking Bree down and showing her the room and the nearby bathroom. It looked clean and safe which was all Bree needed.
“Thanks.” She said tiredly.
“If you need me, my room is down the hall on the left. You also can send me a text or call me. I keep my phone by the bed.” Noah hesitated like he wanted to say something else, but stepped back to give her the space to change and get ready for bed.
Bree watched him leave and went through her backpack slowly. Once she found a pair of sleep shorts and a tank, she grabbed them along with her toothbrush and toothpaste and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.
She laid down and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling a frown on her face. The wind outside seemed threatening and the moans and creaks of the house set her pulse racing every time. A soft knock sounded on her door, and she padded over to it, opening it slightly to confirm it was Noah before she opened it all the way.
Noah stood in the doorway, a pair of gray sweats hung low on his hips and a black t-shirt covering his chest. He had two water bottles in his hands and held one out for Bree. She shook herself out of her stupor, and met his heated gaze. He clearly had noticed her checking him out.
“I thought you might want water,” Noah said.
Bree blushed and reached out for the water bottle.
“Coffee would be better.” She argued weakly.
“Not at this hour. It would keep you up all night.”
“I’m already gonna be up all night.” She muttered.
Noah furrowed his brow in concern. “Are you uncomfortable? Would you rather stay at a hotel?”
“No!” Bree said quickly. “No…I just keep seeing that guy crawling out of my house, and every sound the house and wind makes sounds ominous. I’m just freaking myself out.”
“Can I help?”
Bree hesitated—she didn’t want to be alone. But she didn’t want to seem childish, either. It was kind of embarrassing. A heavy gust of wind blew, and Bree jumped. “Will you—will you sit with me until I fall asleep?” She asked.
“Sure.”
He walked into the room and waited as Bree got settled into bed before sitting in the armchair nestled in the corner. He picked up a book that was sitting on the side table and opened it. “I’ll stay until you fall asleep. You’re safe here, Bree.”
She nodded and nestled down in the blankets acutely aware of the droolworthy man keeping watch over her. With Noah in the room the noises didn’t spike her anxiety and she listened to his even breathing until her eyes closed and she fell into a fitful sleep.