Chapter Nineteen
Aubrey
Three days later, Bree was not only exhausted from interrupted nights of sleep—thank you nightmares—but she was also starting to get a little cabin fever. Noah was at the office for the first time since she’d moved in with him. Normally, he was home, but was constantly busy with virtual appointments and meetings, and while she was used to being alone it was a little strange. She also hated feeling like she was a burden to Noah, though he would never say that she was. Bree sighed and stared at the painting she was working on, waiting for inspiration to strike. It was no use. She couldn’t paint when she was like this. Her brain felt as though it were full of cotton—why couldn’t she handle stress like a normal person?
The idea that someone was out there, watching her, waiting to get access to her, made her skin crawl. The faceless man had been the star of her nightmares since the break-in, and Bree was tired of the unknown man’s hold on her life. She wanted to move past it—she wasn’t hurt, nothing was missing—but the lingering feeling of her safe space being violated just wouldn’t let up.
She groaned inwardly, sitting her paintbrush down and staring out the window toward the lake. A girl could get used to living with that view. She loved her bungalow, but this view made her reconsider staying in her house. Maybe she should get a new one and have a view like this in her art studio. She filed it away with other things she considered on days she felt like making rash decisions. Most of them never saw the light of day again, and some…like that time she wanted a change and dyed her hair bright pink…have photographic evidence so they can live on in infamy.
The front door opened and she hopped off her stool to go to the main living area to greet Noah. Instead,a man who looked rather tall and imposing in the space, was standing there like he owned the place. Bree stopped abruptly. Her pulse raced and she felt a little lightheaded—Was he an intruder? Was he the one sending the pictures and flowers to her? What was she going to do? Throw a paintbrush at him?
The man turned toward her, and he narrowed his eyes slightly. Several different escape plans—none of them valid—tore through her head, and she tried to glance toward each exit without being obvious.
He seemed to notice his facial expression and relaxed the glare, holding out his hands in a placating gesture. “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m a friend of Noah’s. I work at Hawthorne Security.”
“You probably shouldn’t be here until Noah gets back,” Bree said, kicking herself for confirming that she was alone. What a dumb move. Like she hadn’t binge-watched Law Order, Criminal Minds, and the First 48 most of her life. It was official. She was one of the girls in the horror movie that was too stupid to live.
“He’s just out back.” She said, trying to cover her own blunder.
“Aubrey,” the man said, clearly trying to alleviate her suspicions. She took a small step back as the front door opened again, and a familiar boisterous laugh rang through the house.
Theo walked around the corner and quickly took in the sight in the living room. Bree was sure it was quite a scene to look at. The man who claimed he worked with Noah was across the room trying to placate Bree while she stood there looking like a deer caught in headlights.
Theo waltzed past the man and swooped her up in a hug. He gently set her back down and steadied her. “It’s been too long, Aubrey.” He said jovially.
He didn’t seemed alarmed by the man standing in the house, but she had to hear he was a safe person from Theo directly.
“Theo,” Bree whispered, leaning closer to him. “Do you know this guy?”
He turned around and laughed loudly. “Nope, never seen him a day in my life.” He said with feigned seriousness.
The man looked annoyed and picked up a couple of the throw pillows from the couch, chucking them at Theo.
“I’m kidding! I’m kidding!” Theo said, batting the pillows out of the air. “That’s Zach. He’s on our team at Hawthorne.”
Bree smiled at him apologetically, kicking herself for being so paranoid. Like her stalker was really going to just waltz in the door and take her.
“Sorry.” She said sheepishly.
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” Zach said seriously. “You shouldn’t just take the word of a random man who walks in your house claiming to know someone you’re close to.”
“I’m not really close to—”
“You should know that 3.5% of unmarried women are victims of violent or seriously violent crimes, so it wasn’t smart to tell him that you were alone. But I think you know that. ” Peter added unhelpfully as he walked into the living room.
“You’d think the number of hours I’ve wasted watching crime TV would pay off, but no. I’m apparently the woman who goes to look in the basement when she hears weird noises while being home alone instead of getting the heck out.” Bree joked.
Noah chose that moment to walk around the corner, a bouquet of her favorite wildflowers in his hands and a small smile on his face. “Good thing we don’t have a basement.” He joked. “Sorry you were startled. I sent a text, but it must not have gone through.”
Bree shook her head. “I was trying to work on some art, so I left my phone in my room.”
Noah walked over and handed her the bouquet, and she melted on the inside. How did he know what her favorite flowers were? “Thank you! How did you know wildflowers are my favorite?”
He smiled at her softly. “They’re the only thing you planted in your garden at home. Observation is one of my superpowers.” He joked. “And I thought you could use a surprise bouquet that had some positive memories associated with it.”
How was this man still single? He was lethal. “Thank you,” Bree told him quietly, happiness fluttering in her chest.
He turned from her after a moment and looked at the men gathered. “I’m glad you guys are here. I wanted to run a few things by you.”
***
Noah
“Theo?” Noah said, grabbing Theo’s attention as Noah walked over to stand next to Aubrey.
Theo halted his conversation with Zach and Peter and came over to where Noah was standing. “What’s up?”
“The police just released their official report on the flower situation at Bree’s. Can you read through the report and see if there’s anything that stands out? Also, call down to the precinct and see what information we can get that might be unavailable to the public. Let’s try to figure out where the guy bought them. Maybe he’s on film there. I want to know as much as we can. She also has been receiving calls from someone who usually just breathes on the other end of the line and doesn”t say anything. I want them found, too. Find out if there’s a connection.”
“On it,” Theo said, grabbing his briefcase and heading over to the dining room table.
“Usually?” Zach asked, his voice serious.
“He heard me in the background last time and called her a name.”
“A name?” Peter asked flatly.
“He called her a…” Noah paused, not wanting to repeat it in front of Bree.
“He called me a whore. But he called again after that and didn’t say anything.” Bree supplied, squeezing his hand reassuringly.
“And has there been any activity from him since those pictures came out?” Zach asked.
“Not so far. The only change was his first calls were from long-distance area codes, and the most recent ones were a local area code.” Bree said.
Zach and Peter looked at Noah as they exchanged knowing glances. This was not good. In fact, it was likely going to devolve into very bad unless they got ahead of it. Jealous stalkers could be some of the most dangerous.
A knock sounded at the front door before it opened and the last of our crew came through. “Sorry I’m late,” Eli said as he walked in. “There were some issues with one of my diplomatic clients I had to resolve before I could leave.”
“No problem, man. Glad you’re here.”
“So what do we know?” Eli asked. Theo quietly got him up to speed and he looked at Bree seriously. “Aubrey, do you have any idea who could be behind this? Would anyone do this as a joke?”
“No,” Bree said defensively, and Noah found himself fighting the urge to step in front of her. He didn’t need to shield her from his friends. They’d defend her with their lives if necessary. “I can’t imagine anyone in my life doing something like that and thinking it was funny. It’s not like I have a lot of enemies.”
“I mean, there are the men from social media.” Theo piped in from the table.
“And the person who was at the museum who sold the original photo and your address,” Zach pointed out.
“And whoever left the photos in your mailbox,” Peter said.
“And the guy who just broke in and left flowers inside of your house,” Eli added with a frown.
“And Justin,” Noah said quietly. Every head in the room whipped around to look at him.
“Who”s Justin?” Theo asked.
Bree glared at Noah. It honestly made him just want to kiss her. “It’s my sister’s ex-boyfriend. He isn’t a problem, though.”
“Didn’t seem like it to me,” Noah muttered under his breath. “Justin and Bree got into an altercation at the hospital when we were visiting her sister.” Bree winced as he said it, and Noah gently brushed his hand over her arm. “They need to know so they can help, Bree.” He whispered to her.
“Your sister is in the hospital?” Peter asked.
“Yes—she’s…she’s in a vegetative state. But I still visit her most Thursdays. Justin isn’t supposed to be allowed in to see her, but apparently, the new staff wasn’t made aware.” The bitterness in Bree’s voice carried throughout the room.
“Bad blood between them?” Peter asked.
“He’s the reason she’s there.” Bree said stoically.“But at the end of the day, it was caused by a mix of bad choices and an accident, so it’s not like he was violent and intentionally hurt her.”
“Okay. We can try to narrow down who might’ve sold your information and pictures to the press initially. Then we can try and determine if they’re the ones consistently harassing you or if we have two problems running loose. Let’s go through the different people who know your routines and try to figure out who it might have been.”
They all took seats on the couch, Noah sitting as close to Bree as possible while still maintaining some semblance of professionalism, though that was pretty much in the dumpster and on fire at this point. Noah couldn’t help placing a reassuring hand on her back or trying to make her smile or the terms of endearment that just seemed to fall from his lips around her. She was like no one he’d ever met and was everything he wanted. Well, she would be if he believed relationships for people who offer security for celebrities or diplomats could work out. There was too much travel, and it required a high level of trust. He didn’t want to get hurt again. And he didn’t want to hurt Bree—even though it would be unintentional.
“I don’t have a lot of friends.” Bree began. “So there aren’t many people who would’ve been aware of where I was going and when. Mostly Rae and Steph.”
“Not a big socializer?” Peter asked.
“Not at all,” Bree laughed, though her hands gently rubbing the soft blanket on her lap belied her anxiety. “I kind of hate being in the spotlight.” She admitted.
“You must’ve hated the job from the beginning. Why did you wait to get out?” Zach asked, puzzled.
“It brought in good money.”
“Money isn’t everything. Especially if you’re miserable. Did you know that there’s actually a relationship between being miserable at work and experiencing chronic stress, depression, and anxiety? Then those problems lead to bigger issues like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Bad work environments account for somewhere in the neighborhood of eight percent of annual health costs and around one hundred twenty thousand deaths per year.” Peter said.
“Is there anything you don’t know?” Theo asked, gobsmacked.
Bree ignored Theo and turned her full attention to Peter. “Money is everything when it’s the difference between your sister being ‘alive’ and dead.” Bree shot back.
There was a heavy silence in the room, and Peter’s eyes widened briefly. “I’m sorry,” He said. “That must be difficult.”
Noah thought of the guilt Bree wrestled with around her sister’s situation, and his heart broke for her. He couldn’t imagine being in that situation. It made him angry that her father expected her to carry the financial burden of Jessica’s hospital stay.
The fact he’d been so quiet lately didn’t sit well with Noah either. Men like that had a habit of popping back up when they needed something and usually left destruction in their wake. He wouldn’t let that happen to Bree. He’d protect her from the threats—whether they were from her father or someone else.
“It can be sometimes. But I mostly try to stay on the bright side. It’s better that way.” Bree said, waving a hand dismissively.
“Is…is your sister going to get better?” Theo asked quietly from the dining table.
“No,” Bree said. “I don’t think she is.”
“So why…?”
“Can we move on? Please? My sister has nothing to do with this.”
There was a collective grunt of agreement, and suddenly, a pillow came out of nowhere, hitting Zach in the face. Theo roared with laughter and Bree let out a soft smile.
“So Zach, How was your trip back home?”
Zach shifted, “It was fine.”
“Did you get to see Kennedy?”
A distinct cloud seemed to settle over his features. “Yeah.”
“How—”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now.” He said quietly and succinctly.
“No worries, man. We’re not trying to pry. I know you said you don’t need anything, but if that changes, we have your back.”
“I know. Appreciate it.”
“Let’s circle back to the issue at hand,” Eli suggested, watching Zach concernedly. “We know that someone sold the photo of you and your location to the press. We don’t know who. Have we tried calling the paper and asking for their source?”
Theo laughed. “You know they’re not going to give up their source, Zach.”
“You never know. Might get a newbie.”
“I already tried. No luck.” Theo said. “The lady wasn’t particularly nice about it either.”
“I imagine they get a lot of calls about their sources,” Bree said diplomatically. “You probably caught her on a bad day.”
That was his Bree, always believing the best in people. “Let’s start with the people closest to you,” Noah said, moving his attention back to the conversation at hand as well. “Could Rae or your parents have been behind the whole thing?”
Bree paused and looked thoughtful. The men all watched her silently, giving her room to think. “I don’t think so…” She said slowly. “I mean I know Rae has always been kind of hot and cold, but she has a successful business. She doesn’t need money, though she is trying to sign another big-name client. Same with my parents. I mean, I already send them money and pay for Jessica’s hospital bills every month. I can’t imagine they’d feel the need to stoop to that level in order to get more money. Especially since usually my dad will just call to ask me and guilt me until I say yes.” Bree chuckled awkwardly while the men in the room exchanged dark looks. Bree may have written her parents off, but they wouldn’t. Not if he was continually trying to extort money from her through emotional manipulation.
“What about your old manager?” Peter asked, taking notes on his tablet.
“We already asked about Rae,” Zach said.
“No, Rae was her agent. I’m pretty sure that’s different.” Theo said.
“Guys—maybe we let Aubrey answer?” Peter said.
“They are different. You mean Eliana? She’s paid pretty well and makes commission. She also has a number of high-profile clients she represents, so she’s not getting shafted financially. Plus, I can’t think of a reason she’d choose me to provide that information for. She has other clients who are off the grid who haven’t been splayed all over the cover of magazines. Some who are bigger names and magazines would pay better for.”
Peter made a sound of agreement. “The record label owners?”
Bree shook her head, a look of frustration on her face. “They are making bank off their celebrity clients. I just can’t see them doing something like this. They’d be risking their entire livelihoods and the reputation of their studio for what? A few thousand dollars?”
Noah frowned. They were getting nowhere. “How about the other guests at the museum?” He asked Bree, hoping one of them stood out.
“There were some kids on a field trip. I ran into the Millers as I was leaving, and they asked me to speak at the Gala, which I accepted. No one else seemed all that interested in me, to be honest. Other than when I turned down Kyle Rhodes.”
“You turned him down?” Eli asked. From what they knew of Rhodes, no one turned Kyle down.
“Yeah, he asked me to an awards dinner, and I said no. He didn’t take that well, but Marilee was monitoring from the counter, and he left without issue.”
“What do you mean ‘he didn’t take it well?’” Noah asked, practically growling.
“I mean, men with egos and pocketbooks like his aren’t used to hearing ‘no’ and taking it for an answer. He told me that I was going to ‘change my tune one day’ and that it ‘better be soon’. And then he left.” Bree said simply.
“He give you any trouble since then?” Noah asked through clenched teeth.
Bree paused and tried to remember. “No, I think you and I saw him in the coffee shop after that, but he really hasn’t done anything. He’s a slimeball, but it’s mostly entitlement, and thinking his father’s position in the community grants him immunity. If he does anything, I’ll let you know.” A look of determination crossed Bree’s face, and Noah brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes, his thumb lingering on her cheek and giving a soft caress as it went by.
“So, we effectively know nothing. No witnesses. No suspects. Nada.” Eli summarized, sitting back in his chair.
“Essentially,” Peter said, closing his tablet and putting it away.
“Sorry I couldn’t be more help,” Bree said forlornly. “It’s one of the reasons the police wouldn’t get involved initially. They said it just came with the territory of being famous. They’re looking into things a little further since there was a break-in, but maybe they’re right.” A quiet weight settled over the group as they ran through the information they had—which was admittedly nothing.
“Well, now that we”ve established we don”t know anything, this conversation is far too heavy for me,” Theo said, looking around the room. “Cards, anyone?”
***
“What are you doing, Noah?” Peter asked abruptly after Bree disappeared down the hallway to use the restroom. The rest of the team sat their cards down and looked at Noah expectantly.
“What do you mean?” He asked, setting his cards down as well. His friends were watching him warily, as though they were looking for answers on his face to questions they hadn’t asked yet.
“Aubrey is a client, and she’s living in your house,” Peter said flatly.
“She needed somewhere to go after her home was broken into,” Noah argued.
“She could’ve gone to one of the safe houses,” Eli said, leaning back in his chair.
Noah felt his chest constrict painfully. “She would’ve hated that. She doesn’t want to give up her life and stay inside the house until this unknown threat is gone. Especially if the threat could just resurface when she did.” He argued.
He didn’t want Bree to leave. He wanted her here. In his house. In his arms. He was so far gone for this girl, it wasn’t even funny. He loved her strength and her ability to really see others. She had the biggest heart. She was kind and funny and beautiful.
“I think you”re missing the point here,” Zach said, folding his arms across his chest. “You’re clearly getting attached to her, and we’re concerned that it will influence your ability to keep her—and yourself—safe.”
“Aubrey is not a distraction.”
“You need to be able to think clearly on the job, Noah. Having someone you’re emotionally or physically involved with can cloud your thinking. It can lead to mistakes that get someone hurt or killed.” Eli argued.
“Bree is not a liability,” Noah said, gritting his teeth. “I hear that you’re concerned, but we’re not dating. Do I like her? Yes, yes, I do. Do I think she’s beautiful? You’d have to be blind to not see how gorgeous she is. But I would never risk her safety. Or yours. Or mine.”
“But at the end of the day, she is a client, and we have a policy in place for a reason. We just don’t want anything to happen to you, man.” Zach said. A door opened and closed down the hall, and they paused as Bree”s quiet footsteps headed back into the main living area.
“We love Aubrey, and if she’s it for you, we respect that. As long as it doesn’t endanger your life.” Eli said.
“Or hers,” Peter added.
“I know,” Noah said quietly as Bree walked into the room, a small smile on her face.
“You waited for me?” She asked happily.
“Sure did. Always will.” Noah said, leveling a stare across the table as he picked up his cards. “You’re up, Zach.”