Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
NOAH
One Month Later
We have now moved into our own property here, not far from the apartment we rented in the Hollywood Hills. It didn’t take long to find it, and fortunately it was a quick process. It was the right decision to decide to live between here and New York.
New York had become suffocating, and Los Angeles provides the escape I wanted.
The house is isolated and highly secure.
No one from New York knows our location, and I plan that we keep it that way, because I don’t want any last minute visits from those guys, and it’s the kind of thing they would do.
This place is just for Chase and me.
Tonight, we're walking through a quiet residential neighborhood in East Lake. It's 9:47pm and the streets are empty, the houses dark. Chase is beside me, his hand occasionally brushing against mine.
"It's peaceful here. Different from New York," he says quietly.
"That's why we're here."
He glances at me. "Do you miss it? The chaos?"
"Not at the moment, but I’m sure I will at some point. For now, this is the place I need.”
"Me too."
We turn a corner, and that's when I hear it, a woman's scream, sharp and terrified, cutting through the quiet night.
“Was that a scream?" Chase starts.
"Stay behind me."
I move toward the sound, my footsteps silent on the pavement.
Chase follows, maintaining distance but staying close enough to observe.
The scene unfolds in an alley between two houses.
A woman in her mid-thirties, professional clothing, purse clutched in her hands, is being attacked by a man.
He's larger than her, aggressive, violent.
He's trying to rip the purse from her grip while simultaneously pushing her against the wall.
"Give it to me, bitch."
The woman screams again, struggling against him. Without thinking I cross the distance in seconds. My hand wraps around the attacker's shoulder, yanking him backward with enough force to throw him off balance. He stumbles, releasing the woman, turning to face me with rage in his eyes.
"What the fuck!"
I don't let him finish as my fist connects with his jaw, a perfect strike that snaps his head to the side. He staggers, and I follow with another blow to his stomach and the air leaves his lungs in a rush.
He tries to fight back, swinging wildly, but he's untrained, sloppy and emotional. I'm none of those things.
I dodge his punch easily, then drive my knee into his stomach. He doubles over, gasping and I grab the back of his head and slam it into the brick wall once, twice, three times. The sound is wet from the blood as he groans with every impact.
He collapses to the ground, not sure if he is unconscious or dead, I don't really care, but I enjoyed that.
I turn to the woman who is pressed against the opposite wall, her eyes wide with shock and fear. Her purse is still clutched in her hands.
"Are you injured?" I ask, my voice flat.
She stares at me, trembling. "I…no…I don't think…"
"Check."
She looks down at herself, patting her arms, her torso. "No. I'm okay. I'm…thank you…"
"Go, but don't call the police. Don't report this, just forget this happened."
"But…"
"Now."
She nods frantically, then runs past me, disappearing into the night.
I look down at the attacker and see that he's breathing, it’s shallow and labored.
His skull is fractured and he'll likely die from the head trauma within the hour, or he'll survive with permanent brain damage. Either way, he's no longer a threat.
I turn to Chase who is standing at the mouth of the alley, his expression intense.
"Let's go," I say.
He nods, following me as I walk away from the scene. We move quickly but calmly, putting distance between ourselves and the alley.
"You didn't kill him," Chase says quietly.
"I might have."
"But you stopped, you could have finished it."
"It’s better to have it look like a fight, I don’t have anywhere to hide the body."
"You protected her," he says softly, thinking I’m some kind of hero.
"If you want to look at it that way."
"But you stopped him from attacking her."
"I used a situation to my advantage that happened to help her. That’s all. I wanted to hurt him. It’s been a while."
Chase is quiet for a moment.
"That's still protection."
“Chase, don’t conflate this with caring. You know me. I don’t care about that woman, I care about making sure you’re safe around here. We all got something out of it.”
“No need to sugarcoat the truth…my god you can be blunt, Noah.”
“Yes, and you’ve always loved it.”
"Can we go home now? I need attention,” he whines and I’m expecting a little foot stamp with how needy he sounds.
“You’re spoiled.”
“Shut the hell up, I’ve never been called spoiled in my life.”
“Is it a bad thing to be spoiled?”
“It depends.”
“I don’t have the mental capacity for this conversation, baby. Let’s just go home so you can make me cum.”
“How could I refuse such an offer?”