Chapter Fifteen
Noah
Noah took a long drag of coffee from his mug before setting it down on the table next to the couch in his office. “Did we get any information from the pictures or notes?” Noah asked, looking at Theo.
Theo shook his head. “My contact at PD said there weren’t prints and no sign of who the perp might be.”
Noah swore under his breath and grabbed the stress ball from the desk. Maybe he’d squeeze it. Maybe he’d throw it. All he knew was that it had been a full week, and he couldn’t take one more day of Bree’s listlessness. Of her fear. He missed her spunk and her smiles. He’d even gone over and ordered her to move the mat at her front door, knowing orders get a rise out of her, but she’d just picked it up and moved it to where he indicated. He wanted—no, needed—his Bree back.
“Theo, any info on her dad back yet?” Zach asked.
“The guy is suspicious and definitely hiding something, but whatever he’s hiding, he’s doing it well. It’ll take me a bit, but I’ll get there.”
“Have we considered the dad as a suspect?” Peter asked. “Roughly 82% of stalking victims know their offender.”
“I’m not ruling him out. At best, the man’s a narcissist, and at worst, he’s responsible for all of this turmoil for Bree. She doesn’t think he’d stoop to that level. She says she already gives them money, so why would he? Let”s look into Kyle Rhodes, too. He may be involved, he may just be a menace, but let”s rule him out.” Noah replied, squeezing the ball in his hand tightly. He needed to figure out some way to get Bree’s mind off of all this nonsense. Get her away from Rhodes and Trenton and the uncertainty.
“Well I think that’s where we’re at with our cases for the day. Anything else to add before we head out?” Zach asked.
Everyone shook their head and grabbed their coffee cups, heading back to their own offices and cases.
Noah looked at the peaceful landscape painting on the wall of his office. The view of the open field helped remind him just how small he was in the world when his job began to feel too heavy. He reflected on the painting for a minute before the perfect idea popped into his head. He pulled out his phone and scrolled down to find the number of an old friend who might be able to help bring his vision to life. The phone rang and rang, but eventually a soft, ethereal voice answered.
“Hello?” Juniper said quietly.
“Juni, it’s Noah Hawthorne. How are you?”
“Noah!” She squealed in delight. “I’m so good. I haven’t heard from you in forever!”
“Sorry about that,” Noah said sheepishly, a hint of guilt squeezing his heart. He really should call Juni and Logan more often. He hadn’t seen Logan since they were in the Corps together. “I actually was hoping you could do me a favor…”
“Name it.”
Noah talked over the details of exactly what he was hoping for and Juni trilled with delight as she agreed to help. Fifteen minutes later everything was set and Noah just hoped it would be enough to pull Bree out of her funk.
***
As the clock struck four, Noah pulled into Bree’s driveway and psyched himself up to knock on her door. Suddenly, the idea he’d come up with felt ridiculous, and he wasn’t sure she’d leave with him anyway. She had hunkered down in her house, afraid that everyone they passed could be her stalker. Or that he’d be in the wings taking pictures of her. Or that he’d come after Noah. No amount of persuading from Noah had convinced her to leave—much to his chagrin.
He walked up to the door and knocked, making sure he was clearly within sight of the peephole and not obstructed by the wreath, which was thankfully still on the front door. Bree wasn’t all the way gone. A few moments passed, and Noah knocked again.
“Bree? It’s Noah.” He called as he knocked.
Footsteps sounded on the other side of the door. There was a moment of hesitation before the door opened slightly, and Bree’s face peeked around the corner. Relief shone in her eyes when she saw him, and she opened the door further so he could come inside. Noah walked in and waited while she shut and locked the door. He turned to look at her and stopped short. Bree was wearing gray sweats and the shirt he’d accidentally left when he stayed over. His shirt. A sharp pang of desire shot through him, and he fisted his hands to keep from reaching out and touching her.
“You aren’t supposed to be here today,” Bree said in lieu of greeting.
“I have a surprise for you,” Noah said, watching to catch any micro-expressions that could indicate excitement or fear or anything other than the melancholy that had been etched there for days. Interest flared in her eyes, and he felt encouraged to continue. “Go throw on some jeans and layer on tops.” He looked at her bare feet and added, “And some socks and sneakers.”
Bree tilted her head, and he waited for the fire. For the pushback. For the ‘you don’t tell me what to do, Noah Hawthorne.’ But it didn’t come. Bree nodded and quietly walked down the hall to her room.
A few minutes later she populated fully dressed in blue jeans and a white tank top, a long sleeve flannel in hand, and sneakers on her feet. Bree took a quick detour into the kitchen to leave a light on so it wouldn”t be dark when she got home while Noah grabbed her coat from the closet and the keys from the bowl. He opened the front door for her, gesturing for her to step outside. After checking the coast was clear, Bree hesitantly stepped outside and immediately sidled up to Noah while he shut and locked the door.
Noah slipped an arm around her shoulder and led her to the car, quiet worry gnawing at him the entire time. What would he do if he couldn’t break her out of this? He wanted to be there for her. To help support her. If that meant adding therapy to Tuesdays or Thursdays, he was all for it. He was confident that she could ask for the moon, and he’d bend over backward to get it for her.
Bree settled in the car, and Noah reached into the backseat to grab the iced coffee he’d picked up in Rhodes on his way there. Bree’s eyes lit up and she gave him a small smile. “Thanks.” She said quietly, and man, the things Noah would do to keep that smile on her face.
“You’re welcome,” Noah replied.
Bree kept her head on a swivel as they drove but seemed to loosen up when they left town and it was clear they weren’t going into the city either. After about thirty minutes of countryside driving she turned to Noah.
“Where are we going?” She asked, a note of tentative excitement in her voice.
“You’re just going to have to wait and see.” Noah teased. “How’s your coffee?”
“Delicious. And the fact I didn’t have to go into Rhodes to get it and wonder if he’s there…watching me makes it a solid fifteen out of ten.”
Anger flooded through Noah. She shouldn’t have to be worried about some creep following her around and taking pictures while she tried to live her life. They drove another hour and a half into the mountains before Noah pulled off on a dirt road leading further up. There was a small area to pull off, and Noah parked there.
“Wait—I’ll come around.” He said. He walked around the car, appreciating the quiet of nature and the warm, but not hot, weather they had been blessed with. He quickly walked over to Bree’s door and opened it for her, offering her a hand to get out of the car. She took his hand, and he squeezed hers gently, releasing it when she was out of the car and steady on her feet.
There was a small trail across the dirt road, and Noah led Bree on the short hike through the woods. She was quiet the entire time, looking around and seeming to appreciate the quiet and lack of people as much as he was.
“I thought about building a cabin in the woods. In the mountains. Away from the hustle and bustle of people.” Noah said, breaking the silence.
“Why didn’t you?” Bree asked, carefully stepping over some loose rocks.
“I wanted to get my business established first. I knew getting into the industry that security detail is as much about who you know—and who knows you—as it is about how much you know or how capable you are. That meant I needed to be in an area where I could meet with people and network and really get the business moving.”
“You’ve done a great job.” Bree offered. Noah felt pride swell in his chest. Bree was good at speaking life into the people around her. She made sure those she cared about knew it. He admired her. He wanted to be honest with her and try to explain how much she meant to him now. It was almost impossible to remember only seeing her as a means to an end rather than the incredibly brilliant woman in front of him.
“Thank you. You know, at the beginning of your case, I saw it as nothing more than a step up for the business. You and I didn’t get along. There was no known tangible threat to you at that time. Protecting you was a means to an end.”
Bree stopped walking and wrapped her arms around herself, sadness emanating from her eyes. This wasn’t going how Noah intended. He quickly continued. “But then we got to know each other. And I learned that you are fiercely loyal, loving, and dedicated. You’re smart, and generous, and thoughtful. And when I looked at your case—when I looked at you—I no longer cared about what it could do for the business. I wasn’t worried about how failing the case would look for Hawthorne Security. I was worried about you.”
”I care about you, Bree. And I’m worried. The last few days,” Noah ran a hand through his hair, devastation, and concern flooding through him. “You haven’t been you. I know you’re scared, but I’ll keep you safe, Bree. I’ll do anything and everything within my power to keep you safe.” Noah said.
Bree walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly in a hug. She held on for a few minutes before pulling away, sniffling slightly, a small damp spot on his shirt where her face had been moments before.
”The last week…it”s been awful,” Bree said quietly as she carefully traipsed over the rocks. She looked at Noah, and the heartbreak and fear in her eyes nearly drove him to his knees. ”I am terrified, Noah. I”m afraid of my own shadow and laugh at myself dozens of times a day when I scare myself unintentionally. I have to laugh, or I”ll cry. I don”t want to go outside because what if I”m being watched? What if whoever it is tries to get to me? What if you get caught in the middle, and something happens to you? I couldn”t bear it.”
”Nothing is going to happen to you—or me,” Noah said.
”They scratched out your face, Noah,” Bree argued.
”Maybe they just thought your face is nicer to look at. Which would be correct.” He joked. ”They”re not going to take me out, Bree. I am cautious and have a great team. We”ll be okay.”
Bree nodded, and Noah held his hand out her. She slipped hers into his, and they walked the rest of the trail quietly, hand in hand, a contemplative look on Bree’s face.
They crested the final hill, and Bree gasped in delight. In front of them was a deep blue lake surrounded by trees with mountains in the background behind it. In front of the lake were two easels with large canvases and paints beside them, ready and waiting to be used.
“It’s not the ocean, but it’s as close as I could get in Tennessee,” Noah told her with a smile.
Bree jumped up and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Noah tightened his arms around her and buried his head in her neck. Relief flowed through him. She liked it.
“How did you manage this?” She asked, practically skipping over to the easels.
“I called a friend for a favor.” Noah shrugged nonchalantly.
“This is the best surprise ever!” Bree said, bouncing on her toes, a wide grin across her face. ”You”re amazing.”
Noah chuckled and walked over to the easels as well. “Thank you.”
Noah paused for a moment and watched Bree closely as she began turning the white canvas into a masterpiece. ”I saw some of your paintings in Rhodes. You”ve got a gift. How did you get into painting?”
“I really loved art class when I was in school. When I graduated, my parents weren’t going to let me go to art school. So I went to college and got my degree in business, but I minored in art. I also found a painter that I really admired—he specialized in landscapes—and I walked into his gallery one day and asked him to tutor me.”
Noah’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “That seems a little out of character.”
“It was. I couldn’t believe I had the gall to ask him, to be honest. But I was dying. I wanted to paint, and I wanted to learn from the best. So, I had to step out of my comfort zone. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I was pretty sure my heart was going fast enough in that moment to kill me.” Bree joked.
“I bet.” He said warmly. “Do you want to do art full-time?”
“No. With the money from my tours, sales, and investments, I don’t really have to work, but I enjoy it. I love creating things, working through hard problems, and seeing the outcome of that effort. So I’d like to be an artist for my forever career, but without it taking over my every waking moment. A small business would be okay, but I’m not looking to grow it into anything big. I especially love painting seascapes. I’ll do some other portrait work or other landscapes when clients request it, but the sea really calls to me.”
“You’re quite an enigma, Aubrey Gray,” Noah said with a slight head shake and a smile. “Do you have any brothers or sisters besides Jess?”
Bree shook her head, “No, Mom was already a bit older when she had us. She said we were her miracle babies. Do you have any siblings?”
“I have a sister. She’s married and lives in Florida with my nieces and nephews. I try to visit as often as I can.”
“And your Mom?”
“She died a few years ago.” Noah’s heart clenched as he thought of his mom. She was the best mom anyone could have asked for, and he missed her.
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“It’s funny because you get used to them not being there —like the grief is still there, but it’s just not constantly overwhelming—but then something little happens, and they’re still one of the first people you want to call. Like the first time I met you. I knew she would’ve been captivated by your wit and independence. The fact that you not only didn’t need my help but didn’t hesitate to say so would’ve been something she found entertaining.”
“She sounds wonderful,” Bree said, a smile on her face as she worked on painting the horizon line onto her canvas.
“She was.”
They talked and laughed together as they painted the landscape in front of them until they couldn’t see anymore. Noah turned on his cell phone light, and they took a moment to step back and compare paintings. Bree’s painting felt almost like a photograph. The lake was serene, the mountains imposing yet peaceful, and the sun was soft in the sky. Noah’s painting looked like he handed a kindergartener a paintbrush.
Bree giggled softly. “I mean, you do have mountains and a lake in the painting.” She praised him.
Noah chuckled. He couldn’t paint to save his life, and he knew it. But he’d do it every day if she’d laugh like that. “There is a lake and mountains in the picture.” He agreed good-naturedly. A chill had set in, and even with the flannel and jacket, Bree was starting to shiver.
“Let’s get you home, sweetheart,” Noah said, removing his jacket and settling it over Bree’s shoulders. They worked together to pack up the easels, careful to set the paintings where they wouldn’t get smudged. Bree chatted to him the whole car ride back, the tension dropping from her shoulders, a happy smile on her face.
Today’s surprise? A solid win.