The Protective Groom: Billionaire Marriage Brokers

by Lucy McConnell

  Noah had been acting strange all evening. Leaving the dinner early, like he did, was out of character for him. She thought he’d be happy they’d hauled Sebastian away. Everyone was happy; even Jackson had thrown a comment or two in during the conversation. And the way Xavier looked at his dad like he was a hero did Harley’s heart a world of good. Maybe there was hope for those two after all. She threw her arm over her face. If Jackson and Xavier could work things out, maybe there was hope for her and Noah as well.

  There was no time like the present. Harley hurried to the bathroom and ran a brush through her hair. There wasn’t much she could do about makeup at three in the morning, but Noah had seen her without mascara plenty of times.

  She stopped at the door and shook out her shoulders. Noah was probably in the garage with his truck. Working on that old thing was a balm that soothed his mental and emotional turmoil. She fortified herself for the possibility rejection. Nothing ventured …

  “Listen closely,” said a metallic voice behind her.

  Harley jumped and screamed.

  “Shut up!”

  The sharp click of a bullet being put in the chamber seemed to focus the whole world into this hallway. She froze, not daring to turn. Her heart rate gaining speed like a runaway locomotive.

  “Do exactly as I tell you, and your dear husband might live through the night.”

  Thoughts of Noah in pain, danger, or worse stabbed at Harley’s heart. Don’t panic. Harley took a deep breath in through her nose and slowly let it escape through her mouth, calming her heart like she’d been taught during Stewart’s security briefings. It still pounded loudly in her ears, but her hands no longer tingled. She touched each fingertip against her thumb. Your move.

  “You need shoes,” came the strange voice.

  “They’re in my closet.” Right next to the panic button.

  The cold metal barrel pressed against the back of her neck. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter 31

  Noah awoke with a start and immediately wished he hadn’t. His left arm burned and was sticky with blood. I’ve been shot.

  Harley!

  Not taking time to assess his injury, Noah used his good arm and his chore muscles to get himself off the floor. He surveyed the room, surprised to see that he wasn’t near the fireplace at all but had landed in the middle of the floor, saving himself from further injury. It must have been the shock playing with his vision and disorienting him.

  A primal shriek tore through the house, and Noah stumbled forward. He made it to the bedroom, and a female figure flew from the closet and landed hard on her back. “Harley!” His only thought was to get between her and the gunman, who had already proven himself capable of pulling the trigger.

  He slid to his knees and stared at the black mask before him, wondering why Harley was wearing a mask. He leaned over to take it off and another shot rang out. He threw himself across her body, only to have his leg burst with the same fire that tore through his shoulder with each breath.

  “Get off me.”

  Noah looked down in confusion, but he didn’t find Harley’s stunning golden-brown eyes; instead, he saw ice-cold blue ones. “Whaaa …”

  A gun was pressed to his head. “Get off me or I’ll kill you.”

  “Noah!” Harley’s voice was behind him, coming from the closet. “Don’t shoot. I’ll go with you. See, I’m putting on my shoes right now.”

  Since he’d stumbled out of bed, Noah had been fighting disorientation but suddenly, everything came into focus. He prayed Harley had pressed the silent alarm in the closet and worked to stall Molly. “Don’t do it, Molly.” Noah tried to keep his voice level. He was on top of Molly, but she had a gun to his head and he had no way of being sure he could knock it away in time to save his own life. And there was Harley to consider. He wasn’t sure where she was behind him and he couldn’t allow her to be shot.

  Harley gasped. “Molly?”

  “Get. Off. Me.”

  That was Noah’s greatest desire. “I’m going to get up slowly.” Noah did his best to move with care. He’d already lost who knew how much blood from his shoulder, and his pajama bottoms stuck to his leg. Controlling his body was difficult, awkward, and painful. When he tried to pull his leg up underneath him, his stomach dropped and a wave of nausea nearly overtook him.

  Molly kept the gun pressed to his temple and she moved with him. Once he was on his knees, she said, “Stop there.” She looked from him to Harley. “Hands up, both of you.”

  Noah lifted his good arm.

  “I said hands up.”

  “I can’t,” Noah lied. “It won’t move.” He pointed to the dark stain.

  “You ruin everything!” Molly screamed, jumping to her feet.

  “Molly.” Harley stepped closer.

  “No.” The gun swung towards Harley. “Why can’t it be the two of us? Why did you have to marry him?” She flicked the gun towards Noah. “I worked so hard. Do you have any idea how hard I worked to keep Harley to myself?”

  Noah shook his head.

  Molly laughed. It was a pretty little laugh, a light one. And it was the lightness that scared him. “Of course you don’t. It wasn’t easy. The golden girl—” She flipped her hand towards Harley. “Everyone wanted to be her friend. It took two years to get them to leave us alone.”

  “Molly, what did you do?” Harley asked.

  “I sent texts from your phone telling people to stop calling or blocked their numbers. I emailed them from your school account. I did whatever I had to do to keep you.”

  “It was you?” Harley grabbed the doorframe. “You were—” Her gaze flicked to the gun. “—are my best friend. Why would you do that?”

  “Because you’re all I had. I couldn’t let them steal you away. We’re closer than family—we’re sisters by choice. It was supposed to be the two of us—just the two of us. I thought it would be fine after we graduated. We’d live right next door and we’d always have each other, and no one, no one, would come between us.

  “But you built your house here, and there wasn’t room for me. And you went to work and I never saw you. I knew you were lonely. I could see it in your eyes, so I sent you flowers and presents. And it wasn’t enough. You weren’t happy. So I planned a way we could be together. I bought an island, Harley. Our very own island.

  “And then you had to go and marry him.” She began circling Noah. “And you were happy—without me!” She screamed and stomped her foot.

  Harley put her hands out, beckoning Molly towards her. “Molly. Molly. Let’s go. I’m ready. Let’s leave him and go.” Noah met Harley’s gaze. “Find me,” she mouthed while Molly stared at Noah.

  “I can’t leave him—he knows.”

  “We’ll tie him to a chair, and by the time anyone finds him we’ll be long gone.”

  Molly paused, considering. In her moment of hesitation, Noah dug deep and threw his wounded arm into the back of her legs. The movement caused him to yell in pain. The gun went off as Molly fell, and Harley was there, wrestling it from her hand, as Noah pressed his chest into Molly’s back to keep her down. Rivers of sweat dripped into his eyes and stung. He blinked in an effort to clear his vision. Molly’s foot connected with his leg, and he yelled a curse word.

  Footsteps thundered into the room, and all Noah could see were shiny black shoes as he was lifted off Molly.

  “Call for an ambulance,” Stewart barked as he set Noah on Harley’s bed. “Stay with me, man.”

  Noah had no intention of passing out again. “Need to lie down.” Noah slowly sank back into Harley’s pillow-top mattress.

  Harley was there in an instant. She leaned over him, her hair tickling his neck and cheek. “An ambulance is on the way. Stay awake, okay?”

  “Ralf! Please don’t let them take me. Ralf, we had such a good time, baby. We can have more. Please, baby, don’t let them take me.”

  Stewart pointed at the security guard. “You!”

  Ralf stepped forward, his eyes full of
pain. “I’ll be happy to provide a full statement.”

  “Get him out of here.” Stewart pointed to the door.

  “Harley!” Molly screamed over and over again as she was hauled out of the room. She kicked and screamed down the hallway, knocking over lamps and furniture.

  Once the door slammed shut behind her, the whole house seemed to sag with relief. Harley trailed her fingers though Noah’s hair. “As soon as you’re better, we’re going to have that honeymoon.”

  Noah chuckled. “If you’re trying to keep me calm until help arrives, you’re failing miserably.”

  Harley pressed her lips to his. “How’s that?”

  “Hmm. I think I need another dose to be sure.” He cupped the back of her head and pulled her down. Their lips met, and a fire quite different from the one in his arm and leg threatened to consume Noah.

  Someone cleared their throat and Harley jerked away, revealing her father standing over the two of them, his hands on his hips and his face red. A troupe of paramedics stood behind him, averting their eyes and shuffling their feet. “If you don’t mind, pumpkin, I think these men would like to have a go at him.”

  Harley slid off the bed. “That’s fine, but I get him back when they’re done.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and sauntered across the room.

  Noah grinned at the paramedic on his right, who was working to find a vein in his arm. “Aw, she does care.” The paramedic grinned back as he pressed the plunger down on a vial, and suddenly the night swallowed Noah and hauled him away to dreamland.

  Chapter 32

  Harley didn’t even think; she just climbed into the hospital bed next to Noah and carefully wrapped herself around him. She drifted in and out of sleep, content to be near him; the doctors had assured her that, except for the possibility of limited movement in his left arm, Noah would have a full recovery.

  Daddy came into the room, a scowl on his face. “Why do I keep finding you in bed with this guy?”

  Harley shrugged, unwilling to move. “He’s my husband.”

  Daddy groaned as he settled into the squeaky padded chair. “The police got a full confession from Molly. They’re compiling a list of charges that go back to your first year of college.”

  Harley shook her head, the papery pillowcase crinkling underneath. “All this time, I thought something was wrong with me ... and in reality, it was her.”

  “Something’s wrong with her, all right. Agent Gonzales believes, even with the charges they’ve compiled, that she’ll end up in a mental institution.”

  “I’m fine with that. She needs help.”

  John’s eyes softened. “What about you, darlin’? What do you need?”

  Harley’s eyes prickled. “I need Noah to be okay, and I need to tell him I love him.”

  Before John could answer, a doctor entered the room, carrying an electronic pad. He had a bald patch right in the middle of his forehead and wore a blue shirt under his lab coat. He saw Harley in the bed with Noah and frowned. “I’m going to have to ask you to remove yourself.”

  John patted Harley’s hand as he spoke to the doctor. “This man took two bullets for my daughter. If she wants to be here, she will be. If you have a problem with that, you come to me—understand?”

  “And who are you?” The doctor’s eyes went to the chart, obviously checking the name of his patient and not finding anything particularly interesting about the last name of Baker.

  John lifted himself to his full height, towering over the indignant man. “John W. Wilson, CEO of the Texas Legion of Hope and Hospital Funding Board.”

  The doctor pushed his glasses up on his bulbous nose.

  “And this is my daughter, Harley Wilson Baker, our executive vice president.”

  Harley wiggled her fingers. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Y-you too.” Tucking his clipboard under his arm, the doc said, “I have patients to check on. Mr. Baker appears to be in good hands. I’ll be back in an hour to see if he’s awake.”

  “Sounds wonderful. Thank you for your time, doctor.” John shook his hand and patted his shoulder.

  “Thanks, Daddy.” Harley smiled sleepily. By throwing his name behind not only Harley but Noah, John had thrown his support behind them as a couple. Harley would have gone ahead without it, but it was nice to know her love for Noah wouldn’t strain her relationship with her father.

  John leaned over and kissed her forehead. “You two get some sleep. I’ll come by later.”

  Harley tried to sleep. She truly did. There were just too many things swirling through her head.

  Her mind went back to the day she’d met Molly. The poor girl was being picked on by a group of seniors who taunted her about her larger-than-the-average-sophomore chest size. Harley had stepped into the middle of the group. “Y’all are carryin’ your brains in your back pocket. Why don’t you do something useful and go put socks on a rooster?”

  The ringleader had sized Harley and her thick-framed glasses up with a disdainful air. “This isn’t your concern, little chick. Why don’t you skedaddle?”

  Harley threw her arm around Molly’s neck. “I think we will.”

  “Whoa. We aren’t done with her.” The circle tightened.

  “I say you are.” Harley cocked a hip. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if they all surged at once. She was pretty sure she could take any of them individually—after all, she’d graduated from Stewart’s self-defense class with honors.

  Thankfully, a teacher had come by and sensed the charge in the air. “Is everything all right, Miss Wilson?”

  Two of the girls went bug-eyed and began whispering behind their hands to the one who had clawed her way into leadership. Harley caught a few words such as Dad’s boss and kill me.

  Harley gave the blond girl with the bleached highlights a broad smile. “Right as rain, Mr. Perry.”

  The group dispersed, and Molly sank against the lockers. “Thank you.” She threw her arms around Harley’s neck squeezing, almost too tightly. “No one’s ever done anything like that for me before.”

  Harley hugged her back. “What are friends for?”

  “Friends.” Molly whispered the word as if she were trying it out for the first time.

  Skipping forward, Harley flashed to their first day of college. They had three out of four classes together, and Molly seemed really nervous to head out on her own.

  “It’s only one class,” said Harley.

  “Yeah, but it’s on the other side of campus.”

  “You’ll be fine.”

  “Meet me for lunch after?” Molly chewed her bottom lip.

  “Of course.” Harley practically skipped away. She was really lookin’ forward to the economics class.

  Lookin’ back on it, she’d considered Molly’s clinginess a result of the teasing she’d had throughout her life. Now, she believed it was Molly’s way of controlling her. It was in the econ class that Harley had met Stephanie. Harley thought they’d hit it off, but a week later Stephanie sat on the other side of the room and refused to make eye contact with Harley. And Stephanie wasn’t the only one. Never had a group project turned into anything more than a chance to acquire a grade.

  Harley rubbed her eyes. She’d been so confused and hurt at the constant rejection—so thankful she had Molly. She’d told her so on several occasions. Molly ate it up like candy. And the whole time, Harley had been playing right into her hands. It made her sick to think of all the pain Molly put her through, the way she’d played with her emotions. She needed help. Maybe Harley did, too. Noah had mentioned seeing a psychologist. It would probably help.

  She shifted, and Noah hmmed.

  The pit in her stomach turned to butterflies as she took in Noah’s scruffy appearance. He would be handsomely indecent with a beard. But she liked him this way too. Who was she kidding? She’d melt for him in a New York minute. “Noah.” She ran her hands through his hair. “Nooo-aahhh.” She kissed his cheek and got another hum.

  His eyes slowly
opened and focused on her face. “Hello, angel.”

  “Hi,” Harley replied shyly.

  Noah twisted a little and grimaced.

  “Does it hurt?” asked Harley.

  “Not so much. It’s all kind of numb still. It pulled, is all.” His eyes dropped shut and then slowly opened again. A drunken smile played at his lips. “I like waking up to you.”

  Harley giggled. “I like it too.”

  “Let’s do it again.” Noah’s body relaxed and his eyes started to close. “Every day for the rest of our lives,” he muttered before slipping back into sleep.

  “I plan on it.” Harley kissed his lips and rested against the pillow, determined to stay by his side through everything.

  Chapter 33

  Several days later, Harley paced the waiting room, too excited to sit in one of the chairs that lined the wall. Every time the doors slid open, bringing a gust of dry Texas air, she hurried over, hoping, only to be disappointed when a maintenance man wheeled in oxygen tanks or a flower delivery arrived.

  Finally, there was a squeal and Addison yelled, “Aunt Harley!” as she threw herself into Harley’s open arms, spinning them both in circles. The little darling had on a purple skirt with white fringe and a Scooby and Shaggy shirt that said, Groovy.

  “Addison.” Harley laughed. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Me too. Daddy’s helping Penny Paige out of the cab. She falls asleep everywhere.”

  “You would too if you were growing a whole other human being,” said Paige, one hand on her slightly swollen belly and the other tucked into Cody’s arm.

  Harley felt like she’d known them all for ages, yet this was their first official meeting, and she suddenly felt old insecurities coming to the surface. Harley smiled at Paige as Addison wiggled down. As easy as peaches, Paige stepped forward for a hug, and Harley reminded herself that Molly and her mayhem were tucked safely behind bars.