Control - Noah's Rise Bundle (Books I-III): A Billionaire Romance Series

by M. P. Lodi

  Noah looked at Emily, focused on her breasts for a few seconds, then back to her face. He made her feel like a piece of meat when he did that. Always in the back of her mind, she felt like he placated her more than anything.

  “I promise you I will never touch the stuff again. I swear on my mother's grave and my whole family, and on all the lives of the men and women in my unit. Is that enough for you?”

  He sounded indignant. What a bastard. Emily stared into his eyes as he put his right hand to the back of her neck and rubbed her there.

  “I'm going to need my wits about me big time from here on to keep us all safe. The J's in the front seat will be helping, right guys?” Noah asked.

  Joshua and Jacob both replied, “Yes, Sarge,” at the same time, before Joshua went on to say “we're in this with you until the end.”

  Joshua, who was in the seat in front of her, turned to look at Emily. “I've known the Sarge for years, little lady. Not sure if he told you, but both Jacob and I here served with him in 503rd Military Police Brigade in Afghanistan in Kandahar Province. We've been through hell together and are as loyal as they come. We'll keep you safe.”

  “Hoorah” Jacob said. He had to be one of the skinniest soldiers or former soldiers Emily had ever seen. 'Hooray' was a favorite thing to say among agreeing soldiers in the Army as well as other branches of the military.

  Noah massaged Emily's neck as she tried to make herself comfortable sitting back in the seat.“So I take it the two of you are fine with what just happened?” she asked, causing Noah to chuckle. It wasn't a funny chuckle though; it was more of a serious type of laugh that hid a bit of sarcasm. Almost as though he knew something that she didn't.

  Joshua turned back around and said, “Ma’am, the Sarge, Jacob and several other buddies of ours have done far more to bad characters like those two back at that house. It doesn't phase us in the slightest.”

  Noah and Joshua shared a glance before Joshua turned back around, just as another flash of lightning made it almost look like it was daytime outside.

  Emily looked at Noah, then began searching for a tissue as tears began to form in her eyes. “I forgot my purse at the house,” she explained. Joshua had some McDonalds napkins and handed them to her.

  She wiped her eyes. “I'm guessing that I have a lot of stories to hear about all of your exploits in Afghanistan? As well as here in America? Your Sarge here's been mostly tight lipped about it all.”

  She looked into Noah's eyes for a response, any response. He exhaled and said, “You have no idea, hon. All of the things you're about to find out will give you enough material for ten of those books that you're writing. Were you really writing some romance novel about how Jen and Jackson and the two of us met?”

  She nodded up and down. “Yes, I was. I have a name too, but you screwed that all up. Like I said before we left, you can't have death and murder in a romance novel. You're turning my career from a budding romance novelist into a crime and thriller one.”

  Noah snickered. “Who says you can't have death and murder in a romance novel? It's all a part of life. You ever heard of breaking the rules? What's the title of your book?”

  “Control – A Billionaire Romance. It's part one and it looks like there will be multiple parts. That is, if I live long enough to write them. And I say you can't have murder and death in a romance novel. Romance readers don't want to hear about hitmen and murder. Take a look at any of the bestsellers.”

  “Em, did you know that there's a book called Natural Harvest: A Collection of Semen Based Recipes being sold on Amazon?” Joshua asked, joining the conversation.

  “What?” she asked, annoyed that he was getting involved.

  Noah, Jacob and Joshua all laughed.

  “Seriously, it’s a real book on Amazon right now. If they can sell a recipe book for semen, you can sell a romance novel with murder,” Joshua assured her.

  Noah looked at his girl. “We live in a very strange world. But he's right. You have a cool title, but didn't you say there were like thousands of billionaire love stories out there? I remember when you were surfing the net, you told me that. Along with weird ass shape shifting books where the men turn into dragons, bears, lizards and whatever else.”

  Joshua and Jacob shared a laugh up front. Emily looked at them both. At first she thought they were putting her down, diminishing what she wanted to do, or laughing at her. That would be even worse. She was a little sensitive at the moment and probably just not in on the inside joke, she hoped so anyway.

  Then Joshua asked, “Did you all know there was a thing called Dinosaur Erotica? There's one book called Seized by the T-Rex. That's what I think when I read a book about people turning into other things.”

  Jacob was laughing, and so was Noah. Noah grabbed Emily’s left thigh and said, “Babe... don't get offended by anything anyone says. It's all for laughs and good fun. Chill out a little. They showed me some of what they're talking about. Had me laughing my ass off days ago.”

  “There are all kinds of romance books, novels and novellas, and almost none have murders in them. None have main characters executing two people,” Emily explained before looking right at Noah who turned away.

  Then he said, “Well, Joshua, Jacob and I can tell you stories that will blow you away. Maybe you can start your own genre with real life thrown in instead of your gorgeous lead male turning into a damned wolf or vampire. Right, guys? We can give her lots to write about. Real things. Add a little realism to romance and see what happens.”

  Joshua nodded yes while Jacob said “Sure, Sarge.”

  Joshua turned around “There's another book on Amazon called Semenology – The Semen Bartenders Handbook.”

  Noah looked at him “You're shitting me.”

  “I shit you not, Sarge.”

  “We live in such a screwed-up, funny world. Isn't it wonderful?” Noah asked as Joshua looked forward. Clearly the man had semen on his mind.

  Emily tapped the front chair. “How is it that you seem to remember all of these weird titles of books on Amazon?”

  Joshua turned back around to face her. “I have a photographic memory. I can remember a full page of text after studying it for just a few seconds. You could say I'm a genius with several outstanding abilities.”

  Emily looked surprised.

  “It's a good story, Em. Joshua – how and why he became an outlaw. The story might not be along the lines of pure romance, but the stories we can tell would fill our travel time nicely. Better than listening to the radio. Or sleeping the whole time and waking up with a hurt neck from a bad position,” Noah said.

  Noah continued, “Did you know that they wrote an article about Joshua back in 2008? It was all over the net and in the news It was called 4 Steps to Picking up Women like a Genius.”

  Joshua turned around again and grinned wide for effect. That made her smile and wonder about it. “So tell me, was the article really about you, Mr. Genius?” she asked.

  Joshua smiled and nodded as Noah said, “This is going to be a long, story-filled ride. I just know you can use a lot of what you're about to find out in a few of your books. You'll have to publish them under a fake name though, due to the circumstances.”

  “It’s called a pseudonym, my big strong man. I already am. Did you think I could write about the facts with our real names? My pen name is M.P. Lodi.” she said.

  “M.P. ... For me and my guys here since we were Military Police I'm guessing, right?”

  She nodded yes.

  “But what's the Lodi for?” he asked.

  “My father was from Lodi, New Jersey. I couldn't think of a good last name. Tell me about Afghanistan first before Joshua tells me why he was a genius at picking up women.” She leaned over towards the center of the seat and looked at Joshua, then back at Noah next to her. Joshua was an attractive man, taller than average with a ruggedly handsome face.

  Joshua turned around again as lightning lit the sky up. “Coincidentally, your friend Jen's husband'
s company was the one I used for my exploits back in 2008. Well... one of his companies anyway.”

  “No way.” Emily said as she looked at Joshua and Noah. “How did you use one of his companies to pick up women?”

  Noah cleared his throat “Like I said, this is going to be a long, story-filled ride. It won't all be blood and guts and combat in the Middle East.”

  Noah reached for a napkin that Joshua left on the console between the two front seats. He used it to wipe Emily's left cheek. She knew some of her makeup had started streaming down from the crying earlier. She grabbed hold of his hand holding the napkin and looked into Noah's eyes. Then she closed her own.

  Emily held his hand and moved it to feel her heart beating. It was still going a mile a minute.

  “Babe, everything is going to be alright. I promise.”

  Jen

  “I can't believe they're finally gone!” Jen exclaimed to her husband in relief as the police finally drove off.

  It had taken hours. But after all the statements were made, the bodies of the hitmen were removed by the coroners, and photos and evidence bags were collected, the sense of stress had started to go. The FBI had been there as well. Noah was now officially a wanted man thanks to one of Jackson's security men who happened to be a former Secret Service agent. He was a law-and-order type that Jackson now regretted hiring.

  Noah's idea was to fill Jackson's security with men he could trust to do anything and not speak to the law. Unfortunately for them all, Jackson didn't listen, thinking a former Secret Service man would be perfect for his team. Noah had made the former agent promise to give him ten minutes to leave before he called the cops. He gave him thirty instead, proving that at least he had some honor. The way Noah shot the two hitmen point blank in their heads had been too much for a man on the right side of the law. Not after the killers were already subdued and cuffed on the floor. Jen suspected that Noah was a little too energized and, from what Emily had told her, probably took those stupid steroids again. The man was already huge; it didn't make sense to Jen for him to want to look like the Hulk.

  Jackson was more in shock from the whole affair than anything else. Outside, the storm still raged, and Jackson had other security people from his company show up to relieve all of those who were there for the incident with the Colizi brothers. It was almost six or seven hours ago already, but to Jen, it seemed like only half an hour had passed. It was all so surreal. Emily leaving the house, just walking out of their door, crushed her. She was her blood-sister and best friend for life. And now because of her man, Jen might never see her again. Life could be so screwed up.

  Jackson sighed as the two walked up the left side of the double staircase in their Frisco mansion. “Like you said hon, you never know where life is going to bring us. You never can tell what's going to happen next if you really think about how crazy this world is. Who would have thought that Noah and Emily would be on the run from the FBI?”

  “…Or that two hitmen from New York would be killed right in our own home,” she added.

  The two walked into their spacious master bedroom. Jen went right for the bathroom. “I need a few minutes to clean my face up. Like you said, the makeup is still streaming down my cheeks. I don't think I've cried this much since my parents were killed by that drunk driver.”

  As she closed the bathroom door she heard their television come on. Jackson would likely be watching the local news program to see what they were saying about the incident. He was a news junkie. All the major news stations – FOX, ABC, CBS and NBC – had sent crews to the house. The murder of Jackson's father Lorenzo this past summer had made the national news, and anything to follow up on the troubles of the Russo family and the mob that was hunting them made news easily.

  Jen looked in the mirror and saw a red-eyed wreck of a face. Her skin was blotchy, black lines streamed down both of her cheeks and she had lines forming under her eyes. She ran the water, and, after it warmed up, used both hands to wipe her face and eyes. Looking into the mirror, it was almost hard to believe she was still a mere twenty-two. Her birthday was just a week away on December 10th. Stress and a lack of sleep were wreaking havoc on her face. She figured she could probably sleep for five days straight; she had never felt so tired.

  She used her Noxzema to clean and then dry her face. She paused and looked around the bathroom. Marble floors, top of the line everything. All of this wealth and now it seemed likely that she might never see Emily again. Their lives had all changed in an instant. Jen told Jackson about Noah's temper, but he already knew it all too well, especially when it was enhanced by steroids. People on that crap can lose their minds when it increases their testosterone level into the stratosphere. Noah was already an ill-tempered brute who took no shit from anyone. That is, except from Emily.

  Throw in a mix of guns, a hitman, and steroids and you have a recipe for disaster. And here they all were. Their security team had the two hitmen handcuffed and were ready to call the police to collect them. But no... Not Noah. He had to take it to the extreme. Now her friend Emily was gone as well, leaving nothing but worry on top of more worry and stress.

  She walked out of the bathroom to see Jackson laying there with the remote in his hand and his head propped up on pillows. He had one hand on his chest as he sat watching yet another episode of Game of Thrones. At least he wasn't watching the news as she figured he'd be doing. He had seen all five seasons of Game of Thrones more times than Jen had. Jen made herself comfortable laying next to him. As they were both facing the television, she turned to her left to look at his face, then back to the TV.

  On the screen, Stannis' daughter was being tied to a post as the red woman Melisandre was getting ready to light her up. Jen looked back at her husband and leaned over to lay on him with her head on his chest and face looking into his eyes.

  He did his best to ignore her, but couldn't for long. He finally looked at her. “I guess things could always be worse in life. I mean you could be that poor kid there, about to be burned alive by your own mother and father.”

  Jen looked at the TV. “That's not exactly true. The mother tried to stop it, and none of this happened in the books. It's all made up for the TV show.” Jen was an expert on all things done by George R.R. Martin, the author and creator of Game of Thrones.

  Jackson put his right hand to Jen's head and started scratching it. She loved to have her whole head scratched and often called the feeling she got from it “headgasms.”

  “This episode is more depressing than most. Let's watch something that at least has a chance of cheering us up; there's so much on,” she requested.

  “Yeah sure, 700 damned channels and almost nothing on that we want to see,” he said.

  She turned back to face him. “My Aunt said that when she was younger they only had ABC, NBC, CBS and like two other channels, but they always found something to watch. Isn't it weird that the more choices we have, the less we have to watch?”

  He paused the TV and looked into her eyes. “I love you, life just has me down. I'm still in shock at it all. We've had enough drama in both of our lives to fill volumes. Enough drama for many lifetimes. I just want to relax and enjoy life a little, you know? Now we have to worry about Noah and Em out there, hunted by the FBI. Knowing Noah, he'll be going after the mob in New York. He's not the type to sit still and wait for others to move first. That's why his men were here so fast, just a few days after we got that call from the FBI.” He un-paused the show.

  She grabbed his cock over his shorts, looked into his eyes and asked, “What's the motto that Noah always said?”

  “We'll have plenty of time to relax when we're dead.” Jackson smiled and moved his hand to massage her neck. She moved closer to encourage him to massage her head instead.

  “Hey, I was enjoying the head scratch. Please keep scratching.” She almost cooed. Jackson went back to scratching her head.

  He smiled, although it was more of a sad smile than a real one. “You grabbing my nuts distract
ed me, sorry.”

  Jackson scratched her head some more. Jen moaned as she enjoyed every second of it. Looking at the TV, she grabbed the remote and clicked pause. She looked straight at him. “I think I have a way to communicate with them while they're out there. You might love the idea too.” Jackson's scratches made her moan again as she closed both of her eyes, opening her mouth as she enjoyed the scratching.

  He said, “I know they'll try to contact us. Noah will get a throw-away cell and call, but he'll already know that the Feds will be listening to his every word. We need a way to communicate with them without being listened to or having to use throw-away cell phones while they are moving. You have an idea for that my little genius?”

  Jen opened her eyes. “Like I said, Em and I both have a way that only we know. I think you'll love it too.” She moaned again, then requested, “Please stay right there, it's heavenly.”

  Jackson scratched her in her favorite spot on her head right above her neck. As she enjoyed the scratches, she pushed her head into his hand to get him to scratch harder.

  “Well...I'm listening. Tell me your idea.”

  Noah

  At the rest stop, Emily, Noah and Joshua all left the vehicle to go into the Love Travel Stop. These Love's Travel Stops dot the highways all over most of the country.

  Noah yawned. “Where the hell are we?” he asked Emily as they walked to the entrance. He managed to take a nap and lost his own bearings.

  Joshua answered, “Bumfuck Tennessee somewhere. Must be near your safe house in Camden. The sign before this Love's Center said Camden was about 5 miles away.”

  “Excellent!” Noah said, looking at Joshua. He gave Joshua the thumbs up and smiled at Emily. “We have a good hideout in the hills outside Camden. Locals aren't very friendly to outsiders and everyone is armed to the teeth. When we get there you'll see how awesome the place is. All paid for by cash so there’s no way to trace us.”