by Nana Malone
- Remember that painting on the wall of Rocco’s when we were there for dinner last week? Adriana wants a swatch of Belgian linen in the exact same shade.
Lucia glanced up at Brent, who was still droning on, before quickly typing an answer.
- Belgian Linen in a shade of blue that I barely remember. That’s it? You can’t tell me anything else?
- You know how she is. Just get back here. Fast!
After stashing her phone back in her pocket, Lucia picked up the envelope and threw it in her bag. It was only when she looked up again that she realized Brent was staring at her.
“So, what do you think?” he asked.
“Um, sounds good?” Lucia had no idea what he’d been talking about and then instantly felt guilty for not listening, especially after he’d been so helpful. But she had to magically cross town in less than ten minutes and also conjure up a fabric that looked like something her boss had seen in a restaurant last week.
“I hate to cut and run but I’m late. So, I guess I’ll see you later.” She picked up the tray of coffee, wondering if she should take it back to the office before going back out for the linen swatches.
“Really?” Brent clapped his hands, the loud sound startling her so badly she almost dropped the coffee entirely. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a loud sigh as if he’d just run a marathon. “I mean, that’s great. I’ve been wanting to try this place for a while and I think you’ll really like it. So I’ll pick you up at seven, if that’s okay?”
Wait, what?
Lucia laughed nervously when she realized exactly what she’d missed while engrossed in her phone. She forced a smile while Brent opened a new contact on his phone and then typed her number in. A minute later she was outside on the sidewalk with cold coffee and a date.
It wasn’t the worst thing ever, to go out with a nice guy. Although, she had a feeling Noah wouldn’t feel that way when he found out. She winced, imagining how that would go over. But he wasn’t her daddy or her brother. Just a family friend who was way too bossy for his own good. Maybe she wouldn’t tell him. Or she could text him. He couldn’t yell at her over text message.
Nonna had always said that technology would be the death of communication.
“How do you want to play this?”
Noah Blake tugged the baseball cap he wore lower over his forehead before responding to the voice coming through his earpiece. “The usual. Unless he refuses our invitation.”
“You think he’ll come easy, mate?”
Matthias, the insanely brilliant and also incredibly annoying tech god that he’d had the good sense to hire/rescue years ago had never been the most optimistic guy. One of the reasons they got along so well.
“Do they ever?”
Noah glanced at the row house across the street currently housing their target, William Chamberlin. There was nothing special about this guy at all, just another asshole who needed a reminder that stalking was illegal. They handled several of these a month, and while they weren’t particularly interesting, there was something satisfying about these cases.
Jonas’s voice came through his earpiece next. “If he doesn’t, then I’ll change his mind.”
Noah had to smile at the predictable reply. Opening his own security firm had given him financial freedom and the stability he needed after his chaotic early years, but it also brought a world of headaches. Namely, keeping the merry band of past criminals he employed on the straight and narrow.
“Just don’t kill him.”
Jonas made a sound that could have been a laugh or a snort. “First it was ‘don’t sleep with the clients.’ Now you’re telling me I can’t kill people? You’re no fun lately.”
“When has he ever been fun?” Matthias interjected.
That actually made Noah smile. If someone had told him years ago that he’d be the voice of reason, hell, the responsible one, he’d have thought they were on something. But that was before Rafe died.
That was before Lucia.
Thoughts of her always carried a range of emotions from protectiveness to desire, and of course, there was the guilt. Always the damn guilt. Noah shook his head. He’d promised Rafe that he’d look after her, and he’d done that. It was the least he could do for the man who’d pulled him out of the gutter and shown him a better way to live. He’d upheld his oath and honored the memory of his best friend every day.
But while he’d done his best to shelter her over the past few years, he could never truly be honest with her. She’d never look at him the same way if she knew what he was truly capable of. What her beloved brother had been capable of. It was a quandary with no solution. There was nothing he could do about that. So he’d keep doing what he did best… Lie, cheat and kill? No. Damn it. He shoved the errant thought that slid in on the shoulders of his guilt aside. He would protect her. Just like always.
“Let’s get this fucker.”
He kept his head down as he approached the building, noting that the street was empty and there was no movement in the house. He knew Jonas would approach from the back to prevent any possibility of the target slipping through their grasp. This was a standard job, just letting the guy know that it was best if he stayed away from their client. He wouldn’t call it threatening. Threaten was such a harsh word. This was more like a conversation, but it was a fine line they walked. They did what was necessary to keep their clients safe and most of it was borderline as hell. Just like the rest of his life.
“Guys, we’ve got a runner. He’s going out the back.” Matthias sounded as annoyed as Noah felt, his British accent coming across as clipped. Suddenly, he could hear Matthias in his other comm unit, on the secondary channel. “Noah, head’s up. Lucia has a date tonight. You want me to do the usual?”
Son of a bitch. If he wasn’t chasing assholes, he was making sure some grab-handy dipshit didn’t get his grubby paws on his best friend’s little sister.
“Yeah, the usual. I’ll get to her as soon as I can.” Noah quickened his pace. He could hear the sound of Jonas’s breathing in his other earpiece and knew he wasn’t in position yet.
“Jonas, he’s probably going to cut over to the next street. Go around and cut him off.”
“Got it.”
He could hear a variety of sounds that were hard to decipher: Jonas’s breathing, the clang that could be a metal fence, and then the unmistakable sound of scuffling. A few muffled curses later, it was quiet.
When he rounded the corner, Jonas already had the guy on the ground with one arm twisted behind his back.
“Good work. I didn’t really feel like sweating today.”
Jonas made a face. “Fuck you, Noah. These shoes were not meant for running.”
The guy on the ground craned his neck, trying to see over his shoulder. When he caught sight of Noah, he struggled against Jonas’s hold and got a knee in his back for the trouble.
“What the fuck, man? Get off me!”
Noah squatted next to him and then pulled out a small picture of a pretty redhead. Clara Spencer. Although she looked nothing like Lucia, it wasn’t a mystery to him why he took these cases so seriously.
Lucia was a good girl; Nonna DeMarco had made sure of that. But even good girls had to grow up some time. And since Rafe wasn’t here to protect her like a big brother, Noah would have to do it. There would come a day when Lucia started dating seriously, and just the possibility that one of those fuckers might treat her like this dickhead, terrorizing her with the threat of what he might do, made Noah want to put his fist through a wall…or this douchebag’s face.
What if something had happened to him? What if he’d died the same day as Rafe? Lucia might have ended up just like Clara Spencer. There were so many girls out there with no one to stand for them. It was his pleasure to stand for as many of them as he could.
He flipped the photo around. At the sight, William blanched and then started struggling anew. Jonas twisted his arm higher until it was clear that he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Do you recognize her? Hmm? I think you do.” Noah spoke softly, having learned over the years that a soft voice could often convey menace more convincingly than a loud one.
“No. I’ve never seen her before!”
“You’re a terrible liar, William. Almost as bad as you are at listening. Because Clara has told you several times not to contact her again. Since you didn’t seem to be getting the picture, we thought we’d stop by and make sure we’re all on the same page.”
Casually, Noah reached in his pocket and pulled out an apple. Then his knife. He ignored the other man’s whimpers and sliced a bit of skin off the fruit.
“Now there’s several ways this can go down. Option number one: You agree to stay away from Clara. My buddy over there—” He pointed at Jonas with the edge of the knife. “—goes home and finishes wanking to Britney Spears videos.”
“Fucking hell,” Jonas mumbled under his breath. “You know I prefer Christina Aguilera. She is dirty after all.”
“And I go home and pretend I didn’t spend my morning in the shittiest part of the city waiting on you. But honestly, I’m feeling a little cranky and you don’t look that bright. So we’re going to stop wasting time and just get on with option number two.”
“I didn’t do anything, I swear,” William mumbled, his face half pressed into the ground.
“I know. And we’re going to make sure it stays that way.”
Noah sliced off the last bit of skin and then took a bite out of the apple before handing the knife to Jonas.
William let out a low whimper. Once he realized that there was no way to escape Jonas’s iron-tight grip, he went slack and a dark spot appeared on the front of his jeans.
Noah sighed. This was about to get messy.
shameless ch 2
Noah watched the date from the comfort of his SUV. All the while silently fuming.
What the hell did Lucia think she was doing? His team hadn't vetted the guy. They didn't know anything about him. So far, she'd broken all of the dating rules he'd given her.
For the first date, always meet your date at your designated location. And of course, she'd let this doofus pick her up for their date. As if he hadn't told her a million times to do the exact opposite.
He'd also been very clear not to get in the car with her date. So that was rule one and rule two broken right off the bat. As if he hadn't trained her on how to be careful and what to watch out for. But oh no, Lucia didn't listen to shit. Every time he turned around, there she was, careening headfirst into trouble.
Maybe she didn't see her date as a potential threat, but dammit she needed to be more careful. What the hell did she even know about this guy?
"What the hell kind of name is Brent anyway?"
Noah hadn't even realized that he'd spoken out loud, until the voice in his comm unit laughed. "Last I checked, Brent is a perfectly normal name. Lots of guys have it."
Noah barely restrained a growl. "Matthias, when I want your input, I'll give it to you."
There was a chuckle on the other end of the line. Noah made a mental note to give Matthias some really horrible surveillance duty for the next month. This wasn't funny. This was Lucia. They all cared about her well-being.
Maybe you more than the others.
Yeah, so what? He cared about her. And maybe it wasn't the easiest thing in the world watching her date loser after loser. But it was his job, no strike that, it was his responsibility to look after her. He owed Rafe that much. But how the hell was he supposed to look out for her when she kept making it so damn difficult? Lucia was obstinate, infuriating, pigheaded, and—
Beautiful.
No. She was like a little sister to him. Yet somehow his dick couldn't seem to get with that program lately. More and more frequently, some very unsisterly thoughts wormed their way into his consciousness.
"Matthias, give me something on this Brent guy. Aren't you supposed to be some kind of super-hacker?"
"You better believe it. But, there's nothing on him. Everything is normal. Boring. Most interesting thing about this guy is he likes adventure sports. He skydives, bungee jumps, that sort of thing. Does some triathlons. Maybe he's some kind of adrenaline junkie. But there's nothing else on him. No flags. He lives here in New York in the East Village. No roommates, rent isn't exorbitant. Works for the city. No large withdrawals of cash, good credit. As far as I can tell, he's clean. But that's just his electronic trail. Maybe you're right on this one and he's a little too clean. I mean, there's not even an online dating profile on him. To me, that's weird. Who doesn't have an online dating profile?"
Noah chuckled and then lifted his binoculars again. Lucia was laughing at something. So Brent thought he was a comedian, huh? What the hell was so damn funny? There was too much interference to use the boom mic, otherwise he'd know.
Brent reached across the table and took Lucia's hand, and Noah nearly chipped a tooth from grinding his teeth so hard. He could see Lucia's eyes go wide. Was that surprise? He hoped it was disgust.
Did she actually like this guy?
His gut clenched at the thought. Perfect, just what he needed. Lucia liking this fucking idiot.
It wasn't that she hadn't dated before. She had. Mostly in college. Most of those guys had merely needed a strong reminder to mind their Ps & Qs with her. But this guy, this guy was random—unknown. Which meant it would take more work to scare him off. But Noah was up for the challenge.
Lucia deserved to be happy, just with somebody vetted and approved. After the shit she had survived in her life? The girl needed some happy endings.
Fuck. Not happy endings.
He groaned and turned his attention back to the restaurant. Brent raised a hand and signaled their server. Shit, they were leaving. The real trick was guessing where they were going. He'd put a tracker on her phone, so if he guessed wrong, he could always follow. But what if something happened to her before he could get there?
"Matthias, turn on the listening device on her phone. I'm heading to the house in case that's where they go."
There was a beat of silence. He could almost hear Matthias's silent condemnation. "The thing is, Noah, she's not going to like that."
"The thing is, Matthias, I don't care," he muttered using the same singsong tone.
Yeah, he knew he sounded like an asshole. But this was Lucia. If she wasn't going to take care of herself, that left it to him to do it for her. They had one simple rule: He vetted all her dates. And sometimes, without her knowing, he'd scare them off. But that was really beside the point. It wasn't his fault she couldn't pick a decent guy.
He made a left turn on 10th Ave, right near the USB Theater, then he sped through Chelsea before making a left on 28th Street, heading toward Chelsea Piers. He made a right at the stop sign, turning onto her quiet street. The street was lined with lofts and new apartment high-rises, all boasting a name with Arms, or Manor.
Before she'd moved, Noah and his team researched the building's owners and the neighborhood crime rate. Everything to make sure she would be safe. Well as safe as she could be in Manhattan. It also didn't hurt that he watched her every move. And not in some creepy, stalkery way, but more like a big brother way. Sort of ...
Never mind that. He drove past her building and around the back to the lot he paid for specifically for these kinds of situations. Yeah, so maybe he also paid most of her rent. She thought she’d gotten extremely lucky with a rent-controlled apartment in the heart of the city. In reality, he paid most of the tab. He also paid for two parking spots. Not that Lucia had a car. But in case she ever got one, she’d have somewhere safe to park it. Somewhere right next to the damn elevator. He paid almost as much to secure that spot as he paid for the apartment. His spot was in the darkened shadows somewhere she’d never think to look. He didn’t mind though, because in most scenarios, he was the thing that went bump in the night.
"Matthias, talk to me. Where are they headed?"
"They're stopping for ice cream at Benny's the
n he's going to take her home."
Okay, so Noah had about ten minutes. Benny's was a local mom-and-pop ice-cream place about five blocks away. He jogged along the parking garage to the side stairs. While he'd insisted that she get a building with a doorman, there was no accounting for the additional exits and entrances into the building. Luckily, this one was exit only. Only confirmed residents had keys. Unfortunately, even your average guy could pick these locks, and he happened to be better than average.
In less than a minute, he was through the door and took the back stairway up to her apartment. She'd listened to him and employed the deadbolt. Problem for her was he had a key.
In seconds he turned off her security alarm. Well, at least there was that. Lucia had been so against it in the first place. At least she realized that a woman living alone needed some security. He glanced around and noted that she'd changed a few things. Was that a new pillow?
Matthias spoke into his earpiece. "You've got about five, boss. They've stopped outside the apartment. I'm going to go ahead and turn off the mic on her phone now if that's okay with you."
More judgment from the youngest member of the team. Whatever. He'd deal with that later. Now, the real question was where to wait for her.
What if she brought the guy in here?
Oh hell no. The mere idea of it had him gripping the edge of the countertop. She had better be coming in alone.
Didn't she know the first thing about dating? Damn it, this was their first date. She was supposed to make the guy twist in the wind for a bit first.
How many one-night stands have you had?
No. He was not going to think about that. It was different. That's all. Besides, Lucia was a good kid. And there was no way Nonna DeMarco would approve.
He'd give her a few minutes to run the guy off herself, and then the two of them were going to have another conversation about dating and personal safety.
She couldn't really be interested in this guy, right? He was boring. Unlike you? Noah grimaced. Yeah well, she didn't need to date anyone like him either. If she did, Noah would have to employ more drastic measures to keep her safe.
