by Mandy Baxter
“Noah? What are you still doing out here?”
He started at the sound of Naomi’s voice, muted by the window. He turned the key in the ignition and hit the button to lower it, letting in the cool fall breeze as well as more of her delicious floral scent.
“I’m just keeping an eye on the place.” It’s not like he didn’t think she’d notice his pickup parked out in her driveway, but he’d hoped she’d accept it as a nice gesture and let it be. Marching up to the window and calling him out only made him feel like a fool. “I’m not entirely sure that what happened tonight was random.”
Naomi averted her gaze, confirming Noah’s suspicions. “I appreciate that you’re looking out for me, but I’m fine. Really. You don’t have to sit out here in your truck all night.”
“I know I don’t have to,” Noah replied. “I want to.”
The corners of Naomi’s lips hitched in a reluctant smile and Noah’s gut clenched. “All right,” she said. “Suit yourself.”
She turned and walked away and his earlier elation crashed to the soles of his feet. He’d hoped the gesture would endear him to her, but it obviously had the opposite effect. Great. Noah raked his fingers through his hair and watched as Naomi’s shadowed form crossed in front of the pickup. She rounded the vehicle to the passenger side, pulled open the door, and hopped into the passenger seat. “If you’re going to sit out here all night, I guess I will, too.”
Noah studied her in the dark, trying to discern her expression. “There’s no need for you to sit out here with me,” he said. “This is my job.”
“So, if it had been Carl who’d been jumped tonight, you’d be sitting out in his driveway right now?”
“The safety of my constituents is important to me.”
“That’s not an answer,” Naomi replied.
True. Because Noah didn’t want to admit that if it had been Carl—or anyone else who’d been jumped tonight—he probably wouldn’t be sitting in their driveway right now. His worry for Naomi might have seemed extreme and maybe even a little unnecessary, but Noah had learned a long time ago not to discount his feelings. He knew there was more to what had happened tonight than she let on. It didn’t feel right to leave her alone.
“All right.” She wanted the truth? Noah could give her that. “Your safety is important to me.”
Naomi started as though taken aback by his words. Certainly a boost to the old ego. She studied him for a long, silent moment. Her whispered reply was barely audible in the quiet interior of his pickup. “No one’s ever looked out for me before.”
The words cut through him. No one had ever cared enough about her to make sure she was okay? “I’m going to look out for you,” Noah said with every ounce of conviction he felt. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, Naomi.”
She looked away as though she couldn’t bear to hear the words. Noah’s need to get to the bottom of what had happened tonight burned through him like a fire through dry grass. She didn’t trust him and until she did, he wouldn’t be able to help her. In the meantime, he could keep an eye on her and make sure that she was safe.
“You can’t sit out in your truck all night.” She kept her gaze focused outside the window.
“I told you, I’ve done it before. I’ll be fine.”
“If you’re hell-bent on keeping an eye on the place, you can do it from inside. The couch is a hell of a lot more comfortable than this seat.”
She turned to face him. Shadows accentuated the delicate lines of her face and hollowed her cheeks. The graveness of her tone was a warning that Noah couldn’t heed. She didn’t want him to get too close. Well, too damned bad. He’d already made up his mind and he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Thanks,” he said. “The couch would be great.”
She let out a sigh that was more relief than regret. Naomi might have acted like she didn’t need Noah’s help—or protection—but her reaction told another story. Noah would be damned if she ever felt afraid or unsure again.
He followed her back into the house. Every light in the place was on as well as the TV. Naomi gave him a sheepish grin. “I guess I’m still a little more shaken up than I want to admit.”
Which was why he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Anyone in your situation would be,” Noah replied. “And I think once you’ve had some time to calm down and process everything that happened, you’ll remember more about the guy that attacked you.”
Naomi averted her gaze once again. Lucky for Noah her tells were easy to spot. “Maybe…” She looked around the room as though for a distraction. “Like I said, it was dark and everything happened so fast.”
“Don’t worry about it right now.” Noah wanted to put her at ease. She’d never open up to him if he kept badgering her. “What’s important is that you’re okay.”
“I am.” She brought her gaze up to his and graced him with a soft smile that damn near brought Noah to his knees. “Because of you.”
If he was ever in danger of developing a hero complex, it was now. He’d move the sun and moon for her if she asked him to. Anything for another one of those smiles.
“Just doing my job,” he said.
Her expression fell. Had she been hoping for a different answer? Noah cursed himself for his insufferable lack of game. If it’d been Travis in his situation, he would have hooked up with Naomi months ago. At the rate Noah was going, he’d be old and decrepit before he did and said the right things.
“I’ll get you a blanket and a pillow.” Naomi headed for her bedroom in a nervous rush. “Be right back.”
“Sure.”
His eyes were drawn to the delicate, hypnotic sway of her hips as she left the room. He’d fallen hard for her and there was no turning back.
* * *
It showed just how big of a coward Naomi was that she’d been relieved to see Noah’s patrol truck parked in her driveway. And yeah, she’d put up a brave front, pretended to scoff at his offer to stake out her house for the night, but on the inside, she’d said a little prayer of thanks for Noah Christensen’s knight in shining armor persona.
For all she knew, he was the last of the truly good guys out there that wasn’t married or attached. And he was spending the night under her roof. The thought of Noah camped out on her couch suffused Naomi with warmth. What would he do if she stretched out beside him on the cushions? Would he be a gentleman and suggest she go back to her room? She’d rather imagine he’d take her in his arms and do wonderful, naughty things to her. A pleasant shiver ran the length of Naomi’s spine and she let out a rush of breath. Without even trying, he affected her. Made her stomach clench and her legs feel weak.
Naomi went to the closet and grabbed a blanket and took one of the pillows off of her bed. Noah wanted to protect her, but would he feel the same if he knew she’d done business with gangsters and loan sharks? Would his concern for her evaporate if he knew she’d dated one of those lowlifes at one time and that her father had taught her everything she knew about how to game the system? An anxious rush sped through Naomi’s bloodstream as she walked back into the living room to find Noah perched on the couch. His gaze devoured her, so full of heat and longing that it made her sweat. Would he continue to look at her that way if he knew the sort of person she really was? Or would that heat cool to send a chill over her skin?
“I can rustle up another blanket if you want.” She handed over the blanket and pillow.
Noah took the bundle with a smile and set them on the couch to his left. “I’m sure this’ll be fine. Thanks.”
“No,” Naomi said. “Thank you. No matter what you say, I know you’re going above and beyond. I just want you to know that I appreciate it.”
Noah’s eyes searched hers. She felt naked, too exposed, and at the same time, safe. She couldn’t explain it, but she couldn’t deny it, either. Maybe it was the badge. Or the fact that Noah was her closest friend in Sanger. Or maybe it had been so long since someone had been genuinely concerned for her that Naomi didn’t know h
ow to react.
“Sit.” Noah patted the couch beside him and Naomi sat down as though she had no choice but to obey.
Naomi swallowed down the lump that formed in her throat. She sensed an interrogation on the horizon, one she didn’t think she’d enjoy. Instead, Noah snatched the remote from the coffee table and settled back onto the cushions. He turned the TV on. “Do you like The Tonight Show?”
Every ounce of stress melted from Naomi’s body. “Jimmy Fallon is hilarious.” She leaned back, close enough to Noah that their shoulders touched, and propped her feet up on the coffee table.
Noah followed suit and the action caused the taut muscles of his upper arm to brush fully against hers. Naomi’s breath caught as a molten rush of excitement coursed through her. The heat of his body soaked right through their clothes and she fought the urge to let her eyes roll back into her head from the sheer ecstasy of it all. Pretty pathetic that the most exciting sexual contact she’d had in months was arm-to-arm. At this point though, she’d take what she could get.
“I used to watch The Daily Show religiously,” Noah remarked. “But now that Jon Stewart is gone … I don’t know if I can watch anymore.” He chuckled. “I hate change.”
“Me, too.” It was why she’d stayed in Dallas for so long despite her shitty circumstances. “It sort of freaks me out.”
“Do you miss Dallas?”
They’d gotten to know each other well over the months. Not surprising with Noah’s regular visits to the bar. Naomi knew more about him than anyone in Sanger. He loved sweet tea and anything barbeque. He had three brothers and two nieces. Country music was his favorite and he always teased Naomi for her own musical tastes. He considered law enforcement one of the best and most important jobs out there and he was proud of the fact that he’d climbed the ranks at such a young age. Noah was her friend and she’d felt comfortable around him since the day they met. But their conversation felt more intimate tonight. Probably because they were camped out on her couch. Or it could have been the warm timbre of Noah’s voice that was more like a caress than mere words.
“Not even a little bit.” It felt good to make the admission. “I only wish it hadn’t taken me so long to leave.”
“I know what you mean,” Noah said. Jimmy Fallon’s monologue in the background faded to a lull in contrast to his voice. “I never had much use for Dallas, either.”
“You used to live there?” Naomi thought she knew everything there was to know about Noah. Apparently not.
“Born and raised,” Noah said with a snort.
“Why did you leave?” Noah’s brow furrowed and heat rose to Naomi’s cheeks. “You don’t have to answer that,” she added. “I’m being nosy.”
“I left because I didn’t want to be reminded of my life there.” Noah kept his gaze straight ahead as he fiddled with the remote. “I wanted to define myself beyond the boundaries that had been set by my father and what he stood for.”
Naomi’s breath stalled. Noah had talked about his brothers, but never his dad. He might as well have been talking about her own reasons for leaving the city. “I know what you mean.”
Noah turned to face her. His brow furrowed and his jaw squared as he studied her. Naomi found it hard to take a deep breath in his presence. He overwhelmed her. Excited her. Heated her blood to the boiling point. “Did your dad place impossibly high standards on you right before he pulled the rug out from under you, too?”
The hurt in his somber tone settled on Naomi’s chest and she resisted the urge to massage the ache away. “More like he wanted me to aspire to his impossibly low ones.”
Naomi straightened on the cushion. She shouldn’t have said anything. She didn’t want Noah to get even a glimpse of what her life had been like before she’d moved to Sanger. It made her sick to think that while Noah’s father had set the bar so high for him, her own dad had been teaching her that nothing beat easy money and honesty was overrated.
“Hey.” Noah’s concern broke her from her reverie. He reached out and smoothed her hair away from her face. “Are you okay?”
No. How could she possibly be okay when he touched her with such care? As though she was something precious. Emotion clogged Naomi’s throat and she pushed herself up from the couch. She needed to put distance between her and Noah before she started to believe about herself what she saw in his eyes every time he looked at her.
“I’m just tired,” she said. “It’s been a hell of a night.”
“Naomi—”
“I’d better get some sleep.” She couldn’t let him finish his sentence. Couldn’t bear the tenderness in his voice. “I’ll see you in the morning, Noah.”
“Good night, Naomi.”
She paused and her eyes drifted shut. How was it possible to feel so much from three simple words? “Good night, Noah,” she said as she headed for her bedroom.
FOUR
“I think I’ve got a lead on the guy that assaulted Naomi Davis.”
Ali’s words ripped Noah’s attention from the budget report he’d been working on. “How? Where?”
Ali’s smirk only served to goad Noah’s impatience. “What? Didn’t think I had the investigative chops?”
He wasn’t about to admit that her getting one up on him rankled. He’d been looking for possible leads for days to no avail. “Just spill it already.”
Ali chuckled. “Okay, so I could be a little overconfident. It might not even pan out. But a dark sedan ran a stoplight on the way out of town the same night Naomi was attacked. I ran the plates and got a hit.”
Sweet Jesus, did she have to build the damn suspense? “And…?”
“The car is registered to a Jackson Fletcher. Dallas address. Guy’s got a record and some pretty spiffy criminal connections.”
Damn it. Noah’s gut sank. No way was what happened to Naomi a random robbery attempt. “What sort of criminal connections?”
Ali’s smile melted away. Anxiety trickled into Noah’s bloodstream and his heart picked up its pace. “Duane Parker.”
Noah shot up out of his chair. He slapped his palms down on the desk and braced his arms as he leaned toward Ali. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” she replied. “I’m positive.”
Shit. If Ali’s research into Jackson Fletcher was legit, Naomi could very well be mixed up with Dallas’s most notorious crime syndicate. Or at the very least, a man who was associated with it. Duane Parker had a reputation that reached far past Dallas. Hell, past Texas. The guy had ties to the cartel and crime syndicates in Los Angeles, Nevada, and god only knew where else.
“What do you want to do about it?”
Noah looked up at Ali as he gathered his thoughts. “Nothing.” Yet.
“Nothing?”
“Naomi hasn’t broken any laws.”
Ali’s brow furrowed. “I meant about Fletcher. Want us to bring him in?”
Noah had a few contacts with the Dallas PD. He’d have to follow the proper chain of command if he wanted face time with Fletcher. And since Naomi had claimed not to have gotten a look at the man who attacked her, they didn’t have enough on him to outright charge him with the attempted assault.
“No,” Noah said after a moment. “We’ll be chasing our tails if we bring him in right now. I need to do some digging first.”
Realization dawned on Ali’s face. “You think Naomi’s hiding something, don’t you?”
Noah’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t want to think so, but yeah. Carl pulled me aside at the bar the other night and told me she’s been getting harassing phone calls. Started about two weeks ago. He’s not sure who’s calling or what they’re saying, but he said that she’s always rattled afterward.”
“Could be a jealous ex.”
“Yeah, that was my first thought, too.” It made sense, anyway.
Ali settled down at her desk. Her fingers moved over her computer keyboard and flew over the keys. Noah’s stomach tied into a knot. Ali was a good deputy because she didn’t let her emotions sway
her. Her quest for the truth wouldn’t be influenced by her feelings. The tap, tap, tap of the keyboard stopped and Ali brought her gaze up to meet Noah’s. His lungs compressed.
“She doesn’t have a record,” Ali said. “Not even a speeding ticket.”
He let out a gust of breath. Somehow, it felt like a betrayal to have thought for even a second that Naomi could have had a criminal past. Still, having her innocence confirmed did little to put Noah at ease. “It wasn’t random,” Noah replied. “But she won’t open up to me about it.”
“Maybe you need to confront her,” Ali suggested. “Instead of being the nice guy I know you are.”
Noah cringed. Ali made “nice” sound like an insult. He knew she didn’t mean it that way, but it stung just the same. Maybe it was because he was the youngest of four brothers that Noah had always been the quiet one. The “nice” one. His oldest brother, Nate, was the leader. Assertive. At times severe, but always in charge. Carter was the golden boy, good at everything he tried. Travis was the laid-back party boy. Confident and easygoing. Noah didn’t share any of his brothers’ traits. He was the peacemaker. The protector. Quiet and a little shy. Hell, it had taken almost six months for him to muster the courage necessary to ask Naomi out. Maybe it was time to take a few pages out of his brothers’ books and step up his game.
Noah raked his fingers through his hair. “I can’t help her if she refuses to trust me.”
“So,” Ali said. “Make her trust you.”
* * *
Noah pulled into the parking lot of Sweet ‘n’ Sassy. With every passing mile, he’d convinced himself that Naomi was dealing with a stalker. The attempted assault, the random phone calls, all pointed toward a romantic entanglement that had gone sour. Her reluctance to open up to him about it could have been fueled by embarrassment, but Noah wasn’t so sure. More than likely, she knew that Jackson Fletcher had criminal connections. If she was aware of how dangerous he was, it stood to reason that she wouldn’t easily give him up to the cops. Especially if he’d threatened her.
