by Mandy Baxter
Shame heated Naomi’s cheeks. She’d insinuated as much and she hadn’t stopped to think about how her words might hurt him. If Carl hadn’t said something, she never would have known about Noah’s family—or his wealth. He wasn’t the sort of man to flaunt what he had. Noah was honest and modest. Passionate and caring. Honorable and protective. She’d never known a better man and he was in love with her.
“I know you’re not,” she said, low. “I’m sorry. But Noah, I don’t deserve your help.” She averted her gaze. “I don’t deserve this money.”
“It’s my money to give. Why don’t you let me decide if you deserve it or not?”
She was so tempted. Such a seemingly simple gesture on Noah’s part and all of her problems would disappear. “It’s too much money.”
“You heard Carl,” Noah said with a laugh. “I found it in the cushions of my couch this morning.”
“How rich are you really?” She cringed, wishing she could take the words back the second she’d said them. It was none of her business how much money Noah had. Sure, it might’ve eased her conscience a bit, but in reality, she didn’t care how much money he had in the bank. It wouldn’t change how she felt about him.
His lips curled into a sardonic smile. “Rich enough to assure you that you should take that check and not feel even an ounce of guilt when you cash it.”
Wow. So sixty grand really was like spare change to him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What? That my father’s company is worth a shitload of money and he left it all to me and my brothers when he died? Is there ever a good time to work something like that into a conversation?”
Naomi laughed. “I guess not.”
She looked down at the check still clutched in her hand. Silence settled between them and Naomi let out a gentle sigh. Noah kept his hands on her shoulders, kneading the tightness away until she felt absolutely boneless.
“If I take this money,” she said, “you have to let me pay you back.”
“It’s not a loan.”
She smiled at his sternness. “It has to be. Otherwise it’ll get in the way of our relationship. I don’t want that.”
Noah’s expression perked at her words. “Relationship?”
“Yeah.” She looked up to meet his gaze. “I mean, if you want one.”
Noah bent his head close. His mouth met hers in a slow, soft caress that damn near curled her toes in her Chucks. There was more emotion in that simple kiss than anything Naomi had ever experienced and it caused her heart to pound in her chest and tears to prick at her eyes. She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him back with everything she was worth. Naomi wasn’t quite ready to say the words she knew Noah wanted to hear, but maybe he’d feel in their kiss every bit of deep affection she felt for him.
The moment might have lasted a few minutes or a few years. Naomi wasn’t quite sure. Either way, Noah’s decadent kisses continued to rain down on her and she allowed herself to be lost to the moment. To him. To the feelings that rose inside of her like a tide, threatening to crash over her and take her out to sea.
When he finally pulled away, Naomi was drunk on his kisses. She swayed on her feet and he reached out to steady her.
“Thank you, Noah. There aren’t even words to explain how thankful I am.”
“I think your lips did a damn fine job of conveying what you couldn’t find the words for.”
Heat rose to her cheeks and she looked at him from beneath lowered lashes. “Are you sure about this?”
“I already told you to cash the check. Don’t make me come back here with a suitcase full of cash.”
She gave him a soft smile. “No, I mean, are you sure about me?” She wasn’t exactly the clean-cut, small-town girl. She had a wild past and enough baggage to make any man want to run in the opposite direction. Noah deserved a better woman than her. It still hadn’t completely sunk in that he wanted her.
He kissed her. “Damned sure. And there’s nothing you could do or say that’s going to change my mind. I love you.”
A girl could get used to hearing those words on a daily basis.
“What now?” It wasn’t every day that a guy told you he loved you and bailed you of a big-time cluster fuck.
Noah gave a gentle laugh. “Well, first things first, you’re going to put that money in the bank. I’ve got to get to the station and you’ve got delicious barbeque to make.” He bent to kiss her forehead and Naomi smiled. “I’ll stop by after work tonight. How does that sound?”
It sounded like an honest-to-god normal adult relationship. “It’s perfect.”
“Good.” Noah kissed her one last time. Just a quick peck that only made Naomi want more. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Instead of heading back inside, Noah went the opposite direction, back toward the parking lot. Naomi watched him leave, appreciating the way his pants hugged his muscular thighs and the curve of his ass. She knew now that there was nothing weak or shy about Noah. He exuded power. Jack and the crew he rolled with used intimidation, guns, and violence to show their strength. Noah could do all of that and more simply with his powerful strides.
He was amazing. Perfect. The best thing that had ever happened to her. He was caring, generous, strong, and passionate. When he looked at her, Naomi felt like she mattered for the first time in her life.
Noah Christensen was in love with her.
And she was pretty sure that she was in love with him, too.
NINE
“What do you mean she never came back?” Noah leaned over the bar, ready to grab Carl by the collar of his shirt. “And why are you just now telling someone about it?”
Carl glanced away and Noah’s heart sank into his gut. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Carl had assumed. Was it possible that Naomi had taken his money and run?
“I didn’t want to think it,” Carl said as though he’d read Noah’s mind. “But you know, she’s had a hard a life. Her dad’s a hustler…” He let out a gust of breath. “She’s a good girl, Noah, but I know she’s scared of whoever she’s in trouble with. She might not make good choices.”
As much as she’d lamented the crappy choices of her past, and her shady upbringing, Noah couldn’t imagine that she’d fall back so easily into old habits. “When did she leave?”
“A couple of hours after you did this morning,” Carl replied. “She made a phone call right after you left. I don’t know who she was talking to or what she said. She put a few racks of ribs in the smoker and told me she’d be back in about a half hour but she never came back.”
Damn it. Noah swallowed down the string of curses that rose in his throat. Seven hours unaccounted for. An entire fucking day! “Jesus Christ, Carl.”
Noah couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so pissed off. Or hurt. Or confused. Doubt gnawed at him. The possibility that Naomi had stolen his money and took off sucked every ounce of oxygen from his lungs. Had she been working an angle the entire time? Had Naomi known all along about his family and his wealth? Jesus, had the attack on her even been legit or had it been staged to gain Noah’s sympathy?
His ass landed on the bar stool behind him. The worry that tied his stomach into knots burned in the indignant fire that flared up in its place. He’d spent months pining over her, working up the courage to even ask her out. And then, when they’d given in to their desires, Noah thought he was about to get everything he’d ever wanted. He’d told her he loved her. Shit. As if that wasn’t humiliating as hell. He’d spilled his guts and she’d run off with his money. He had one hell of an investigative instinct, didn’t he? Snowed by a beautiful con artist with a flirty smile.
“Noah? Did you hear me?” He looked up to find Carl studying him. His weathered brow puckered with concern and his lips thinned.
“Sorry.” Noah had been so lost in his own damned tortured thoughts he’d had no idea Carl had even been talking to him. “What did you say?”
Carl held the phone up in his hand. “Ali called. She said you n
eed to get back to the station ASAP.”
Why hadn’t she called his cell? He reached for his pocket to find it empty. Damn it. He’d been so excited to see Naomi that he’d left his phone in the truck. He could only imagine what was up that Ali didn’t think she could relay to him over the radio. Noah pushed the stool out from the bar and stepped down. No matter what Naomi might have done, he still had a job to do. Sitting around like some sad sack wasn’t going to do the people of Sanger any good.
“Thanks, Carl. If you hear from Naomi, can you give me a call?” Her sudden disappearance left a sour taste in Noah’s mouth and put his nerves on edge. Whether or not she’d conned him, he wanted to know that she was safe.
“You’ll be the first person I call,” Carl replied.
“Thanks.”
Noah headed out the door and got in his truck. The five-minute drive to the station felt like five hours as he continued to contemplate the possibility of Naomi conning him out of sixty grand. When he walked through the station to his office at the back of the building, Ali looked as though her head was about to explode right off her shoulders.
“Where in the hell have you been?”
His jaw squared and Noah swallowed down his angry retort. “Left my cell in the truck. Carl told me to head back to the station so I did. Why didn’t you radio me?”
Ali’s exasperated expression intensified. “Couldn’t. I got a strange phone call about a half hour ago.”
Noah’s attention piqued. A nervous tremor rolled over him and he stretched his neck from side to side in an effort to release the tension pulling his shoulders taut. “What sort of phone call?”
“Glad I finally have your attention,” Ali scoffed.
Noah folded his arms across his chest and fixed her with his most intimidating stare. If Ali knew how quickly his afternoon had gone to shit, he doubted she’d be quite as snarky right now.
Her answering expression carried none of its usual sarcasm. “It was about Naomi.”
And just like that, Noah’s stomach dropped to the soles of his feet. “What about her?”
“I’m not sure,” Ali said. “That’s the weird part. “The guy who called asked for you. I told him you’d gone home for the day and asked if there was anything I could help him with. He said that he’d be calling back in a half hour and that it was in Naomi’s best interest if you were here to take the call. Then, he hung up.”
“Naomi’s unaccounted for.” The words had no emotion as they left Noah’s mouth. “Carl hasn’t seen her since around eleven this morning.”
“Unaccounted for?” Ali’s eyes bulged. “What does that even mean?”
“I’m not sure.” But Noah was starting to suspect that his shitty evening was about to get a whole hell of a lot worse.
The office phone rang. Noah and Ali locked gazes for the barest moment before he crossed to his office. Ali picked up the extension at her desk and answered, “Sanger Sheriff’s Office.” She looked at Noah as she listened to the caller before giving him a quick nod. “He is. I’m putting you on hold. Don’t go anywhere.”
Noah settled into his chair and took a couple of deep, cleansing breaths. His heart beat a mad rhythm in his chest and his mind swam with too many thoughts to separate a single one. He picked up his extension and answered, “This is Sheriff Christensen.”
“I’ve got your girl. What’s she worth to you?”
Adrenaline dumped into Noah’s bloodstream. “Who is this?”
“None of your fucking business, that’s who this is.”
Noah’s teeth ground. “Jackson Fletcher, am I right?”
Silence answered him. “You want to see Naomi again, it’s going to cost your rich-as-fuck ass. Ten million. Unmarked bills. You’ve got three days to get it together or she dies.”
Bastard. Noah’s earlier suspicions dwindled, but there was still the possibility that Naomi and Fletcher were playing him. “What makes you think I’ve got ten million dollars sitting around?”
Fletcher laughed. “Naomi shows up with a check for sixty grand outta nowhere to pay off her debt, you don’t think I’m going to do a little research? I know exactly who you are, Christensen. And what you’ve got. So don’t treat me like I’m a fucking idiot.”
Well, it was worth a shot. He wasn’t about to roll over, though. Or buy in to what Fletcher was selling him. Not until he talked to Naomi. He’d know from her tone whether or not she was really in trouble. “I want to talk to Naomi first,” he said. “Then, we’ll negotiate.”
* * *
“He wants to talk to you.” Jack smirked.
A thousand vile curses sat at the tip of Naomi’s tongue. He brought the phone to her ear and she let out a slow breath to stem the flow of tears that stung her eyes. “Noah?”
His sigh of relief on the other end of the line nearly shredded her composure. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“I’m not hurt,” Naomi said. “I’ll be okay. I’m so sorry, Noah.” Her voice hitched and she willed it to stay strong. “I never should have gotten you involved in this. This is all my fault.”
“Naomi, listen to me.” Noah’s words conveyed so much emotion. “None of what happened is your fault. Do you understand me? I’m going to get you out of this.”
Naomi knew what Jack wanted. Money, and lots of it. With the ten million dollars he’d demanded from Noah for her return, Jack would find the opportunity to break from Duane’s syndicate where he’d no longer be someone’s stooge.
“Don’t.” She couldn’t let Noah pay her ransom. Jack was ambitious but stupid. Once Duane found out what he was up to, he’d shut Jack down. That didn’t necessarily mean Naomi would make it out of this alive, but as long as she could protect Noah, she didn’t care what happened to her. “Please, don’t give him a single dime, Noah. I’m not worth it. I’m not—”
Jack pulled the phone away from her ear before she had a chance to finish her sentence. “All right, you know she’s alive and not hurt. But she’s not going to stay that way for long.”
Naomi strained to hear even a word or two of Noah’s response. She might not have been able to make out what he said to Jack, but his anger was apparent. Up until last night, Naomi had always thought of Noah as easygoing and a little shy. But there was a fire in his hazel eyes and a sternness in the set of his jaw that let her know he could be a force to be reckoned with when riled. Noah was a protector to the pit of his soul. No matter how much she wanted him to turn his back on her, she knew he never would. Jack had no idea he was poking an angry bear.
She had a feeling that this wouldn’t end well for him.
“Tuesday at eleven o’clock,” Jack said. “You’ll hear from me before the drop. In the meantime, if I get wind that you’ve told anyone about this, she’s dead. Understand?”
The sound of Noah’s voice was a low growl on the other end of the line. Jack chuckled and ended the call without another word. “Your boyfriend sounds pissed.” He took the burner phone he’d used to call Noah and dropped it on the cement floor before smashing it to pieces with his boot. Bits of plastic scattered around her feet and Naomi cringed. She had no doubt Jack would rough her up far worse than that if Noah failed to come through. “You must be some piece of ass if he’s willing to pay ten million to get you back.”
Naomi infused her glare with every bit of hatred she felt. “You’re an asshole, Jack.”
He laughed. “Yeah. I know.”
“When Duane finds out what you’re up to, he’s going to kill you,” Naomi remarked. “Is that what you want? To be on the run for the next decade or so of your life?”
“He’s going to be busy tracking you down for his sixty grand.” Jack’s shit-eating grin made Naomi want to wipe it off of his face. With a shovel. “I’ll be long gone before he’s even realized what’s happened.”
“Oh yeah?” Jack really was an idiot if he thought he could get away with this. “What about when I tell him that you ran off with the money I owed plus ten million of Noah’s?
You don’t think that’s going to bring some serious heat his way as well as yours? It won’t take long for the cops to connect the two of you. He’ll have every guy on his payroll out looking for you.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed. “Not if you’re not around to tell him what happened.”
Fear seized Naomi’s heart and gave a tight squeeze. The air left her lungs in a rush and drawing a new breath to replace her depleted oxygen was an almost impossible feat. Sure, she’d considered the possibility that Jack would put a gun to her head. He’d done worse for Duane Parker in the course of his employment with the gangster. But having it confirmed did nothing to calm her nerves or slow her racing heart. She’d told Noah not to give in to Jack’s demands knowing damn good and well that he’d play the hero and do whatever it took to protect her. In the long run, it didn’t matter, did it? Jack was going to kill her either way. And if he couldn’t allow Naomi to stick around to rat him out, odds were good he was planning on getting rid of Noah, too.
They were as good as dead.
“Jack, think about what you’re doing.” Her attempt to scare him into changing his mind had crashed and burned. Maybe it was time to reason with him. “You’ve got a good thing going with Duane’s outfit. Would you really want to jeopardize all of that for a few million dollars that you’re bound to burn through in a few years?”
“So I can be like your old man?” Jack said with a sneer. “Indebted for the rest of my fucking life because I don’t have no place else to go?”
Naomi cringed. The reminder of how she’d gotten mixed up with guys like Jack in the first place stung. “You’re smarter than my dad,” she replied. “You know better than to bite the hand that feeds you.”
“Do I?” Jack asked with a snort.
“Even if you do kill Noah and me to cover your tracks, Duane isn’t stupid and neither are the police. They’re going to figure it out and they’ll question Duane. He’s not going to want that sort of attention. When he realizes what you’ve done, he’s going to hunt you down.”
“By the time he does,” Jack said, “I’ll be long gone.”
