Serve & Protect Page 8

  Noah laughed, pulling me roughly into his arms. “It was your idea.” He teased, kissing my lips. “All this talk about doing the deed, and here we are still dressed. I see a problem.”

  I don't know if it was the adrenaline from sneaking into Ben's room, or the fact that I was letting myself doubt Noah, but I needed him right now. I needed to prove to myself that he was the man who loved me, and that he could never do what Ben thought he was capable of. I had to trust my own gut. My heart. “Lucky for you, I'm a problem solver.” I winked.

  He scooped me up into his arms then, and I squealed as he carried me to our bedroom. His lips met mine in a rough kiss, the instant his body covered mine on our bed. I could feel his erection pressing against me, and I moaned in contentment as his lips traced my jawline. “I don't deserve you.” He whispered against my neck. “You're perfect.”

  “Nobody's perfect.” I breathed out, cupping his face to make him look at me.

  “You believe in me. That means everything to me, Sugar.”

  “I love you, Noah.”

  “I love you, Sugar.” He said softly before capturing my lips with his again.

  Every single doubt that had crept up into my mind, suddenly vanished. Noah wouldn't hurt me. He couldn't. He loved me. I let all my worries wash away as he lifted my shirt over my head, and tossed it onto the floor. I felt foolish for ever doubting him. I reached for his waistband, undoing his jeans, and pulling his zipper down. He stood, to free me from my own jeans, before stepping out of his. Pulling me up with him, he reached around me to unclasp my bra, placing a soft kiss on my neck as he did so. I let the scrap of material fall to the floor before reaching for the band of his boxer briefs. He smiled against my neck, nipping me there as we helped each other lose what was left of our clothing.

  I placed my hands on his waist, turning us around so that he was standing in front of the bed. With a little shove, I knocked him onto his back and he smiled up at me pulling himself up the bed further. I crawled up the length of his body, straddling his waist with mine, my clit rubbing dangerously against his waiting erection. He sucked in a breath, as I slowly ground my hips against his, and I couldn't help but smile back.

  Reaching up he cupped my breasts in his hands, and kneaded them, tweaking my nipples, as I continued to rock my hips. “Sugar...” He breathed out, before releasing one of my breasts to guide his length into me. I was slick with need, and the instant he filled me everything felt right with the world. I started my rhythm over again, making sure to rock my hips just the way he liked it.

  His hands traveled from my hips, up to my breasts, and then back down again gripping me tightly. He used the leverage to meet me thrust, for thrust, and I let out a moan of approval when I felt him deep within me, reaching the depths that only he could. “Noah..” I whispered, as I tossed my head back in abandon. I felt him grab my long pony tail then, and give it a little tug, making another moan escape my lips.

  His right hand fisted my hair, while his left was gripped like a vice on my hip making sure to hit just the right angle to inevitably make me fall apart. I increased my speed, the harder his grip became, and he continued to meet my thrusts. We had made love this morning, but this was different. This was possessive, this was passionate. He was proving something to me. To us. I let my hands fall to his chest, and he released his grip on my hair as we came together in a rush. His moans were drowned out by mine, until we were swallowing each other's in a kiss that could only be described as carnal.

  I let myself fall onto his strong chest in a heap, and I felt his arms wrap around me. I had never felt so safe in my entire life. I snuggled into him, and he kissed the top of my head. “I can't wait to call you my wife, Sugar.”

  “Let's do it then.”

  “That's the plan.” He laughed, tracing his fingers up and down my bare back.

  “I mean now. Let's elope.” I said excitedly.

  “What about the chapel? It's been your dream since you were a kid, and you already have your dress, and the cake... I mean I'd marry you anywhere Sugar, I just don't want you to regret anything.”

  I sighed. “You're right. I just don't want to wait six more months.”

  “How about a compromise?”

  “I'm listening.” I said, leaning up on my elbow so that I could see his face.

  “We'll go down to the courthouse, get married, and have another wedding in six months for our friends, and family.”

  “Really?”

  “If that's what you-”

  I stopped him with a kiss. “Wait, is there a reason you want to get married so soon?” I teased. “So I can't testify against you in court or something?”

  He laughed, giving my ass a little goose. “You caught me James, I'm really some criminal mastermind who has to marry you in order to secure my freedom.”

  Before I had the chance to respond, he started to tickle me. I quickly fell into a fit of laughter, which resulted in me nearly kicking a very vital body part multiple times, and ended in a pretty heated make out session. In this very moment, I couldn't have been happier. We had actual leads about my dad's murder, and I was going to marry my best friend. Life was looking pretty damn good.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Noah, and I spent the rest of our evening in bed watching Netflix, eating popcorn, and fooling around. Much to Erin's dismay, who had texted me every half an hour asking if we looked at the pictures we'd taken yet. Truth be told, I was in no hurry to give Ben's notes the chance to creep back into my head again. I wanted to stay in my little happiness bubble with Noah for just a little while longer. But sadly, I didn't have that luxury.

  The bright light shining through our bedroom window assaulted my eyes, and I groaned pulling the comforter over my head. I could hear Noah laugh from somewhere in the room, and I removed my shield, glancing around. “What's so funny?” I asked, spotting him sitting at my vanity scrolling through his phone.

  “You. It's nearly ten AM.”

  “It was a long night.” I yawned, before stretching my limbs, and sitting up. “What time did you get up?”

  “About ten minutes ago. I wanted to take a look at some of Ben's case notes.”

  “Find anything?” I asked, reaching for my own phone to do the same.

  “It seems I'm his main suspect.” He sighed, standing to hand me his phone.

  I handed him mine as well so that we could compare notes. I read page, after page of the same theories, until an image of a white folder caught my eye. Silver-leaf Memory Care of Athens was written in gold cursive lettering on the front. The next image contained a portion of the contents. “What's this?” I asked, turning the phone towards Noah.

  “I'm not sure. It may have nothing to do with your dad's case, I just took photos of everything.”

  I exited the photos, and googled the name of the facility written on the paper. “It says here that Silver-leaf is a memory care provider in Athens...” I scrolled a bit more. “For dementia, and Alzheimer's patients.”

  “Didn't you say Ben's mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's?”

  “Yeah.. I feel like such an ass now. This obviously has nothing to do with my dad.”

  “Just delete the pictures.”

  “Good idea.”

  I went back into Noah's photo gallery, and swiped through until I found the image of the folder again. I deleted the first image, and then the second, but before I could delete the third something caught my eye. “Does this look like a birth certificate to you?” I asked.

  Noah came to sit beside me then, zooming in as much as he could on the document within the folder. “It does, but I can't make out any names. The state says Georgia, and the hospital name looks like Piedmont.”

  “I don't think that Ben was born here.”

  “Maybe his mom was?”

  “Yeah, maybe. It just seems like something he would have mentioned before.”

  “Don't read too much into it. As far as I can tell from everything he's gathered, he's intending on taking h
is theory to the chief.”

  “What does that mean for you?” I asked.

  “Are you worried, Sugar?” He winked.

  “A little.” I admitted.

  “Well, I'm not. We both know that I'm innocent, and so does chief Craig. We'll let Ben do his little investigation, I have nothing to hide.”

  My phone pinged then, and I glanced at the screen. “Erin.” I said, with annoyance. “She's been driving me nuts, asking what we found in Ben's desk.”

  “Call her.” He said, leaning over to kiss me. “I'm going to take a quick shower, tell her we'll meet her at Lou's for brunch.”

  “OK.” I sighed, falling back against my pillow as I dialed her number.

  Erin answered on the first ring barely giving me any time to brace myself for her overly eager voice. “It's about damn time! Well? What did you find? Don't leave me hanging.”

  “Meet Noah, and I at Lou's in thirty minutes.”

  “Fine, but you're buying.”

  “Fine.” I sighed with defeat, before tossing my phone down onto the bed beside me.

  After the fastest shower of my life, I pulled on a pair of jeans, and a comfortable tee shirt, before tossing my hair up into a messy bun. Noah, was sitting at the kitchen table twirling his keys around his finger, silently waiting for me. “Ready.” I smiled.

  “You didn't zip your boots.” He said, cocking his eyebrow.

  I put my foot up on his thigh then giving him a wide smile. He chuckled to himself, before pulling my boot's zipper up my calf. After doing the same with the other foot, I reached for his hand. “Let's go.”

  What I loved most about our little town was that everything was in walking distance. We had the best diners, and mom and pop shops, and very rarely did we actually have to drive anywhere. Hand in hand, we made our way to Lou's diner. It was owned by the sweetest couple, and they sold breakfast all day long. When we entered, the waitress Hannah, greeted us warmly by our names and didn't even bother handing us menus.

  I slipped into the booth first, and Noah eased in beside me wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “You want your usual, Sugar?” He half whispered, sending goosebumps over my skin.

  “Yes.” I said, giving him a little warning nudge. He was too sexy for his own damn good.

  Before Hannah had the chance to ask for our orders, Erin came barreling in like she owned the place. She was wearing a black spaghetti strap tank top that was cut so low it left little to the imagination, and a pair of gym shorts that looked like they belonged on a five year old. “Am I late?” She breathed out, checking the watch on her wrist before sliding into the opposite side of our booth.

  “Right on time.” I said, eyeing her suspiciously. “Did you run here?”

  “Yeah, although I probably should have put a bra on first, I almost caused an accident.” She said, waving at Hannah. “Could you be a dear, and bring me a water please?” Taking another deep breath, she looked directly at Noah. “Hey handsome! You ready to upgrade yet?”

  I rolled my eyes, at the exact time that Hannah returned with Erin's water. “Are y'all ready?” She asked sweetly.

  “I'll have the Mexican omelette.” Erin chimed in.

  “And for you?” She asked, batting her lashes at Noah.

  He gave my shoulder a little squeeze, and I rolled my eyes again. I was used to women hitting on him, but I was secure enough in my relationship not to let it bother me. “I'll have the house special, and a half order of biscuits and gravy, with a side of sausage for the lady. Thanks Hannah.” Noah smiled.

  Hannah blushed, before scurrying off to the kitchen and I laughed to myself. “What?” Noah asked, taking a sip of his coffee. “Did I miss something?”

  “Hannah has the biggest crush on you!” Erin said, loud enough for the entire diner to hear.

  I instantly brought my palm to my forehead. “Don't embarrass the poor girl.” I whispered.

  “She knows you're engaged... I was just reminding her. It's unhealthy to pine after someone you have no chance in hell with.”

  “Says you.”

  “Completely different.” She said, as she popped a piece of ice from her glass into her mouth. She gestured towards Noah then. “I've still got six months to convince this one he's making a colossal mistake.”

  “Gee thanks.” I said.

  “Do I have a say in any of this?” Noah asked.

  “Nope.” I said, turning to press a kiss to his cheek.

  When Hannah returned a few minutes later with our food, we started to discuss what we found in Ben's room. Noah, and I let Erin go through the photos we'd taken, and she put her two sense in as she did. When she came across the birth certificate, her brow furrowed in thought. “Hales? Weren't you born at Piedmont?”

  “Yea.. but so were most of the people who live here.”

  “Yeah, but look at the year.” She said, passing Noah's phone to me.

  I focused on the year stamped in the corner. It was blurry, but I could kind of make it out. “1997. I was born in 1995 though, so this can't be mine.”

  “That year keeps popping up Haylee, it can't be a coincidence anymore. Ben's two years younger than us, that means he was born in 1997 as well.”

  “This birth certificate was in a private folder from the facility that I assume his mom is at, it has absolutely nothing to do with my dad's case.”

  “You're probably right. But, we should look at the entire birth certificate just to be sure. We know that Sarah Ryan had a child. Maybe he's following that same angle?”

  “But why would it be in a folder with his mother's personal information?”

  “Safe keeping?”

  “What do you suggest?”

  “Leave it to me.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Monday morning, the start to another work week, and a week full of more unanswered questions, I thought to myself as I tied my running shoes. When I made my way downstairs to find Ben, he was already waiting as usual. “Morning.” He smiled, passing me a bottle of water.

  “Morning.” I smiled back, accepting his gesture. “Shall we?”

  “After you.” He said bowing elegantly, making us both laugh.

  Even though I started first, Ben quickly sidled up beside me, and we jogged in silence until we reached our first intersection. “Can I ask you something?” I asked, checking for traffic.

  “Sure.” He replied, as we jogged across the road.

  “My mom. I know you just started, but-”

  “I did a little digging Friday after the bridal shop, but I'm going to do some more today. There wasn't much I could find from home.”

  I sighed. “Am I being unrealistic? What if she doesn't even want to see me?”

  “We'll cross that bridge when we get there.” He said, reaching for my hand at our next stop. “Either way, you've got friends who care about you. You've got me.” He added, giving my hand a little squeeze before releasing it, and jogging off ahead of me.

  His kindness just now made me feel absolutely horrible. Here I was jogging with my friend, essentially distracting him while the woman who he was sleeping with was digging through his desk again. I really didn't like the person that I was becoming, and I knew that my dad wouldn't either. When Ben noticed that I'd fallen behind, he stopped, and jogged in place until I reached him.

  “Everything alright?”

  “No.” I said, stopping in front of him. We were right next to a coffee shop with outdoor seating, so I pulled a chair out and sat down. He looked at me puzzled, but decided to sit down with me.

  “You can talk to me.” He said gently.

  “I know that you're investigating Noah.” I said just as softly. “I- I need to know what you found. Should I be worried?”

  He sat a little straighter, taking a sip from his water, and then setting it back down on the table in front of him. He didn't admit it, but he didn't deny it either, making me think I should press things a little further. I needed answers, and the only way that I was going to get them, was t
o make him trust me.

  “Can I trust you, Ben?”

  “Of course you can.” He said, placing his hand over mine.

  I took a deep breath. “I was the one who broke into Sarah Ryan's house.”

  His eyes grew wide with genuine surprise, but he quickly hid it, rubbing his thumb over my hand. “Why?”

  “I found something Ben. A lock box. Someone had hidden it in the wall, and I was sure that it would hold some kind of answers, but I only have more questions.”

  “What- what was in it?” He asked, as his voice hitched.

  “Pictures. Sarah Ryan had a son.”

  “Have you told Chief Craig?”

  “I can't. How would I explain that? I need you to tell him. I need him to find Sarah's son.”

  “Haylee-”

  “I know it's asking a lot, but maybe you could come across some kind of evidence that suggests it? Something someone else could have missed?”

  “No.” He said adamantly, as he stood throwing his hands up. “This conversation is over Haylee.”

  “Ben, wait!” I called after his retreating back. “Ben!” I yelled again, but he didn't stop. Instead, he ran faster in the direction that we'd come from. I quickly pulled my cell from my pants pocket and called Erin, warning her that Ben was on his way, before I headed back towards home as well.

  When I reached my apartment, I found Erin and Noah sitting at the kitchen table with their heads together. “What took you so long?” Erin asked. “Ben's been back for ten minutes.”

  “He ran. I jogged. Simple.” I said, taking the seat beside Noah and giving him a quick kiss. “So? Tell me you found something, because Ben seemed really pissed.”

  Erin slid her phone to me rather unceremoniously, but I still managed to catch it before it hit the floor. “The birth certificate is Ben's. Maybe that's why he came back here with his mom? She must have been from here.”

  “The space for the father is blank, but his mom's name is printed on the left.” Erin said.

  “Sarah Elizabeth Cross.” I said aloud.

  “I did a quick google check of her, but she has no social media pages.”