Serve & Protect

by Kayla Carson

  The minute Maryann unzipped the bag, my jaw fell to my feet. “Is that-”

  “Yes! Hear me out though. With the right accessories, you'll be stunning. I even brought them in with us so that we can give your friends, and family the full effect.”

  “It's a good thing you did, otherwise I don't think we'll be able to sell it.”

  “Does that mean you want to give it a try?” She asked excitedly.

  “Absolutely.”

  I let Maryann help me into the garment, and pull the zipper up my back before turning to face myself in the floor length mirror. “This is.. so me.” I said with wonder.

  “I knew it!” She squealed happily. “Let me add the shoes, and accessories.”

  I stood allowing her to dress me up like some kind of doll. She pulled my hair free from it's pony tail, and shook my curls loose. Then she added a tiara, and a pair of dangling crystal earrings. I lifted my feet one, by one as she helped me into the white rhinestone covered boots. “Maryann, these boots are amazing.” She smiled, adding a necklace, and bracelet that matched the earrings I wore.

  I turned to view myself from the back, and I actually gasped. My back was exposed, and the straps draped over my shoulders so beautifully. It was a perfect contrast to the front which fit me like a glove in the bodice with a deep V that ran nearly to my navel. “Ready to show them?” She asked with a wide smile.

  “Ready.” I said, as she opened the door and ushered me out of it and onto a platform in the center of the room.

  “Oh my God!” Erin said, as she stood to walk around me. “Is that a.. jumpsuit?”

  “Yes.” I said, crossing my arms nervously. What if they hated it? It fit me so well, and the way the legs flared out actually made the bottom half look like a dress in some ways. And the boots.. I had never felt so much like myself, while also not.. if that makes any sense. I knew that this was my 'dress' I just needed to convince everyone else.

  “Don't do that Haylee.” Maryann said, reaching for my arms and placing them at my sides. “You look beautiful.”

  “You really do honey.” Angie said, as tears began to fill her eyes.

  “You aren't mad that it isn't a dress?” I asked.

  “Of course not!” She gushed pulling me into a hug, and before I knew it I was crying right along with her. “Sweetheart, what's wrong?” She asked, gently pulling away and looking directly into my eyes.

  “It's just.. my dad's gone.” I sobbed quietly. “And.. my mom, she-”

  “Oh Sweetheart!” She cried out sympathetically, before pulling me back into her arms. Before I knew what was happening, I felt more arms wrapping around me. Erin was behind me now, and Ben to my right in one big embrace. I couldn't help but laugh after a few seconds from the awkwardness of it all, and soon we were all laughing until we finally broke apart.

  “Thank you guys for being here with me today. You know, I don't really even remember my mom.. but I've been thinking about her a lot lately. How I wish that at least one of my parents could be at my wedding.”

  “Do you know where she is?” Ben asked.

  “No idea. It's probably a lost cause anyway. Who's to say she'll even want to see me?”

  “She'd be crazy not to.” Erin chimed in. “Why don't we find her?”

  “What? How? Chief Craig wouldn't let us use any resources for personal reasons.” I sighed, feigning defeat. “It's alright. Really.”

  “What if they weren't personal?” Ben asked.

  “What do you mean?” Erin asked, with confusion.

  “What if I tell him that I need to find Haylee's mom because it has to do with her dad's case?”

  “Ben, you can't do that for me-”

  “I want to. Everyone deserves to know who their parents are Haylee.... everyone.” He said, looking down at his feet.

  “Are you alright?” I asked, taking a step towards him.

  “Fine.” He said, bouncing back as if nothing ever happened. “I guess I'm just thinking about my dad, I never got to know him before he died. If I can help you find your mom, then I want to Haylee. Please.”

  “Thank you, Ben.” I said softly, before pulling him into a tight hug. “You're a really great friend.”

  Chapter Twelve

  The weekend was finally here, and I couldn't be happier. Noah working graveyard was the worst, at least we'd be able to run together this morning. It was later than usual of course due to a little morning love making, but I wasn't one to complain. The fact that he even wanted to run after that surprised me. Usually he'd convince me that we'd already completed our cardio for the day. “You ready Steele?” I asked, as I finished lacing up my tennis shoes.

  “I thought we could take a little detour today.” He said cryptically.

  “What kind of detour?” I asked, arching brow.

  “You're always so suspicious.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “It's in my nature.”

  “Come on James.” He said, reaching for my hand.

  We ran side by side, taking our normal route until we reached the third intersection. Where we usually went right, Noah pulled me straight across instead. I thought about asking him where were going again, but I knew he wouldn't tell me. Instead, I jogged beside him in silence, until a few minutes later he suddenly stopped. I took a look around, realizing we were directly in front of a bakery.

  “Doesn't this defeat the purpose of a morning run?”

  Instead of answering me, he pulled the door open causing the bell to ring against it. “After you.” He said, motioning for me to go inside.

  “Good Morning!” An older woman with her silver hair pulled up into a tight bun said warmly. “You must be Noah, and Haylee?”

  “We are.” Noah said, extending his hand. “Pleasure to meet you..”

  “Marge.” She smiled. “I hope you're ready to try some cake!”

  “Cake tasting?” I asked. “What happened to letting me do all the dirty work?”

  “My mom happened. She made the appointment. Plus, there are worse things than eating cake at nine in the morning, right?” He teased, giving my ass a little pinch.

  I swatted at him playfully. “Alright, but I'm the deciding vote.”

  “Of course.” He laughed, kissing the top of my head.

  “Oh, aren't you two adorable!” Marge gushed, as she brought out a platter of cake slices. “Angie told me to give you a bit of everything, so these are our top sellers. Carrot, red velvet, chocolate mousse, vanilla bean, strawberry cheesecake, and lemon. We also have more flavors if these aren't to your liking. Please let me know if you need anything.”

  “Thank you.” I said, as Marge left us to our own devices. “Is this even a competition? There's chocolate mousse, Noah!”

  “Let's just try them all, just in case.”

  “Chocolate goes the best with whiskey.” I said, taking a bite of the deliciousness in front of me.

  “Says who?”

  “Me.” I mumbled around my bite.

  “My fiance is so classy.” He said sarcastically, nearly making me choke on my cake. I gave him a wide smile, knowing that my teeth were covered in chocolate, sending him into a fit of laughter. “Let me try that.” He smiled, before bringing his lips to mine greedily. “Mmm. I think you're right. This is pretty hard to beat.”

  “Told you so.” I whispered against his lips, giving him one last peck before trying the other flavors.

  After half an hour, we decided to stick with the chocolate mousse, all that was left to do now was to pick a design. Once again, I was out of my element. In all honestly, I wanted to close my eyes and point. I could care less about what the cake looked like, I already knew it would taste delicious. I pretended to be interested in what Marge was showing us, and in the end I chose a four tier white cake, covered in white flowers, and edible beads. Simple, and classic.

  “We should have drove.” I said, rubbing my stomach uncomfortably.

  “No one said that you had to eat the entire sample platter.”

>   “I wasn't letting all of that cake go to waste. Aside from the lemon, that would have been a tragedy.”

  Noah rolled his eyes, pulling me into his side. “We can just walk back, Sugar.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” I smiled leaning into him, and wrapping my own arm around his waist. As we walked, I filled him in on Ben's offer to help me find my mom.

  “He must really care about you.”

  “Are you jealous?” I teased, bumping my hip into his.

  “Never.” He said, kissing the top of my head. “Just an observation. You barely had to plant the seed, and he was already watering it.”

  “He seemed genuine. I think it has something to do with him losing his dad. When he mentioned him, he seemed.. broken. He never got to know him, I think he just wants me to have a relationship with my mom.”

  “Just be careful.”

  “He's harmless. A little odd, but harmless.” I laughed.

  When we finally got back to our apartment, Noah slipped into the shower. I was changing out of my sweaty clothes, ready to join him, when my phone went off. Glancing at the screen, I noticed a string of new text messages from Erin. My curiosity got the better of me, so I sat down on the end of the bed, and began to check them. They were all images. I used my fingers to enlarge the first image on the screen. It looked like someone's hand written notes.

  James knew about his daughter's relationship with Steele. Steele confronts James? Things go south.. covers up by getting 'injured' The only way he wont lose Haylee is by getting rid of James. Obsessed with Haylee. Over protective.

  The next image was more of the same. More theories that my dad found out about Noah, and I and disapproved. I quickly responded to Erin's texts. What is all this?

  I'm at Ben's he's in the shower. These are his case notes. Have to go. Talk later. Be careful.

  Be careful? Of what? Noah? I laughed to myself. I heard the shower turn off then, and I set my phone on the bedside table. A few minutes later, when Noah entered the room drying his hair he gave me a sexy smile. “I thought you were joining me?”

  “Do you think that my dad knew about us?”

  “Honestly? Yeah, I think he did. Or, he at least had a feeling. Why?”

  “Do you think he would have approved?”

  “A part of me thinks that he already did. I mean, he told me about the wedding chapel. He knew we were friends. There were occasions he'd come by your dorm, and I'd be there watching a movie. He never tried to warn me away or anything. Is all this wedding talk making you nervous, Sugar?”

  “Sit.” I said, patting the space beside me and reaching for my phone.

  “Alright..” He said, doing as I asked.

  I handed him my phone then. “Read this.” I sat watching his expression, as he read through the text messages. A look of confusion flashed across his face, and then anger. He calmly handed me back my phone then.

  “You don't believe any of this do you? That I could kill your dad? That I'm obsessed with you?” He asked quietly.

  “Of course not, Noah!” I said, reaching for his hand. “You were my rock when I lost him. You still are. I love you.”

  “I get it. Ben has to cover all the angles, but I was already investigated. I couldn't have knocked myself out.”

  “I know baby. He asked me about you that first day at work when we had lunch. I thought that I had assured him that you weren't involved, but maybe I was wrong.”

  “Maybe I should talk to him?”

  My phone pinged again, causing us both to glance at the screen. It was Erin, again.

  Ben's having a party tonight. You're both invited.

  “Looks like tonight's your chance.” I said, showing the message to Noah. “What should I say?”

  “Tell her we'll be there.” He said.

  Wouldn't miss it. I replied.

  “I know you don't like the idea of me snooping around, but this could be the perfect opportunity to see what other working theories he has. His apartment will be full of people, I could easily slip away and thumb through a file or two.”

  “Do you really think that he keeps his files at home?”

  “Why not? His case notes were in plain site..”

  “We'll play it by ear. There's something about this guy that just isn't sitting right with me.”

  I had the same feeling about Ben a few weeks ago, but since then I'd brushed it off. He was good at his job, and a good friend. Offering to help find my mom, going dress shopping with me, I was sure that he was only doing his due diligence. It's just like he told me when we had lunch, he was coming in with fresh eyes, and had to explore all the angles. If I were investigating I would have looked at Noah first too.

  I don't believe that Noah could have killed my dad, but I did have to wonder.. if he didn't approve, and told Noah as much, would he have said, or done something else? Was it possible that Noah told my dad he was entering the house at the same time as him, only to wait outside instead? What was I thinking? This was Noah. The man that I loved. He couldn't be that cold.. could he?

  Chapter Thirteen

  We could hear the music coming from Ben's apartment before we even left our own. The party seemed to be in full swing, so knocking on the door got us no where. I turned the knob, and opened the door slowly glancing around the room. There were at least thirty people inside. I was surprised, seeing as he hasn't lived here long.

  “Hey! You guys made it!” Ben said, coming towards us with excitement.

  I felt Noah's hand on the small of my back protectively, possessively? No, what was I thinking? I was letting Ben's notes mess with my head. “Of course we did!” I smiled back. “What's the occasion?”

  “House warming.” He grinned. “I know I've been here a few weeks now, but I finally unpacked everything. Make yourself at home, I need to mingle.” He winked, as he headed towards the kitchen.

  “Dance with me?” Noah asked, squeezing my hip.

  “No one else is dancing.” I blushed.

  “Are you afraid, James?” He whispered in my ear seductively.

  Goosebumps instantly covered my body. Was I afraid? Why was he asking that? He's just teasing you Haylee, calm the fuck down I thought, taking a deep breath. “Alright Steele, show me your moves.”

  Maroon five's “Sugar” started playing, which seemed appropriate. We both laughed, as Noah pulled me into his arms and began to grind against me. I bit my bottom lip, twining my hands behind his neck. I couldn't help but feel my cheeks heat when he bent to whisper the lyrics into my ear. “I want that red velvet, that sugar sweet, don't let nobody touch it, unless that somebody's me.”

  “Ahem.” A loud female voice said from somewhere behind me. “Am I interrupting something?”

  “Cock block.” Noah said, shooting daggers at Erin.

  I swatted Noah's chest, turning away from him to face my friend. “What can we do for you?” I asked with mock sweetness.

  She rolled her eyes. “Noah, be a dear and distract Ben for a little while.”

  “Why?”

  “Do I need to explain everything?” She huffed out, impatiently. “We need to do a little recon.”

  “I think you should distract him.” He countered.

  “Why me?” She asked.

  “Because you're sleeping with him.”

  “Makes sense to me.” I said. “You distract Ben, and Noah and I will snoop around a bit. Where were those notes?”

  “Top drawer of the desk in his bedroom.”

  “Which is, where exactly?”

  “Second door on the left, just past the bathroom.”

  Noah, and I watched as Erin pulled Ben into an embrace running her hands up his back and into the back of his hair. When we were sure he wouldn't notice, we made our way towards the back of his apartment, and into his bedroom shutting the door behind us. “Lock it.” I said, stealthily walking towards the desk that Erin had mentioned.

  “What if he tries to come in.”

  I took my jacket off, and tossed it
onto the bed, before approaching Noah and unbuttoning his shirt. I ran my hands through his hair next, making his normally styled hair now a disheveled mess. I pulled my tee shirt off next, and undid the button on his jeans.

  “I know that our little dance was a turn on Sugar, but this is not the place.” He teased.

  “Haha. At least we have a cover story if he comes looking. Now, let's be quick.”

  I opened the center drawer, and the notes that Erin had taken photos of earlier were directly on top just starring at me. I pulled them out one by one, taking my own pictures making sure to keep them in their proper order. There were more notes that she didn't send, so I took photos of those as well. After digging around some more, and I was satisfied with what I had, I glanced over at Noah.

  He was snapping photos of his own, and a few minutes later we'd managed to return everything to it's rightful place. I felt guilt, and shame wash over me. Maybe I should have just asked Ben about his course of investigation. He was my friend after all, and I just severely violated his trust by going through his personal belongings. I tossed my tee shirt back on, and Noah reached for the door unlocking it, before pulling it open. The two of us, were still righting our clothing when when bumped into Ben in the hall.

  “You do realize that you live directly across the hall right? You could have gone home, and had a quickie before I even realized you were gone.”

  “Yeah, but have you seen her.” Noah asked, running his hand up and down my back.

  “It's not you that's surprised me, Noah.” Ben said with disappointment. “I hope you didn't use my bed.”

  “No! We, uh-”

  “You know what, I don't want to know. I just wanted to change into a cooler shirt, all the alcohol's going to my head.” He laughed, brushing past us and into his bedroom.

  “We should leave.” I whispered.

  “Agreed.”

  Saying a quick goodbye to Erin, Noah and I raced across the hall back to our own apartment. “I can't believe we just made him think we hooked up in his bedroom! I would be furious if my friend did something like that to me.”