by Elise Noble
“Yeah, he is. Clarissa did a real number on his head, and we caught the tail end of that. But we’re good now. Told you he’d come around.”
“I hated the thought of losing either of you.”
“Well, you’re stuck with me now, for better or for fucking worse.”
“For better or for worse?” My breath hitched, but maybe I was just reading too much into a throwaway comment. “You don’t mean…?”
He gifted me one of those sweet Luca-smiles, the ones he saved for me and no one else. “Give me a few weeks to find a job and somewhere to live, and then…yes. I do mean.”
“We’re not going to live together? I have an apartment.”
“Guess that timescale just shortened.”
“Did I mention that I love you?”
“I’ll never get tired of hearing it. Love you too, Brooke soon-to-be Mendez. About that breakfast…”
A giggle burst out of me. “If you’re hungry, you only have to say so.”
“I’m hungry.”
“Can we get room service?”
“We can get anything you want, sweetheart.”
And just like that, everything was right with my world.
Really.
Thanks to a stranger, the last barrier to happiness had been removed.
Cupid might have missed with his arrow, but as the fuzziness in my head faded, clarity hit me like a warm ray of sunshine. For so long, I’d clung to my outdated view of what happiness meant, but now I realised that not everybody was destined to follow the same path. I didn’t need a million bucks or a college degree or a fancy job title in order to smile in the mornings. I’d needed to change my mindset, not my lifestyle.
Luca made me happy.
Being part of the community made me happy.
My job made me happy.
That was one life goal checked off the list, and a second too. I’d fallen in love. Not only with Luca, but with myself as well. We all had flaws, and in time, I could learn to embrace mine.
As for the third goal, I still had lessons to learn. I’d always have lessons to learn. And that was okay.
37
Luca
“The good news is that Brady’s gonna have a fuck-ton of scars,” Colt told us. Kiki was at the Craft Cabin with Brooke for the Saturday morning kids’ session, so we’d gathered in his kitchen. “The doctor said there’s no way ‘rapist’ is coming off without removing his entire forehead. Oh, and…” His lips twitched at the corners. “Brady’s testicles were too badly damaged to save. They had to remove them both.”
I clinked my glass against Aaron’s, then Colt’s. OJ, since it was eleven o’clock. We’d switch to beer later, or hell, maybe I’d even buy champagne. There was a lot to celebrate.
“You’re right; that’s the best news I’ve had all day. Is Brady talking?”
“Singing like a choirboy. Falsetto.” Colt couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “Seems as if he’s taking the mysterious visitor’s words to heart.”
“Brooke’s calling him the Bad Samaritan.”
“The Bad Samaritan—yeah, that fits.”
“Does Brady know who he is?”
“He says not. I’m inclined to believe him after what we saw on that video.”
The message on Brady’s chest wasn’t the only one the Bad Samaritan had left. We’d found the second note on the counter outside, next to Brady’s phone. Short but sweet.
CHECK THE CAM APP
Turned out Brady had been running a second, parallel camera system alongside the one I’d paid him to install, and it was a good thing he had police guards in the hospital because when I found out, I’d wanted to kill him all over again.
His system was more sophisticated, a live feed hooked into Aaron’s Wi-Fi. There were spying eyes everywhere—in each bedroom, the bathrooms, the living room, and Brooke’s new home upstairs. And that was just at Deals on Wheels. He’d also wired Brooke’s rental place above the Crowes’ garage, plus apartments belonging to six other girls. The police in Coos Bay were involved now, trying to locate those women based on what they could spot in the recordings.
And speaking of recordings, we’d found several from last night. The Bad Samaritan had erased most of his parts, but he’d thoughtfully left enough for us to understand how the evening went down. My blood pressure had risen as we watched Brady drag Brooke through the house by her armpits, lay her on the bed, and undress her slowly, stroking her skin as he went. Gently, almost reverently. The sick fuck. He’d arranged her the way he wanted, dimmed the lights, and then shucked his own clothes. Jacked off a while. She was lying in a pose reminiscent of his, arms and legs splayed but mercifully oblivious, when a blurry black-clad figure darted into shot and jabbed what appeared to be a syringe into Brady’s neck. Brady had stayed standing for a second, then swayed and crumpled forward onto the bed.
The camera feed ended there.
Some words were better left unsaid, some home movies better left unwatched.
There were no good clues to the Bad Samaritan’s identity. He was fast, clearly strong, and sneaky as a ninja on tiptoe. Proficient with a set of lock picks since there was no damage to any of the doors or windows. Smart, because he’d found Brady’s hidden network of cameras. Confident. Perhaps even arrogant. And nobody we knew fit that profile.
Everybody in Baldwin’s Shore had a secret, but some secrets were dirtier than others.
A secret…
Before he left, the Bad Samaritan had set Brooke’s phone to play Sarah McLachlan’s “Dirty Little Secret” on repeat, and I thought that might have been another message, but I didn’t quite understand what he was trying to say.
Maybe I never would.
Maybe I didn’t care.
If he wanted to fade away, to keep his secrets and stay in the background, I was good with that.
Because I had Brooke.
I had Brooke, and the Bad Samaritan had saved us both a world of heartache.
“I don’t care who the guy is. I’d buy him a beer if I could.”
Colt snorted. “A beer? I’d buy him a six-pack.”
Aaron drained his own can. “I’d buy him a damn brewery. Although that might have to wait a few months. I’ll have to get all the electrical work redone at Deals on Wheels first, and that’s gonna put a dent in my finances.”
“You know Brooke wants me to move in with her, right?”
“Yeah. Can’t say I hate the idea. Not anymore.”
“So I can chip in toward the electrical costs.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Yeah, I do. I’m gonna marry your sister one day, and I’m gonna take care of her.”
Aaron choked on his OJ. “You’re gonna marry Brooke?”
“Just laying my cards on the table, so if you want to punch me, go ahead and do it now. She hates it when you hurt me in front of her.”
He scowled for a second, only a second, then broke into a smile. I’d been bracing for impact, but now the tension in my abs released.
“You as a brother-in-law? Can’t say I hate that idea either.”
Epilogue - Brooke
“C’mon, boy. You already sniffed that clump of grass on the way out. And peed on it too.”
How things had changed in three months… Vega’s leg had healed well, and I could walk him alone again. Between the early morning hikes, all the sex, and the gym membership at the Peninsula that Luca had signed us up for, I was the fittest I’d ever been. Not necessarily the thinnest, because Luca bought me an extraordinary amount of chocolates, but the fittest.
We were still living in the garage apartment behind the Crowes’ house, but I didn’t much mind. Home was where the heart was. And also the hot guy. Besides, our address would soon change. Deals on Wheels was being completely rewired, every trace of Brady erased. When the new electrician heard what had happened, he’d offered us a discounted rate, and over the weeks, he’d found nineteen cameras hidden around the place. Microphones too. And while I hated th
e fact that Brady had abducted me from the bar, in a strange way I was thankful, because if he hadn’t seen an opportunity that night, we’d all have been walking around our new home oblivious.
And Brady had gotten his just deserts.
The Bad Samaritan’s identity remained a mystery, but reading between the lines, nobody had looked for him too hard. He’d become another Baldwin’s Shore legend, along with Skip’s hidden treasure and the siren on Turtle Rock.
Vega finally gave up on the grass and trotted along at my side again. He passed all his check-ups with flying colours, and although he wasn’t allowed off-leash yet, just in case he overdid things, he seemed pretty cheerful these days. His tail rarely stopped wagging, and Luca was his new best friend, mainly because he bought him hotdog wieners and ham slices and steak. Freaking steak.
“You want to ride in the truck this afternoon? Do you?”
I took the cold, wet nose nudging my hand to mean “yes.” Since I had a day off today, I’d promised to go to Alma’s Furniture Emporium with Colt, and we were going to drop a couple of my paintings off at the gift store on the way. I’d finally plucked up the courage to ask if they’d stock them, and they’d sold three in the last month. Plus the boutique at the Peninsula had sold four, and those folks paid top dollar. The extra income meant that I could afford to buy brand-new furniture if I wanted to, but there was something satisfying about browsing through pre-loved treasures. Every piece had a story.
Kiki wanted a dressing table, Colt wanted to take her mind off the fact that their cat had gone missing, and I wanted to look for another bed since Luca and I would be moving to the new apartment soon. The old iron bed frame I’d once loved so much had gone into the dumpster for obvious reasons. I was grateful I hadn’t seen Brady tied to it, but that didn’t stop my imagination from running wild at times.
At least Brady was in jail now. He’d opted to plead guilty to everything, which Aaron said was a smart move given the circumstances. Any juror would have struggled to remain impartial when the defendant had the word “rapist” burned into his forehead and “pervert” scarred across both cheeks, and Brady was also terrified the Bad Samaritan would make good on his promise to come back. He’d said as much in his interviews, and his signed confession ran to nine pages. I wasn’t the only woman he’d assaulted. Thankfully, he was serving twenty years in the Oregon State Penitentiary now, hopefully with a three-hundred-pound cellmate who had a taste for pasty white ass.
My phone rang as we got back into town, and I smiled at the sound. Savage Garden’s “To the Moon & Back,” the song I’d set for Luca.
“Hi.”
“Hey, sweetheart.”
My heart rate still spiked every time I heard his voice. It probably always would. “How’s the first-aid course?”
“Not as comprehensive as the training I had in the army, but it’s always good to have a refresher. Rumour says we might get let out of school early today. Want to go out for dinner?”
Yes, Luca was back at school. Well, the Sheriff’s Academy. The job had been Colt’s idea. Apparently, Luca got preference points for being a veteran, so the interview process had been relatively straightforward, and now he had a week left at the academy before he switched to field training. Field training meant Colt got to tell him what to do for six months, something Colt was looking forward to but Luca was not. But I’d come to realise that what drove Luca was a need to help people, and being a deputy would fulfill that need. Plus he’d be coming home to me every night. And he got a uniform. Overall, the new job was a win for everyone.
“I thought you were watching football with Colt and Aaron this evening?”
And I’d promised to teach Kiki how to knit a scarf, even though it was the end of July. She wanted to be prepared for winter. Seven years old, and her organisational abilities put mine to shame. And Luca’s.
“I thought the football was next week?” he said.
“No, it’s definitely this week. Want me to pick up takeout after I’ve been to the furniture store?”
I could almost feel Luca’s shudder through the phone. He’d turned out to be surprisingly domesticated, but he still didn’t do well with shopping. When I’d suggested I tag along to the Emporium with Colt rather than waiting until the weekend and going together, he’d actually sighed with relief.
But he had managed to buy one thing in the last month. I held my hand up to the light, loving the way the diamond on my finger sparkled in the sun. It wasn’t a huge rock—I hadn’t wanted that—but he’d had the white gold band engraved on the inside. My everything. I’d cried when he got down on one knee, late one evening on the beach at the Peninsula. Kissed him silly after I’d choked out a “yes.” And when we got back to the bar, there’d been a bottle of champagne waiting, courtesy of Nico Belinsky.
“Takeout sounds good. Anything you want.”
“Which means Mexican. Te quiero.”
“Love you too, sweetheart. And before I forget, I told the guys at the academy about Thrive, and they want me to bring in some flyers.”
My heart swelled.
Since I’d come up with the idea of starting a support group for survivors—of sexual assault, of domestic violence, of any kind of abuse that left them feeling the pain and shame I once had—Luca had been nothing but supportive. I’d grown to realise how much talking had helped me, and art too, so I’d created an environment that encompassed both.
Thrive met twice a month on Wednesday evenings at the Craft Cabin, and any woman was welcome to drop by to talk, paint, or just listen. They shared their experiences, their coping techniques, and other advice, and I’d convinced a therapist to facilitate the sessions in exchange for painting lessons.
The first time, three people had shown up, all wary, all nervous. The next time, four more joined us. At the last session, there’d been eighteen women, each at a different stage of processing their trauma, and I was beginning to realise what a vast, hidden problem existed. I hadn’t been the only one suffering. I was but one tiny snowflake in what needed to become an avalanche if society was going to change.
Initially, I’d thought that if I could help just one person, the effort would have been worth it, but now I had bigger plans. I wanted every woman to find happiness, not only me.
“I have plenty of flyers.”
“Then I’ll make sure they get where they need to go.”
“Wow! His tongue flaps and his ears flap.”
Oh, to be a child again. A dog sticking its head out of the truck window could provide endless hours of entertainment.
Kiki’s tiny pink dressing table was in the back, along with a pink stool and a pink-framed mirror bundled in fifty layers of bubble wrap. Can you guess what Kiki’s favourite colour was? We’d even stopped at the bakery and bought pink cupcakes on the way home. Colt was such a pushover when it came to his daughter, but after Hannah died, he’d said he needed to give Kiki enough love for two, and over the years, he’d stuck to his word. The early days had been hard. I still remembered his frustrations as I’d taught him to braid Kiki’s hair, but now he was a pro, and he’d worn stubby pigtails and a full face of make-up himself more times than I could count thanks to her efforts.
“Do you think my ears would flap if I stuck my head out the window?” Kiki asked.
Colt groaned quietly. “Absolutely not.”
“How about my tongue?”
I still had all this to look forward to. Not yet, but one day. I twisted in my seat to face Kiki. She’d dressed as Tinker Bell today, complete with a wand Paulo had made for her.
“You might swallow a fly, and flies taste yucky.”
“Yuck, yuck, yuck! Vega, get your head in!”
He turned and slurped his tongue up her face, then stuck his head out the window again.
“Euch. Now I’m all slimy.”
“The wet wipes are in the centre console,” Colt reminded me.
At least one of us had come prepared. I was rummaging for the package when Kiki sh
rieked in my ear.
“Look! A princess!”
“We don’t have any princesses in Baldwin’s Shore.”
“No, she’s right,” Colt said, and the truck began to slow. “Looks like a lady’s broken down.”
Holy heck, Kiki hadn’t been kidding. Up ahead, a stunning blonde was standing beside a dark green Audi. In what was unmistakably a wedding dress. The bodice twinkled in the sunlight, and her hair had been fastened into an elaborate updo with stray tendrils floating around her face. As we got closer, I could see she’d been crying.
Colt sucked in a breath. “Well, you can say one thing about life in this town—it’s never dull.”
We drew up beside the bride just as she kicked one tyre with a dainty satin shoe, and Colt clipped on his badge and climbed out.
“What seems to be the problem, ma’am?”
I quickly tapped out a text to Luca.
Brooke: We might be a few minutes late for the football xxx
A Few Words from the Bad Samaritan…
Curious about the Bad Samaritan? Well, so was I, so I took a little journey into the mind of Baldwin’s Shore’s favourite vigilante.
If you’d like to hear a few of their thoughts, the bonus chapter is FREE to members of my reader group. You can join here:
www.elise-noble.com/t1g3r
What’s Next?
The next book in the Baldwin’s Shore series is Colt and Gabrielle’s story, Secrets, Lies, and Family Ties.
After leaving her fiancé at the altar, all Gabrielle wants is a day alone to reflect on the mistakes she’s made. But when her car breaks down in Baldwin’s Shore, a day turns into a week, and perhaps—if the goddesses of fate smile kindly—a little longer. But someone from her past has a different plan.
Sheriff’s deputy Colt Haines isn’t looking for love, and he definitely isn’t looking for a flighty blonde to move into his spare room and complicate his life. But his young daughter has other ideas. So too does his heart, and when Gabrielle’s secrets catch up with her, he’s left with no choice but to fight for her future and for his.