Control - Noah's Rise Bundle (Books I-III): A Billionaire Romance Series

by M. P. Lodi

  Charlotte looked at Jacob. “Don't you think I know that? The Sarge has helped out my family big-time. Yours too.”

  Jacob looked slightly confused. He glanced at Joshua and asked, “Where's Em? Usually she's in here watching something.” He looked toward Charlotte. “Is Em sleeping again?”

  “She was, but isn't now.”

  Jacob started to get up. “I have to ask her something.”

  Charlotte said to him. “Wait. Take a seat, it's important.” She held her pointer finger up to Jacob, then stared at the microwave and counted down. 3-2-1. She opened the door, not letting the bell go off.

  She took the first cup out and put a package of Swiss Miss in it that she already had opened and waiting. She put another cup in and again set the microwave again.

  Jacob looked at her. “What was that about?”

  She looked at Joshua who smiled and explained, “She likes to turn the microwave off right before it goes off and hits done. She says it makes her feel like a bomb disposal agent with one second left to save everyone's life.”

  Jacob sat back down. “Charlotte dear, you are a little… off, shall we say.”

  She cocked her head to the right. “Who among us isn't?”

  “So... where's Em?” Jacob asked again.

  “OK guys, we have a problem. Listen up. She tried to leave, she freaked out after she saw the blood downstairs, that someone in this room…” She stared at Jacob. “… Didn't bother to clean up.”

  Joshua asked, “She left, and you let her?”

  “No way, you know me better than that. I have her cuffed and taped up in the basement.”

  Jacob and Joshua's eyes both widened. Jacob's mouth was wide open too. She said it so casually. Like, Hello and how is your day? I have Em all tied up in the basement.

  Jacob said, “Holy shit. The Sarge is gonna flip.”

  Charlotte looked at the microwave and stopped it again before the bell rang. She took out the cup, placed it on the counter and made another cup of Swiss Miss. She stirred it and walked it over to Joshua, who was still staring at her.

  “Don't look so surprised, I wasn't going to let her leave.”

  He said, “I should go check on her. Is her mouth duct-taped? You have to make sure she can breathe.”

  “She's fine. I already checked. I had to knock her out to stop her from screaming.”

  Jacob shook his head. “This just keeps getting better and better. It's gonna be a bad scene when the Sarge gets in.”

  “What was I supposed to do?”

  Joshua shook his head, then took his first sip of the hot chocolate.

  Caesar came into the room. “I can smell the hot chocolate from the bathroom. I love that smell. You got my cup?”

  “It's almost done now...another 8 seconds. 7, 6, 5...”

  Caesar went to sit down and looked at Joshua. “Why do you look so worried?”

  Charlotte removed the cup before the bell went off, made Caesar his cup and stirred it.

  “Ask Charlotte...” he nodded towards her as she walked over Caesar's cup.

  “Something tells me this is a good news bad news thing. Or did you kill someone again?” He looked at Charlotte dead in her eyes.

  “No... It's nothing like that.”

  “I remember that business seven months ago. You don't have to tell me how crazy you are.”

  Joshua asked, “What happened seven months ago?”

  “Nothing,” Charlotte said, while locking gazes with Caesar. Caesar’s eyes darted around. “Nothing. Just as the woman said.”

  Charlotte put another cup in the microwave and set it.

  Caesar took a sip, then another. He put the cup on the table and said “This is lovely, Charlotte. Did I ever tell you all that the chocolate made in Africa, it blows this shit away? There's something about the African soil that just makes the damned cocoa plant bring forth the best crop you can ever imagine.”

  Jacob shook his head. “Sure, Chekov.”

  “Don't get me started, medic.” Caesar smiled. It was all good fun between friends.

  Joshua bumped Caesar with his left elbow as he finished another sip of his drink. “Ask Charlotte where Emily is now. I bet you couldn't guess in a million years.”

  Caesar looked toward Charlotte and said, “Let me guess then. Chopped up in a suitcase under your bed, wrapped in plastic?”

  Jacob closed his eyes, then opened them as he shook his head. “Not a bad guess there, Chekov.”

  “Are you shitting me? You offed her, Spiderwoman? The Sarge is going to flip.”

  “I didn't off her. I had to knock her out and lock her up downstairs for our safety. And hers.”

  Caesar looked at Joshua and bumped him back with his right elbow. “That ain’t so bad.”

  Joshua said “We'll see how the Sarge takes it. No matter what, we'll have to go to the Bravo site here in the city. This is too unsafe if the Sarge decides to do what I'm betting he does. Emily doesn't fit in with us. This isn't the life for her. Waiting for the Sarge to fuck her at night isn't enough.”

  Charlotte took the cup out of the microwave, fixed the cup of hot chocolate and then walked over to Jacob, handing it to him.

  “Thank you.” he said.

  “You are very welcome.”

  She sat down on the loveseat next to Jacob, grabbed the remote off of the table and turned it on the live news on CNN. “Oh look, another story about us.”

  The headline over the news ticker read, “Noah Hood Strikes Again.”

  Noah

  It was just past 2350 by the time Noah and Mike arrived back at Pine Street. They played it safe, taking extra precautions after coming back from a few stops. One was an orphanage run, a quick stop at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church located on Pine Street near the safe house They also needed to stop off at a previously arranged drop-off to get needed intel from a friend.

  Back at the house, both Noah and Mike grabbed their bags and locked the car up. It was brutally cold outside, and there was almost an inch of snow on the ground.

  Noah took his right glove off so he could put his hand into his pocket to get the keys. The wind bit into his skin. Mike took hold of both his and Noah's black bags.

  Noah managed to get the lock undone after a few tries. The damn lock tended to stick in the cold, and you had to lift the door as you turned the key. It was almost like a secret way to get in. If you didn't know that, you couldn't open the door from the outside.

  As they both walked in, the wind howled down the staircase leading to the basement apartment.

  “It's about time,” Noah heard Charlotte say. Before Noah reached the bottom of the stairs, she met him in the hall. Mike locked the door and stared down the stairs.

  “Sarge, it’s important, we need to talk.” The way Charlotte said that made Noah's heart jump a little.

  He took his coat off. “Where's Em?”

  “That's what we need to talk about!” she exclaimed. Mike put his coat on the rack and walked towards the bathroom without saying anything.

  Charlotte nodded her head, indicating that Noah should follow her into the living room. The cold air followed him into the room.

  Noah looked at Joshua, who appeared as though he wanted to say something, then he glanced at Jacob and Caesar. Caesar pretended to be focused on the TV. Jacob's eyes almost bugged out of his head. Joshua bit his lip. No one was acting right.

  “OK guys, where's Em and what's going on?”

  Charlotte walked over to stand right in front of him. She took both of his hands in her own. “Damn you're cold.” She said

  “It's friggin freezing out there.” He said as he gripped her hands firmly. Not to be distracted, he insisted, “Just tell me, that's an order.”

  “Emily tried to leave after seeing blood downstairs. She freaked out and was going for the door,” Charlotte blurted out quickly.

  Noah looked right in her eyes.

  “And?” he asked.

  “I had to knock her out to stop he
r from screaming, and now I have her restrained in the basement, waiting for you to come back.”

  She dropped her eye contact, then looked at Joshua and Caesar for support.

  Caesar said, “I told you Sarge, the girl is iffy. She is the weak link in the chain. We need to talk about what we're going to do.”

  “She tried to leave? Without waiting for me? I'm going to talk to her. Don't worry about anything.” He couldn't believe Emily would freak out like that. Something was wrong with the story.

  Charlotte started to walk with him until he turned around. “Stop right there, I'll talk to her alone. You wait up here with the guys.”

  “OK, Sarge,” Charlotte said.

  Noah's heart was beating fast. He thought about Emily freaking out over the blood as badly as Charlotte said. And why did she go down there to begin with? What the fuck? They left her tied up in the basement? He opened the hidden door and walked down the steps. He hit the light switch and walked in.

  Emily was sitting in a chair with multiple pieces of duct tape over her mouth. She had been crying, and he ran to her.

  “What the fuck, Em?” All she could say in reply was “mmff.” Noah grabbed the edge of the first piece of tape and pulled it off. Then the next two. He knew he looked worried. He was actually sick to his stomach seeing her like this. He didn't know what he'd do if she was really hurt.

  After the last piece came off, she whimpered, “I want to leave. Please let me go. These handcuffs hurt.”

  He hugged her. “It's going to be OK.” Noah turned around and yelled upstairs, “Where are the keys for the cuffs?”

  Charlotte yelled down, “On the table by the drill.”

  “Noah... please, I can't do this anymore.” She was crying hard now, the tears were streaming down her cheeks.

  Noah found the key and moved behind the chair, un-cuffing her hands. Then he took a knife out of his pocket and started to cut the duct tape Charlotte had used to tape Emily to the chair.

  With her hands now free, Emily covered both of her eyes as she kept crying.

  Noah managed to get her free of the chair, and then picked her up into his arms. She draped her arms around his neck. “It's going to be alright, baby. I'm going to bring you upstairs to the bedroom where it’s warm. We'll talk there.”

  As he climbed the stairs, he yelled out, “It’s like 40 degrees down there, assholes.”

  There had been a hum in the living room and Noah was sure they were all talking about it. That hum went totally silent after he said that.

  He walked her into the bedroom, and closed the door. He gently placed her on the bed, and Emily immediately pulled the blanket out and got under it.

  He had never seen her so distressed. She was able to handle a hitman nearly killing them and their friends Jackson and Jen back in both New York as well as in Texas. She didn't break down then as much as Jen had, so why now? The stress had to be cumulative. He knew she wasn't sleeping well and was scared. He couldn't blame her at all. Being cooped up in this basement doesn't help much. She hadn’t had much of a life for weeks now.

  Noah crawled into bed with her, and got under the blanket. She was lying on her stomach. He moved to lay partially on top of her, placing his right leg over her body and his arm over her back as he whispered in her ear. “Are you OK? Tell me what's going on.”

  She didn't answer him. He massaged her back as he breathed into her neck. She had told him many times that she always loved when he breathed on her neck. He would do anything to make her feel better. His massage moved to her shoulders. She was all tense. Luckily he had a lot of experience making her feel good with his hands.

  They probably lay there for over ten minutes as he massaged her. She finally admitted, “I can't do this. I thought I could. I told you I could live homeless with you. But at least if we were homeless – poor and destitute – we could go places, breathe the air outside, maybe move to warmer climates.”

  She turned her head to face him. “I love you, but this isn't living. I feel like that frog you always talk about, the one in the boiling water. I'm dying here and have to get out.” She moved into a sitting position, her legs crossed under the blanket. The blanket was up to her neck. She wrapped it around herself.

  Noah's eyes were teary, and a few tears got away before he could wipe them. He sat up and then leaned in to kiss her on her forehead. She started crying hard again. Noah reached over behind him for a tissue box on the table next to the bed. He took out several and put them between the two of them. She took a few tissues for her eyes, then looked at her left wrist where the cuffs had left an impression of two bands all around it. That made her cry harder. She bunched up tissues in a ball in her hand as she wiped her eyes and face.

  Noah kissed her again, this time on her nose, then her cheek under her left eye. He caught a few tears that tasted salty.

  “Honey, why now? Why did you try to run out like that?” He looked into her eyes, watching the tears form and create small pools. She blinked and drops rolled down her cheeks in warm, steady streams. As she cleaned her right eye, Noah wiped under her left.

  “I was scared. I saw the blood on the floor, and I think had a panic attack. Jen used to have them often, especially when she was younger. I couldn't breathe, my chest felt heavy. At one point I felt like I couldn't take in enough air. I just had this need to run away. I had my chance and went for the door.”

  “Charlotte stopped you?” he asked.

  Emily wiped her eyes as the tears kept coming. “She kicked me in the head, knocking me out.” Noah grabbed her and hugged her, with her head over his left shoulder.

  She said “I woke up taped and cuffed to that chair. In the cold. I felt like she was going to kill me. I couldn't breathe very well through my nose, and with the tape... Noah I could have died.”

  He rubbed her back and held her close as she cried on his shoulder.

  She was the love of his life, but he realized then and there that she needed someone better than him. Someone who could give her a real life. Living on the run with Noah and his crew wasn't the kind of life that anyone could get used to.

  If this was another place or another time, they could be together. Noah knew he loved her beyond words and never wanted to see her hurt. For the sake of her happiness, he knew what had to be done.

  As she cried over his shoulder, he thought about life without his Emily. He couldn't stop his own tears from flowing. He hugged her, and held her, and drenched the blanket over her right shoulder. When she realized at one point that he was crying harder than she was, she tried to pull her head back to look at his face, only to feel his strong hand hold her head where it was... over his left shoulder.

  What else could he do? He wanted Emily to be happy, not having nightmares like she’d been having on and off over the last few weeks. Christmas was just a few days away, and seeing her a mess like this broke Noah's heart. He just couldn't have her live like this. Charlotte and his men were used to living in the shadows, away from the public eye. But Emily needed more. He understood this meant he may never see her again, but at least she would be safe. She could eventually go on with her life. Jackson and Jen would make sure she was kept out of jail. If they had to, they could keep her safe. Maybe get her a new ID. She could still have a long, happy life.

  The catch was that they would no longer have each other. Never in his life had Noah been saddened at such a thought. Women came and went in his fast 23 years. How could this one sexy lady have him so hooked? Thinking only about her own safety and well-being? He guessed that was love. Thinking of his partner's happiness more than he thought of his own. He knew he would give up his life if necessary to keep her safe and happy. There was one more thing to do before he could even try to turn his back on this, the greatest relationship and love he had ever had.

  After their crying subsided, Emily composed herself. She blew her nose and held Noah's right arm with both of hers. “Honey...I have a bad feeling that strings are being pulled, and not by you.”
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  He looked at her, curious about what she was thinking.

  She continued, “You told me months ago that one day soon the Federal government would try gun confiscations. And when they do, the country would erupt into civil war. You remember us talking about it all?”

  He nodded. “I do”

  “Well think about this, I was surfing the net and found actual studies done by the military as to whether a military coup could ever work. If you google ‘The origins of the American Military Coup of 2012’ you'll learn about a study done not that long ago on the topic. It was concluded that if the military ever tried an actual coup, whole units would fail to follow orders and the coup would relax. The higher-ups realized that there were some severe restrictions that needed to be overcome, conditions that needed to be met, before a coup would be accepted in the U.S.

  “Well guess what? The conditions have almost been achieved now. All that's missing is a US president that tries gun confiscations. Terrorist acts all over America would bring that about that final step. Then the military can step in to remove an anti-Constitution president and government. Just this past September a poll was conducted that indicated twenty-nine percent of the people would support a coup even now.

  “I think that's why the NSA is giving you info, appearing to support your actions and aid you in becoming a modern-day Robin Hood. The more you do, the more likely the response of the government increases. Your people are ready for war, and right now, tens of millions of Americans citizens would fight to defend the Constitution.

  “Are you seeing it yet? It's almost a set up. The Federal Reserve is running out of options in propping up a fake economy. That blog zerohedge.com tells it all. We're facing economic breakdown. So one way or another, the president and the Feds might try to take away Constitutional rights. It could be after a collapse of the US. dollar, or an attempt at gun confiscation, or terrorist acts all over the US. The possibilities are now on the table for all of these, either one at a time or in succession. Throw in another catalyst like Noah Hood, loved by the people for doing what no man wants to do, and this might just be the beginning of some American Caesar in the military right now.”