Noah (7 Brides for 7 Soldiers Book 6)(36)

"I know I'm not supposed to eavesdrop, right?" she asked hesitantly.

His stomach tightened, wondering what she might have heard. "Right. Did you hear something you maybe shouldn't have?"         

     



 

"I think so."

Well, hell. "Recently?"

She nodded.

Ugh. This wasn't what he wanted to talk about. "With Teagan?"

Bella nodded again.

"Okay." Noah ran his hand into his hair, for the first time appreciating  that it had gotten long enough that he could tear it out. Had Bella  heard him in bed with Teagan? "So … "

Nothing came to him. He didn't want to say too much, or not enough.  Maybe he should call Teagan and ask what do. He hadn't gone anywhere  near that section of the parenting blogs because he figured he had  years. Or maybe not.

"When two people love each other … " Noah pinched the bridge of his nose, positive that he was going to break into hives.

"I know you love her," Bella interrupted. "But she sounded like she was screaming."

His face flamed. "Yeah." Noah inhaled and sent up a prayer for strength. "About that. When two people think something is …  fun-"

Bella's face pinched. "Maybe you should eavesdrop. I'm not sure that we're communicating."

His eyebrow crooked. "I'm sorry?"

"Will FaceTimed you, and I answered. I'm sorry. But we eavesdropped. And Teagan is shouting."

Noah's brow furrowed. "Now?"

She nodded.

Unease hyperfocused his attention. "Where's the phone, bug?"

Bella scurried into the hall and came back in with his cell phone  wrapped in a pink blanket, tucked into a baby carrier. Noah grabbed it,  searching Will's bored face. "Hey, buddy."

"Hi, Noah!"

"What's going on?" He kept his voice calm even as his heartbeat jackhammered.

"These guys are here, and I'm not allowed to leave my room." He leaned  close to the phone, his eyes big, as if he was surprised and concerned.  "And Mom is shouting."

"At who-"

"The battery is about to die-"

FaceTime showed the call ended, and panic like Noah had never known seized him. "Come on, Bella. Let's go."





CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE



At the bottom of the stairs, Noah lifted Bella as he had when she was a  toddler and put her on his hip. He bolted across their yard and hopped  the small fence to the closest neighbor, the 9-1-1-calling Mrs. Eller,  and rang the doorbell. No answer.

Noah growled under his breath. She was home. Her car was there, and he'd  spied her peeking out her window several times that day. Noah banged on  the door twice. Come on, come on. "Mrs. Eller."

Finally he heard the shuffle of footsteps on the other side and the  click of a dead bolt unlocking. Such simple sounds made his insides  celebrate as her door inched open and a middle-aged woman peered out.

No doubt, he was intimidating to look at, especially when he knew that  she'd called 9-1-1 on him for burning dinner and started the Eagle's  Ridge grapevine extravaganza on his first day back in town.

"Hello, Mrs. Eller," Bella said with more manners than Noah could muster.

Mrs. Eller inched the door wider with a somewhat embarrassed face.

Maybe one day they would have a discussion about not calling 9-1-1 on  neighbors when it wasn't needed. But that wasn't today. "I need you to  watch Bella. It's important."

"An emergency," Bella added.

Noah cringed, not wanting this lady to involve the authorities before he figured out what was going on.

Suddenly more interested, Mrs. Eller shot an interested look at Noah. "Really?"

"Hang tight on this one. Please. You can call the cops if you don't hear back from me in thirty minutes."

"Why thirty minutes if it's an emergency now?"

"Because I don't know that it's an emergency now."

"I do," Bella shared.

Noah gritted his teeth but put on his most earnest, trustworthy face. "I'd like to check it out first."

"Hmm."

"Do you have Teagan Shaw's phone number?" Because everyone seemed to have Teagan's phone number for their crisis du jour.

"Well, yes," the woman mumbled.

"Lainey told me I could trust you. That if I ever needed a trusted,  helping hand, you could be a go-to." He gave her an earnest look.  "Thirty minutes. If you can't get ahold of Teagan, call the cops."

"Okay," she agreed, taking Bella by the hand and inside.

With Bella safely deposited with the person who would call for help at  likely the twenty-nine-minute mark, Noah sprinted back toward his house,  jumped over the fence, and rushed inside.

He moved toward his gun safe and loaded up. By the time his keys hit the  ignition in his truck, he was able to take on a small enemy unit. He  had a Glock tucked in his waistband for easy access and a shotgun  resting on the passenger seat.         

     



 

He drove safe, but he hauled ass, skipping every light and sign that  told him to slow down or stop. When Noah hit Teagan's street, he parked  two houses away.

Noah passed the front door, stepped into the bushes, and crept against  the cedar plank wall. He peeked inside a window and saw nothing then  dropped to a crouch before hustling around the side of her home.

Safely out of view of windows and the street, he stood and moved toward  the backyard, pausing long enough to see a fresh pile of cigarette  butts. But this time, there were white ones mixed with brown-tipped  butts too.

Two people he didn't know were prowling around, likely inside.

He angled for a look into another window, seeing the living room-and two  men with Teagan. Her head faced the floor as though she were  distraught, but her fists were balled into a tight, angry knot.

One man was twice the width of the other, and the slighter one stood to  her side talking. The larger man lifted his arms and smashed into the  wall.

What the …

Noah didn't know if it was a hatchet or a large knife, but they ripped a gaping hole then sliced down. Like her insulated shed.

Teagan's hallways were made of cedar plank with some accent areas  covered in decorative stone. But her upstairs and downstairs living  spaces were framed only by the wood.

The man in front of the wall methodically tore apart her drywall. What were they looking for?

The man next to her put an arm on her shoulder, patting her as though to  offer comfort, and Noah saw red-until Teagan backed up and swung.

His pulse froze. As much as he wanted to holler hell yeah, there was no  telling who they were or how they would react. But neither man flinched.

Noah crept toward the back door and found the white cigarette butts  again. But they had been stubbed out a different way. He dropped to his  knees and stared. Shit, three people?

Was that her ex-husband? The man who'd tried to touch her? The one who  went on expeditions and wouldn't let her sell the house without telling  him, who wanted to stop by a few weeks ago but didn't care about seeing  his own child …

Her ex-husband wasn't a treasure hunter. He sounded more like a drug runner who was searching for an old stash.

Now this was a different game entirely. Noah wasn't going in ground  floor; he was going in from the top down to see what was going on.

Stealthily, he crept back and surveyed the best way to get to the second  floor. Not many options. A gutter and the latticework were the best  chance he had, but they wouldn't be able to hold his weight for long. He  had to move fast. If a neighbor saw him and called the cops, this could  go wrong in a split second if those were drug runners.

How to do this? As long as he used the stonework and the wood planking,  he could reach Teagan's bedroom with his arm span. Hopefully.

Noah paced back then sprinted toward the house. He rocketed up with one  powerful step, hooking his hand on the blue-faded copper drainpipe. He  threw his weight toward the edge of the cedar windowsill, and his left  hand caught the edge by the tips of his fingers.

Ugh. Noah stretched, breathing hard, and growled as he dropped his right  arm, sliding roughly against the exterior wood. His back was against  the wall.

"Not my best." Noah grunted, twisting his body until he faced the house.

He took a breath and pressed up to his elbows. Quickly he looked into  the room, ducked down, then lofted up again. No one was visible. Noah  tore through the window screen, tossed it behind him, then took another  deep breath.

The wood edge strained his forearms as sweat beaded at his neckline. He  lifted up again, praying that Teagan had left her windows unlatched. No  dice. And he had to wait.

Noah listened. Nothing but silence.

Those men were here for a reason. They had stripped her shed and, from  the quick glance inside her bedroom, had done the same thing upstairs.  They were working their way downstairs. Sooner or later, they'd start  ripping the place up again. All Noah needed was patience and for the  wood edge to remain in place.

Another round of banging began. Noah catapulted on one arm, slammed his  elbow into the window by the lock, then ducked his hand through before  unlatching it.