Escape to Heaven (Heaven on Earth Book 1) (7 page)

She forced herself to get out of bed and went through the motions of her morning routine. Although today wasn’t going to be a busy day at the office, she still wasn’t looking forward to dealing with people. She was tired and cranky and not in the mood for any bullshit.

*****

“I can’t stand that witch! Why won’t she just find another damn job? I’m so done dealing with her.” Adele stomped into her office and slammed the door. She didn’t really give a flying fuck who heard the noise because at this point. She was pissed. That backstabbing, lying, stupid ass Donna had done it again. Now Adele had to work with her on a project, and she knew Donna wouldn’t be able to perform and keep up with the other team members. This was
not
what she needed today. She pulled open her drawer and dropped two painkillers into her hand. A headache from hell was forming, and she needed to get rid of it quickly. It was only ten o’clock in the morning, and her day was quickly going downhill. Maybe she needed to just go home and climb back in bed.

The phone on her desk buzzed and her assistant announced a call. “Ms. Woolner, a Mr. Noah Braddock is on the line for you.”

“Thanks.”

She put on her wireless headset and punched the button to bring Noah on the line. Adjusting her tone so she didn’t sound as stressed as she felt, she greeted him with a tone that was a little too chipper. “Hey, Noah. What’s up?”

“Nothing really, just a little hectic at work today. What about you? No training session at the gym today?” Of course, he would ask about her working out. The man was relentless.

“No. Things are kind of crazy at work. I don’t think I’ll have the energy to go tonight.”

A slight pause followed on the line, and then he spoke again. “Hmmm. So, want to take me to lunch?” Noah seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to her. He always knew when she needed to talk or just to get away from it all.

“Hey! You called me, you know.”

“Come on. Take me to that little restaurant near your office. You know I love their steaks.”

She laughed. They all loved going to that restaurant. At least once a week, one of them called and asked her to treat them to lunch. Not that she ever did, since they would always end up paying for the meal. She knew it was their way of checking up on her and keeping their connection strong. “Okay, sure. I’ll see you at noon.”

“Okay, good. Then you can tell me all about those people at work who are making you so upset. Do I have to come there and fuck anyone up for you?”

Busted. Might as well give in. “I wish you could, but no. I need to handle this myself. Maybe I need a break, so lunch will be good.”

“Okay, but you know I don’t like to hear you sound like this. It doesn’t make me happy, Adele.”

“I know, Noah. Well, let me finish up some work and I’ll meet you at noon. Love you.”

“I love you too, Adele.”

When she clicked off with Noah, she realized she felt better. They always managed to cheer her up, even when they were in protective mode and hovering like mother hens. Although she’d never call them that to their faces, that was exactly what they were.

Her thoughts turned to the weird calls she had received over the weekend. She wasn’t sure if she should say anything at lunch, since she knew how Noah would react. She also knew it wasn’t good to keep something like that under wraps. Yeah, sure, it could be nothing, but she just wasn’t the type to ignore her gut when things were odd. Someone had made weird phone calls to her home in the middle of the night and she had no idea why. Something just didn’t sit right, so yeah, she was telling Noah. Shit, her momma didn’t raise no fool, and while she might be crazy, she wasn’t stupid.

She gave a long sigh and looked over at the clock. The minute hand seemed not to have moved at all. Only ten minutes after ten? Shit, two more hours until she could break for lunch. It was going to be a long day.

Chapter Six

“Well, hell. I didn’t expect all of you to show up tonight and badger me.”

“Don’t give us that bull, Adele.” Daniel stood up and paced her living room, his hands curled in fists by his side.

“Well, it was just some crazy phone calls. I just wanted Noah to know what was going on, in case it was something more serious.” The room became quiet and Adele knew they were looking at her. This was the closest she had ever come to discussing her past with them.

Ethan spoke up next. “Something serious like what, Adele?”

Her head dropped and she sighed deeply, gathering her courage. She knew this was it. The moment of truth. She had never spoken to anyone about her experience with Joey, but those phone calls had freaked her out. Hiding was no longer an option, and while it still filled her with shame and embarrassment to admit what had happened to her, she was no longer afraid to say the words.

She raised her eyes to the five wonderful men surrounding her and knew she had nothing to worry about. While she was strong enough to protect herself, she was damn happy she had these men on her side. No one would be stupid enough to fuck with them, and if they were…well, it was their funeral.

She stood up and walked to the front of the room so she could look at each of them. In broken words with a bunch of stops and starts, Adele told them of her history with Joey and how she’d ended up in Virginia. During her story, there were a lot of whispered “motherfuckers” and “I’ll kill that son of a bitch” coming from the men in the room, but no one interrupted or asked her to stop. When she finished, Ethan got up from the couch, walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her so tightly, she almost lost her breath.

“Never again, Adele. Do you hear me? Never again will a man put his hands on you. I’ll kill him. I swear it. I’ll fucking kill him.” The agony she heard in his voice was heartbreaking, and she knew Ethan had been impacted by her story in a way that none of the others had. She wondered if she would ever really know what life experiences had made him the man he was today.

“I know, Ethan.” She knew she was surrounded by love and was secure and safe with these five men in her life. Closing her eyes for a minute, she sent a prayer up to God, thanking him for sending her such loyal protectors.

Ethan broke away and walked into the kitchen without looking at anyone in the room. His body was tense and she knew he was extremely angry. She made to walk after him, but Tyler shook his head. Ethan had his own demons to work through, and he needed to be alone right now. She knew that and would respect his need for space until he was ready to share. If that ever happened.

“Why didn’t you ever tell us, Adele?” This from Daniel, the one who always tried to play peacemaker.

“I didn’t want to bother you guys. When I came here I needed to be on my own for a bit. I needed to be strong without a man helping me. Although you guys were always around, I had to do it on my own. I know you understand that. I’m stronger now and I can deal with almost anything.” She sat down heavily on the chair next to Tyler. “I’ll never let myself get into another situation like that. I only told you guys because I felt it was time you knew.”

Noah heaved a sigh and stood up. “Tony, reach out to your friends at Quantico. See what we can find out about this guy Joey.” He turned to Adele. “Next time you get one of those calls, you call one of us immediately. No arguing. We’re going to do some digging around, including this guy Joey, and see what we can find out. I want to make sure that sorry son of a bitch isn’t the one doing this.” He ran his hand down his face, the stress and frustration evident in his features. “I know you can take care of yourself if he comes around, but let us do this for you. We still need to take care of some things, and this is one of them. Just give me a few days to check on some things.”

Tyler broke in and addressed Adele, “Are you going to be around the house for the next few days?”

Hesitating, she looked around the room. Feeling better about the situation now that she had shared her history, she wasn’t concerned—much—about the outburst that was sure to take place at her next words. “Yes, for the most part. I—I have a date with Stefano on Wednesday.” She knew the shit was about to hit the fan now.

“Oh hell no you don’t!” Ethan must have been fully recovered, because he was back in the room and his disposition was as sunny as ever.

“Yes I do, Ethan! He asked me out and I’m going.”

“Dammit, Adele, this isn’t funny. How do you know it isn’t him making these calls to you? He may be some psycho who latched on to you, for all we know.”

She laughed. She didn’t mean to, but the looks on their faces—all of them except Noah—were hilarious. They looked as if they’d just swallowed some nasty-tasting medicine.

“Adele, this isn’t a joke. What do we really know about him?”

“I know it’s not funny and that’s not what I’m laughing about. I’m sorry. Listen, I like him and I’m going on this date. Whether you guys like it or not, it’s about time I tried to move forward. You can’t stop me, Ethan.”

“Just watch me! I’ll lock you in the house.” He was yelling by the time he finished. She stood toe to toe with him, not backing down one bit.

“You may be big, Ethan, but I swear I’ll kick your ass,” she yelled back at him. “I didn’t tell you this so you could make me a prisoner in my own home. I just wanted you to know what was going on.” Adele could feel her eyes well with tears, and she prayed they would not fall. Crying was not an option. She could not—would not—show weakness right now.

“Adele, don’t fight me on this. I will do whatever it takes to protect you, even from yourself. We don’t know this guy Stefano,” he sneered. He turned to Daniel and spoke again. “While you’re checking out Joey, why don’t you run the stats on this guy Stefano? I want to make sure we have the full skinny on him as well.”

“Come on, Ethan. We’re going to be in a public place for dinner. Do you think I’m stupid enough to make another bad decision?” She turned to Tony, who had been quietly observing the entire exchange. “Tony, help me out here. You know I can’t hide out and stop living my life because of this. If it is Joey, we’re already prepared for that possibility. If it’s not, hiding out isn’t going to make whoever it is go away.” She turned back to Ethan. “If you want to protect me, fine, but I won’t hide. I want my life back.”

He attempted to stare her down and make her back off, but she just gave it to him right back. It was time for her to stand on her own two feet. Sure, they had protected her when she needed it, but now it was time they realized she could hold her own. The woman they’d known before was dead and buried, and they had better get used to it. She noticed Ethan glance over in Noah’s direction and saw some of the tension release from his body. She wasn’t sure what type of communication had just passed between them, but she was happy for it nonetheless.

“When did you stop needing us, Adele?” He whispered his question so low that she almost missed it. The agony in his voice brought tears to her eyes, and her love for her family grew even stronger.

She was speechless and taken aback by his comment. That wasn’t the situation at all, and she never wanted them to think she didn’t need them, because she did. She would always need them. She loved them and no matter what happened, they were hers and she wasn’t giving them back. She placed her hand on his arm.

“Ethan, I will always need you. Never doubt that. I’m just ready to move on and start living again. I like Stefano, and I want to get to know him and he wants to get to know me. You can check him out if you want—I won’t complain. But if he checks out okay, then you have to back off and let me enjoy myself. I’ll even let you know where I’ll be on Wednesday. Stefano already knows I was going to tell you. Okay? Agreed?”

He mumbled something under his breath, but finally gave her the answer she needed. “Fine, agreed.”

She turned to the other four, knowing they wouldn’t be as difficult to deal with as Ethan was. Capturing them all in her gaze, she repeated her demand. “That means all of you. I want your agreement.” She laughed under her breath at the dejected look that came over their faces. They were all acting as if their favorite toy had been taken away. “Noah, make them agree.”

Tony was first to answer. “Agreed, Adele, but if anything looks shady, you no longer have a say in how we handle it.”

Daniel was next. “And if this Stefano guy doesn’t come correct, he’ll regret ever meeting you. He won’t even see it coming.”

“Daniel, did you just threaten to—”

Tyler piggybacked on that. “Yes, he did, and don’t you forget it. You’re family, Adele, and we protect what belongs to us. Make no mistake about it. We’ll back off, but we won’t be far. First we need to find out who’s making these calls to you, and then we’ll deal with your burgeoning love life.” He said this as if swallowing nasty cold medicine. They were amazing—crazy—but amazing.

Noah walked to her and turned her around to face him. “Tony will be sleeping in the spare bedroom for tonight, and we’ll rotate with one of us being here at all times until this is over.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” she said under her breath with a tone full of piss and vinegar, but she couldn’t help but feel a little comforted that one of them would be at the house, just in case.

“Don’t look at us as babysitters, because that’s not what it is. Consider it your own private security detail.” He paused as he lifted her chin so that she could look at him. “I will not be moved on this, Adele.”

“Yeah, I love you guys too.” Her sarcasm was not lost on any of them, but they chose to ignore it.

“We know you do. Now, what are you going to feed us tonight? We’re hungry.”

*****

Two nights later, Adele was dressed in a royal blue shirt and a knee-length black skirt for her first real date in years. Hair in an up-do with curly tendrils strategically cascading down her neck, she knew she looked sexy as hell. She never wore stockings, so her bare legs were smooth and well moisturized. To finish off the outfit, she wore three-inch black heels with peek-a-boo toe openings. He wouldn’t be able to resist her, and that was exactly what she had in mind.

Tony was on babysitting duty tonight, but he wasn’t due to come over until later. Thankful that he wouldn’t be there to witness Stefano picking her up for their date, she gave one last look at her appearance in the mirror before turning away. Stefano would be arriving soon to pick her up for their dinner, and the butterflies were kicking off a serious house party in her stomach.

Yesterday afternoon, she had heard from Tony that Stefano was exactly who he said he was. Not one blemish or questionable indiscretion was listed on his record. Although she would never admit it, she was glad they had checked him out. Now she could relax and enjoy her evening out.

She walked into the living room just as she heard the front doorbell chime. Suddenly her palms became sweaty and her heartbeat increased. Never before had she been so excited about seeing a man, but this was different. This was Stefano. She had thought of him constantly at work during the past couple of days. She was always wondering what he was doing, was he thinking of her as well, and if she should call.

At least once an hour, she picked up the phone, prepared to call him and just say hello. After only a couple of days, she was starting to crave him, and the thought of hearing his voice made her all warm inside. He had called her each night after the cookout and they had talked everything and nothing all at the same time. It was as if he wanted her to get to know the person he was without the distraction of being in his presence. He had no idea how much she appreciated what he was doing. She had never been wooed before, but she had a feeling that was exactly what he was doing.

After their long telephone discussions, she now knew his reasons for accepting an officer commission in the Marines right after graduating college, instead of choosing to sit behind a desk. He explained his feelings of responsibility for his troops in the field and how he had made a vow to bring each and every one of them home. Which he always did. They talked about his family and how much his mother, father, and brother meant to him.

In turn, she told him about growing up in New Bern, North Carolina, a small town about thirty miles south of a Marine Corps air station. She talked—in general terms—about her move to Virginia, but she didn’t go into the real reasons for the abrupt move. She presented it as a decision she had made in order to give her a change in perspective and progress her career. The true reason for her move would have to come another time, if they ever progressed to that point in their relationship. They talked about her job and how she wished Donna would just leave and find another job in a different state, somewhere far, far away.

Their conversations would usually become quite heated and steamy toward the end of the call. While he didn’t say anything overt that would make her uncomfortable or push her too fast, he made it known he wanted her. Very much. The sexy, bedroom tone of his voice when he whispered that he couldn’t wait to see her and hold her in his arms was her undoing every time.

Whenever they spoke on the phone, his husky voice would cause her core to pulse with need. The increasing desire she felt for him skyrocketed each time they spoke, and she could sense her body responding to him more each day. She tried to understand how he could make her feel this way, respond to him so strongly, in such a short time. Interestingly enough, it all came from his voice and the sensual way he spoke to her. Admittedly, the anticipation of being with him was killing her, but she knew things had to move slowly.