Page 90 of Aria

“Of course.” Noah nodded quickly, his worried eyes never leaving me. Heaving in a rickety breath, he murmured, “Jesus… come in.”

“Very well. Here’s my card, Miss. Please don’t hesitate to contact me.” The officer gave us a friendly nod and headed back to his patrol car.

I grazed the card between my thumb and finger before glancing up at Noah, who was still staring at me, his irises glimmering with concern beneath the porch light. Swallowing, he broke our gaze and opened the door wider to allow me inside.

I was about to speak when I noticed Beth sitting on the couch, gaping at me with wide eyes.

“Chelsie, what happened?”

Frowning, I swallowed back a sudden lump in my throat. I hadn’t expected Noah to have company… let alone,her. “I’m really sorry… I can go. I’ll call myself a ride.”

“Nonsense.” Beth stood, reaching for her cardigan and purse. “I’ll go. I should relieve the babysitter, anyway.”

I watched as Beth offered me a sympathetic smile, then inched up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on Noah’s cheek. “Call me tomorrow,” she told him.

Then she was gone.

The door clicked shut as Noah turned to face me, our eyes meeting in a powerful hold.

While we stared at each other in silence, I recalled everything I’d felt when I thought I was going to die.

Through the horror and fear, I had seen… him.

Noah.

It washisface that had flickered through my mind in what I’d thought might have been my final moments alive. It washewho I pictured breaking down the door and coming to my rescue like my very own knight in shining armor. It wasn’t my mother or father. It wasn’t Devon.

It was Noah.

Why?

“Ian,” I finally said in a croaked whisper, answering Noah’s unspoken question. I hated saying his name; it tasted like kerosene and ash. Reaching for the scarf wrapped around my neck, I tugged it loose, letting it flutter to my feet.

Noah’s eyes landed on the deep bruises already coloring my throat. I watched his jaw clench, the muscles in his face twitching. “He did that to you?”

I nodded. “He was waiting for me in the condo when I went over to pack. I managed to break free just long enough to grab your gun.”

He stepped toward me, his features taut with something frightening as he reached out to cup my face. “Did he rape you?”

A gasp escaped when he lovingly cradled my jaw between his palms. His touch prompted a flurry of goosebumps to dance up and down my skin. I closed my eyes, finally feeling…safe. “No,” I said softly. “He tried.”

“Fuck.” Noah tugged me to his chest and wrapped his arms around me in a fierce hug. His heartbeat vibrated into me, giving me comfort.

I was breaking again, the tears biting at my eyelids, begging to be set free. “I thought of you,” I confessed. My words were barely audible with my lips pressed up against his t-shirt. His hand tangled in my hair, drawing me even closer. “I thought of you when he was choking me—when I thought I was going to die, and I… I don’t know why, Noah.”

I felt his heart rate speed up when my confession registered, so I inched back to look at him. I needed to see him.

I needed to know what he was thinking.

* * *

Noah

She was peering up at me so intensely, it made my stomach flutter. Chelsie had thought ofmewhen she thought her life was ending?

It was… profound.

Now she was begging me with her peridot eyes to tell her what that meant. But it wasn’t the time for that because she was almost murdered.

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