Protector of Novah (Valor Knights Book 1) Read online

  This didn’t answer any of her questions about the woman they were carrying and what they wanted from her. One of the men had said “by morning she’ll be a distant memory”. That could only mean one thing.

  Standing at the end of the corridor in the shadows, she heard one of them say, “Stop being so noisy.”

  The other man grunted, “Why don’t you try carrying her up a flight of stairs, dickwad.”

  “She probably weighs a hundred pounds soaking’ wet. Are you telling me a linebacker like you can’t handle her?”

  “Fuck you.”

  “She’s pretty though, ain’t she?” the first man said.

  “Keep your slimy hands off, shithead. Boss will hang you by your balls.”

  “Let’s put her in the room and then go grab a sandwich. That’ll buy us some time to see if she’s going to wake up.”

  “She’ll wake up, just in time. I only gave her a mild sedative that wouldn’t hurt a baby.”

  The other man snorted. “That’s pretty fitting considering—”

  “Shut up. Don’t even speak the words.”

  A door opened then closed with a boom.

  “What the hell don’t you understand about being quiet?” one of them said as they strolled into the hallway.

  “I’m not taking the stairs. I’m sweating like a pig racing for his last supper. Let’s take the elevator. I’m getting too old for this shit.”

  “You can’t handle a flight of stairs? You are old, bro.”

  Pressing against the wall, Novah felt a sense of relief that the men would take the elevator at the other end of the hallway. She was safe hidden in the shadows.

  The elevator whirred and the men were gone…for now.

  Novah’s hands were shaking as she hurried down the hall toward the room where they’d left the woman.

  But what could Novah do with a woman who was passed out? She couldn’t carry her.

  Egan would know what to do.

  Reaching for her phone, her pocket was empty. She realized she’d left it in her room. She had no way of calling him, or anyone for that matter. The men were going to come back soon. Then what? Maybe she could go find one of the security team, but who could she trust?

  Novah couldn’t leave the woman.

  An image of Finley came to her mind. What if it was her daughter in the room, unsafe and under the influence of something?

  There were so many questions and Novah felt like she was pressured to help in some way.

  Tiptoeing down the quiet hall, she kept looking over her shoulder, fearing someone would sneak behind her.

  At the closed door, she darted a quick glance up and down the hall then stepped inside, closing the door softly behind her.

  The lamp sitting on the nightstand was turned on and the dim yellow light cast a soft glow on the sleeping woman. She was sprawled out over the large bed as if the man had given her a toss and left her the way she landed. Her skirt was hiked up high on her bottom and her long, thick hair was spread out over her face and the pillow.

  Novah could hear Egan now, “Don’t do this! Come get me and let me handle it!”

  But she couldn’t do that. Going anywhere wasn’t an option.

  Approaching the side of the bed, she shook the sleeping woman’s shoulder. “Hello?”

  She wasn’t responding but Novah could see the soft rise and fall of her chest.

  “Wake up! You need to wake up!”

  Finally, a murmured, inaudible word came from her, but she wasn’t opening her eyes.

  Stepping into the adjoining bathroom, Novah hurried to grab the hand towel from the rack and poured cold water on it. She didn’t bother wringing out the excess wetness before rushing back in the outer room to aid the woman.

  Pushing the hair off the woman’s face, Novah gasped. She had visited Mr. Langley recently. What was her name? Lola? Lilah? No, it was Lindsay…

  “Lindsay? Wake up.” She pressed the cold towel against the woman’s cheek.

  Her eyes fluttered underneath her closed lids and a faint moan gurgled up in her throat.

  “Hello?” Novah whispered. “You need to wake up. You’re in danger.” She continued to rub Lindsay’s skin with the towel.

  One eye finally flicked open. Fear filled her expression. She jumped up and like a cornered animal she huddled against the headboard. Her wide-eyed stare tore through Novah.

  “You’re Lindsay.”

  “W-who are you? Wh-what do you want from me? Where am I?”

  “I’m Novah. You’re at Lake Jade. I didn’t bring you here. Two men did. I don’t know why you’re here but I’m going to help. Do you remember what happened?” Although they had little time, Novah didn’t want to alarm the woman any more than she already seemed to be.

  “I-I don’t know. I-I…A man…he …then this…” She gave a frantic look around the room.

  “Can you walk? The men who brought you here will be back any time. We need to get out of here.”

  “I don’t know. I think I can walk. I think they want to kill me.”

  Novah’s throat constricted because she agreed. “We need to go.” The seriousness of the situation seemed to become more daunting by the second. “Come on.” She tossed the towel onto the floor and reached out her hand.

  Lindsay was thin with long hair and an intricate tattoo around her arm. She was pretty, although the fear drained her complexion. The shirt she wore hung low on her chest. The material was stretched out as if someone had clutched it.

  “How can I trust you?” Lindsay said after she was off the bed.

  “You can trust me. Why would they want to kill you?” They were to the door now and Novah opened it to peek out.

  “I-I…can’t say.”

  Novah didn’t have time to dissect Lindsay’s words. “It’ll be okay. Listen to me, I don’t know your situation or how you got here but right now we need to concentrate on one thing and that is getting you out of this house and to safety. I know it must be hard to trust me, or anyone, after what happened, but I promise you, we’re in this together now. I need you to trust me long enough so that we can get out before those men come back. Okay?”

  “They gave me something. A drug. I feel loopy.”

  “Let’s get out of here.” Novah reached for her hand and together they took a step across the threshold, but the dinging of the elevator as it came to a stop on the second floor made them step back inside. There was no way of getting down the hall without the men seeing them and Lindsay couldn’t run. “They’re coming back. They’re close.”

  Lindsay squeezed Novah’s hand tight. “We’re dead!”

  “Not if I can help it,” she whispered, closed the door, then looked around the room. “I have an idea. Find something heavy. Fast.” As Novah grabbed a porcelain statue she noticed that Lindsay was moving sluggishly. She stood in the center of the room as if she couldn’t wrap her brain around what she needed to do. Novah slipped the statue into Lindsay’s arms and said, “I need your help. There are two of them. The only hope we have is to catch them off guard and hit them over the head as hard as we can, even if only to disable them long enough to get out of this room.”

  With no time to waste, Novah grabbed the poker from the fireplace, turned off the lamp, and dragged Lindsay with her to stand against the wall.

  Leaning in close, Novah whispered, “Stay with me. We can do this. Just as soon as they both cross the doorway, we hit them. Got it?” Fear rushed through her because she knew Lindsay was still under the influence of whatever drug, let alone they were about to take on two brawny, dangerous men. What choice did they have? Hiding only meant they’d lose the element of surprise and that was their only leverage now.

  Novah’s hands became slick with sweat as she heard footsteps right outside the door then she heard them laughing. She tightened her grip on the poker and inhaled deeply.

  The knob jiggled and the blond man stepped into the room first and he was so busy talking about racing cars that he paid no attention
to the fact that the light was now off.

  “What the fuck—” the second man muttered.

  Novah lifted the poker high and brought it down on the first man’s head and luckily knocked him out cold. Lindsay had dropped the statue and started to run across the room, but the second man caught her by her hair and jerked her back. She fell and screamed. Novah came up behind the man and brought the poker high in the air once more. He’d shifted so she missed hitting him over the head and instead the poker landed on his wide shoulder. The contact didn’t seem to faze him, but instead made him turn his furious attention on Novah. He caught the poker in his strong grasp and she was no match against his strength. With a jerk, he sent the poker flying from her hands.

  “What are you doing in here?” He forced through his tight lips.

  Novah said the first thing that popped into her head. “I got lost and thought this was my room.”

  One corner of his thin lips lifted. “Shitty luck.”

  She took a step back, but he was quick for a man his size. He caught her, wrapped his hand around her neck and squeezed. She couldn’t breathe but she fought against him. Flinging her arms trying to make contact with him in some way. Her nails nicked his cheek but again, he was unfazed. She kicked at him but it was useless as she felt her chest tighten. Stars blurred her vision. Her limbs were going numb. She thought her life would be over but suddenly she was dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Coughing and sputtering, she sucked air into her parched lungs. It took her a minute to recover. Lindsay had struck the man over the head with the poker and he was now lying flat on his back now, blood pouring from the gash on his balding head.

  “Oh no.” Lindsay trembled. “I think I killed him.”

  Novah forced herself to her shaking feet, feeling woozy, but each second counted. “Better him than one of us. Let’s go.”

  They raced for the hallway, frantically glancing through the shadows.

  “Where are we going?” Lindsay cried.

  “We need to make it to my room. I can get my phone and call Egan.” Then it struck Novah that they would be seen on the cameras. They would be ambushed within seconds. The only thing the women had on their side was time. And not much of it…

  “Listen, the men don’t know I’m with you, not yet. If they catch us, we’re both done for. Our only chance of making it out of this is for us to split up.”

  Lindsay’s eyes widened. Her bottom lip trembled. “No. We can’t do that.”

  “It’s okay. I’m going to get my phone from my room on the third floor. You’re still too weak to make it far.”

  “I can’t stay here. Not near them.”

  Tears rolled down Lindsay’s cheeks.

  Novah squeezed her shoulders. “I promise I’ll come back and get you. I need you to be brave. At the bottom of the stairs there’s a door to the gym. You need to hide there and don’t make a sound.”

  “Okay.”

  Once they made it to the gym, Novah reminded Lindsay, “Remember, stay in there, hidden. I’ll be back.”

  She ducked into the dark room and Novah scurried back upstairs to the third floor, taking a deep breath before walking into the hall, subtly looking at the cameras situated on each end of the corridor.

  She’d almost made it to her room when one of the security team, John, rounded the corner. When he saw her, he slowed his pace.

  “Hi, John.”

  “Ms. Coffman, were you working this late?”

  She pretended a yawn. “Yes I was. This campaign is a total mess. I was working and had fallen asleep at the pool.”

  He hesitated then his smile returned. “Have a goodnight, ma’am.” He continued his way.

  She made it to her room, closed the door and finally breathed. She hurried over and grabbed her phone, calling Egan.

  One ring.

  Two rings.

  Three rings, and she hung up. He must have turned off his ringer.

  Tapping into the keyboard, she wrote…

  “911. Please come to my room.” She dropped the phone into her purse and quickly undressed. She grabbed the first items she came to from her overnight case and raced to pull on the T-shirt and jeans, then socks and tennis shoes.

  She checked her phone and still no Egan.

  A sour taste came up her throat.

  She’d have to do this on her own…

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  EXHAUSTED, EGAN HAD fallen asleep only to wake up minutes later to the vibration of his phone sitting on the pillow next to his head. Reaching for it, he read the message and jumped up, finishing up reading as he was already dragging on his clothes and boots. Grabbing his loaded gun from the drawer of the nightstand and his radio, he left his room.

  Novah was in trouble.

  His radio buzzed. “Egan?” It was Pao.

  “Here.”

  “Something’s happening. It’s hush hush. I don’t see any security.”

  “Stand by.” Egan started jogging toward the main house, unsure of what was going down, but it wasn’t good.

  By the time he knocked on Novah’s door, his heart was pounding hard against his ribs and his shirt was soaked with sweat.

  “What the hell, Novah. What’s going on?” he said once she opened the door.

  Without a word, she reached out, clutched the material of his shirt in her hand and dragged him across the threshold. Then she shut the door.

  A frown dipped the corners of her mouth and fear crawled into her eyes. “What’s wrong? I got word something’s happening on the property.”

  “We don’t have much time. They’re onto us.” Her lips twisted. “Something terrible has happened. It’s hard to explain.”

  Crossing his arms over his chest, Egan stared, giving her some space because apparently whatever happened had stunned her into silence which didn’t happen often. If Langley touched her again Egan would bring down the Wrath of God on the bastard.

  “On my way back to the house I saw two men.” There was a noticeable quiver in her voice. “One was carrying a woman, she was drugged, and they left her in a room on the second floor. Her name is Lindsay.” She wrung her hands together anxiously. “I don’t have time to explain everything. She’s in danger and I had to leave her because I needed to get you,” she said on one exhale of breath.

  He remained silent, absorbing her words as his chest tightened.

  “If they catch her, I think they’ll do something bad to her. I think they’ll kill her. I don’t know the entire story myself, but she’s scared.”

  Blinking, Egan tried wrapping his head around what the hell was going on. “Where is she? Is she here?” He glanced around the room.

  “No. She’s hiding in the gym. I went into the room and helped her but before we could get out the men came back, and we hit them over the head. Then I was choked. Time is wasting here.”

  “You were choked?” He covered the space in three strides. He looked at her neck and wondered how he’d missed the red splotches blooming against the slender column of her neck. “Who the fuck did this?”

  “I don’t know. They’re still in the room, or maybe they’re not. They could be anywhere by now. I’d say they alerted the security team.”

  He drove a hand over his hair. “Trust me, they know by now.” That’s why they were gathering to come up with a plan for lockdown.

  “I couldn’t bring her with me because of the cameras. It would have been too suspicious. It was the only place I could think to hide her. If we don’t hurry, they’ll find her eventually.” He could see the unshed tears in her eyes.

  The seriousness in her expression told him he needed to help her then ask questions later. “Did anyone see you?”

  “No. Wait, yes, John did but he didn’t suspect a thing.”

  “Okay.” Egan pulled back the curtain on the window and peeked out. John might not have suspected anything at the time, but he certainly would now. The security team could have been told anything, maybe only to find Novah and the woman, and ev
en possibly Egan. “Novah, there are security cameras scattered on this property. Big Brother is everywhere, especially by the security quarters.”

  “So they saw me come and go from your room?”

  “Probably so. It’ll only be a matter of time before they put two and two together.” And he was almost certain they already had.

  As if on cue, a hard knock came on the door.

  She jumped and he brought a finger to his mouth to quite her. He stepped over and whispered in her ear, “Ask who it is.”

  Her skin paled and her bottom lip trembled. She stepped over to the door and said through the barrier, “Who’s there?”

  “Sorry, ma’am. It’s John. Can I speak to you?”

  Egan mouthed, “Ask what about.”

  “I was sleeping. Can I ask why?”

  “We’ve had a security breach and we’re checking on all staff and guests.”

  She tucked her bottom lip in, and her eyes were glossy. Egan didn’t like seeing the fear in her, but she had every reason to be scared. They were vulnerable as sitting ducks here at Lake Jade.

  He took out his gun from the waistband of his jeans and motioned for her to stand away. Egan took a spot against the other side of the door frame and reached over to turn the knob, swinging it open. He’d been prepared for what happened next so seeing John with his gun lifted didn’t come as a surprise. Egan gave the man’s arm a quick chop and the gun went flying, landing by the bed. “Get inside,” Egan demanded, and once John was in, he closed and locked the door.

  John’s shoulders slumped as his hands came up in surrender. “What are you doing, Banks? You’re on our team, remember?”

  “I should be asking what in the hell you’re doing and what did you plan to do with the gun?”

  “Just following orders.”

  “Orders? Do you even have a clue what’s going on?”

  One corner of his lips lifted. “Look, man. We don’t ask questions. I’m sorry, Ms. Coffman, but the team just needs to speak to you. We have an intruder on premises, and you might know something about that problem.”