Chapter 98: The Distraction

-Scott-

If I could have slammed down the phone on Darrien, Noah’s lawyer, I would have. He refused to tell me anything about where Noah was. Lawyer-Client privileges, he kept quoting whenever I asked him a question. The only thing he admitted was the fact that thanks to Becca’s visit to Horton’s hospital room, the assault charges had been dropped. But there were other charges that they were trying to make stick.
But he wouldn’t tell me who or what they were accusing Noah of. But he had made a definite cryptic remark.
“Whatever you do, do not let Becca near him alone. That would only hurt the case we are building for him,” Darrien had said firmly.
I had growled in frustration. “We are not getting anywhere, Cortez.”
It had taken me hours before I had finally found out the full name of the lawyer that Noah had used. Not shocking, the man was from the mid-west where Noah was originally from. If I didn’t know better, I would think he was from the very town that Noah had left when he was barely 18. That part of Noah’s life was a deep, dark secret, and the few things I knew were picked up here and there during inane conversations. But I didn’t bother asking Darrien about Noah. He would probably tell me it was covered by lawyer-client confidentiality as well.
“I am sorry, Monroe. But there is nothing more I can tell you without my client's approval. As far as I know, Jones does not want to talk to anyone about this. So, my hands are tied. You need to speak to him,” Darrien had insisted all too calmly.
“How am I supposed to speak to him if you won’t tell me where he is and how to get a hold of him?” I had pointed out.
“I’ll let him know, and if he wants to talk to you, I’m sure he knows how to get a hold of you,” Darrien had stated before hanging up.
Now I was left staring at a phone with no idea what else to do. The desire to put my fist through the wall was getting more and more urgent. I heard a ding on my phone and looked down to see a number I didn’t recognize pop up with the name of a hotel and a room number. I tried to message them back, but my number was blocked. Though I suspected the message came from Noah’s lawyer… I was not about to call him out on it.
I began to head toward the front door when the sight of two women rushing down the stairs caught my eye.
“What’s going on?” I asked as soon as they hit the bottom stair.
“We need to go see Noah,” Becca stated firmly. “Now.”
I raised my eyebrow at her forceful tone. I had never heard Becca talk like that to anyone in my life... especially not to me.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn’t help the crooked smile that touched my lips. Maybe spending time with Molly had been a really good thing for her. Becca was starting to become more vocal, and it was nice to see her embrace that part of her.
“Excuse me?” I responded.
“Please,” Molly saved the moment. “Can you please take Becca to go speak to Noah?”
I frowned at her request. “You don’t want to come?”
Molly shook her head. “I need to help mom with a few things, and Becca doesn’t need any of my help. She just needs a ride.”
I didn’t believe her, but in the last few days, she seemed to be doing her best to avoid me. Which was what I needed to discuss with her asap. The faster I got Becca to Noah and helped get them sorted out, the faster I could talk to Molly and find out what the hell was happening.
“Alright, let’s get going,” I said to Becca, waving her out the door.
“You know where Noah is?” Becca asked, suddenly as if it had just occurred to her.
I nodded. “I know where Noah is, and I’ll take you there. It’s time for him to man-up.”
“Thank you,” Becca replied with relief and headed for my car.
I took a moment to look at Molly, who pointedly refused to look me in the eyes. Her back was stiff, and her face was tense as if something was happening behind her eyes, but she didn’t want me to see.
“Are you ready to speak to me, or do you want to wait until after I get back?” I asked her, praying she would tell me now.
Molly looked down at her toes, seeming to shrink back slightly. “Wait until you get back. Becca needs to get this off her chest and hopefully get her Dom back. She needs him as much as he needs her. They love each other even if they don’t want to admit it.”
I took a step toward her and lifted her chin, hating when she turned those beautiful blue eyes away from me. The darkness and pain in her eyes stabbed into my heart, and I almost shut the front door, so I could drag her upstairs and take it all away.
“A little like us, right?” I pointed out gently.
The pain grew until I wished I hadn’t said anything. I opened my mouth to apologize when suddenly Molly was in my arms. I encircled her waist and aligned her body with mine as I accepted her kiss with the same enthusiasm that she showed to me.
Her kiss was strong, passionate, and intense as if she was starving for the touch, for me. There was something about the kiss that bothered me. It felt as if she was trying to burn this kiss into a memory that neither of us would ever forget.
And that felt off to me.
Gradually, inch by sweet inch, Molly pulled away until she was back on her feet and looking up at me with those eyes… the ones that would forever haunt my dreams.
“I love you, Scott. Never forget that,” she whispered, then turned and walked upstairs without allowing me to respond.
It seemed that she didn’t need a response. I felt the urge to race after her, to not wait another moment to talk to her. But Becca was waiting in the car for me, and there was nothing I could do at the moment if Molly kept running away from me.
“I’ll be back, and then it’s your turn,” I said up the stairs to Molly, even though she couldn’t hear me.