Breaking Conviction by Greer Rivers

Chapter Five

He felt Naomi’s eyes appraise him, but he refused to look at her. She’d already gotten mad enough at him during the short time they were together and he still had to drive them home.

“Alright, kid, let’s move out. Nora, can you just shove that box of electronics in the office?”

“Got ya covered.” Nora waved them away with her eyes on her phone. “Hawk said he just finished a client meeting so he’ll be able to pick you up. Just shoot him the addy.”

Wes nodded and began to walk out the front door until a small hand slid into his. He schooled his face so Thea couldn’t see his surprise at her sudden show of trust. When he looked down though, he noticed that Thea had her mom’s hand in her other, and damn, did that jump-start his heart for some reason.

He cleared his throat and led the way around the building, where he assumed the gray Nissan Murano was Naomi’s vehicle. When they got to the car, Naomi fiddled around in her purse and gave him the keys. Before she could stop him, he opened the door for Thea and helped buckle her into her car seat. When he held the door open for her, he tried not to laugh at her jaw, literally hanging open.

When he got in the driver’s side, Naomi was still staring at him through her narrowed eyes. He started the car and raised his eyebrows.

“Where to, queen?”

“Don’t call me that.” Her rasp came out forcefully before giving him the address, and he imagined there’d be a bite to it if she had her full voice.

He texted the address to Hawk before plugging the route into his phone GPS. After lodging it into the phone holder, he headed to the growing part of town where neighborhoods were being built on top of each other. He got lost in thought, trying to block out Thea’s fucking shark song that his niece and nephew couldn’t get enough of. At least this one sounded like it had a cool remix in it.

“You got a kid?”

Her words startled him, and he frowned before taking a turn. “Uh, no. Can’t say I’ve had the honor yet.”

“Really? You’re good with them. At least Thea. She isn’t usually so... free.”

Wes propped his elbow on the door window and scrubbed his shaven chin with his hand, trying to think of what to say. Her leg bounced in the seat next to him as she fiddled with the strap of her purse lying in her lap.

“My sister’s got two—a boy and a girl—and they’re the coolest kids I’ve ever met.” He turned around briefly to wink at Thea. “But Princess T is right up there.”

Thea grinned around a sour apple sucker that must’ve been in the back seat. Her dimple winked back at him before she retrieved an iPad from the hanging car seat organizer in front of her.

They were silent again and Wes bit his tongue to keep from asking Naomi the question he’d been begging to know the answer to for years. He tasted copper before finally giving in.

“Why don’t you leave?” It came out in a hushed whisper, but her fidgeting stilled and at the way she tensed up, he knew he should’ve kept his goddamn mouth shut.

But hell, he’d never understood why women in her situation didn’t see what everyone else could. He’d met her less than an hour ago and already he could tell she was smart, protective, and fuck, he felt like a skeeze to admit it, but he’d noticed her curves more than once. Why the fuck did she stay with someone who treated her like anything less than the queen she was?

He’d asked that question plenty of times before, with another woman in what felt like another life, and he’d never been satisfied with the answer.

“I don’t see how any of that is your business, Snake.”

The way she hissed his nickname made him bristle. He’d never been a fan of his call sign, but he especially didn’t like it when she said it like that.

“It’s Wes,” he gritted out, before relaxing his jaw. “Please… call me Wes.”

She was refusing to look at him again, and he noticed her hand scrunching up the bottom of her thick sweatshirt.

“It’s just... you have options, Naomi. I can—I mean, we can help.” Her light ivory knuckles reddened at the top of her fisted hand. “Sorry, I know I overstepped. I’m just worried. I’ve seen this before—”

“Yeah, working at the clinic, I’m sure you’ve seen it a hundred times—”

“Not at the clinic.”

The words must’ve surprised her because she clammed up and retreated to look out the window.

After a few more silent moments, they were close to her house and he was afraid they’d end on a sour note. Wes didn’t know why it was so important that she knew where he was coming from, he just couldn’t stop himself. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel to keep from reaching over to rescue the hem of her sweater from her fidgeting.

He turned into a pop-up neighborhood, one of those that sprang up in six months with dozens of nice, cookie-cutter craftsman houses and small yards. A car appeared in the rearview mirror and he glanced up to see Hawk’s sedan following behind. He must’ve been close to town already because the BlackStone Securities Facility was twenty minutes outside of Ashland.

Naomi’s eyes darted to the rearview, her back straight until whatever she saw made her relax back into the seat. Wes ground his molars together.

Fuck, this bastard has her terrified.

His tongue was raw from biting back every thought, but he refused to frustrate her any more. It took them a few more turns before she said anything.

“House is second on the right.”

Wes nodded. “Pull into the driveway?”

“Yeah, in front of the left garage door, but not too close and make sure not to get in the way of the right side.”

Wes felt his brow furrow at how precise she was in her instruction. “You don’t want me to pull inside?”

“No, that’s... that’s where Thea’s father… my fiancé’s workshop is.”

There hadn’t been one single pleasant interaction with this woman, so why the fuck did that word pierce something inside him? It was like he was compelled to get through that hard shield she insisted on hitting him with. Maybe it wasn’t her at all. Maybe she was just another woman in his life who needed saving.

Despite trying to minimize his reaction, his knuckles ached to give back tenfold what her fiancé had done to her. More copper seeped from his silent tongue. Fuck, at this rate he wouldn’t be able to eat without searing pain reminding him of her and all the things he couldn’t say.

Wes pulled into her driveway and parked exactly as she’d asked. Before he could get out and open her door, she was already escaping, stumbling out and immediately going to her daughter’s door. While she was helping Thea out of her car seat, Hawk’s car pulled up in front of the house.

“Naomi, I—”

“Say thank you and goodbye to Snake, T.” Naomi lifted Thea onto her hip with a wince. It was almost comical since she was nearly half her mom’s size already.

Thea popped the sucker out of her mouth. “He’s leavin’?” Her lip poked out and Wes’s heart ached to make those lips widen into a toothy grin again.

“Yeah, baby, he’s leavin’ and we need to go inside. Your daddy will be home in a bit.”

Thea nodded and smiled slightly at Wes, waving her small hand. “Bye Wes, thank you for playin’ with me.”

Wes mustered up a smile back. “It was nice to meet you Princess T.” He bowed and even though he felt like a fool, her giggle made it worth it, until he straightened back up and saw the anger written on Naomi’s face again.

She mumbled a thanks and goodbye before heading to the garage, entering a code and opening the right door, revealing a pristine, empty parking space.

Bet that fucker parks there while he makes her park outside.

The thought made his legs tense with the urge to go after them, but he backed away, afraid he’d do just that if he didn’t distance himself. He watched them take the short steps inside the garage and enter the house without another glance.

When the door slammed, something inside Wes jolted and panic seized the quickening pulse in his veins. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was making the biggest mistake of his life, letting Naomi walk back into that house. But she was an adult. Not only that, but a soon-to-be-married adult, to her child’s father. Wes needed to back the hell off and let this relative stranger live her own fucking life.

Wes pivoted and marched to Hawk’s sedan, refusing to look back before he opened the passenger side and collapsed into the seat.

Hawk’s left elbow rested on top of the door panel, with his other hand on the top of the steering wheel. His left index finger rubbed his lips back and forth while he slowly shook his head, his dark eyes staring in thought at the house.

Ellie called him a younger, military version of Idris Elba, and Wes had never thought of it before. Hawk was just his team lead and friend, a brother in arms. But right then, with his determined scowl and singular focus, Wes saw it.

Wes took a moment to collect his thoughts, resisting a sigh of frustration. Hawk pulled the car out of the driveway, pausing in front of the house before setting off back to Sasha Saves.

Hawk’s deep voice filled the space, emphasizing the commanding presence the BlackStone Securities leader had earned over their years together in MF7 and then BlackStone.

“You good?”

Wes released a rough exhale as he studied the forest green craftsman home. In one of the windows on the top floor, the blinds in a window shuttered closed.

“No, I’m not good. And I don’t know why.”