Accidentally Noah: Caine & Graco Saga, #1

By E.M. Shue

Blind date or pity date?

 

When Kenzie's comment to her bestie about her dating life or lack there of is broadcast over open air she finds herself in the spotlight. Guys are wanting to date her to prove her opinion is wrong and other's are wanting to date her out of sympathy for her plight.

Noah has no clue what was said or why she's yelling at him saying she doesn't want to be on no pity date. All he knows is this is the one for him. Just like his father always told him when he found the right girl his soul would sing. Well it's singing alright, Barry White songs.

When a violent man from Kenzie's past makes himself known Noah will risk his career for his love. Kenzie will do whatever is necessary to protect her family and Noah.

• Language: English
• Publisher: E.M. Shue
• Release date: Oct 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393615583

Book preview

prologue

I sit in my car several houses down the street watching her parents’ house. I'm so glad I overheard the conversation in the store between her mom and another woman. Of course, she didn't know I was there, hiding around the corner. I'm not supposed to be anywhere near them, but I must get her back. I need her.

My skin crawls in anticipation. It’s been over five years since I've seen her. The night she left me, she broke me, but I always knew she would come back to me. She is my queen. I've killed for her. She doesn't know it, but I killed the boy who took her virginity and her away from me.

The yellow cab pulls up in front and sits there for a moment. I slide down in my seat so she can't see me and watch as the back door opens. The dark cap on my head covers my blond hair.

Hey, you're not supposed to be here. The old, nosey neighbor beats on the top of my car. You better leave before I call the cops.

Leave me alone, you fucking bat. I sit up and yell at her. I'm about to pull out my gun when movement in front of me catches my eye.

I watch her move to the side to talk to the cabbie. She's beautiful. From this distance I can see the sun-kissed glow of her skin, like she's spent time out in the sun. She's in distressed skinny jeans that hug all her curves and are rolled at the cuffs showing her ankles. A white T-shirt with a black suit jacket over the top. Over her arm is another coat and her bag. The high-heeled black strappy type of shoes would have to go. I don't like how provocative the outfit is, but I can see she's matured in her style. Her blond hair is long down her back and straightened. It shines in the November sun.

The woman continues to yell as I watch my queen stand on the sidewalk trying to decide if she's going to go in. Instead she turns and looks my way. I know the moment she sees me, and her fear is evident by the tightening of her body.

Yeah, babe, you owe me something, I say to the empty car.

She turns away shaking herself as I turn over the engine ready to go to her or take off. She'll decide what my decision will be. She has this one chance to prove she still wants me or not.

She looks up at her parents standing on the porch. Her mother has her hands over her mouth and her father looks thinner than he used to. She turns back to look at me and points. I put the car in drive as both her brothers push past their parents and come off the porch. I whip the car around and watch them chase after me in the rearview mirror. The last glimpse I have of her is her jumping back into the cab and taking off in the opposite direction.

Fuck, wrong decision, my queen. Now I'm going to play dirty.

That old lady messed up my plans. She'll be taken care of. Then I'm going to find my queen and make her mine again. Five and a half years is too long to be without her sweetness. I've sacrificed too much for her and done too much.

chapter

one

Kenzie

Keni, why did you leave the party so quickly on Saturday? Trina asks as I sit down and start the tedious process of logging onto all the systems I need to work.

What do you mean? I stayed for a couple of hours. I hate parties and socializing.

Yeah, only a couple hours, girl. How am I supposed to marry you off if you're not out partying? My best friend raises a single perfectly shaped eyebrow.

Trina’s long brown hair is pulled up in a bun. Her makeup is on point from her red lips to her longer fingernails. Her Puerto Rican heritage gives her the perfect sienna complexion; meanwhile, I'm losing my tan I've loved having for the last few years. We are complete opposites, but as soon as we met, she basically said we were going to be best friends. She's the girly girl and I'm the tomboy. Trina likes to party and have fun with her husband. I'm a homebody. I like my romance novels, bubble baths, and plants.

I don't want to get married. Besides, I haven't found the right guy to even take a ride with. We both laugh because that's one of the problems she's had with me since we met in training.

She took me under her wing and has tried to fix me up with every man she knows, even my old friends back in Hawaii did the same thing. Everyone seems to think because I'm not in a relationship that means I'm lonely. Shoot, I have all my book boyfriends, and they don't let you down like real men tend to do. They don't have insecurities about height, they just want to protect and love you.

Before either of us can respond, our phones ring, and our shift kicks into full swing. We work in the nation’s busiest dispatch center. Trina still floats between fire and police, while I'm exclusive to police dispatch. Today both of us are on police. I'm working Lower Manhattan and she’s working the Upper East Side.

Dispatch, 1506.

Dispatch. I acknowledge I'm listening to him.

10-84. Unit 1506 from the 1 st Precinct lets me know they've arrived on the scene of a body discovered in Battery Park. The voice is husky and sexy sounding. Sex on a mic.

On Scene at 1300. I enter the information into the system.

As the day progresses, I'm feeling fried and feel the tingles of a headache forming. I'm not sleeping very well again. I knew moving back here would cause the memories to come back, the nightmares, I just never expected them to start so soon. I thought I was stronger and could avoid them.

I work four ten-hour shifts as I'm prepping to be a trainer, and with all my prior experience, they couldn't pass up on it. Trina is completely new to dispatching, so she only works eights and is getting ready to leave for the day.

Russo, you're on holdover, my supervisor states from right behind me.

I drop my head, that’s another automatic five hours on shift. I hate holdovers but know they are a part of this job. If someone gets sick, I'm held on to cover half their shift and the next person is called in early, or someone else comes in. Dispatching in New York is busier than in Honolulu, but I enjoy it.

A little notice would have been nice. I look up at him with a smile and he shrugs as he walks away. I know he gets as much notice as I do.

As a trainer in training, this is part of what must be done to prove I'm ready to teach others what I know and how to work this job.

Dispatch, 1506. The sexy voice comes across the line again.

Man, I'm going to fantasize about that voice tonight. I smile.

Dispatch.

10-85. District 62. The sexy voice requests additional units from the 62 nd Precinct and I pray everyone is safe.

Location?

He rattles off an address I know, and my fingers tremble as I type in the information, trying not to let the panic take over. I knew the family that used to live there, and I know one of the family members still does. I grew up in Bensonhurst. That address is just down the road from my parents’ house. They still live in the house I grew up in.

10-10. Shots fired, another voice, not the sexy honeyed voice, says; he must be the partner.

Copy, I answer, and key in the info before transferring the call to the dispatcher for the 62 nd Precinct.

I stay on the line to help if necessary and make sure my unit is okay. The dispatcher calls out for additional units and sends ambulance to the area. I stay on until I hear the all clear for my unit, and say a silent prayer that Mr. Sexy Voice is okay and that it isn't anyone I know, or knew.

By the time my shift is over all the trains have run, so I’ll have to take a cab home. I moved to the Bronx hoping to get assigned to the new location there, but I ended up taking the Brooklyn position because of the trainer opportunity and the extra pay. It means I'll be looking for a place closer to work when I have the money saved up. I like my little studio apartment in the Bronx, but it’s nothing like the place I had in Hawaii. I shared a small house with a friend of mine and her daughter. We met one day at the gym and just like Trina, she decided she needed to be my friend.

Now every second I'm in Brooklyn is another second my past could come back to find me, but I couldn't stay away from my family any longer. A living nightmare could start again, and this time it would be worse because I broke the rules. I defied him.

I head out into the cool May night and shiver. I miss living in the warm tropics of Hawaii, but it was time for me to come home. I tried to stay away from people and be on my own, but they wouldn't let me. Plus, as a dispatcher, you get close to the people you work with due to the stress levels. I've gotten several texts from my friends asking how I'm doing and if I'm really not going back. I want to go back, but it was time for me to pull up my big girl panties and take responsibility for my actions as a dumb teenager. I'm grown up enough now and I learned a lot while I was in Hawaii about accepting the mistakes I made, and being able to overcome them.

I hail a cab and give him my address knowing a trip to the Bronx is going to dip into my precious meager savings. It took everything I had to move back here and to pay the deposits on my new apartment.

When I step into my apartment, I text Trina to let her know I made it home. She has taken the roll as the big sister almost too far. She doesn't know I have two older brothers who were so overprotective that guys couldn't even call the house without them going crazy. That's what I got for being the first female Russo born in four generations. Her response is quick and makes me smile.

Trina

We will finish our discussion tomorrow.

She just won't give up. She doesn't like that I come home to an empty apartment, or that I'd rather bury myself in a romance novel, or listen to music than socialize. I connect my phone to an external speaker and start up my favorite Spotify playlist. I don't miss all the island music or the reggae. I like my soulful songs, rock and dark music. Maybe it's my past but I still like it. Give me some Halestorm, Ruelle, or Halsey any day.

I pull my long blond hair down from the bun and slip out of my work uniform and into a pair of boxers and a tank top. Dinner for one consists of a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and a glass of water. After that I walk around performing my Monday night weekly ritual of checking all my plants. It took me months to find all the ones I wanted and now my apartment is practically a jungle. I practice some yoga and stretches to relax myself, hoping I'll be able to sleep.

A ping from my laptop alerts me I have a message. I check my email and sure enough I have a message on the board for lost loved ones.

MarcBrooklynboy: KenFlower, we need to talk.

Shit. I don't want to post too much information but I have no choice. What if Papa is sick again?

KenFlower: RE:MarcBrooklynboy same number?

He responds right away with a yes.

I log off the board and disconnect my cell phone. I can't call him because if I hear his voice I’ll cave and give in. The desire to see my family is so great. I almost gave in and stayed the last time I saw them. If I wasn't afraid my presence would get them hurt I would've stayed. But the voice in my head still tells me they are in danger and he will hurt them.

Keni: What's up? Is Papa okay?

Marco: Yes, he's okay. Are you going to try to come out again? It's been 6 months. Maybe it was a fluke and he won't come around again. I haven't seen him around the neighborhood.

Keni: I can't chance it. The risk is too much. I'll message you soon.

Marco: Come on. Mama cried for days because you left. Is he threatening you? Do we need to call the police? You know Zo and I will take care of him for you.

Keni: I'm doing what's best. Please tell her I love her and it's not her fault. I made the mistakes, not them. I can't discuss it. You and Zo don't need to get into trouble for me. You've already given up so much for me. I love you but I need to go. Bye.

Marco: Love you, sissy. I never gave up what I didn't want to.

That's the problem, I made the wrong choices. I let a man into my life when I was only a child. Now I have to face those consequences.

I climb in bed with my latest romantic suspense book, and read a chapter before falling asleep to thoughts of the smooth honeyed tones of Mr. Sexy Voice.

I'm careful of all the people around me as I ride multiple trains to get to the dispatch center early the next morning. For years now it's been a habit to be aware of my surroundings and those around me. I can't risk him finding me again. As an added precaution now that I'm back, I ride the wrong trains and double back just to