Homecoming Read online

  Homecoming

  Heaven on Earth, Book 4

  USA TODAY Bestselling Author

  Reana Malori

  Homecoming © copyright 2019 Reana Malori

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

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  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  EPILOGUE

  Thank You!

  Persuade Me – Excerpt

  Let’s Stay in Touch

  About the Author

  Also by Reana Malori

  HOMECOMING

  Summary

  Noah Braddock

  Nothing can stop me from completing the mission. Being a Navy SEAL is in my blood and I’ve never regretted my career choice. Until the day she walked into my life. Her voice soothed my soul. The soft touch of her hands set my skin ablaze with the need to keep her forever. When the day came that I had to leave, I had every intention to return. Then came the day I realized I couldn’t. Ripping my heart from my chest, I knew it was better if I walked away. Years later, I’m back to reclaim what’s mine. I’ve returned to the woman who owns my heart, my soul, and my happiness.

  Janae Hayward

  All my life I’ve been a good girl. Followed the lead of my parents, my church, and my community. Until the day he walked into my life. It was the first time my heart and soul were in alignment. He showed me what it meant to be fully desired. I craved him. I needed him. I loved him. Then he left without a backward glance, shattering me into a million pieces. Forced to become stronger than I’d been before he entered my world, I’m committed to moving on with my life. When he returns, it’s time to decide if holding on to the pain is worth the heartache, or if I’m strong enough to grab hold of my future and never let go.

  CHAPTER 1

  Noah

  Five Years Ago

  Noah groaned as his eyes opened, the sun blazing through the curtain breaks. “Fuck. I’m tired,” he muttered out loud into the empty room.

  Squinting as the bright light streamed into the room, he groaned, rolling over. Sunny days still seemed to hurt the worst as his thoughts would return to the heat and desert he’d left behind. Fatigue came over him like a heavy cloak, overtaking his form as he lay on the uncomfortable mattress. These were the days he wished—maybe, but not really—that he’d become a lawyer like his dad.

  Thinking about all the hours his old man worked when Noah was a kid, he put the wayward thought right out of his mind. He loved what he did. The Navy was his life’s blood. He’d never made a better decision in life than when he decided to join the Navy after college.

  Sitting up in the bed, he placed his bare feet on the floor. Without looking at the clock sitting on the dresser, he knew it was sometime after seven in the morning. He never slept this late. Then again, this temporary duty assignment had been rough as hell. Training seven days a week, while instructing a classroom full of Marines who felt they didn’t need to listen to some guy from the Navy. Didn’t seem to matter to them that the Marines were part of the US Navy. A room full of knuckleheads is what they were. They didn’t think he heard them calling him Swabbie, their version of a derogatory name for Navy personnel. Bunch of Jarheads. It wasn’t his fault the Marines brainwashed them into thinking they were the best military force out there. He’d like to see some of them go through BUD/s, the Navy SEAL training program, and see how they felt after that yearlong trip to Hell.

  He was ready to get his ass back up to Virginia. Camp Lejeune, North Carolina was a fine installation, with a ton of history on every inch of its grounds. Filled to the brim with Jarheads and Navy personnel, it felt comfortable. Almost like home. Except it wasn’t.

  Planning to meet one of his buddies for breakfast, he stood from the bed. Gathering his underwear, he headed to the shower.

  Thirty minutes later, he was showered, dressed, and watching the news. Of course, they weren’t covering any of the shit he and his Navy and Marine brothers were doing overseas.

  The secret, covert missions. Taking out dictators who cared more about money and power than taking care of their people. Changing the balance of international governments in third-world countries with two well-placed bullets. He rubbed a hand down his face as the faces of the dead played in his mind like a movie.

  “This is bullshit,” he mumbled before changing the channel.

  Noah wasn’t sure why he was so bent out of shape. He knew the work he did would never be the lead story on the six o’clock news. Not unless he had the misfortune to kill someone he wasn’t supposed to. As long as he continued to kill the people Uncle Sam deemed unworthy, he was fine. Mistakes weren’t allowed. Not for him and his team.

  He could never lose sight of the mission due to the shit show happening in that godforsaken desert. One of his greatest fears centered around one of the civilians over there making a move he interpreted as a threat. If he killed someone who wasn’t on his approved target list, he’d be all over the evening news. He was getting too old for this shit.

  Maybe he needed to talk to Tyler or Daniel about what was going on his head. He’d been feeling antsy lately, like something was crawling under his skin. Tony and Ethan had reached out to tell him about the woman they’d met at Hank’s gym. They were worried she was running from something. Or someone.

  For some reason, they’d taken it upon themselves to watch out for her. Considering only Tony and Tyler lived in Northern Virginia full-time, he wasn’t sure how they were going to do that. Ethan and Daniel were with him at Norfolk, but they all tried to make it up North when they could.

  Sighing, he thought about calling his parents but changed his mind. With his dad now retired from his law firm, his parents had become young lovebirds again. Hell, they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other. Cringing at the memory of his dad pinching his mom’s butt when he was last home a few months ago, he had to hold back the imaginary bile rising in his throat. Shaking his head, he thought about what time it was back home and decided to call them later. He was sure they’d still be sleeping. And if they weren’t—he shuddered at the thought. Yeah, it was best not to bother them.

  His lips lifted in a small smile when he thought about the change that had come over his dad a few years ago. That’s w
hen Noah’s mom had gone to the doctor for a routine check-up, resulting in a diagnosis of stage-3 breast cancer. Once the news had been given, and a second opinion obtained, Noah rushed home. Walking into his childhood home had been the hardest thing he’d ever done. He didn’t know what to expect, and fear had eaten at him. Would his mother be frail and on the brink of death? Would she look like the woman who’d raised him, or had the disease ravaged her body? He’d never felt so helpless than he did at that moment.

  Most of his adult life, he spent his days and nights saving the world. Yet, in this situation, his strength, shooting skills, ability to speak five languages, or his ability to run five miles in thirty minutes meant nothing. What he found when he walked into his childhood home almost unmanned him. His father, the man he’d always considered stronger than Superman©, was curled up against his mother’s side with his arms wrapped around her waist. Sleeping. His mother—tiny compared to his father—was resting, while watching a television show with the sound turned low. She was still being the strong one for his dad. For him. That shit broke his heart.

  She was the lynchpin holding them together. Beautiful, auburn-haired Lydia Braddock loved her family with a fierceness no one expected from a soft-spoken girl from a small town in Georgia. When he’d been a know-it-all teenager that neither the world, nor his parents understood, his mom had been the one to pull him back to the family. When his father was vying for partner at the law firm he’d worked at for years, she’d been the one to make him see his job was making him physically and mentally ill. She’d helped his father understand his desire for the next rung on the ladder was pulling him away from their family.

  His dad still got the partnership, but he’d stopped working himself to the bone. No matter what, Noah’s mom was the one person who could bring them back together. If she were gone, he wasn’t sure his dad would survive. Hell, Noah had questions about how his own sanity would be impacted.

  Noah shook his head to clear the sad memories. His mother had survived, thank goodness. Not without a lot of harrowing nights, chemotherapy, body weakness, and crying. But she was here. Thank god it was all behind them.

  As soon as his mother started her battle to destroy Bob, the tumor growing inside her breast and threatening her life, his father retired from the firm. He still did a small amount of pro bono work and consulted with his partners on special cases. But for the most part, his parents were focused on spending every moment they could remembering why they fell in love in the first place.

  It made him reevaluate his own life. Did he want what his parents had? Honestly, he wasn’t sure. His career in the Navy made finding a wife, settling down, and having kids, difficult to fathom. There were times he was away for weeks without any contact with the outside world. It was hard enough worrying about getting back home safely for his own self-preservation. To bring a wife and child into the mix would make his life even more difficult. One concern he had was: would having a family make him weak? Unfocused? The next phase of his life would have to wait until the US Navy was done using him to tick the boxes on their kill-list.

  Shutting off the television, he grabbed his keys and left the hotel room. Getting in his rental car, he drove over to the breakfast spot he liked. It was right outside the Camp Lejeune main gate and a short drive up the road from his hotel. Jacksonville, NC, the small city where the base was located, had everything a Marine, or Sailor, could want. Cheap restaurants. Apartments to rent. Cars to buy. Bars to drink late into the night. And, most importantly, dance clubs with beautiful women.

  Arriving at the spot quickly, he swung the door open and caught the eye of his buddy sitting at a table. He’d known Heath Davis for years. They’d served together for a few years, until Heath was injured in combat. When Heath transitioned back to a full-time land job, Noah stayed in touch with him. Friends who understood his world were few and far between.

  Now Heath was working at the Naval Hospital on Camp Lejeune and had the life he’d always wanted. A wife, two beautiful kids, and a dog named Duke Sparkles Goodboy. The name, Noah had been told by his friend, was the product of having two little girls, ages three and five. Although he’d laughed his ass off at the time, Noah couldn’t have been happier for his friend when he’d met Stephanie and began his second life.

  “What’s up, man?” Heath wore a large smile on his dark brown face. Standing, they gave each other a manly half-hug before pulling back to sit down at the booth.

  “Heath! Man, it’s good to see your ugly ass mug. How you been? How’s Stephanie and the girls?” Knowing the menu like the back of his hand, Noah didn’t have to look at it to decide what he wanted. Although, he knew one thing he did want. Coffee. Catching the attention of the waitress, he called her over.

  “My ladies are good. Driving me up the wall, but I’m okay with that. With Kayla turning six this year, Stephanie went back to work.”

  The waitress stepped up to their table, grabbing their attention. “What can I get you gentleman this morning?” she asked, pouring black coffee into both their coffee mugs.

  Noah and Heath both gave their order. The waitress gave them a smile, departing from their table without writing anything down. Didn’t matter though. This place didn’t have a fancy menu, and neither he nor Heath were complicated. Meat. Potatoes. Eggs. Toast. Coffee. The breakfast of champions.

  Looking over at his friend, he noticed he still had a big ass grin on his face. “Ah, shit. I know that look.”

  Not even attempting to hide that he was up to something, Heath kept on smiling. “Stephanie wants to see you. Said it’s been too long. The woman thinks you’re avoiding her.”

  Hanging his head, he tried not to grimace but couldn’t stop his face from scrunching up in disgust. Looking back at his friend, he grunted, leaning back as he stirred cream in his coffee.

  “Do you remember what she did the last time I was here? Because I sure as hell remember,” he spat.

  He wasn’t really upset with Stephanie. Matter of fact, he loved the woman like she was his sister. In many ways, she was.

  She’d accepted his friend without question. Hadn’t cared one bit about his wounds, scars, or that he could no longer save the world while only armed with a 9mm pistol, M-16 rifle, and a special issue K-bar knife. Stephanie had taken one look at his friend and fell head over heels in love. Now Heath saved lives in a hospital instead of taking them. Giving people back their life with the use of a scalpel and a damn steady hand.

  “Oh, yeah. I remember. Wasn’t that the time she set you up with that chick Julie?” Heath was holding back a laugh as he spoke.

  If Noah could get away with punching him in the face without Stephanie getting upset with him, he would. Asshole. He knew exactly what happened.

  “Man, fuck you. That woman was horrible. Her laugh. Her voice. I swear, she was talking about family vacations and planning my departure from the Navy.” He’d run from her as fast as he could. Noah had been disappointed in himself for spending any time with her at all.

  No longer able to hold it in, Heath’s laughter rang out in the small restaurant. Several heads turned their way.

  “After you left, she called the house at least two times a day. Constantly asking Stephanie when you were coming back down or if you’d mentioned her. Man, she was crazy as fuck. I told Stephanie not to do that shit again. That you could find your own dates. She didn’t like it. She wants you happy, or so she says. Personally, I think she’s trying to torture you.”

  Blowing out a deep breath, he nodded, “Well, that shit’s working. God, I love that woman, but she should be in PsyOps. Are you sure she’s a legal secretary? Did you have her checked out?” At Heath’s raised eyebrow, Noah raised his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying. That woman is a force to be reckoned with.”

  “That she is.” Just then, their waitress came back with their food. The men were silent as they spent a few minutes shoveling food in their mouths. After a few moments of lips smacking and large gul
ps, Heath spoke up. “Oh, she’s out today with one of her friends from that law firm she works at. Getting waxed and buffed, or something like that. She was gonna stop by and say hi if we were still here when they came through.”

  “That’s cool. It’ll be good to see her. Where are the girls?”

  “With her parents. Some church event for the kids. I swear, I’ve never seen people go to church as much as they do down here.”

  “Well, this is North Carolina. What did you expect?” Noah questioned with a smile on his face. The people down here were quite serious about their religion. Not that he didn’t believe in God, because he did. He and the Big Guy had plenty of talks when he was doing the will of his country. But he’d also become cynical enough from the evil things he’d seen done to other human beings to have bucketful of doubts about God.

  To his way of thinking, religion seemed to be a method of holding people back from questioning right and wrong. He didn’t begrudge those who used their faith to get through the hard times. Great for them. But for him, doubts filled his mind. Questions he couldn't stop asking continued clawing at him. From his experience, he’d seen people use religion as a crutch when they couldn’t explain the world around them. Something people held on to when there was nothing else.

  “I know. I know. But damn, it just gets to be a bit much. Stephanie’s parents aren’t so bad, but the hypocrisy of good vs. evil is in full effect. As my grandmother used to say, ‘All church folk, ain’t good folk’.”

  Nodding his head, Noah agreed. “You got that right, Brother.”

  The ding over the restaurant door sounded, just as Heath’s face lit up. “There she is now. Hey baby,” he called out, standing to greet his wife.

  Placing his napkin on the table, Noah stood to give Stephanie a hug as well. Grabbing her up, he held her tight, twirling her around. “Hey, Stephanie. You ready to leave this zero and get with a hero?” It was their standing joke.