by Tiya Rayne
“We don’t like that Walker’s new Porsha is missing,” Many says as he paces the floor in front of me.
“That makes two of us,” I reply. “Jesus.” I hiss when Doc hits a tender spot on my head. He’s cleaning up all the glass from the wound.
“Nathanial Otella is entering the home.” The computerized voice says, announcing Priest’s entrance.
“Twin, tell your brother I still hate that fucking thing,” Priest says for the thousandth time since Lucien created the program for me. “Hey, how you holding up?”
“Not good,” I reply honestly.
I’m feeling anxious. Being this far away from Brooklyn has me on edge. My heart wants me to grab some guns and go hunt my wife down, but my brain knows that shit isn’t going to work. I need a plan, I need back up, and I need to fix this cut in my head.
“How’s Zel and Steven?” I ask Priest.
He sighs. “Zel is a lot like you. Wants to get up and come help. He has some pretty bad injuries that are going to keep him off his feet for a while. But he’s good. The driver,” Priest says, rolling his eyes. “Wants to know if he can join our spy team.”
I smile thinking about Steven and how helpful he has been in all this. I sober up as I think of how close we all came to losing our lives. It’s not like we don’t know that death is a hazard of the job.
We’ve lost members before, but not one of us. Not one of the brothers. This incident made it very clear how fragile we all are.
“We’ll get down to the bottom of all this. We won’t let whoever is responsible for this get away.”
“Hey,” Seth says, grabbing our attention. “Lucien’s on live.”
“TV on. Connect to Lucien’s live.” I announce to the computerized house.
“Connecting to Lucien’s Live,” the house repeats.
“Hey, guys,” Lucien’s voice comes over my TV loud and clear.
“Hi, Twin,” Many shouts back at the screen in his nasal voice.
“Okay, I did some digging and looked into that chick from the video. Her name is Gabriella Kimbel or before she was married, Costa.”
“Why does that name sound familiar?”
“If the name sounds familiar, Hawk, it’s because Marco Costa was her father. Marco was the janitor you killed that night five years ago.
“The lawyer was right, Heimlich was having a meeting about someone stealing his research, but it wasn’t an employee. It was Gabriella. The college freshman and biochemist. Gabriella was a breakout student all her life.
“She was a spotlight student by the age of nine, showing success in biology and chemistry. She graduated high school two years early and went on to attend Brigham-Young University. Her father, Marco was a single father that worked two jobs to put his daughter through college. He oftentimes brought her along with him on his nights cleaning Heimlich lab.”
“I’m guessing that’s when daddy’s little girl started stealing the research,” Seth inserts.
“Heimlich discovered the missing formulas,” Lucien continues. “But before he could find out who was taking it, the Church sent Hawk in to clean out the place.”
“But he didn’t clean it out,” Priest adds, taking a seat in one of the kitchen chairs across from me.
“No, I didn’t.”
That’s a hard pill to swallow. It was my error that got us in this shit. Had I taken the time to check everything. Maybe, if I wasn’t so focused on getting to Red, I would have paid attention to my surroundings a little better.
“After Hawk cleaned his plate, Gabriella was left alone. She ended up dropping out of college, getting in trouble with the law and eventually went back to her father’s home in Guatemala. She didn’t resurface again until two years ago. And get this, I did a little digging into her aliases, guess who she kept in touch with over the years?”
It isn’t a real question, so no one on our end answers.
“Robert Long,” Lucien continues. “He was the detective assigned to the Heimlich Lab murders. He was up for a big promotion at the time of the incident. Lack of evidence and the fact that the Church always cleans up their mess, caused the case to go unsolved despite all his hard work.”
Priest turns to me. “Who is this detective, why is he relevant?”
“He’s the detective that was assigned to Red’s case.”
“No, he isn’t. I’ve talked to the lead detective on her case numerous times. His name is Shaw.”
Fuck.
That’s when it hits me. The smell from Red’s apartment, I got a brief waft of it the night I finally spoke to Brooklyn at the hospital. She was with a man. I was too focused on observing everything about her that I didn’t focus on him, but underneath her coconut and powdery scent was that smell.
“He killed Albany.” That realization has me seething.
This man has been locked in a room with Brooklyn twice and he’s the one that killed her sister. Plus, myself and Lucien were both close enough to him—had we known that he was the one responsible for Albany’s death he wouldn’t be alive today.
Doc finishes with my face and starts to bandage it up.
“Are you sure about this?” Priest asks, the chill in his voice gives way to his emotions. I imagine that if something happened to Brooklyn and I’d found out the asshole that did it was still alive, I’d sound a lot like him.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” I reply.
There is a moment of silence before Priest demands. “He’s mine.”
I nod my head. I won’t begrudge him that. He’s earned it.
“I finally got a read on Brooklyn,” Lucien says, getting our attention back. “She’s at Gabriella and her husband’s estate. They’re hosting a party there tonight. This is the night Gabriella trades out Heimlich’s formula. I’ll keep you guys posted and as always, I’ll be your eyes in the sky.”
“Lucien live is disconnected. TV off,” the computerized voice announces.
“Lucien is going to keep searching for Brooklyn, until then, I’m going to call in this evidence to the Church and clear your name of Fem’s murder,” Priests says. “Many, I want you looking into blueprints of that estate. I want to know every entrance and exit.
“You guys need to have that together in two hours for Hawk. Seth, get with your brother. I want every contingency plan hashed out. You two need a solution for every situation we’ll come across.” Priest taps the table, drawing my attention. “Hawk, I’m going to need your A-game. That means you need to clear your mind of all distractions. Do you understand?”
I nod my head.
“Good, we’re going to get your mouthy-ass wife back.”
I laugh. “You knew.”
“Yeah, I knew.”
“I did too,” Seth admits. “Lucien drew it up and filed it. That shit’s real too. No backing out of it.”
They don’t have to worry about that. I’m never going to let her go. I promised her forever and I mean to give it to her.
“You don’t have to worry. She’s all I ever wanted.” I admit to the men in the room with me. “Even when I was six-years-old and I sat on that hospital bed staring at a poster of a smiling man and his beautiful wife while they laughed with their small child. The poster suggested that the blind man in the picture was happy and could live an exciting life, where he would find love and happiness.”
That day I swiped at my blurry eyes that were losing focus more and more each day, listening to the doctor tell my parents that my eyesight wouldn’t improve. That in fact, it would get worse. He explained that by the time I turned eight I would be completely blind. I sat in that room as my mother cried and my father looked at me as I if I had just become a huge burden he didn’t want and thought about the image the picture made.
“It’s what she wanted for you too. It’s why she did so much for you to have it,” Seth adds. He doesn’t have to say who the she is.
“I wanted the life that picture painted so badly. I wanted to prove to my parents and the world that my diagnoses wasn’t t
he end for me. I didn’t want to be anyone’s burden. I wanted my own happily ever after like the smiling man and his beautiful wife, but I didn’t want to lose her to get it.”
Two years after that doctor’s visit, my eyesight was completely gone. I am legally blind, only seeing shadows and shapes if it’s bright enough. I never let my condition stop me. Priest, my brothers, and Albany made sure that I never limited myself. They continued to push me.
“I told you once before, Hawk Eyes,” Priest says. “Fem always knew what she was doing. I miss her every day and I only wish I could have told her the truth, but I know that she wouldn’t want you sitting around moping over her. She wanted your happily ever after more than anything. Don’t waste it.”
He’s right. Now that I have my beautiful wife, it’s time for me to add the happily ever after to my story.
“Everyone has their job,” Priest says, scraping the chair back, letting me know he’s standing to his feet. “Let’s get to it—”
“Hold up,” Seth cuts Priest off. “I just got a message. The Church is demanding the return of Hawk.”
“What? Let me see that,” Priest states and steps closer to Seth to peer at the phone.
“He’s telling the truth. We got the message too. We’re supposed to bring him in on sight,” Many adds in his British accent.
“They can’t do that. They let me go, they can’t reinstate me.”
Can they?
Priest sighs. “I feared they would pull some shit like this. With Fem gone, her deal with the Church is void. I’m afraid either you go back in service, or you give them something else they want.”
He doesn’t even have to tell me what else they want. I already know. I’m not giving her up.
I know exactly what Priest meant when he said he couldn’t stand the Church stealing Albany’s humanity. This shit changes you, and I will never let it happen to Brooklyn. Do I want my forever with her? Absolutely.
Would I risk her to get it? No. This is what they all meant by the Church not letting me keep her.
“Don’t think about it now.” Priest steps forward and places a hand on my shoulder. “First, we get the painter back, and then we will take you in.”
My guests leave, heading out to handle their business and I’m alone again. I do exactly as Priest told me to do, I don’t worry about the ending or leaving Brooklyn. Instead, I spend my time clearing my mind. I need all my senses for tonight. And since my eyes won’t be one of them, I need to focus on the others.
Chapter 26
Reveal
Brooklyn
I come awake quickly, springing up in the bed. My heart races as the events of the day come crashing back down on me. The ache for Walker is the first thing that hits me.
Then the pain of losing my sister again. I finally solve her murder and there’s nothing I can do about it. It feels like a blow to the heart.
It’s one thing not knowing who killed her, but it’s a different pain when I do know, and justice isn’t served. I almost would rather I didn’t find out.
The twisting of the knob alerts me right before the door opens and Gabriella walks in. I want to jump up from my bed to whoop her ass too, but I think better of it when she walks in with Long, and a man holding a gun.
They were working together this whole time. I would have never gotten the connection between the two. I imagine she had Long kill my sister to either punish Walker or draw him out.
“Well, hello again, Brooklyn.” Her accent causes certain letters to roll off her tongue. “I’m glad you could join me.”
Her plunging silver ball gown looks radiant on her golden skin. Her highlighted hair is in wand curls, hanging down her back and her make-up is flawless.
“Where am I?”
She giggles. “You’re at my estate, silly.”
I’m not going to play the game she’s trying to play. Pretending that she’s some sweet welcoming hostess. If her friend didn’t have his gun trained on me, I’d be fucking up her appearance tonight.
Instead of being the old Brooklyn and coming out of the gate fighting, I keep a calm head. Something I was never able to do when I was younger. If I want to get out of this, I have to stay calm and be smart.
“Now that I’m here, what do you want with me?”
She walks further into the room. Her gunman not too far away. Long only stares at me with a smirk as he leans against the wall across from the bed.
His face has been bandaged. He has one over his eye and one near his ear, the other scratches on his face are red and angry like a cat got to him. Good, I want to do more damage.
“I don’t want anything from you,” Gabriella says. “It’s your sister’s lover I want dead.” Now isn’t the time for me to tell her that he was never Albany’s lover. “The moment I get verification that bastard is dead, you can go. After, you hand over the evidence your sister gave you.”
“I already told you, the hitman is dead,” Long says, the annoyance thick in his tone.
Gabriella doesn’t turn to him when she replies. “And I told you I wasn’t taking any chances. I’ve spent five years waiting for his death. I don’t want anything messing it up. Now.” A smile spreads over her face when she starts back speaking to me. “What do you have for me?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying. The only thing I had was the surveillance footage of that night, but that was destroyed in the wreck.”
She watches me for a moment, a triumphant look on her face. “Good. Well then, once I get my verification, you can go.”
She must think I’m stupid. There is no way she’s going to let me walk out of this house alive. I might not be cut out for this Church shit, but I’m no fool.
“Keep her in here and away from my guests. No one comes in this room.” She turns to leave, but I have to stop her.
“Why?” I ask. I don’t care about her motivation for hunting down Walker. I want to know why she had my sister killed. “She had nothing to do with what happened to your father. Why kill Albany?”
Gabriella turns around to face me, sweeping her long hair off her shoulder. “When that psycho finished killing my father and all his colleagues, he went to that whore’s house. They celebrated the end of my life and the death of my father by fucking as if lives were not ruined.”
I shake my head. She assumed the same thing I first did. This woman has no idea that the only thing Albany and Walker did that night was put together furniture, eat, and watch TV. Even if I explained it, it wouldn’t make a difference.
“Then that bitch had the audacity to snoop around in my business,” Gabriella continued. “Then even after I got rid of her, you show up with her lover at the boutique the exact same day I was due for a pickup. It felt good getting that close to you both knowing you had no idea.”
So shopping wasn’t the only reason Albany sent me to that first address. And to think, I almost missed Gabriella because I showed up too early. My attention is pulled back to the woman in the room as she continues.
“She deserved to die, and he does too. Don’t worry, the world is better off without people like her.”
With that, she sashays out of the room followed closely by her gunman. I’m left alone with Detective Long. He grins over at me before pushing away from the wall. I eye him warily. He stops at the foot of the bed.
He shakes his head. “Never mind the shit that she said. I have other plans for you. You know that little organization your psycho boyfriend and lawyer work for? Well, they came to visit me.
“Seems lover boy pissed off a bunch of those motherfuckers. It’s crazy though,” he says, sitting at the foot of the bed like we’re old time friends catching up.
“Five years ago, I hit wall after wall trying to solve that fucking case. It was like every lead I got turned out to be smoke. I nearly lost my mind.
“Even picked up a nasty smoking problem. Then, this morning, I get a visit from a crazy guy talking about Churches a
nd assassins. He told me everything about your little blind lover.”
“My what?”
Long laughs. “Oh, that’s right, you don’t know. He’s supposed to be good at hiding it.”
I don’t need my canvas or my paintbrushes to paint this picture for me or to show all the signs that I easily missed. The way he looked at me and through me at the same time. His issue with directions—he isn’t OCD.
He probably had certain routes memorized. The way he held my hand no matter where we went. How he oftentimes let me get the door or reach for things when we were visiting someplace new.
The fact that everyone he knows pointed out my features to him. I thought it was weird, but they were describing me to him. He never read anything in front of me.
He always made me look at the computer screens or read something back to him. When I asked him about the marriage license, I still revealed it to him. Every single sign was so obvious, but I didn’t catch it because what he could do was so incredible.
I joked with him about having a superpower, but he actually does. And to think, he fell in love with me, without even knowing what I look like.
The tears on my face come without warning. I want to question why he didn’t tell me, but I know. Because knowing something like that changes the way you view someone. If I knew, I would have missed all the other things about him.
“Hey, don’t get all weepy eyed. He’s a fucking murderer. I’m glad he’s dead. I should’ve taken his ass out when I killed that lawyer Silver.” Long stands to his feet. “I got about two hours before that Church guy is here to pick you up. Do you know what kind of money they offered to pay me for you?” He scoffs and shakes his head. “It’s crazy.”
He heads for the door of the bedroom, but stops and turns back to face me. “You stay put now.” He winks before leaving the room.
The moment the door closes, I’m up on my feet. I check the windows first, remembering Walker’s advice. Always check for alternative exits.
The windows are a no go. I’m about three stories up. Not something I can jump out of. Not that I could anyway, there are locks on the inside that require a tool.