“Afternoon, Antonia. Thought I would stop by with some coffee and a treat from the local bakery in Turbank.” He placed the box down on the small table that sat between the two rockers. She looked up at him, wondering why he was really here and what he wanted.
“That was nice of you, but I was going to head inside soon to rest.” She picked at her fingernails, feeling intimidated by the large Chief of Police. He was a big man with dark brown hair that nearly reached his shoulders, and a gruff, short-haired beard that made him look rugged and capable. That deep look in his eyes she was currently trying to avoid. It set her on edge and made her shake.
When she felt his hand cover her hand she gasped and looked at him, wide-eyed.
“Not here to scare you or put you on edge, just looking out for the newest member of Repose.” He released her hand and then offered her a cup of coffee.
“It isn’t poisoned. I only had them put cream in it. I brought some sugar and sugar substitute if you need,” he said.
She took the to-go cup from him and held his gaze. “Is it flavored? It smells like hazelnut.”
He nodded. “They grind their own beans fresh there. It’s a nice place. You should go visit it with your sister, or maybe me some time,” he said to her and then glanced at the way she held the sweater tight. She released it, forgetting she wore a low cut tank top but she hadn’t expected company. His eyes zeroed in on her chest and she glanced down, fixed her top and then saw the bruise and scratches that were still visible.
One look into his eyes and she saw the anger and maybe the disgust. She went to put the coffee down. He stopped her and leaned closer.
“Antonia, the last thing I want to do is scare you or put you on edge. I want you to feel safe here, to know that no one can hurt you as long as I’m around and you’re honest with me.”
She held his gaze.
“You make that promise to all the members of your community, old and new?” she asked.
His eyes zeroed in on her lips. She practically felt it against them. He was a very manly man, like a badass, country, hunter type. A man capable of things—maybe really bad things. He probably hunted, killed large animals for fun, shot guns, could use a knife. She felt her eyes glaze over.
“Shhh, damn, baby, please don’t look at me like that.” He swallowed hard and she saw what she thought was real care and upset in his eyes. Like he could tell he frightened her and it upset him. What did she know? She was the worse judge of character, and especially of men.
“Brooklyn will be here soon.”
He nodded and then pulled back and took a sip from his coffee cup. “I should have brought a third cup then. Funny, I thought she usually stopped home around three to rest and shower before the night shift.”
“How do you know that? You watching her or something? Stalking her?” she asked and placed the cup down.
“I’m the Chief of Police, Antonia. It’s my job to know my people’s routines. Some are like clockwork and stand out more than others.”
She thought about that a moment and it made sense to her. Why would the Chief of Police want to hurt her or trick her? Unless this was some backwoods town with weird shit going on. There were ménage relationships, which wasn’t so common, but the people she saw engaged in them seemed really happy. She sat out here every day no matter what the weather, just to soak in the normalcy and special feel of the neighborhood. It was like a TV show. It was perfect. She looked at him as it hit her. He just watched her as she processed everything.
“I guess I need to change up my routine, then,” she said to him and took a sip of the coffee, which was very good.
“Or not, so we can do this again sometime. Unless you don’t like these cinnamon buns I got from the bakery. Then we have a problem, because they’re my favorite,” he told her and reached into the bag and pulled out two of them. They smelled incredible.
“Shall we?” he asked her and raised one of his eyebrows up at her.
They looked yummy, too, and there was no way she could resist. She had a bit of a sweet tooth and soon she would need to start working out again. Maybe running or finding a gym. Something.
She ripped off a small piece as the Chief took a big bite of his.
“This is good,” she said.
“Thank God,” he whispered and winked at her. She couldn’t help but read into that relief he had. That he wouldn’t come back to visit her if she didn’t share his love for this delicious cinnamon bun.
They ate in silence and then used the napkins and wet wipes to clean up their sticky hands. They sat there talking about random things and she started to get used to his presence, the scent of his cologne, and the fact that, for some strange reason, she found comfort in his presence. She didn’t analyze it, she just locked it away, like a little secret she would never share. Happy thoughts were few and far between, and maybe late at night when she cried at all her mistakes, she could think of this happy thought instead of nightmares from her battlefield.
Chapter 6
“Listen, there’s a lot of potential here. I could come up with at least five really great and effective ways to give you more room, enlarge the kitchen, arrange for a great transition from indoor seating to outdoor seating as well as outdoor entertaining. It comes down to how much you want to spend? Would you need to close down the kitchen for a week while we make the additions?” Jagger explained to Brooklyn as she stood by the wall and kitchen in the dining area.
“A week? Shit,” she said and ran her hand along her jaw. He held her gaze and then looked over her body and the slim-fitting jeans she wore and the green, long-sleeve shirt that accentuated her breasts and brought out the green in her eyes. She looked classy and sexy, considering she was dressed casually.
“A week is on the extreme side of things. There are some ways we could cut that down to a few days, tops,” Finnian added to the conversation.
“I don’t know, Finnian. We’ll have the manpower, of course, but we have to work with the utility companies, turn off the gas, water, electrical connections to coordinate. Then whoever Brooklyn hires for the security system will also need to work with us on fire codes, getting the town engineer’s approval, and working out a timeline with the other contractors.”
“That’s true and can hold up things a bit.”
“Well, I haven’t spoken to Jesse or Aero yet, but I was planning on letting them know I want to go with them for all that stuff.”
“Not In Line?” Jagger asked.
She made a noise with her mouth and then crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“What happened? Did they try something with you?” Finnian asked her, surprising Jagger. Then again, Jagger did share his alone time with her after the board meeting last night, just as Aero shared helping her in the office. Even Zeke had one-on-one time with Brooklyn, confirming an attraction. This should have been his time. He felt a little jealous, but then chuckled inwardly. They were making progress and he was on board to get to know her with his brothers.
“Les and his brother Derek are all wrong for the job. Let’s just leave it at that.”
She moved past Jagger and he took her good hand, not the wrapped one. The move made her bump up against his side. He held her gaze.
“It was a smart move to follow your gut. They’re bad news and would more than likely place you in further debt.”
“I’ve heard about their reputations. Hence why I’m here with you.”
“What did you hear about my reputation?” he asked, totally flirting with her. She looked at his lips and, damn it, his cock hardened big time.
“That’s still up for debate, Jagger.”
He raised one of his eyebrows up at her and ran his hand along her waist.
“Is that so? Maybe I could help resolve any inconsistencies, or even complaints, so you can come to your own, personal decision.”
She looked like she was about to counter his flirtatious comment with one of her own, but then she glanced at Finnian and then back a
t Jagger.
“I don’t think so. Why don’t we look outside and you can give me some more ideas?”
He nodded as she turned but he kept a hand at her waist and she didn’t push it off. That was one more step in the right direction of getting Brooklyn to entertain their attraction. Something told him it was going to take baby steps that might ultimately kill his resolve to go slowly.
* * * *
Brooklyn was working in the back office at the restaurant. It was two o’clock in the morning and only the bar was crowded with people. She couldn’t help but to wonder if Zeke, Aero, Jagger, and Finnian were still at the bar with their friends. They were having a good time and laughing, talking about old times when she had to get some paperwork done. She had been busy all week interviewing contractors for the construction and still felt overwhelmed about doing it all. The positive thing was that it would provide more employment for locals in the community and Zeke and Ledger said they could make sure only good, reliable prospects would apply. She liked the sound of that and appreciated the help.
Hell, all she kept thinking about lately were the four Cartwright men, who had to be the most intimidating, charismatic, interesting bunch of men she had ever met in her life. To actually feel an attraction to a man again was hard to swallow. To feel it for four men, brothers in a town that accepted, hell, encouraged ménage relationships, was pretty damn scary. She didn’t want to think about how badly it all could go. However, the thought of kissing them, touching them, and feeling their hands on her was getting harder and harder to resist.
If she did let her guard down, she would need to be careful not to fall for them. It had to be that way. She wouldn’t let her guard down so much that they could take over her life, control her every move, and make her into someone she wasn’t. That’s what Kevin did and he was one man. These were four, and four very complex men with connections, power, and resources she just didn’t have. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt about it. She couldn’t let her guard down and want them. It would be her biggest mistake ever.
She ran her fingers through her hair and closed up the books. She pulled the chair back and bent down to place them into the other locked cabinet when she heard a noise. Looking up, she was shocked and immediately screamed as a masked man in black came into the room.
She jumped up from the chair and he struck her right across the jaw. Her shoulder banged into the cabinet hard and as he came at her again she lifted her bandaged hand to protect her face and he struck it hard with something, making her scream. She was screaming so loudly and hoped that someone heard her when he struck her again and slammed her body up against the metal cabinets. His hands were at her skirt and she fought him off the best she could as he breathed heavily against her neck.
“I should fuck you right here, bitch. I’ve watched this body for so fucking long. You’re a cock tease.”
“Let go of me. What do you want?”
“This.” He cupped her mound and she cried out in terror and fear but then anger, head butting him in the nose. He roared and that was it. He ripped her dress and swung at her face until they heard another scream. In a flash, he released her and she fell to the floor, crying as he ran from the room.
“Brooklyn? Oh, my God, Brooklyn,” Carina cried.
“Get help,” she told her and lay there trying to sit up but her hand was gushing blood. Her face and body throbbed with pain.
“Brooklyn!” she heard Aero yell and then he bent down on the floor to look at her. “Who did this? What the fuck happened?”
“Get the chief down here,” Jagger yelled to someone. She could hear what they were saying and knew that she was safe now.
“Son of a bitch. Did Zeke catch him?” Aero asked as he lifted Brooklyn up onto his lap.
“He got away, but someone saw the make of the vehicle and a partial license plate. We’ll get him,” she heard Finnian say.
Brooklyn was shaking so hard she couldn’t even lift her hand. As the realization of what happened began to sink in, she felt the tears roll down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them away. She needed to be strong despite how good it felt to have Aero holding her and Jagger caressing her arm.
“Help me up,” she said, voice cracking.
“Just lay still a minute. Let’s look over the injuries, find out what the hell happened, and then we’ll get you to the doctor,” Jagger said to her. She felt his fingers under her chin and he tilted her face up. He clenched his teeth. “When I catch the fuckhead I’m going to personally beat the living crap out of him.”
* * * *
Brooklyn had given a report of everything that happened to her and any description of the robber she could give. They were at the doctor’s office and she was shivering despite the jacket and even the blanket Zeke had gotten her. Carina and Jack, a local police officer, went to her house to make sure that Antonia was safe and not alone.
Zeke stared at her as she barely flinched while Nevin stitched up her hand. He was pissed off beyond anything he’d ever felt before. Her gorgeous face was battered and already bruising good. Her cheek black and blue, a lump on her forehead from head bunting the guy who robbed her, which could probably help in identifying him when they found out who he was since she thought she broke his nose.
She described to Cesar how the man threatened her and grabbed at her, ripped her dress, touched her, and then beat on her. Nothing like this had happened in Repose in a long time. To know that it was against Brooklyn was sending the town in an uproar. Now it was three o’clock in the morning and people were showing up offering help in hunting the culprit down.
“Any idea who this could have been? I mean anything, Brooklyn. Any possibilities that you might know who the guy was, what he may have been after, why he wanted to scare you like he did?” Cesar asked her.
She looked around at the men in the room and Zeke saw her expression change. She looked angry.
Zeke reached up and caressed her hair from her cheek. She looked at him, took a deep breath and exhaled.
“You know something. What is it?” Finnian asked.
She glanced at him. “I don’t want to make an accusation.”
“Fuck that. This guy, whoever he was, wanted to scare you. He hurt you and it could have been worse if Carina didn’t come into the office. Now whomever for whatever reason you think this person is the one you tell us right now so we can protect you and your sister,” Finnian stated firmly.
“I think maybe it could be someone who works with Les and Derek Walters from In Line Securities.”
“What?” the doctor asked her.
“Well, the thing is that the first time my office was broken into I could have sworn I saw some tall guy, who had been talking with Les at the bar, walk down that hallway. I, like, caught it in my peripheral vision and then my attention was drawn to something at the bar because it was a crazy busy night. You guys showed up and you know the rest.”
“You never mentioned this inkling of a feeling that night when we all asked you if you had any suspicions,” Cesar asked her.
“I didn’t want to make an accusation.”
“What makes you think it’s a possibility tonight, then?” Jagger asked her.
She licked her lower lip. Aero was on her other side.
“Well, the other day after I met with Aero and Jesse about security, I had a scheduled appointment with Les and Derek about their company placing a bid. They were acting funny, kept talking to me about safety measures and how anyone could come in and rob me at night or early morning and that they could start, like, yesterday. They were bad-mouthing people and I got totally turned off but blew them off and said I needed to wait to make a decision but would be in touch. They even pushed about a construction company that would help with patching up walls and doing the addition. I got this bad feeling about them.”
“Because of them bad-mouthing other people and pushing their friend’s company?” Cesar asked.
“Well, they were a bit too touchy for my l
iking. They had this look in their eyes like they were conniving a plan, or like I was easy or they could make a move on me. I don’t know. I’ve seen it before. My gut clenched and so I got rid of them. Tonight, when the guy came in, my thought as he threatened me was that it was their friend. That he did this to scare me into hiring them. This guy went too far, though. The things he said sounded personal. Like maybe he’d been waiting for the opportunity.”
“Damn it. I wouldn’t put it past those assholes. They’ve been nothing but trouble and leave a path of bad business behind them,” Aero said to them.
“They do have reputations for causing more damage on a construction site or security install that winds up costing the customer more money. It was probably their plan with Brooklyn and the Filling Station,” Finnian added.
“Well, this is a start instead of a shot in the dark. I got men on patrol looking for that vehicle and the license plate. There’s an APB out on it in every town in this state and surrounding states. We’ll find it and we’ll find him. We can start by visiting Les’s office and getting a list of all employees. That guy shows his face anywhere, we’ll know it’s him by the broken nose,” Cesar said.
“Also a cut along his neck and I think, I’m not a hundred percent sure because I was pretty damn scared, but I thought I saw a tattoo on his collarbone and along his chest. As he…as he forced his mouth against my neck and breast, his shirt parted and I think it was a tattoo.” She raised her hand up toward Cesar as the men mumbled curses about her experience and Zeke clenched his teeth.
“I scratched him good. That’s why this nail is ripped,” she said and her hand was shaking.
“We took a sample of the blood under your nail. We’ll get that to the forensics lab at the state police headquarters. A blood match that’s not yours could surely help charge this guy when the time comes. You did good, Brooklyn. You kept fighting, and I know you’re scared, but we’re going to be watching over you and your sister,” Cesar told her.
The Battlefield Series 1: Let It Go (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 9