Surviving Brooklyn (Brooklyn Series Book 1) (14 page)

“I take it you found your dad,” the man stated, and I nodded, saying nothing.

“You brought this on yourself as you refused to play the
game
.” He spoke as though I were a child. I stared right through him, and he let go. I started walking back toward the precinct. He didn’t stop me. I guess I wasn’t as much fun to play with anymore.

I was lost in my own head when he pulled my arm back, and I spun around. He planted his lips on mine and I stood before him numbly.

“What’s your name?” I asked as he tried to kiss me.

“My name?” The killer’s green eyes seemed to glow.

“I want to know the name of the person who is going to kill me,” I whispered as the people flowed around us, not noticing our exchange.

“Call me R.J. But I told you, Brooklyn, I have no intentions to kill you unless you refuse to play along.”

I stood before him like a zombie. I should have been angry. I should have been fighting for my life. But my grief ran too deep, and the guilt added to that kept all my other emotions at bay.

“Kill me,” I whispered in his ear. “I don’t want to live in a world where my friends and family are hunted down and murdered because you felt like I wasn’t
playing
with you.”

I pulled my arm away and turned my back on him. I thought he would end me then and there, but instead he disappeared into the crowd. As I stumbled back upon the police department, Mark ran for me, enveloping me in his arms.

“I’m so sorry,” he exclaimed. “I’m so sorry. Tell me what you need.”

That was the million dollar question. When my mom died, everyone asked what they could do. There is never anything a person can do. They are not God. They are not Jesus Christ. No one can bring my mom back, so why even ask. No one can bring my dad back, either.

Mark helped me into the Escalade and drove me to my apartment. I walked inside to find Kate waiting there. She had dyed her hair black and gotten blue contacts.

“Brook, I am so sorry,” she muttered as she held me. She had tears streaming down her face, and I wondered why I couldn’t do that.

“Kate, she is still in shock. And we just found her pacing outside the precinct,” Mark explained.

They led me to the couch and I sat down as the doorbell rang. Taylor walked inside to get a briefing. I could hear them talking.

“The security footage shows Brooklyn with the suspect outside the precinct. He even saved her life. She went to step off the curb in front of a bus and he pulled her back,” Taylor said.

“Did you bring the footage?” Mark asked.

I watched in slow motion as they headed into my bedroom. I stood up to follow, and Kate remained by my side. I watched behind them as they saw me walk out of the precinct. He had been waiting right beside the steps, and no one noticed him.

Then, when I uttered the words, “kill me,” Mark turned his chair and looked at me.

“What did you say there, Brooklyn?” Mark asked.

“I can get a lip reader here in an hour if she isn’t ready to talk about any of this,” Taylor said.

“Brook, what did you say? I can read your lips, Brook, but I want you to tell me what you said,” Mark demanded.

“I told him to kill me,” I whispered. They fell silent for a long moment..

“Can you both give us the room for a minute?” Mark said to Taylor and Kate.

After he closed the door, I expected him to yell or be furious. Instead, he turned on my shower and carried me into the cold water. We were both still cold and I shrieked at the frigid temperature. I clawed at him to let me go.

“You finally ready to fight for your life, Brook?” Mark asked as the floodgates burst. I hung my head and cried into his chest. He reached behind us and warmed the shower.

Mark discarded my clothes and washed every inch of me. He even got the blood out of my hair. I held my stomach as I couldn’t stop the tears. After I was clean, he turned off the water and carried me out. He wrapped a towel around me and discarded his clothes. He took my terrycloth robe and put it on, and then he dried me off.

He dressed me in fuzzy teal pajama pants and a teal tank top. He gathered up all the wet clothes and walked out of the bedroom to place them in the washer.

“Can we arrest him yet?” I asked Taylor in barely a whispered voice when I entered the living room.

“Brooklyn, I would love to say we have enough evidence. But it’s all circumstantial, and with the new footage of him saving you, it makes him look like a hero, and not like the murdering bastard he is.”

“Can everyone stay here with me tonight? You guys are the only family I have left and I want everyone together tonight.”

Kate and Taylor both said yes. Mark wrapped his arms around me, and told me he and Taylor would go get some new clothes. They called in for a guard as I made sure my gun was loaded.

After they placed some young cop at my door, they left. Kate stayed with me as I tried to reel from the devastation I felt.

“How are you?” Kate asked.

“I never got to tell him I loved him,” I replied with a sniffle.

“He knew, Brook. He always called Mark and I and made sure you were taken care of. He said you were too much like him. That you were too proud to express your feelings and too proud to ask for help.”

That made me feel a little better about things, but it didn’t change the fact that this psycho killed my dad.

“I should have gone there sooner, Kate. I could have done something.”

“You mean like both of you dying together? Because that is the only thing that would’ve come of it.”

Kate wrapped her arms around me and held me tight.

“You have to dye your hair back. I can’t lose you, too,” I murmured, and she nodded.

“This may be the wrong time, but I think a little change in subject is what we need right now. Do you want to tell me why your boss looks at you like you are his favorite little toy?”

“It’s a long story.”

“For something that is destined to be juicy, I have the time.” Kate winked at me and gave me a crooked smile.

“Well…”

Chapter 14

Three days had come and gone. Today was the day we would bury my dad. I expected it to be dark and gloomy, but the sun was shining as I woke up to a wonderful aroma in the apartment. Mark was sound asleep beside me, so I crept out of bed. I stepped into the kitchen to find Taylor cooking everyone breakfast.

“Need anything?” I asked, hoping I could do something to help.

“I’m good. How are you, darling?”

“I am as good as I am going to get, I think. Where’s Kate?” I asked, looking around to see she hadn’t come in last night.

“The ex-boyfriend called and wanted her to come over, so she went there and never came home,” Taylor explained. “She will be at the funeral. She will probably be hung-over, but she will be there.”

I climbed on the top of the island and Taylor came and stood between my legs. He glanced at me as if trying to see if I was okay.

“I have a sudden urge to kiss you,” I whispered, and Taylor looked shocked.

“Not that I would stop you, but do you know why you feel this way?” he asked.

“I feel like my life is on a path to destruction and I need to alter my course. You might be the change I need.”

Taylor went back and flipped the omelet he was making. I could see he was thinking about it.

“Look, Brooklyn, I would love to be balls deep inside you. I would love for you to kiss me, but you have a good man in there, and I think you should talk to him before you go altering your course.”

I climbed off the island to find Mark standing behind the counter. He looked defeated. I walked up and took his hand and led him back to my bedroom.

“Is this the part where you tell me I am not enough? Mark asked.

I shook my head in response.

“Is this the part where you tell me you don’t love me?” He crossed his arms and stared at me.

I shook my head again.

“Are you sleeping with him?” Mark asked, and from his stance I could tell he was preparing for the worst.

I shook my head yet again.

“Then what the hell was that about, Brooklyn?”

I lifted my head to look him in the eye. His beautiful cobalt eyes could drown me and steal my soul if I stared at them long enough.

“I was thinking this may be my last day on Earth,” I replied. “The Marshals, the FBI, even the commissioner have said the same thing. They expect him to make a move on me at the funeral. I was thinking if I did something to change the future, to alter fate or destiny’s course, then I would continue breathing tomorrow.”

Mark stared intently at me before he began pacing.

“Let me get this straight. You want to have sex with Taylor as a change of pattern? Do you hear how it sounds? It sounds like the love of my life is going coo-coo for cocoa puffs.” Mark spoke sarcastically.

“It was just a thought, Mark. If this were my last day on Earth, I would want my last moments to be with you. I just wondered what would happen if I changed something to change what we know is coming.”

“Then you skip the funeral, you don’t spread your legs for your boss!” Mark all but yelled.

I took a step back as the tears began to fall. He had been patient and understanding with me so far. I just needed him to see I didn’t do anything wrong; it was merely a thought.

Mark opened the door and stormed out of our bedroom. Then I heard my front door slam. It was only a few minutes before I was being picked up off the floor by Taylor.

“I can’t skip the funeral. It’s my dad,” I stuttered out through my cries.

Taylor merely held me there and rubbed his hand up and down my back. He kept whispering that I would be okay as I cried against him.

“I have an idea,” Taylor said. “Kiss me, Brooklyn. You want to alter the events of today, and we still have an agreement. I own you. So kiss me.”

I leaned up and looked at him in confusion. I applied my lips to his and kissed him. I didn’t push it, and neither did he. It was a peck on the lips, nothing more. But it was at that moment that Mark walked back in.

All of a sudden he was pulling Taylor up and holding him by the throat.

“Mark, stop it!” I shrieked.

I watched as he slammed Taylor into the wall.

“Stop it!” I screamed again.

“Give me one reason I should let you live,” Mark hissed at Taylor. I pulled my gun and slid back the slide. The noise rang out in my bedroom. I aimed it at Mark, and my heart shattered.

“Stop it!” I screamed and my knees hit the floor as the tears cascaded down my face. I gripped my chest as my heart broke.

Mark let go of Taylor and walked over to me. He took the gun from my hand. He emptied the clip and set the bullets and the gun on my desk.

“I’m sorry, Brooklyn. I can’t do this with you anymore. I thought I could, but I can’t. I can’t share you, and you shouldn’t want me to,” Mark replied as he walked out the door.

Taylor lunged for me and enveloped me in his arms. The drywall in my apartment was broken, and so was my heart. I had loved him for twenty years, and now we were done. I was willing to trade my freedom for his, but when I needed a little compassion and understanding, he was ready to bail.

Taylor helped me up and brought me into the kitchen. He made me an omelet, but I wasn’t hungry. I needed to get ready for the funeral. He locked the front door and gathered his suit and brought it into my bedroom. I heard the shower turn on and he came out for me.

“I swear, no hanky-panky, but we need to get ready and I don’t want to leave you alone right now. Call me needy, but I want you to stay with me.” Taylor gave me a half smile.

I got undressed slowly and climbed into the shower with him. He washed my hair as I washed my body. Once I was done, I climbed out. Then I watched as he washed and rinsed in under two minutes.

It amazed me how little time men spent getting ready. I began straightening my hair when Taylor walked out, a towel around his waist, his chiseled chest on display.

He took the brush and my straightener and straightened my hair for me without a word. Then he got dressed in his black suit and tie.

“Do you know what you’re wearing?” Taylor asked.

I nodded, and pulled out a full-length black halter dress with a shawl. I had bought it just for my dad’s funeral. I would probably burn it afterward, because I never wanted to wear it again.

“Taylor, if I die today, I want you to make sure they bury me in this.” I pulled out a short sleeve lace dress. “It was my mom’s wedding dress. I never had a husband or any children so it only seems appropriate that I get buried in it.”

Taylor looked uncomfortable, but he nodded in agreement.

“How about we lay your dad to rest today, and get you out of there to fight another day.”

Taylor was so sweet, but the evidence was there. The profilers and psych personnel all agreed this was going to be the killer’s grand stand.

It always came back the same. He wanted to play a game with no rules, no instructions, no winners, and no losers. This wasn’t a game to me. To him it was like chess, and any pawn who was on the board got wiped out.

Since I refused to play along, and had asked him to kill me on the street that day, I had taken myself off the board and that changed the game.

Now he was going to come for me so there would be a winner and a loser. The one who kept breathing would win. I swallowed hard as I thought about it. I had to give my father’s eulogy and deal with being hunted by a psycho. On top of that, Mark had left me. Despite this, I still hadn’t experienced a nervous breakdown.

I planted a kiss right on Taylor’s lips. As soon as his mouth opened, I dove inside and tasted the caramel I had come to be familiar with. It wasn’t coffee and whipped cream, but no one could replace Mark.

I wrapped my hands around the back of his neck and he pulled me close. I ran my fingers through his soft black hair, and dropped one hand down and placed it over his cock to rub through his clothes. Then he opened his emerald eyes and pushed my hands away.

“Brooklyn, you are upset right now. You are not thinking. In the morning, when Mark comes to apologize, you don’t want to have done something you will feel guilty for. When you want me inside you, I will be there, but I want it to be because you want me, not because you are upset.”

I felt mortified and suddenly very self-conscious. I put on my black strapless corset and clipped my thigh highs to my garter. Then I put on the bulletproof vest they had customized for another case. Once I put the dress on, it was impossible to tell I was wearing the vest. I put on my favorite strappy black heels.

I draped the shawl across my back, and grabbed my matching purse. I picked up my large black hat and placed it on my head. I looked like a million bucks and felt like scum.

I heard my doorbell as Taylor tied his shoes to get ready to go.

“Hi, Kate,” I said as I opened the door. She came inside and saw Taylor in the bedroom and no Mark.

“You want to tell me what is written between the lines in the apartment right now?” Kate asked.

I told her what happened, and she scoffed at the situation.

“At least Taylor knew you were reacting as an emotional plane crash getting ready to happen. Mark yelled at you and left. You don’t need this today. Wait until you look outside. It’s amazing.” Kate brought me to my window. “The news broke about your dad, and how you lost him to the killer you were trying to protect people from. They came forward.”

I opened the window and looked down at all the people holding lit candles and singing Amazing Grace.

“Brooklyn, you stood up for your community and tried to do the right thing. You lost your dad from it. Now, the community wants to show they support you.”

I stepped back and closed the window. I wasn’t going to start crying and mess up my make-up. I fanned my face as we headed to the elevator.

Taylor stuck out his elbow and I took it. Kate stood right behind me in her black rockabilly dress. It was one my dad had bought her for her birthday a few years back, and it meant a lot to her. The elevator door opened, and we made our way out.

I was bombarded with hugs from strangers and people who said they were sorry. I never imagined anyone would care when my dad died because of who he was. Maybe they didn’t care, but they felt my sorrow and that was refreshing. Sounds selfish, but I didn’t want to be the only one in pain.

Taylor helped me push through the crowd and climb into the waiting limo. I leaned my head on Kate as I held Taylor’s hand. I was grateful they were here, but they didn’t offer up the same comfort Mark gave when I needed it. Upon arrival at the cemetery, there were officers and agents as far as the eye could see.

Kate climbed out first as the agents rushed the car. I didn’t think my dad would be able to rest in peace while being swarmed by cops, but I wasn’t ready to join him six feet under. I would leave them to their jobs and keep my lips zipped.

The officers swarmed me as I walked up the hill. My mom was buried under a cherry tree that overlooked part of the ocean. It was just outside the city in a quiet little suburb. I was having my dad laid to rest beside her. I saw the tent and chairs and went to take my seat. They had a bomb sniffing dog smell the chair prior to allowing me to sit.

Taylor’s phone chimed an incoming text. I looked down and he cleared it quickly. I reached over and took his phone from him. I opened his text messages. This one was a blessing in disguise.

We have enough that I was able to ascertain a warrant this morning for R.J. Cummins. If you see him, they are to apprehend him and arrest him on eleven counts of murder and one charge attempted murder.

I handed Taylor his phone back. I scratched my head as the name sounded so familiar. I knew I didn’t know him, but I had heard that name somewhere before.

“Eleven counts?” I asked, unaware of the added bodies.

“There were two that took place outside of the state. He will be charged and tried in—”

“Trenton,” I finished for him. “In New Jersey.”

Taylor stared at me as realization dawned on who he was.

“How did you know that?” he asked.

“Because I know where he lives.”

“How the hell could you possibly know that?”

“His father killed Mark’s mother. When my father was arrested, my mom used to take me out there to play with him while she helped his mom cook and clean. We were all friends until my mom got sick, and I stayed with Mark instead of going out there. The kid I used to play with…his name was Randy Junior Cummins.”

Taylor started texting someone immediately, and the music began as the minister came forward. He preached about what an honorable man my dad was and then we bowed our heads to pray. After they finished the prayer, it was my turn to talk. I stood up in front of our family and friends and took a deep breath.

“My dad was a man who some were proud of, and a man some people feared.”

I took a deep breath as I saw reporters writing every word I was saying.

“For those of you who were not invited…make sure you quote me correctly.”

I picked up a red rose from the podium and smelled it as I prepared to say my final words about my dad.