Authors: Rose Wulf
Blake said nothing more as the man turned again and walked
off. He really had thought the man would hold back, not wanting to risk
exposure by using his powers in front of so many people. But he had clearly
been wrong. And the surge of electricity in the air had caused Blake to break
out in a cold sweat. He knew better than to pursue the man further, at least
right in that moment, but he hated that he really hadn’t learned anything at
all.
He had hoped to at least get a name.
With a sigh, Blake turned and began walking in the opposite
direction. As he walked, he reflected on the conversation once more.
Maybe I didn’t really learn nothing,
he
decided after a minute.
It’s good to know
that the enemy doesn’t care about witnesses—and it’s safe to assume they don’t
care about bystanders. And the way he talked about his family makes me think
we’re dealing with more than just him and the Mystery Man. But where are they
hiding?
For everything he might have gleaned from the man, he’d
developed at least one new question. Still, a little contact was probably a
step in the right direction.
And if he
was shopping, that probably means he’s—they’re—staying somewhere local, right?
Darien wasn’t that big, especially when you’d lived there your whole life.
Blake knew most of the families, at least by name if not by face. It shouldn’t
be too hard to figure out who their enemy was if they were really living in
town, right?
It’s something, at
least,
he finally decided as he rounded the corner to the parking lot where
his Mustang waited.
And in the meantime,
I should make sure the others know not to try to corner them in public.
It
was as much for their own sake as for the sake of everyone else. Their enemy
might not care about the people around them, but Blake did, and he knew the
rest of his family would feel the same. There was no sense in dragging innocent
people into their mess.
The ringing of his phone pulled Blake out of his thoughts
even as he unlocked his car. Brooke’s obligatorily smiling face, from the
picture she’d let him take near the beginning of the semester, greeted him when
he looked at the display. Making a mental note to get a new picture, he said,
“Hey.”
“Hey.” There was no underlying trace of discomfort or
distress in her voice, and he hoped that meant she hadn’t had yet another visit
from her Mystery Man. “I’m off early… Are you busy, or do you think you can
come get me?”
Lips curving in a smile, Blake angled into his car. “I’m
always free for you. Be there in a few minutes.”
As he drove, Blake called his mother and told her about his
conversation with their enemy. “We definitely shouldn’t approach them in
public,” he repeated when he was done. “He obviously didn’t care about
bystanders.” Blake worried about some of his brothers in this regard. Mostly
Dean, but both Dean and Nate were prone to impulse control issues. And then
there was Dean’s temper to consider.
Lillian, however, didn’t seem to care so much for his
choice of emphasis. “Blake, I’m surprised you would take such a risk. You could
have been killed!” The anger in her voice was nearly overridden by the fear.
And that combination tugged guiltily at his heart.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” he said. “Really. I just … I thought it
seemed like a safe risk. We need answers we’re not getting from Uncle
Nicholas.” Or at least
he
wasn’t.
He’d spoken to Nicholas twice now—the second time asking his uncle to email
over the documents he’d dug up—but neither call had yielded useful results.
Although he hadn’t finished going over the documents yet.
“Nicholas is telling us what he knows,” Lillian said. “More
importantly,
answers
to
questions
are not worth your life. I
don’t want you doing something so reckless again.”
“Mom—”
“Promise,” Lillian interrupted.
Blake released a breath as he pulled the car into a parking
spot at the diner. He didn’t want Brooke learning about his afternoon
excitement by overhearing his conversation with his mother. “I promise.”
“Good,” Lillian said as Brooke stepped out of the diner.
“I’ll pass along the warning to your brothers.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Brooke shuffled into the diner bright and early Sunday
morning, gathering with the rest of her coworkers in the dining area. She had
been wrong, it turned out, about the day of their new cook’s arrival, and Earl
and Paula wanted all of their best (or at least most reliable) workers on shift
that day to help break her in.
Georgia navigated her way to Brooke’s side as Brooke came
to a stop in the small crowd and, voice hushed, asked, “So, how was the car
hunt?”
The day before Blake, Brooke, and Angela—riding along in
order to decide what kind of car she wanted for her upcoming birthday—had gone
into the next town over and spent several hours looking at vehicles. There were
three dealerships in that town, it turned out, and they had hit each one.
Angela had gushed over several options—all of which were out of Brooke’s
price-range.
In the end, Brooke had written down a few types and their
associated prices, but she had not settled on any car in particular. Or, more
accurately, the one she wanted was a little too much, and she was still trying
to talk herself out of it.
Voice equally hushed, Brooke replied, “Unsuccessful.”
Earl chose that moment to step through the door, followed
immediately by a young woman dressed in a crisp chef’s coat. The murmured
conversations fell silent as they watched, everyone automatically assessing
their newest addition.
The woman looked to be in her early twenties, and seemed to
be several inches taller than Brooke. She had a lot of dark hair that was more
auburn than brown rolled up into a messy bun on her head and bright, observant
green eyes. The smile curving her lips was slow, careful, and somewhat awkward
as she watched everyone watch her.
“Okay, okay,” Paula said loudly, earning everyone’s
attention. Earl and the new girl moved to stand with her, in front of the doors
that led to the back room, but stayed silent. “Thank you all for coming in a
little early. Now, you’ve figured this out, I’m sure, but I’d like you all to
meet Madison Price. She’s a permanent addition to our staff, so I expect each
of you to be nice. And as everyone’s going to be feeling each other out today,
I want everyone on their best behavior.”
She paused, her gaze lingering on the gathered employees
long enough for her to words to hit home, before turning a smile to Madison and
saying, “Madison, meet your new family. I promise, by the day’s end, you’ll
wonder why this was ever awkward to begin with. Is there anything you’d like to
say?”
Madison shifted her attention from Paula, back to the group
in front of her, and lifted one arm in a small wave. “Um, hi, everyone. I
promise I know how to cook.”
A few muted chuckles drifted forward, Madison’s arm fell
back to her side, and Paula took over once again. “All right, all right. Let’s
get everything set up and get those doors open, shall we?”
Just like that, the tension fled and the group began
dispersing. Earl and the sous chefs took Madison into the kitchen, and Brooke,
Georgia, and the other waiter on duty for the morning all made their way to the
back.
As Georgia grabbed her apron, she said, “I kind of thought
she’d be more my age.”
Brooke shrugged. “I hadn’t really thought about it at all,
to tell you the truth.”
Their coworker agreed with a nod, and the room fell silent
again until he’d slipped through the door.
As soon as the door was properly closed again, Georgia
asked, “What did you mean ‘unsuccessful’? You didn’t find
anything
you liked?”
Brooke sighed, not at all surprised by her friend’s lack of
satisfaction with her earlier answer. “No, I mean I didn’t find anything I was
willing to buy on the spot. It’s hard justifying all that money in one place
right now, since I still have so many things to try to replace.”
“But a car is important,” Georgia insisted. “Especially
since you’ve got a roof over your head.”
Tucking her notepad into her apron pocket, Brooke said, “I
don’t want Blake to think I’m taking advantage of his hospitality. We’re
dating, not married. I promised I would be out as soon as I could find a
place.”
Georgia’s hand hovered over her hair, which she was
adjusting unnecessarily. “What, are you trying to tell me you’re actually
looking around? I thought for sure you were just waiting for a ring.”
Well, that’d be nice,
her mind whispered. Ignoring that voice, Brooke hedged, “Um, well … yes and no.
I mean,
no
, I’m not just waiting for
a ring. But the actual apartment search hasn’t really been my focus yet…”
Saying it out loud suddenly made her feel guilty.
When she’d first moved in with Blake, she’d sworn to find
another place as soon as possible. And though he’d told her not to pressure
herself, she had honestly intended to do as she’d said. It was just that she’d
gotten a little distracted with everything
else
that she needed, and everything else that was going on in general.
Oh God, what if he’s
irritated that I’m not really looking yet?
She sincerely hoped that wasn’t
the case. And he certainly didn’t seem at all bothered. In fact, he’d never
once even mentioned her non-existent house hunt.
I don’t think he’d stay so silent about it if he was bothered… Surely
he’d at least mention it?
“Well,” Georgia began, oblivious to her friend’s thoughts,
“I think you shouldn’t worry so much about finding a new place. I’ve got a
sense for these things, you know.”
Brooke pulled herself back to the moment and rolled her
eyes. “Right.” Georgia was as bad as Paula when it came to her matchmaking
desires. Blake and Brooke were living together—circumstances be damned. In
Georgia’s mind they were probably soul mates. And the hopeless romantic living
inside Brooke couldn’t help but hope her friend was right.
As the duo turned toward the door, Georgia suddenly said,
“Oh! You haven’t forgotten about Tuesday, right?”
“Of course not,” Brooke assured her. “I even already told
Blake he’ll have to live without me for a few hours.”
“Good, because I called the rental place yesterday and
reserved our boat,” Georgia declared. “It’ll just be the two of us, though.
Emma can’t come.”
“That’s too bad,” Brooke replied with a brief frown.
Georgia shrugged as they neared the front of the diner.
“Yeah, but it’s her loss!”
Brooke laughed and nodded. “Very true. She’ll just have to
make sure to come with us the next time.”
When they reached the front, where Shelly was setting up,
they fell quiet again. The diner would open in the next handful of minutes, and
if the small line out front was any indication, it was going to be a busy day.
****
Blake was smiling when Brooke walked through the door after
Georgia had dropped her off later that afternoon. “How was work?” he asked,
rising from his stretched out position on the couch to greet her.
Brooke let her purse land on the floor beside the couch as
he wrapped his arms loosely around her and covered her lips with his in a
sweet, chaste kiss. When he pulled back, she sighed. “You’d think Earl put an
announcement in the paper for Madison’s first day.
Your parents
even came in. I’ve
never
seen them there!”
Blake stepped back, one eyebrow lifted in surprise. “My
parents really don’t eat out that much. Maybe Earl handed out flyers or
something.”
Rolling her eyes, Brooke replied, “I doubt it. But we were
so
busy.” She took a deep breath and narrowed
her eyes suspiciously. “And what were you smiling about, anyway? Did you get to
come home early?”
“I’ve only been home for an hour,” Blake promised, holding
up one hand as if he were swearing an oath. “But there is something I wanted to
talk about.”
It was Brooke’s turn to lift an eyebrow. “Talk about what?”
Gesturing to the couch as he spoke, Blake said, “Well,
remember how you told your parents you refused to let them buy you a new car?”
Immediately wary—it would be just like her family to ignore
her wishes on something like that—Brooke lowered herself to the couch beside
him as she said, “Yes…”
“I had this thought,” Blake began, watching her carefully.
“And in fact, I might have only gotten off the phone a few minutes ago.” At
Brooke’s suspicious look, he pushed ahead. “I know how much you wanted that
Accord, and I know you fully intend to talk yourself out of it. But since I—
we
—respect that you don’t want to be
some sort of burden on anyone, I was thinking: what if you put up the
down-payment, like you wanted, and then your family and I
split
the difference? You can own it outright that way, and no
one’s out some outrageous, crippling, sum of money.”
“Absolutely not! We’re still talking
thousands
of dollars!” Brooke exclaimed without hesitation. “I can’t,
and won’t, ask anyone to put up that kind of money for me. I don’t know when
I’d be able to pay it back.”
Blake shook his head, obviously not at all surprised by her
argument. Nor should he have been, as he’d heard most of it from her side of a
phone conversation with her family on Friday. “We’re offering, Brooke. That’s
different than you asking. And it’d be a gift, not a loan.”
“No,” Brooke insisted firmly. “I know you’ve got enough
money, and I know my parents aren’t poor, but I don’t want anyone spending that
kind of money on me. It wouldn’t be right.”
Frowning now, Blake asked, “How would it not be right? If
we can afford it, then I don’t see the problem.”
“Because
I
can’t afford it!” Brooke
reiterated stubbornly. “I still only have half a wardrobe!” Tears suddenly
clouded her eyes as the reality of her words hit her.
What was I thinking, assuming I could buy a car?
Her bank account was already dangerously low from the few
hundred dollars she’d spent on clothing and the various bills she still had to
pay because she hadn’t been bright enough to have had renter’s insurance. It
was near enough to the end of the semester that she was having to think about
next semester’s classes, and she would need money for those classes. A single
semester’s worth of tuition and books was more than she could realistically
afford at the moment. Which meant she might have to skip a semester entirely.
And soon enough she really would have to think about finding a new apartment,
and then she’d have to budget for rent, too.
It was going to be a long time before she was properly back
on her feet.
Releasing a heavy, defeated sigh, Brooke let her gaze land
on the carpet and said, “Forget about it, please. It doesn’t matter, anyway; I
can’t afford a car right now.”
Oh God,
she thought as she realized she was going to cry. She doubted she could make it
to the bathroom before the tears slipped free.
Before she could move, Blake reached out and pulled her
into him. She tensed and braced a hand on his chest but didn’t struggle to pull
away. Quietly, Blake said, “I’m sorry, Brooke. I was trying to help, not upset
you. The last thing I want to do is upset you.”
Her hand curled, fist clenching the fabric beneath her
palm, and Brooke let her head collapse against his shoulder. She still
struggled to hold back her tears, but she relaxed into his embrace. A part of
her felt bad for making him feel guilty. She
knew
he’d only been trying to help. But at the moment that part of
her was small, and easily buried, as she couldn’t focus past the reality of her
situation.
Blake rubbed his hands lightly over her back and let his
cheek rest against her head. He said nothing as he held her, and she offered
nothing in return as she breathed deeply, fighting for control of her emotions.
****
“Brooke,”
Blake
began on Monday night as he walked into the kitchen, where she was sifting
through the fridge. She wasn’t going to like what he had to say, but it needed
to be said.
Brooke paused, her hand extended toward a row of bottled
tea, and slowly stood up. It was obvious, as she eased the door shut, that she
could sense his hesitation. She turned, her formerly raised hand landing on her
hip, and asked, “Yeah?” Her tone was calm, non-accusatory, but her eyes were suspicious.
Blake swallowed and forcibly kept his arms at his sides.
The last thing he needed was to send the wrong signal with his body language.
“I’ve been thinking again about this boat thing you’ve got planned with Georgia
tomorrow.”
One slim eyebrow lifted curiously, but Brooke said nothing.
Biting the proverbial bullet, Blake said evenly, “I don’t
think you should go.”
Both of her eyebrows rose then, and she shifted her weight.
“And why not?” There was an undeniable edge to her tone.
“It’s dangerous,” Blake explained, hoping she would
actually hear what he was saying. “I know you want to go, but
now’s
a bad time to be isolating yourself like that. It’s
been over a week since they’ve made a real move. There’s no way they’d ignore
an opportunity like that.”
“I’m not cancelling on Georgia over a hunch,” Brooke argued
stubbornly. “When they’ve come after me before, I was always alone. And
besides, you’ll be on lifeguard duty the entire time, so you’ll be practically
right there.”
Blake’s jaw clenched for a moment, but he forced himself to
remain calm. She wasn’t going to even consider his words if he got too pushy or
lost his temper. “We already know they’re willing to throw potential witnesses
out the window, and I won’t be able to see you from my tower. I won’t have any
idea what’s going on out there.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, Brooke replied, “But I
think you’ll see if our boat is followed out of the dock, and unless they
follow us in their own boat, we’ll be
fine
.
I’m
not
cancelling.”