Chapter Ten

Brooklyn

I'll never forget you, my pretty little deceiver. You are the only person who ever made me feel like maybe a heart did in fact beat inside me. Fly high, Brooklyn. Capture all your dreams and live your best life. Though I still feel the urge to end your miserable brother's life, I know I can't do that to you, so know this. Ben is safe. He's being watched. And soon, he will be far from Dallas, Texas.

I'll miss you, sweetheart. Leaving was the hardest decision of my life, but I didn't want to get in your way. The world is yours. Happiness is right there. Should you ever need anything at all, I'm leaving you my private number. Use it.

For the rest of my life, a day won't pass that I won't see your amazing blue eyes and remember your beautiful body shivering underneath mine. Be happy, sweetheart.

Two weeks had passed. Ben was gone. West was gone. No reminders of either of them besides the note still on the kitchen table where West left it. Along with the memories of how he held me that night through all the tears, the shaking, and the nausea. And the never-ending, gut-wrenching sadness and loneliness inside me. Ben was injured, his jaw fractured, his ribs probably broken. He had left with no money that I knew of, and his truck barely drivable. He'd begged to stay until morning, pleaded to see a doctor, but West refused and threatened to break every bone in his body if he wasn't packed and on his way within the hour.

After the tears dried up and the tremors ended, West told me he loved me. The next hour was spent with him in my mouth, his lips between my thighs, and ended with both of us quivering through orgasms while he emptied his release in both my pussy and my ass. I'd pleaded with him, even knowing the risks, not to use a condom. Something told me he was clean, and I hadn't been with a man in over a year, so I was no threat. Still, he refused.

I fell asleep in his arms, only to wake up to nothing but silence. Emptiness. A void and heartache so deep and tragic that I wanted to die.

While my financial woes were over with the one million dollars deposited into my bank account, along with new furniture, sign, and state-of-the-art oven that had been delivered to the shop, none of that mattered. Bonafide Brook's Pie Shop wasn't as important to me now. I couldn't stop crying. Couldn't stop shaking or focus on baking. Insomnia had me mentally and physically drained. Nightmares plagued me when I was able to drift off for a few minutes. I couldn't erase the sound of gunshot, the metallic tang of blood, or the rage in West's face as he fractured Ben's jaw. Worst of all, I couldn't forget the way his touch made my body hum, the hot slide of his tongue between my thighs, or how quickly I'd become putty in his hands while knowing he wasn't in it for the long run. I knew who he was and what he'd done, but it didn't change what I felt for him. Didn't change me wanting to know him from the inside out or care for his needs. Damn me, but knowing what I did didn't keep me from wanting to bow at his feet and comply to his every need.

God, I was such an idiot.

I felt so lost in memories, so lost in life. I missed my mother. Worried about my brother, and God help me, but I longed for West. Ached for West. Since I was a child, owning a bakery had been my dream, my biggest fantasy.

Today, it just felt insignificant.