3. Brook

3

brOOK

Get it together, Brook.

I take one last wipe at the tears on my face. I didn’t wait around at the warehouse. As soon as I got into my car, I drove off toward Jasper, not stopping until I pulled into the parking lot of the Del Rio Mexican Restaurant. I’m early, but I need time to get myself together anyway. The meeting with Walker didn’t go the way I had it planned out. I’m not a crier. Of course you’d never know it by looking at me now. Which sort of sucks because when I do cry, my nose gets all red, my skin gets splotchy, and my eyes swell.

I flip the mirror up on the visor in frustration. I grip the steering wheel harder than I need to and take three big, deep breaths. Get it together , I tell myself again.

My phone rings, and a part of me is hoping it’s my date calling to cancel, but then I realize that he doesn’t have my number. We’ve only talked on the dating app.

I rummage through my purse and pull the phone out. My sister’s face is smiling back at me, and I click the answer button. “Hey, sis.”

“What’s wrong?” she asks immediately.

There’s no use trying to hide anything from Cassie. Sometimes I think she knows me better than I know myself. “Well, let’s see.” I pause and take a deep breath before going into a big ramble. “I turned in my notice. Walker is not happy with me. I’m here at the restaurant for my date, and I’m trying to hide the fact that I’m a mess and have been crying.”

In a low, sweet tone, Cassie says, “You had to know that Walker would not be happy about this, sis. He won’t know what to do without you.”

I roll my eyes. My sister has it in her head that Walker likes me. I have to admit, she’s said it so many times that sometimes I’d started to believe it could be true. But just as fast, I convinced myself otherwise. If he liked me, he had five years to tell me, and he didn’t. As a matter of fact, he’s made it perfectly clear that what we have is a business relationship.

I sigh and sob at the same time. “He’ll be fine. He wants me to stay on a month to train someone else.” I can feel the tears fill my eyes again, and I clench my eyes shut to try and hold them back. Stop crying!

“A month? Wow, that’s a big notice and sort of excessive, right? I mean, it’s going to be hard to get another job and tell them you can’t work for a month. Did you tell him no? And I mean, I know you have savings, but I also know it will kill you to dip into it.”

I shake my head. “He uh, he said that when I quit, I get the company car and a year’s severance package.”

“Shut the fuck up! Are you kidding me right now, Brook?”

I roll my eyes. Of the two of us, Cassie definitely has the potty mouth. “No, I’m not kidding you.”

“Brook, listen, that’s not something a boss would do for just anyone. I’m telling you... you have to tell him how you feel.”

I flip the mirror back down and pull the makeup bag out of my purse. “I’m putting you on speaker,” I tell her as I lay the phone down on the dash. “I’m not telling him how I feel. There’s something going on with him and Sam, and I’m not going to mess that up. I need to leave with my dignity intact.”

“Brook—” she starts, but I interrupt her.

“No, please let’s stop talking about it. Please? Now I have to get ready for my date.”

She sighs. “You’re still doing that? Why don’t you cancel? You’re not really wanting to do this anyway, and I mean, I don’t know, it’s just...”

I am reapplying my mascara and shove the stick back into the bottle too hard. “Look, we can’t all meet our husbands the normal way... some of us have to try new things.”

Cassie starts to snort. “Really? Normal... is that what you’d call it? He is our stepbrother. Trust me, there’s nothing normal about my marriage.”

I roll my eyes. I mean yeah, it caused a little bit of family drama, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. “Our mom was married to his dad for like a minute. It’s not as taboo or forbidden as you make it sound.”

Her voice is husky, and she starts to laugh. “Oh, it’s definitely taboo. Or at least it used to be...”

Her voice drops off, and I look at the phone. “What’s going on with you two? Is everything okay?”

“Uh, can we not talk about me right now? Let’s focus on you.”

I know there’s something she’s not telling me, but before I can pry, she says, “Look, you always say you don’t want any of the sordid details... I’m saving you.”

I know she’s covering up and hiding something from me, but there’s no sense pressuring her. She’ll tell me when she’s ready and not a minute before.

“Fine. But I’m here when you want to talk.” She doesn’t answer, and I blow out a breath. “Look, I have to go. I want to go in and be seated when he gets here.”

She gets quiet and serious fast. “Do you have your mace?”

I roll my eyes. “Yes.”

“Okay, and you’re going to call me as soon as you leave. I mean, well, uh unless you go with him.”

“Really? I think you know I’m not going to be sleeping with him, Cass. I promise I’ll call you after dinner. Even if he suggests something else, it’s only going to be dinner for me. I want to go home, take a long bath, and try to figure out how I’m going to be able to deal with Walker and Sam for another month.”

She’s quiet, and I know she’s worried about me. That’s just who she is. “It’s going to be okay, sis. It’s all going to work out exactly like it’s supposed to.”

I breathe in and out, letting her words settle over me. “I know. I know you’re right. I’ll call you after, okay? I love you, sis.”

“I love you too.”

I hang up the phone and finish touching up my makeup. I don’t have anything to fix the bloodshot eyes, but at least I’m presentable. I look around the half empty lot and get out. The restaurant isn’t one I’ve eaten at before, and quite honestly, it doesn’t seem like much from the outside, but maybe when I get in it will. Sometimes little hole in the wall restaurants end up being the best food you can eat.

I put my phone in my purse and my purse over my shoulder and walk in the restaurant. I’m seated almost immediately, and I order a water. If I was in Whiskey Run and close to home, I’d order something to calm my nerves because I’d have no trouble finding a ride back home. But here in Jasper, where I don’t know anyone, I don’t even consider drinking alcohol.

I’m going to use this date to sort of try and break the pull I have toward Walker. I know it’s crazy, and it’s probably not going to work, but I have to try something. I can’t keep up like I am.

I look at my phone, and it’s exactly six-thirty. I keep an eye on the door, but I’m not noticing anyone that looks like the guy from the profile. I open the app to see if I missed a message, but there’s nothing new. The last one was when he messaged me at noon, letting me know he was looking forward to tonight.

“May I take your order?” the server asks as he sets my water, salsa, and chips on the table.

I gesture to the seat across from me. “I’m waiting for someone.”

He nods and tells me he’ll be back.

I go through social media on my phone to waste some time while keeping an eye on the door. The restaurant is picking up, and before I know it, twenty minutes have gone by. I check the app again and decide to send my date, Jason, a message. Almost instantly, he replies, “I’m so sorry. I got held up at work. I won’t be able to make it.”

I drop my phone in my purse and pull out a twenty from my wallet, which is more than enough to cover my salsa, chips, and water. I lay it on the table and walk out of the restaurant. I’m bent over, digging in my purse again for my keys when an uneasy feeling hits me. The parking lot is empty. The lights are all out, and I turn in a circle, trying to figure out why everything is lit up across the street but not here. Deciding not to stick around to find out, I pull my keys from my purse and walk briskly toward my car.

And that’s when I hear it.

Feet on the pavement behind me—loud and getting louder. I’m digging in my purse, searching for the mace I know I have in there, when a voice stops me. “Brooklyn, is that you?”

The voice sounds friendly, and I breathe a sigh of relief. It’s someone that knows me. I turn to see who it is and come face to face with two men. They’re big and menacing, and I take a step back... right into the chest of another man that puts his hands on my shoulders. “Brooklyn Waters? You’re coming with us.”

I open my mouth to scream, but nothing comes out. The man behind me puts one hand over my mouth and the other around my waist. He picks me up as if I weigh nothing and carries me toward a white van. The other two run ahead; one opens the door, and the other starts up the van. I fight and struggle, doing my best to get away, but even after all the training I received from Walker and the guys, I’m no match for the big beefy man holding me, and before I know it, he has duct tape around my wrists and legs and a cloth over my head.

My first thought is Walker and wondering if I’ll ever see him again. My second thought is that I definitely screwed up. I’m trained to defend myself, to always be alert, and I fucked up. I fucked up bad.