She shrugs. “I don’t know. You guys are close... and had dinners and were out late together.”
“You were jealous!” I say, a warm feeling spreading through my body. Fuck, how could she not know how I feel about her? Everyone that is around us for any time at all knows how I feel about her. Sam knew just after hearing me talk about Brook.
“I was not. But I also don’t want her mad at me... or you.”
I cup her nape and press my lips to the top of her head. “There’s nothing going on between Sam and me. We’ve been through a lot together, but we’ve never been together. We’re friends.”
“But...”
“Plus, I’m pretty sure Bear would kill me.”
“Bear! He never dates. Heck, I don’t even think he likes women.”
I chuckle. “Surely you didn’t think Bear was gay?”
“No, I don’t mean that. I just mean, he never talks, shows emotion, nothing. I’m just surprised is all.”
I yawn because I can’t hold it back anymore. “So we’re good. I can trust you to stay in bed all night.”
She nods, and I pull her to me. Her body is flush against mine, and every curve fits to me perfectly. It’s like we’re made for each other. If I hadn’t been to hell tonight, I’m pretty sure I’d think I was in heaven.
9
Brook
I’m trapped.
Hands are wrapped around my ankles and my wrists and I’m being held to the ground. I can taste the dirt in my mouth and feel the gravel digging into my exposed skin. I fight as hard as I can, but nothing I do sets me free.
I’m a prisoner, and I know it’s about to get worse.
The man with the beard that is sweaty and smells of stale cigarettes is in my face, staring at me with his gray, beady eyes. He doesn’t care about a ransom or any codes. He’s a bad man, and he wants to do bad things to me.
When he reaches for me, his hands going to my waist, I start to buck against him and scream for help as loud as I can.
“Brook, baby, it’s okay. You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
I open my eyes, and I’m crushed against Walker’s chest. He’s holding on to me, his hands stroking up and down my back. I’m a mess. The hot tears are rolling down my face, and I stutter, trying to catch my breath.
Over and over, Walker says my name, his voice soft and calm in my ear. I can feel his heart racing underneath my cheek, but it’s a pleasing feeling, reminding me that I’m here and I’m alive. Things could have been so different.
“Talk to me. Tell me about the nightmare,” he says, kissing my forehead.
I clench my eyes shut. I don’t want to go back there. I can’t.
“No. Please, Walker. Talk to me about something else. Anything else. I don’t want to even think about it.”
He’s quiet, and even though I’m already flattened against him, he pulls me in tighter. “Okay. How about a story?”
I sniff and bury my face into his chest. “Okay.”
He takes a deep breath. His voice is steady, calm and clear in the darkness. “There was once a man that lived day to day, not caring about his future. He’d seen bad things, done bad things, but he was trying to make up for them. He created a team of people that could help others. They are all specially trained, and he knew it was his way of giving back. He had more money than he would ever know what to do with. He had power and friends that would literally die for him. But he wasn’t happy. Then one day, he was in his Distillery.” I freeze, realizing he’s talking about himself. This story got real in an instant. I don’t say anything. I try to breathe slowly and quietly so that I don’t miss a thing.
“He was in his office, watching from the big bay window when a woman came in to apply for a job. From that instant, his world brightened. He gathered all the information he could on her. She was beautiful, smart, funny, loyal. She was everything he wasn’t, but he couldn’t stop thinking of her.” Oh my God! Oh my God! My heart is racing in my chest. I want to ask, but I don’t want him to stop.
“So he hired her. He had planned to ask her out. But then there was a particular mission that went really bad. Threats were made, and he knew that if he did what he wanted, if he made the woman his, then she would always be in danger. So he tried to put his feelings to the side. For five years, he worked with her. Every day he looked at her, watched her, longed for her... he loved her and wished she was his. Then she was threatened, hurt, and taken from him.”