Let It Go (11 page)

“Other surgeries?” Zeke asked, pushing the issue. She looked up into his eyes.

“None of your business.”

He gave her a smirk. “A mystery, huh? Lord knows I love a good mystery.”

He stared at her lips and she was at a loss for words. Nevin cleared his throat.

“I’ll put a few butterfly stitches for now and if it continues to bleed and doesn’t heal in another day or so, then we’ll need to do those stitches, Brooklyn.”

She looked at him and gave a nod. “No problem. I’m sure I’ll be just fine.”

* * * *

Brooklyn finished up with Nevin and Zeke walked her out of the place.

“What are you up to now?” he asked, leaning his hand on his gun holster and staring down into her eyes. She was damn beautiful and tough as nails. Every instinct inside of him thought she was hiding something, or maybe just protecting herself. That led him to believe she may have had a bad relationship in her life. He was curious about her and that curiosity had him pushing to get a little better acquainted.

“Heading home to check on my sister and then get ready for work tonight.”

“Well, I’ll see you tonight then. Planning on stopping in for a few beers with the guys.”

“Good for you. Well, I’m not going to say thank you for being a chaperone while I saw the doctor. It really wasn’t necessary.”

“Well, maybe it’s time someone showed you a little support in return for the care and support you’ve shown others,” he said to her.

She widened her eyes, opened her mouth to say something, and then just stared at him. He stepped closer, placed one hand on her hip and the other he used to clench her chin. He held her gaze, could feel her shaking. He rubbed his thumb gently over her lip and wished he could kiss her right now this second. A move like that would set Brooklyn off, and she may even take a swing at him.

“Just say thank you, darling. Nothing more is necessary.”

“Thank you, darling. Nothing more is necessary. I mean that,” she said, using his words against him as she pulled away and quickly got into her car. He watched her go, shocked at how she’d switched his words on him and ignoring the message she thought she wanted to give. Which might have been back off, or simply, slow the fuck down. Either way, she interested him, and one call to Aero and he could confirm if his brother was on board, too.

“Thank you so much. I appreciate the compliment. Be sure to stop by on Wednesday early if you want a chance to try that salmon special. We run out quickly,” Finnian heard Brooklyn tell a few of the members of the zoning board. He stood there waiting to speak with her after the conclusion of the meeting this evening.

“Looks like you may be waiting a while to speak with her, son. Seems maybe you’re regretting blowing her off for the past six months?” one of his dads, Finn, said to him and then winked.

“My hand is just fine. No, I didn’t need stitches. Yes, Aero Cartwright helped bandage it up. Well, I suppose he is an attractive man. No, I’m not dating anyone,” Brooklyn told Ms. Harper, the town gossiper. She looked like she was losing her patience and all he could do was seem to chuckle and feel bad for her.

“Get in there and save her, son, then you’ll have her all to yourself,” his dad said to him and gave him a nudge.

“What is wrong with you?” he asked him, feeling annoyed that his dad was acting peculiar. He didn’t even know why he came to this meeting or why there were so many people here.

“Finnian. So good to finally see you at a meeting so we could get these approvals done. It’s been hell. I hope the business you’ve been dealing with was worth it,” one of the old-timers told him as he slapped him on the back and turned him toward a group of other elders. Before long, he was engaged in a meaningless conversation about wild animals getting into the park and what they were going to do about the summer festival traffic coming through town. Finnian glanced over his shoulder and caught sight of Brooklyn sneaking out the back door.

He excused himself and did the same thing she did. When he headed around the corner, he nearly smacked right into her. He grabbed her hips and she gasped, looked at him, and then covered her mouth.

“Be quiet, or they’ll see me,” she whispered. He remained holding on to her. He couldn’t resist, the woman had an incredible body. He slid his hand along the smooth, fitted material of the dress she wore. It showed off her shapely hips and of course her full breasts but wasn’t dipped low. It was conservative but tight-fitting in black. He towered over her, his chin an inch from the top of her head. He leaned his face lower to her hair to peek around the corner.

“Who are we hiding from?” he asked but spotted Ms. Harper a mile away looking around the parking lot and calling to Ms. Smothers, asking if she saw Brooklyn.

He felt Brooklyn’s hands push his hand off her waist as she turned toward him. She stared up into his eyes and he placed his hands on either side of her against the back wall of the building, caging her in.

“You better stay put. One word and they’ll be over here,” he teased, looking over her lips. This was the closest he ever got to her and she was stunning. Not a blemish or mark on her skin. She had the face of an angel.

“You threatening me?” she asked in a low, firm tone. He couldn’t resist teasing her. This was just too perfect. She was perfect.

“I was an idiot one time too many with you, Brooklyn, I’m not making that mistake again. Are we good now? Friends?” he asked.

She held his gaze with a small smirk of her own.

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far. I hardly know you to be your friend.”

He moved his hand closer to her waist and brushed his thumb along her hip bone.

“I can change that, too.”

“Oh, really? Kind of cocky of you, Finnian. All things considered,” she said and then glanced to the left to see if the danger was gone.

“Oh, Ms. Harper,” he called out.

She slammed her hand over his mouth and pulled him deeper into the darkness of the corner of the building. “Don’t you dare,” she scolded. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. She removed her hand from his mouth.

“How is your hand, anyway? Heard you needed stitches.”

“No, just butterfly ones. It’s better. Anyway, I think it’s safe now, no thanks to you,” she said and went to move but he held her firmly.

“Not so fast,” he said and pulled her into the corner again. He had her caged in and looking so damn beautiful. He lowered down to kiss her.

“Don’t, Finnian,” she said and pushed to the side. He grabbed her hand.

“You’re so damn beautiful. I’m sorry. I was out of line to think I could just kiss you because we’re attracted to one another.”

“I’m not—” She stopped herself. “Listen, I don’t date. I’m not interested in you, Zeke, Jagger, or Aero. I’m sorry but it’s not a good time for me.”

He held her hand and stepped closer to her.

“You feel the attraction, though. You’re as shocked as I am. I’m the idiot that has been avoiding you because of the gas station.”

“Forget it. You have an emotional tie to the place. I came in as a stranger and turned it into the Filling Station. I get the animosity thing, but we’re past that now. Thanks for finally approving the addition. As I said inside, I’m gathering different bids from different companies and getting things started.”

“I heard. I hope you’ll be giving Jagger a call to get his feedback on the engineering and construction.”

“You mean because you’re on the board?” she asked, like she was accusing him of using his pull and power to get jobs.

“Because we employ locals. A lot of them are military and a job the size of your place could keep a dozen or more of them busy for months. They could use the money to support their families.”

She bit her lower lip.

“I’ve been doing my research. I already called Jagger on the way over here to set up a meeting for tomorrow night. I have two other guys from two smaller companies coming in to talk.”

“Good. Just follow your instincts, and maybe your attraction to me and my brothers as well,” he said to her and she shook her head.

“There is no attraction. Nothing will come of this. Good night, Finnian.”

“See you soon, Brooklyn,” he said and watched her go, wishing he could have tasted those lips of hers and wondering how the hell he got smacked in the face with finding the perfect woman and somehow pissing her off so much she wasn’t giving him the time of day. What was with the whole no dating thing, too? Bad experience, or was she playing some sort of game like most women? She did say she did her research on the companies she was considering hiring. Their financial records would be public. She could be playing hard to get when really she was betting on hitting the jackpot?

That thought upset him way more than he expected. He hoped that he was wrong, but damn, he rarely was wrong when it came to reading women and seeing through bullshit. Hopefully his brothers would be cautious, too.

* * * *

“What do you think?” Derek asked Les. Les was rolling out some wire on the current job they had been doing for the last week. They were dragging it along, trying to keep busy. The customer hadn’t a clue that they were milking the job.

“I think we need to maybe push her a little more. It didn’t help that Aero and Jesse were there. You know if they get that job at the Filling Station then they’ll bring in Aero’s brother Jagger and his construction connections,” Les replied.

“I thought it would be a done deal when Finnian pissed her off by not approving the construction. I wonder what got him to change his mind?”

“What the fuck do you think? She’s a fine piece of ass, and she has money, that gold mine, and she’s single. It don’t take a fucking brain surgeon to figure out they want a piece of that.”

“So do we,” Derek said and gave a wink.

“Did you see her tits? Fucking huge, and that ass? We’d have a good time with her.”

“You were a little too friendly at our first meeting.”

“I couldn’t resist. She smelled so good, too.”

“Yeah, well, we need to be smart. Let’s think about this and see if we can influence her to go with us on the security project. Maybe go there after work, talk with her and not about security. Get some feelers for if she stays real late or is in really early and alone. Then maybe have our guy give her a little scare.”

“Yeah, like how much of a scare? Should he give her some?”

“No, but close to it. I want her in a panic and I want to be there to console her and be ready to strike while she’s vulnerable. That should seal the deal and get us our in.”

“Then we need to do it while the place is still open. Otherwise, why the hell would we be there after hours or before hours?”

“Smart thinking. Let’s plan this for tonight. Late. It’s Friday and she’s bound to stay past closing.”

“Okay, I’ll call our guy, Les. I’ll fill him in.”

“Hey, Derek, you make sure he doesn’t break any of her bones or mess up that face too badly.”

“I got it.”

* * * *

Antonia was sitting outside on the front porch when she saw a black pickup truck slow down and pull over in front of the house. She pulled her sweater tighter against her chest and prepared to run inside if she had to. Her first thought was of Ray, but then she saw the neighbors across the way wave and she thought she heard them say, “Good afternoon, Chief.” Sure enough, Cesar Cortland, the Chief, was heading up her sidewalk and carrying a purple-colored box and what looked like coffee containers. She licked her lower lip and he smiled as he approached the steps.

“Afternoon, Antonia. Thought I would stop by with some coffee and a treat from the local bakery in Turbank.” He placed the box down on the small table that sat between the two rockers. She looked up at him, wondering why he was really here and what he wanted.

“That was nice of you, but I was going to head inside soon to rest.” She picked at her fingernails, feeling intimidated by the large Chief of Police. He was a big man with dark brown hair that nearly reached his shoulders, and a gruff, short-haired beard that made him look rugged and capable. That deep look in his eyes she was currently trying to avoid. It set her on edge and made her shake.

When she felt his hand cover her hand she gasped and looked at him, wide-eyed.

“Not here to scare you or put you on edge, just looking out for the newest member of Repose.” He released her hand and then offered her a cup of coffee.

“It isn’t poisoned. I only had them put cream in it. I brought some sugar and sugar substitute if you need,” he said.

She took the to-go cup from him and held his gaze. “Is it flavored? It smells like hazelnut.”

He nodded. “They grind their own beans fresh there. It’s a nice place. You should go visit it with your sister, or maybe me some time,” he said to her and then glanced at the way she held the sweater tight. She released it, forgetting she wore a low cut tank top but she hadn’t expected company. His eyes zeroed in on her chest and she glanced down, fixed her top and then saw the bruise and scratches that were still visible.