Let It Go (2 page)

She swallowed hard. Her gut clenched at the thought in her head. Maybe they weren’t, maybe they were? She just wasn’t certain.

That’s how badly Kevin had fucked with her head. That was two years ago. She hoped she was over it and the idea that she needed a man in her life to make life perfect.

“Was Finnian there?” Dominick asked her as he prepared the baby back ribs.

She shook her head and reached for a carrot and popped it into her mouth. She crossed her arms in front of her chest as Dominick exhaled.

“I don’t get him. I’ve known Finnian and his brothers for years. I know they’ve been away a lot, but they got home two days ago. He should have been there this morning. Did they give another date?”

“The end of the week, and it better not be another waste of time or I’m going to go see Charlie Bennett.”

He raised his eyebrow up at her. “You don’t want to go pissing off a Cartwright. They can be pretty mean sons of bitches when someone messes with them. They have a lot of pull in this town, for obvious reasons, but they’re also protective of it and its residents.”

“I’m a resident. I got the whole ‘welcome to Repose, you’re a single woman and we got rules’ spiel. I got it all. So what’s with the cold shoulder? I don’t understand.”

“You haven’t been playing by the town rules fully, either.” He raised one of his eyebrows up at her again and gave her an expression like it was her fault.

“I don’t need a guardian or guardians watching over me, directing me, or advising me.”

“Why are you so adamant about it?”

“I don’t need a man or men trying to weasel their way into my life, into my pockets, or into my bed.”

He stared at her. “Someone hurt you real good. I get that, and if you ever confided in me about who he is and if he is still alive, I’d go mess his shit up good for hurting you.”

She gave a soft smile.

“No need for that. I was replaced before my feet were out the door. I just know what I want in life, that’s all. It took me many years to get my shit together and my patience for men who have no respect for women and who use their name, their power, and their authority to get what they want and play the system get no respect in my book. Met too many men like that in my life. If this Finnian guy doesn’t show up at the next meeting, I’m going above him. He’s given me no real choice.”

“Your bark is bigger than your bite. You’re just pissed off right now and I don’t blame you. Take it from me and don’t let this get under your skin or deter you from getting what you want and what you deserve. Maybe he will show at the end of the week. Besides, you’ve got time. You haven’t even scheduled any companies to come give estimates for work or met with any engineers to design what you want to do. Take your time and don’t let what that dick from your past did to you make you be someone you’re not.”

She smiled at Dominick. He was a big guy who played football in high school and chose to enter the military instead of going semi-pro. She always got the feeling that he’d been through hard times and had his own battles. One thing she was learning about the people she’d met so far in Repose was that a lot of them were or had been through the battlefield in different ways—some through active combat and others through life—and it seemed they all had scars to show from it.

“Zeke, you going out tonight? We’re heading to the Filling Station. Going to order some burgers and wings, have a few beers, and then hit the bar.”

Zeke stared at Coaster a moment and then shook his head. He really did want to go but his damn brother was being an idiot about not setting foot in Grandpa’s old gas station. It wasn’t even the same place anymore. Hell, it looked fantastic and his curiosity was getting the better of him. He knew the second he walked into that place his brother would find out and Finnian would be all over him.

“Your brother needs to give up his protest against that place. It isn’t, and never was, his place. Besides, he didn’t do a thing with it in how many years?” Coaster said and shook his head.

The Chief of Police, Cesar, stood by his door.

“Your brother duff out on the meeting with Brooklyn the other day?” he asked.

“What do you think?” Zeke replied and rested his hand on his holster.

“He doesn’t know what he’s missing. The place is awesome, and the food incredible,” Coaster told them.

“The owner is hot, don’t forget that,” one of the other officers called out. They chuckled. Zeke had heard all about the hot chick from New York named Brooklyn. He’d caught a glimpse of her only a handful of times when she came into town. She usually wore dark sunglasses, but there was no mistaking she had a sexy figure on her. Most of the guys hung out there because they said she was so sweet and really friendly. It just pissed Finnian off even more to know how much people loved the Filling Station—and the owner, to boot.

“Your parents even go there, so I don’t understand what Finnian’s problem is. He needs to get over the loss of the place and just be happy Brooklyn kept a lot of the memorabilia and really held on to the town’s history. That says a lot when it comes from a stranger with no real ties to Repose, don’t ya think?” Cesar asked and then turned around and headed into his office.

Coaster and the other guys went back to work and Zeke did the same. He wondered if his brother could just realize and admit that he was never going to renovate the old gas station and surely wouldn’t have turned it into the establishment this woman did. He would also need to stop saying the woman was an outsider leeching off the history and the likability of deep family bloodlines of Repose and the nice folk who couldn’t see through her scam to make money off of them. God, Finnian was paranoid, and he was so hung up on being on top and in control of everything in this town, and keeping Repose a nice, quiet family town that protected their own, that he couldn’t accept progress. He was used to getting things done his way and when he wanted them done. Brooklyn basically came in here, talked their grandparents into selling the old dump of a gas station, and turned it into a gold mine. Truth was, Zeke couldn’t wait to meet her for real.

* * * *

“So you think this is over? You seriously think that son of a bitch won’t come after you to finish the job?” Brooklyn asked Antonia over the phone.

Antonia needed her sister. She should have left town months ago, hell, two years ago when Brooklyn finally left New York. Instead, Antonia fell for Ray’s charms and his empty promises of love, wealth, marriage, and family. Lies. They were all lies to take her virginity, to claim ownership of her body and manipulate her into thinking that she was nothing without him. Brooklyn had been right all along. Ray kept Antonia close, like an ornament and possession instead of a lover, a friend, someone he respected.

He didn’t respect her, though. She tried to hide the abuse from Brooklyn, the negative feelings that now consumed her and had caused the situation tonight. The moment Ray pushed for her to take the drugs, she knew it was over. Antonia had pretended to swallow the pills, and she would never forget his wicked smirk, or his behavior, as she pretended to be high, strung out on drugs, and oblivious to his true intentions.

Antonia was crying. She felt like a worthless piece of garbage and she’d nearly wound up dead tonight. It was over. It was time to escape, and the only one who could help her, the only person she trusted, was Brooklyn.

“Are you listening to me? Shit, Antonia, what aren’t you telling me? Come on, baby girl, talk to me, please. I need to know what happened and how I can help.”

Her sister was so pissed off at her. Antonia knew she should have told Brooklyn earlier and confided in her about the abuse. Brooklyn would surely understand. She had been a victim of abuse herself. Verbal, maybe even physical, as their mother’s boyfriend, Owen, was always trying to get Brooklyn into bed, and Brooklyn was fighting him off and keeping him clear of Antonia. All the while, their mom would lay strung out on drugs or some kind of sedatives Owen had given her to help with her so-called “anxiety issues.” She was a damn addict, and Antonia didn’t want to end up like one, too.

Ray was no different than their mom’s boyfriend. Just like Owen, Ray put Antonia down and manipulated her into thinking she needed him. Today was the final straw.

“I don’t know what to do. It’s bad, Brooklyn. Things have been bad for a while. I thought I could change him and make him see that I was all he needed.” She cried as she held her sweater tight against her body. Her dress was ripped, and the knife cut would surely leave a lasting scar. The only positive was that they hadn’t raped her. Ray had wanted to share her in some sort of orgy with two other women and with other men. That wasn’t her thing. She was straight and she thought she loved Ray and he loved her.

“How could I be so stupid?” She sobbed as flashbacks of the night snapped into her head. The hand moving under her dress, the fingers against her mound and her breasts, and the forceful way that man kissed her. Ray had watched but then sucked face with another woman right in front of her.

“Listen to me. Do you need to get out of town? Is it that bad?”

“Yes.”

“Shit. Are you hurt badly? Do you need medical attention first?”

She sniffled.

“Antonia! Listen to me and get tough. Ray is into bad shit. He’s armed, he’s dangerous, and he thinks of you as his possession. He will come after you or send his shitting thugs. Now, I can’t hop on a plane and get to you in time. You need to be strong and get to me. I’ll meet you halfway. You pack whatever you can fit into two suitcases. You hit the stash, the emergency bag that I told you never to touch unless you were in deep shit or I called you and told you to touch it.”

“Oh, God,” she cried, feeling sick with worry. Her sister was right. Ray was going to kill her, or at minimum, beat the living hell out of her and then punish her for embarrassing him and taking off. She had no choice. She wasn’t going to have oral sex with women and watch them fuck her boyfriend. She wasn’t going to lay there and let other men, strangers, take from her body and do whatever they wanted like she was a whore. She loved him, damn it. She was faithful to him, her one and only lover, and then this happens?

Why didn’t I leave him when I suspected him of cheating on me? Why?

Antonia was tired of feeling like shit, of being treated like shit and living in fear of Ray’s next assault or sick demand. She pressed the compress to the knife wound, a deep cut along the underside of her breast.

“Antonia, God damn it, listen to me and get your shit together. It’s do or die. I got the fuck out of there and now it’s time for you to do the same thing. Put him behind you. Put all the fucking mistakes, all the guilt behind you and leave it there. Now, are you fucking hurt or not?” Brooklyn raised her voice even louder.

“Nothing I can’t take care of myself,” she said then clenched her teeth and tried to make her anger at the situation, at Ray, take the lead here. She needed something to help her to fight and to leave. The thought of being so stupid and of letting him do the things he did to her had her feeling like she would never have a normal life. No man would ever want used goods. A woman whose body was now scarred by Ray.

He planned that. He knew what he was doing. He never cared about me. Never
.

“I’m packing my bag. Send me the information. I’m done with this life. I’m done feeling like shit. I need you, Brooklyn. I need you so badly.”

“I know, baby girl. I told you I would always be here for you. Now be strong. Be brave and get the fuck out of town. I’ll send you directions. Grab that stash, pack what you can, watch your ass and make sure no one is following you, and leave now. Keep me posted,” Brooklyn said to her.

* * * *

Brooklyn hung up the phone and then lowered her head to her desk in the back office of the Filling Station. She slammed her fist against the wooden desk. She felt sick to her stomach. She told Antonia a year ago to leave New York and to get out from under Ray’s lies and his grasp. He was a manipulative bastard. She would never forget that smug expression on his face when she asked Antonia to come with her and Antonia chose to stay with Ray. The sicko looked triumphant, and Brooklyn knew in that moment that the decision would come back to bite Antonia in the ass.

Ray was scum. Why her sister couldn’t see it, she didn’t know. Maybe because Antonia loved him, gave him her virginity, and was always searching for a place, for home, for love or anything close to it. Brooklyn gave up on love years ago as the realities of life and what men really wanted prove her right time and time again.

Her sister had been so needy and desired love, attention, and the protection of a man. Brooklyn, however, learned years ago that men were pigs with agendas. They would lie to, manipulate, seduce, and shower a woman with gifts just to get them into bed. Her mother’s boyfriend, Owen, had made a lasting impression on her. Brooklyn tried unsuccessfully to get Owen, and what he had done to her and tried to do to Antonia, out of her head.

Brooklyn longed for those days in her early childhood when she would spend time at her dad’s shop, his gas station and convenience store right on the corner of the block. He worked so hard, day and night. It eventually put him in his grave when his heart gave out. Then their mother began a downward spiral. Brooklyn took care of Antonia, and then one day Owen showed up arm in arm with Mom. One look in her mother’s eyes and Brooklyn knew their mom was lost forever, and Owen had looked at her and Antonia like he’d just hit the jackpot.