Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46805 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46805 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Light appeared along the edges of the pantry door as he pushed it open. Peeking between the packages in front of her face, Brooklyn could see him scan the room. His first move? Brent kicked the case of water on the floor.
Biting her lip, Brooklyn celebrated her decision not to hide there. Brent searched the bottom shelves, tossing boxes and small appliances like the toaster as she held her breath. His gaze rose higher, and he scanned the storage area below her. He was going to find her.
“Presents? Did your soldier buy you something special, Brooklyn? You’ve fooled him just like you pulled the wool over my eyes.”
Time seemed to freeze as he reached up for the package in front of her. When his fingers wrapped around the box in front of her face, Brooklyn thrust the sharp blade forward.
His scream turned her blood to ice. Brent recoiled, falling against the open door with a loud bang. Brooklyn struggled to think quickly. What should she do?
Brent lunged forward. The silence now seemed deadly without his threats. A thick arm stopped Brent in his tracks, and she recognized Caden’s buzz cut as he yanked Brent into the kitchen. She could hear Brent’s yells and thuds.
“Go get your girl. We’ve got this.” That wasn’t her daddy. Was the entire team in the house? She hadn’t heard any of them.
Caden appeared in the doorway. He reached out immediately to sweep her off the shelf. His urgent motion swept the presents off the shelf without a second thought. Her daddy hugged her hard to his chest as he carried her out of the house into the driveway as sirens filled the air.
CHAPTER 20
Brooklyn insisted on attending his trial. The evidence presented to the judge was so overwhelming on the first morning that his court-appointed lawyer asked for a recess to talk to Brent before they resumed in the afternoon. When the judge reconvened court after lunch, Brooklyn gasped as Brent’s lawyer announced a plea deal.
Standing with slumped shoulders, Brent didn’t turn to glare at her. His gaze remained fixed on the table in front of him. She listened to him plead guilty to multiple charges of robbery and assault. Stalking her hadn’t landed him in jail; his illegal actions during the long months while he searched for her had put him away for years.
“Is it over, Daddy?” Brooklyn whispered as they dragged Brent from the courtroom.
“It’s over, sweetheart. He won’t ever bother you again,” Caden reassured her. “Max had a talk with him during the break. Brent understands he’ll be safer in jail than walking around.”
It wasn’t like the other promises she’d heard from the police and lawyers. Caden’s words rang with truth.
“Max talked to him?” she repeated in astonishment.
“Yes. I couldn’t trust myself to be that close to him. Let’s go home, little girl. Max and the guys are waiting for us there.”
She stared at the door where Brent had disappeared. Could it really be over? Her daddy placed a hand on her lower back and guided her toward the door. Brooklyn remained silent until they exited into the fresh air.
The breeze helped her understand that this was actually happening. Brooklyn had met three times already with a counselor who worked near the base. With the therapist’s help, she was working through the frightening memories that Brent had subjected her to before and after she’d left. Feeling lighter than she had in years, Brooklyn looked up at her daddy and asked, “Is this what freedom is like?”
“I can’t wait to show you how amazing your life is going to be now, Brookie. Ready to go let the team celebrate with you?”
“Let’s go, Daddy.”
“Brooklyn?”
She turned to see Brent’s mother, Suzanne standing a couple of feet away. Brooklyn wrapped her hands around Caden’s arm, clinging to him for support.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” the woman said quickly, not getting any closer. “We wanted you to know that we tried to get him to stop coming after you when several months passed. He wouldn’t listen to us. Hopefully, he’ll get some help in jail.”
“As long as he’s far from me, I don’t care what happens to him,” Brooklyn said bluntly. A small part of her noted that his family hadn’t helped him pursue her after the initial months. That made her feel better—slightly better.
“Our family wishes you well, Brooklyn. I’m glad you found a man who treats you right,” Suzanne told her and left with a nod to rejoin her husband and daughter.
“Barbecue time, little girl. Let’s get on the road. Koa has a bad reputation for torching food. We don’t want him to cook without supervision,” Caden told her.
“Wait. Giana’s a firefighter.”
“You’ll have to ask her how they met,” Caden suggested, steering her off the sidewalk to the parking lot.
“Okay. I’m going to ask Aspen and Pippa, too.”