Let It Go (6 page)

“Well, from my understanding, you’re not the only person on the board but they need to vote on my new addition. This is not a circus place and no problems have arisen since opening.”

“Brooklyn.” She turned around to see another woman approach her. She looked frantic.

“What’s wrong?” she asked and Brooklyn immediately looked pissed off.

“Excuse me, please. I have a situation I need to handle.”

As she said that, the Chief of Police came up behind Finnian.

“Good evening, Brooklyn. Guys, how is everything going?” he asked and they began to shake hands.

“Oh, good, the Chief is here. Someone just broke into Brooklyn’s office,” the young woman said.

Finnian saw Brooklyn’s face go flush. Hadn’t he just said that larger crowds bring trouble? He hated to be right and for some reason he felt kind of bad for making her feel embarrassed, but before he could say anything, the Chief was following her and the other woman through the crowd and his brothers were right on their tails.

* * * *

Brooklyn couldn’t believe this was happening to her. First of all, feeling attracted to the man and his hot brothers who had been standing in the way of the town’s approval for an addition to her restaurant and bar. Then, he sounds like he’s against change and a business getting larger, which could bring trouble to the small town of Repose. And finally, on this of all nights, her office is broken into, the Chief arrives to do his damn questioning, and the last thing she needed was all of them now following her into the back hallway.

Sure enough, the lock was broken and the door ajar. She pushed it open and stepped inside, only for a strong arm to wrap around her waist and hold her back. She gasped and looked up and behind her to see Jagger squinting, looking concerned, and taking in the scene around them. Zeke had his hand on a gun she hadn’t seen earlier on his waist, under his shirt, and the Chief had a hand on his, too, as they looked around the office and behind the door that led to a small bathroom.

“It’s clear,” Zeke said and he nodded. She pushed the arm off of her, not knowing what to say or how to react, especially as Jagger looked down into her eyes and licked his lips.

“Who could have done this?” she asked, zeroing in on her desk, the scattered papers, the broken drawer, and then the lockbox that remained intact. She had the bottom drawer drilled down to the floor so no one could get away with taking the whole thing out of there.

She bent down and checked that it was still locked.

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“Anything missing?” Zeke asked.

“I don’t think so. I guess they were after the money in the safe,” she said and then gave the top of it a tap before she stood up.

“You have it drilled into the floor?” Jagger asked her.

“Precaution, so no one can do a snag-and-grab. Plus, it takes them longer to try and steal it, so the chances of catching them in the act are greater,” she said to him.

“And if you walked in here to find someone stealing from you, what could you do to defend yourself? What if they had a gun?” Finnian asked her.

She shot him a look.

“Whatever needed to be done.”

“Want me to call this in, Chief?” Zeke asked.

“No need to, I’m here and so are you. I’ll have you follow up on everything in the office tomorrow,” the Chief said and looked around the place.

“Follow up?” she asked.

“I’m a police officer,” Zeke said to her, holding her gaze and then looking at her lips. She felt her pussy spasm and her breasts tighten. Damn, was he sexy, but she sure didn’t need the aggravation and she never dated anyone. She was definitely not into a ménage, which was quite a common thing for this town. She felt her cheeks warm as instantly she thought of all four men as one unit. Where the hell did that thought come from? Then she remembered the scar on her hip bone and the night Kevin hadn’t taken no for an answer.

“Do these work?” Aero asked, standing up on a chair and looking at the security cameras.

“No, they don’t. I’m looking into putting in a new security system when I do the construction.” She looked at Finnian. “If the board ever approves it, so I can have better security.”

“Yeah, well, this is crap,” Aero said and stepped down.

“Could have helped tonight, though,” Zeke added, making her feel stupid.

“Brooklyn, who would know that you have the safe back here and that the lock on the door is crap?” the Chief asked her.

She took a deep breath and thought about that. “Besides staff and some of the delivery guys, I don’t know, but then again, it isn’t hard to figure out that an office would have money sitting around. It could have very well been a guess on the person’s part. That’s why I drilled the safe down to the floor.”

He looked at her and exhaled.

“Does this have something to do with your sister?” the Chief asked.

She was shocked and she glanced at the others and then back at him.

“Absolutely not, and there’s no reason to say anything more.” She walked over to the desk and picked up the papers as the Chief and Zeke talked about what to do next.

Ten minutes later, they were heading out the door and she was standing in her office wondering how to keep any future thieves out of the office. She also couldn’t stop thinking about finally meeting Finnian Cartwright and his brothers. They weren’t anything like she expected. They were worse, and intimidating as all hell, to boot. Thank God she didn’t have to keep talking to them. Tomorrow she would start calling some of the security companies, but in the interim, she was going to hit an electronics store and see if she could come up with something in the interim.

* * * *

“Obviously something is going on, what is it?” Finnian asked Cesar.

Cesar gave Finnian the once-over and then looked at his brothers. By the way Jagger wrapped Brooklyn in his arms in an instant protective state, he wondered if they were interested in her romantically. He’d known the men a long time and their families went way back. He gave them a smirk.

“I’ve never seen you guys come around here, and she was right, Finnian. You’ve been dodging that board meeting and holding up Brooklyn’s request for construction, so you tell me what’s going on?”

“We met her for the first time tonight, Chief. Never been here before, but I’d say we’re planning on coming back real soon,” Jagger stated.

“You mentioned a sister. Is there a problem or something for us to be worried about or looking out for?” Zeke asked him.

The Chief nodded his head. “I didn’t even know she had a sister, but she showed up last night. Had some trouble and that’s why I was here to speak with Brooklyn and find out more details than she was willing to share in Nevin’s office.”

“Nevin’s office? The sister was hurt?” Aero asked.

He nodded his head. “No need to get into the details. I got it covered. I guess Zeke and I will be looking into this break-in and seeing if anyone saw anything or if the outside cameras in here even work.”

“That’s not a smart way to run a business,” Finnian added with attitude.

“Well, then approve her additions and she’ll get this place up to par and loaded with the right security. Perhaps with Aero’s help on that end. Maybe give her Jesse’s number and he can offer her some advice,” the Chief suggested. The Chief knew Aero worked for Jesse setting up security systems and things.

“Let us know if you need any help with this and with Brooklyn,” Jagger said to the Chief.

The Chief chuckled. “You that instantly interested?” he asked with a smile.

“Just doing our jobs as members of this community to keep all women safe. Someone could have been in there when Brooklyn walked in alone. Then what could have happened?” Jagger asked and they all agreed there had been potential for a worse situation.

“I need to talk to her some more. You guys enjoy yourselves and have a good night,” Finnian said and then headed back toward the back office to talk to Brooklyn.

* * * *

“Well, that was pretty damn interesting,” Zeke said, taking a sip from his beer after they went over to the bar. He looked at Finnian and could see his brother had yet to take his eyes off the hallway to Brooklyn’s office. She got to him. Hell, she got to all of them instantly.

“Interesting? Hell, kind of scary. She’s an attractive woman. Anyone could have been waiting back there to hold a gun to her head and demand she open that safe, or worse,” Jagger said, making a funny face as he swallowed the beer like it tasted bad.

“She wasn’t, though. She was with us, and the Chief. I wonder what the deal is about her sister. I hadn’t heard any gossip about a sister, only about Brooklyn and how hot she is,” Aero added.

“Who said she was hot?” Finnian asked, taking his eyes off the hallway and now giving Aero a scowl. Zeke hid his smile but shared a knowing look with Jagger.

“Just a bunch of guys. You know how men talk about the single women. A handful of them on our construction crew hang out here all the time,” Aero told Finnian.

“You don’t mean like Butch, Castle, even Elvis?” he pushed.

“I think I saw Elvis in the corner by the other end of the bar talking to Ledger. I heard Brooklyn gave Ledger a job here when she first opened,” Zeke added.

“I wonder what Cesar needs to talk to her about besides the break-in to her office?” Finnian asked.

“I wonder if you’re going to arrange for another town zoning board meeting now that you see what Brooklyn looks like and what a nice establishment she made here. I like the place. It’s really cool and nostalgic. She even kept a bunch of the photographs and old collectible advertising signs. Did you see the staircase? I mean, who would think of raising the car lift, keeping the hydraulics, and incorporating a staircase with a balcony overlooking the dance floor and bar? I like it a lot,” Zeke said to them.

Aero chuckled. “We can’t tell you like it at all,” he said then laughed.

Zeke took a slug of his beer and then saw Finnian with his eyes glued to that hallway.

“Yeah, I think we just found our new hangout place. Definitely,” Zeke stated with a smile and his brothers held their serious facial expressions as he took in the sights and waited for a chance to talk with Brooklyn again.

* * * *

“Listen, Chief, I appreciate the whole ‘watching over the women in the town’ thing, and the safety precautions, I really do, but my sister and I will be just fine. Her problems are miles away in New York,” Brooklyn said as she stood by her desk with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

“You don’t seem to understand something, Brooklyn. I was there last night when your sister needed to get stitches caused by a knife wound. I saw her bruises, heard about the scratches and finger marks on her body. Hell, I saw her bruised, swollen cheek. Some guy roughed her up, maybe sexually assaulted her—”

Brooklyn shook her head.

“He didn’t. She got away from them in time.”

“Them?” he asked, squinting his eyes at her and feeling his blood pressure rise. He had no tolerance for men who knocked women around, never mind ones who assaulted them with weapons.

She stood up straight and stared up at him.

“Listen, I’m not going to stand here and give you all the details about what happened.” He raised one of his eyebrows up at her.

“Besides the fact that I don’t know all the details, my sister and I went through a lot of shit in our lives, there’s no need to rehash any of it. I got out of New York before the place killed me and I wound up in a worse place. My sister thought her boyfriend loved her, so she didn’t come with me. She found out the hard way that he was a lying, manipulating son of a bitch and it nearly cost her. She’s here now, under my protection, and making her feel safe, feel whole and loved again, is my top priority, not yours or the men of this town.

Now, I’m sure in the year and a half that you have known me, you and just about every other man who crosses paths with me has realized that I take care of myself and those around me. I mind my business, abide by the rules of the law, and keep a clean, upscale establishment. When it comes to my sister and me and our personal lives, they’re none of your business or anyone else’s.”

He stared at her and chose his words wisely. He was a smart man, or at least he thought he was, and could tell the woman was on the defensive and didn’t trust easily. Yet she hired on people who were in need, down and out, or had been handed a rough set of cards, which said a lot about her character. He liked her strong-willed attitude, but he was concerned about Antonia. Maybe for more reasons than just because he was the Chief of Police.

“I’m not here to piss you off, Brooklyn. I want us to be friends and I want you and your sister to feel safe and know that you can come to me if you’re in some sort of trouble or danger. I’m not going to push for more information, because it’s obvious that your sister isn’t willing to press charges or even talk to me about what happened. Just know that if anything changes, and if the culprit behind her injuries shows up in Repose, then you better damn well get on the horn with me and notify me right away. Other women in this town have guardians, men who volunteer to watch over the women. You’ve downright refused every single man who has inquired.”