Love's Suicide(93)

I nodded and let him lead me toward the officers.

“Kat, this is my commanding officer, Ferris.”

I smiled, feeling stupid for having him know my business. It didn’t help that I had a lingering bruise on my cheek.

“It’s great to meet you, ma’am.” He turned his attention to B. “You must be little Brooklyn. You sure do look like your daddy.”

I smiled when I saw the look on Brooks’ face. He held out his arms and she went right to him, laying her head on him as if she knew he’d lay down and die for her. “You need to go give a statement to the officer. I’m going to go up and get our things. I’ll meet you down here in a few minutes.”

I smiled and started walking toward the police officer. The man turned around and had already written a bunch of information down.

It took longer than I thought, but after him being arrested and then coming after me in public, the officer assured me that I’d have a protective order against Bobby within the next seventy-two hours. I knew I wasn’t out of immediate danger, but it did give me a little relief.

When I met Brooks back in the lobby, he was standing there holding B while talking to his boss. Our things were at his feet. I walked up and B leaned in for me to take her. “What now?”

“We go back to the base. I’ve got to fill out some forms and then we’re going on a road trip.”

“A road trip?”

“Yeah. I’ll explain later.” He stopped right before we got outside. “Give me your phone.”

I handed it to him and watched him break it in half. “The thing about cell phones is that they can be traced by anyone. Bobby had an app on his phone that told him where you were. The second you turned your phone back on, all he had to do was follow the damn arrow.”

I felt like an idiot.

The moment we stepped onto the base, I knew we’d be safe. Brooks held my hand and walked me inside of a building. We waited for him to fill out papers, and then the two men led us to a vehicle. We climbed in and were driving to the other side of the base. I saw Brooks’ truck and knew we were where he lived.

Once out, his boss started to pull away. I stopped him before he could go. “Thank you, sir.”

“It was my pleasure, ma’am.”

I followed Brooks inside and watched him filling his bag with more clothes. We were in a room with two twin beds, but it was on a floor that probably housed several of the same type. “So where are we going? Am I not allowed to know? Is there something you aren’t telling me?”

He walked over to B and picked her up. “We’re going to my parents, and before you say anything you need to understand that your safety is the most important thing to me. I’ve got seven days before I need to report back, so I can promise you that it’s not forever.”

All I heard was where we were going. The room started to spin, and I felt like I was going to throw up. How was I ever going to be able to face them, especially once they met B?





Chapter 40

I couldn’t remember the last time that I was so angry with Brooks. It was obvious that he knew it too. We hadn’t said one word to each other until we hit North Carolina. “I’m getting hungry. Do you want to stop and eat soon?”

I kept looking out the window. “I feel like I’m going to puke. Just get something for you and B.”

B had fallen asleep and I knew she’d probably sleep for a good few hours before she needed to get out and move around. It was starting to get dark out and I knew the silence was killing Brooks. He reached over and put his hand on my knee, but I refused to look at him. “Kat, you can’t be mad at me forever, you know.”

“Yes, I can.” I shoved his hand away.

“You’re being a baby. We were going to let my parents visit next week anyway. Stop acting like you don’t love me anymore, because I know it’s not true.”

Brooks had made the plans without telling me, because he knew I wouldn’t go for it. What he wasn’t considering was how upset I already was. I felt like I was running away, because my life was in danger. That wasn’t something that was easy to deal with. Then he wanted to take me to a home where I knew I wasn’t wanted. “I can’t believe you’re making me do this.”

Brooks pulled over the truck and put it in park. “Look at me.”

“No!” I kept staring out the window.

He put his hand on my thigh and started moving it up. “Kat, look at me.”

I turned and gave him an irritated look. “What?”

“They miss you. Hell, they miss us. I left too, you know? This isn’t easy for me, but they deserve to know that little girl in the backseat. They weren’t in the dark about my feelings, Kat. They knew how I felt and they probably knew how you felt. We were kids, who wore our feelings on our sleeves. I’m betting they weren’t as surprised as you think that we ended up in bed, several times. After all, it is where you belonged anyway.”