Page 35 of Beach B!tch
"I'm sitting in my car with direct line of sight to her front door and I don't intend to leave till the morning. So yeah, I'd say she's safe." I looked at her door, agonizing over how close she was, yet so far.
"Oh good. Please keep a close eye on her. I'll send you Shasta's number and I'll plan to come over there first thing in the morning too. Sound good?" Esa was back to taking charge and making plans.
"Sounds perfect. See you tomorrow."
I hung up and waited for her text to come through. Then I called Shasta and explained the situation, asking for her help. I'd barely gotten the details out when she said she was in her car and on her way already.
I sat in my car, waiting for Shasta, hoping I'd made the right decision. But in all the scenarios I could think of, none pointed to Brinley being left alone as the right decision. She may have had no one to go to when she was a child, but she had people now. Whether she knew it or not. We wouldn't let that asshole break her down.
Shasta pulled into the parking lot right next to me. I got out and nearly swallowed wrong when I got a glimpse of her outfit. She had on a bright pink nightie, covered mostly by a neon yellow silk robe, open at the front, showing off her ample cleavage. It was short, it was tight, and it didn't cover much of her curvy body.
She tossed her long, red hair over her shoulder. "Eyes up here, Lifeguard. Stay focused on our mission."
I coughed to cover up my incredulous laugh. Then I sobered up quickly when I remembered how she could kick a grown man's ass with all her Jiu Jitsu training.
"What did he say to her?" she asked in a low voice.
I snorted. "More like, what didn't he say to her. He accused her of being a whore for being with me. Then it was how she was a loser and wouldn't amount to anything and was living off me since she couldn't live off him anymore." Just remembering his words made my head feel like it would explode. I wanted to go find him and fix this with my fists.
Shasta nodded. "Yep, sounds like his standard bullshit. What I don't understand is why now? Why'd he come seek her out after several years of no contact? What's his angle?"
I wished I knew so I could go take care of it for her. "I'll ask around and see if I can find anything out about him. I'm just worried about Brin right now though."
"Yeah, I hear ya. I'll go up and keep her company. Maybe try back in the morning?" She gave me a look of pity, knowing I'd much rather be up there with Brinley, not down here by myself in my cold truck.
I got back in and made good use of my time. I texted my friend Jack, a detective with HBPD, about Brinley's father, John. He and I had hung out a few times, so I was hoping he wouldn't mind doing some digging for me. I only had a name to give Jack, but hopefully he could come up with some other information that might lead us to understanding why John was back in Brinley's life, harassing her.
Then I did an extensive Google search and found old addresses and even some pictures of John. I sent the picture to my lifeguard buddies, asking them to be on the lookout for him. If I could track him down, maybe I'd go have a man-to-man conversation with him. Time he knew Brinley wouldn't take his shit anymore.
I set my phone on the passenger seat, knowing I'd done all I could, but it still wasn't enough. I felt helpless. My girl was hurting and confused and I couldn't even help her right now.
I had plenty of time to second-guess my actions and plot ways to make John disappear as the long, lonely hours passed. I didn't see signs of him returning to the apartment, which was a good thing for Brin's sake, though part of me wished he would so I could jump in and put a stop to his bullshit.
It was just before seven in the morning when two more cars pulled up. I sat up straighter in my truck and blinked my gritty eyes to get them to focus. I hadn't pulled an all-nighter since college and they didn't get any easier to recover from.
Esa and Bailey approached my truck on their way to Brinley's apartment, so I hopped out to find out if they'd heard from her.
"See her father at all?" Esa asked by way of greeting.
"Nope, nothing all night. Heard from Brin?"
"Shasta called this morning, said they'd been talking since dawn. Asked us to come over. Not sure about you though, big guy." Esa looked a little sheepish that I hadn't been included in the summons.
I didn't care. I was going up there anyway. I had to see that Brinley was okay with my own eyes.
"Come on, then." I led our little group up the stairs and knocked on Brinley's door. My heart was pounding. I'd waited all night and now I couldn't stand another second until I saw her.
The door swung open and my whole body sighed with relief to see Brinley standing there. She was in an oversized t-shirt, long legs on display. Her hair was tangled and her face still had the remnants of last night's make-up. Her eyes were red and there were shadows underneath.
She'd never looked more beautiful.
Her eyes widened when she saw me. I rushed forward and swept her up, lifting her clear off the floor. I buried my face in her neck and squeezed her tight. I was relieved to feel her arms come around me and squeeze back.
"Lordy, that's annoyingly cute. Put the girl down, you big brute." Bailey interrupted our hug, tugging on my arm.
"Not yet," I mumbled against the side of Brinley's neck. She was warm and soft and felt so right in my arms. The night alone in my truck solidified how much I wanted to be with her, slaying dragons and keeping her safe.
There were grumbles all around, but again, I didn't care. The women all moved into the living room, taking their chatter with them. When they finally left us alone, I lowered Brinley down, keeping her pressed up against me. I wasn't taking any chances of her booting me out or pushing me away. Not again.
