Page 47 of Coming Unraveled
Dylan stops the vehicle but not before he addresses them all in a voice he is sure is used for interrogations, but it does little to deter his motives.
“All I ask is that you keep him alive. If Jameson’s hunches are correct, then we may be able to help a lot more people than just Everleigh, ok?”
“Are you serious right now?” Austin bellows from his seat, slamming his fist on the dashboard.
“I didn’t say coherent, just alive. Let’s have some fun boys.”
Rich turns around when he notices the SUV pull up and the men all scurry from the running vehicle. Austin gets to him first, slamming his fist into the side of Rich’s face, which twirls him around in surprise.
Brooks can’t help but wonder why the man didn’t expect her family to stick up for her, or is he too disillusioned and egotistical that he thought the town’s favoritism would weigh towards his side.
The rest of the group stand in a circle around the puny excuse of a man while he darts his eyes around wildly, looking for an escape. He’ll find none. Brooks’ knuckles crack as he twists his fist in one of his hands while allowing each man to have his turn at pummeling Rich. A few hits to the face, a few to the stomach, but the man stands stoically. Brooks would be impressed if the hate building inside him isn’t about to boil over.
His chance for retaliation on behalf of Everleigh comes and he doesn’t hesitate. Toe to toe Brooks steps into Rich’s confident bubble. He grips the collar of the pink polo shirt and tightens the material in his fist, bringing it closer to his face. At six foot five, he easily lifts the man off the ground, snarling into the now terrified expression of Rich.
“I hope it was all worth it, asshole. You stole something from my wife that she can’t ever have back,” he growls into the man’s face, watching as he pales. “For as long as I live I will make sure that you spend yours looking over your shoulder in fear. I wasn’t around to protect her then, but you can guaran-fucking-ty that I am going to protect her now.” Without a second glance, Brooks reaches down between Rich’s legs, not even noticing that the guy had wet himself through his pressed khakis earlier, and grabs his prized possession. He twists with every ounce of hate and anguish in his body before dropping the man to the ground where he is unable to catch himself. Rich’s head thunks firmly on the ground as he holds his hands between his legs.
“Shit,” they hear from behind them as Preston, the town’s new Sheriff walks over with cuffs in hand.
In all of the excitement none of them heard the police car’s sirens in the distance, but now the sound pulses violently in Brooks’ head.
“I’m sorry, Dr. McCafferty, I am going to have to arrest you for assault.”
The men around him begin to argue, but Brooks shrugs his shoulders.
“How much did you see?”
As the metal clips around his wrist and then connects to the other Preston explains that he only witnessed Brooks’ attack.
“You can’t arrest him, Preston,” Dylan tries to reason, hoping that his FBI undercover partner would help them keep this under wraps.
“I have to. One of the other shoppers called it in. It’s on record. I’m sorry. At least tell me that it was worth it,” he asks Brooks as he walks him over to the cruiser.
“It was worth it, but it won’t ever be enough.”
Preston seems appeased by his answer, a solemn look on his face as he looks back at his old friend. Brooks had heard that their friendship came to pass over a false relationship Preston had with Sydney when they were younger. A relationship that caused her to get hurt. He doesn’t know much, but he knows enough that Dylan and Sydney were just now beginning to let their old friend back into their lives.
The cruiser leaves just as the small ambulance transport arrives to load Rich and take him to the Asheville Hospital. Dylan loads into the vehicle with the poor excuse of a man and Brooks turns his attention back to the cuffs on his wrist, nicely placed in the front so he is comfortable and can easily escape.
But he has no intentions of running away from his actions. He plans on fighting for Everleigh for the rest of his life, and if those actions land him in jail so be it. She is worth it.
Chapter Seven
MOMENTS AFTER SHE HAS assured her parents and Avery that she is okay and that she has planned to reheat some leftover pasta in her fridge they finally decide to leave her in peace. It isn’t that she didn’t appreciate their desire to watch over her, but it is smothering, and a moot point. The anger continues to simmer deep inside her as she thinks about how this entire mess could have been resolved when she was a teenager if they had only paid attention.
Everleigh can’t begin to count how many times she tried to tell her parents that something wasn’t right in their relationship, but whenever she tried to speak up one of the twins needed something or one of her siblings would be home from college. She knew her parents loved her, but her wellbeing always seemed to be overshadowed by her siblings’.
She had actually taken the time to explain it to her mother this afternoon when she seemed unable to cope with the knowledge of what had happened to her daughter. Everleigh didn’t want her parents to feel that they had let her down, or had been bad parents to her, she feels the opposite. She just needs them to understand why she had hidden this from all of them.
Their relationships are all going to change after today’s revelation, she knows that, and her parents know that as well. But they are determined to be there for her through it all, even helping her brother Ryker to charter a plane to take her away from the town that seems to be closing in on her.
The driver is due to arrive in four hours and Everleigh has every intention of catching a catnap and then getting out of dodge before Brooks can return. She doesn’t want him to follow her, to be a reminder of all the things she can never have.
Her mother had said she was the strongest person that she knew, but Everleigh didn’t feel the same. If anything, she feels weaker today than she did eight years ago.
In her room, she grabs two large suitcases and starts throwing her clothes in them haphazardly. In her dresser she grabs a few tee shirts and hesitates as her hand lands on the oversized shirt she stole from Brooks’ house. They may not be together, but she can’t help but want to feel him wrapped around her. Bringing the material up to her nose, she takes a heady whiff and sighs when his masculine scent drifts through her senses.
The suitcases zip up with a little effort and Everleigh drags them down the stairs for later then grabs her cell phone and sends a message to Evan to see if he can cover the pharmacy for the next week or two. He responds immediately and agrees to cover her shop. With a plan in place, Everleigh tucks herself under the sheets of her bed and drifts off for the next three hours.
