Page 30 of In Pieces

I looked up at him as he glanced around the room. The noise of his motorcycle hadn’t carried up the stairs. It was clear my brother came looking for the same person I was. I held up the note, and he snatched it from my hand.

“Fuck,”he breathed.

“Yeah, fuck,”I replied.

He immediately pulled out his cellphone and from the side of the conversation I could hear, he was speaking with Frank. He stalked out of the room and I zoned out, looking back at the bed I had just been in with Brooklyn a day before. I could clearly see her body arching as I put my mouth on her early in the morning. The memory now felt painful and far away, but I didn’t want to lose it.

Gideon reappeared with Oliver on his heels. My brother was pale, his lips in a tight line. He was holding the note that Gideon had passed over, his eyes going over the words again and again as he sat down next to me.

“Frank is outside Ash’s apartment building. Brooklyn asked him to take her there with her stuff. She’s staying there for now. Frank is agreeing to be her daytime guard still. I called in someone to cover the night,”Gideon explained.

“Did you let Brooklyn know? She might not like being watched,”I said quietly.

“She won’t answer my calls. I asked Frank to inform her,”Gideon said. His words came out sharp and I could see the pain in his features.

We all sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in our own thoughts about what was happening. I found myself fearful, wondering if we could even fix it and bring Brooklyn back to us.

“What are we going to do?”Oliver said, voicing my thoughts.

“She was pretty specific about what she wanted. For us to not follow her. She wants space from us,”I said.

“What do you think she means about being sure what she wants? She doesn’t want us anymore?”Oliver asked.

I looked over at him and I could tell he was struggling to hold on to his emotions. Out of the four of us, Oliver’s heart was the closest to the surface. Something that had been abundantly clear with the affection he showered Brooklyn with. Though the words hadn’t been spoken between any of us, I knew without a doubtthat Oliver loved her. If I analyzed my own feelings, I would say I likely would too if I allowed myself.

“Too much happened at once, a perfect storm,”Gideon said.

“Right. Aiden and her fight, Missy showing up, us piling on her about the Muay Thai lessons,”I replied.

Gideon jerked his chin in a nod, his silent way of agreeing to the hand he had in the fight that was the final straw for Brooklyn.

“Will she be safe?”Oliver asked.

“As safe as I can make her, without being with her every minute of the day,”Gideon immediately replied.

I knew Gideon had men from all walks of life working for us at the clubs, as well as the private security we employed. Frank was a good example of the type Gideon would pick for the most important assignments. I felt somewhat secure knowing he would pick someone of the same caliber to protect the building at night.

“The apartment will be harder to protect, but my men will do everything in their power. I trust them with the job,”Gideon continued.

Together, the three of us went to the kitchen, but I didn’t think any of us had appetites for dinner. Sitting at the island, I thought about what I had researched all day and decided to tell my brothers what I had found on Missy. We had multiple issues to address if we were going to bring Brooklyn back and that snake was just one of them.

As I was talking about the money Missy had made, Aiden entered the kitchen and the three of us fell silent. He looked around, and a frown came to his face. He sat at his seat and watched me, waiting for me to continue. Once I finished, he looked around again.

“Where’s Brooklyn?”

“Gone. Like you wanted,”Oliver said, his voice laced with more venom than I had ever heard him speak with.

Gideon didn’t even look up, his hand gripping his fork so tightly, I was sure it was going to bend in half. Oliver glared at Aiden, looking like he could launch across the island at any moment. Aiden’s face went ashen, and I had to appreciate that he at least acted like he was upset by the news.

“I didn’t want her to leave. Why would I want that?”He asked.

“Why is exactly the question of the day isn’t it? Why did you push her away? Why were you so horrible to her? Why did you allow her to believe you would fuck Missy? Why?”Oliver ranted.

“She made that assumption. I didn’t do anything to make her believe that!”

“But you didn’t do shit to make it clear that you didn’t want that bitch. You know Missy showing up is only to fuck up our lives, Aiden. Why wouldn’t you have made that clear to the woman we do want?”Oliver asked.

“Oliver, this isn’t helping,”I said quietly, hoping I could keep calm in my voice, a calm I didn’t feel at all.

---