16. Asher
Chapter 16
Asher
Everything was going well so far between Brooke and I ; she had stopped avoiding me for the most part, and we spent a lot of time together whenever we were free. Anne was obsessed with our park picnics, which Brooke suggested we should do every week.
The relationship that Brooke and I had formed seemed to work for us because we were no longer stepping on each other’s toes as much as we used to; instead, now we were much more civil toward each other and a whole lot more sexual, but who was complaining?
Brady looked up at me when he noticed that I was carrying his leash in my hands. Ever since I adopted him, it felt like I had a new family member who understood me and all the trauma I had been dealing with. I could see that he had just been through about as much as I had been; that was what attracted me to the shepherd.
I clipped the leash onto his collar and grabbed a packet of his favorite treats, sliding them in my pocket as we headed out. I hadn’t heard from Brooke today; she had probably gone to work early.
Anne had gone on a playdate at her friend’s house, and I was left alone for the day. I couldn’t even remember the last time that I was completely alone with no one around.
It has always been Anne and I for as long as I could remember.
Brady and I walked down the road, enjoying the warm morning sun against our backs as we took in the streets of Chicago . As busy as they were, and even though there were buildings surrounding us, the city was oddly calm today.
I fell into step with Brady’s leisurely pace, and at this point I wasn’t sure who was walking who because Brady had already memorized our morning routine, and he knew exactly where we were going.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I groaned; there was only one person who would call me in the morning.
“ Jax ,” I answered, and from his light-hearted laughter, I knew that the call would be agonizing for me.
“ Darling ,” he said in a low tone, and I rolled my eyes as I bent down to unclip Brady’s leash. He immediately bolted off, getting in his daily exercise. “ How are you?”
The boy loved running laps around the park, and I couldn’t blame him; it was the way he was trained harshly for years that ingrained that discipline in him. I would normally run with him in the morning, regardless of whether I had a morning shift or an evening shift, but today I wanted to take it somewhat easy.
“ What do you want, Jax ?”
“ Fine ,” he groaned, knowing I wasn’t about to play his games. “ What are you and Brooke doing this weekend?” I raised my eyebrows, confused by his sudden question.
“ I don’t know,” I said as I sat on the bench, keeping an eye on Brady as he ran his laps, not bothering anyone. He was a well-behaved dog and never bullied the other dogs in the park; he would actually observe them as they would play together, and I could see the longing in his eyes as he watched them carefully.
Maybe I should get another dog to join Brady .
“ Okay , cancel any plans you have and go on a double date with me and this hot girl I’m dating.” The only reason Jax would ever think of going on a double date was because he wanted to get laid.
He always dragged me around to bars because he called me a magnet while he flashed his money around and that somehow always worked for him. I honestly wondered whether that was the type of lifestyle that enticed him.
I wasn’t saying that I didn’t have fun sometimes, but that was all there was to it, and Jax was probably bedding a new woman every month if not twice or three times in a month. He hated any sort of commitment, and honestly, I did, too.
However , I couldn’t bed as many women as he did because it was boring. But it wasn’t boring with Brooke . I was a one-woman kind of man, and Brooke had quickly become the woman I wanted.
Even when we met, I was instantly attracted to her, but I had despised her because of her smartass answers and her sass.
“ No ,” I said without much thought, and he groaned.
“ Asher , please!” Jax whined on the phone, and I tilted my head to the side. “ I like this one, and she wants to meet my friends.”
“ Brooke isn’t your friend.”
“ Uh , yes, she is! She is one of my closest friends, and we relate to each other so much.” I clenched my jaw, the image of them by the pool flooding into my mind as he told me how they got along so well.
“ Ask Henry and his girlfriend to join you.”
“ But I want you and your girlfriend,” he begged, and I rolled my eyes.
“ We’re not dating,” I told him, and he gasped.
“ Are you telling me that you’re just sleeping with her? You don’t have real intentions for my friend?” he asked, offended.
Jax was questioning my intentions?
“ My intentions with her aren’t any of your business,” I gritted, and he huffed; my God , he was such a drama queen.
“ Well , if you don’t have plans to make her your girlfriend, then please let her come to me. I will hook her up with someone who isn’t a dad and has good intentions...and also has a better bank account than you do.” I smiled as I shook my head.
“ You don’t know what’s in my bank account, and besides, Brooke likes this dad,” I said as I pulled on my shirt. She was right; all of my shirts were tight on my chest.
“ Ooooh ,” Jax giggled and then cleared his throat. “ Well , anyway. The date is at Ever Restaurant on West Fulton . Make sure you dress to impress, and I will handle the bill on your behalf, Dad .”
“ You always handle the bill, Jax . You love to flaunt your money any chance you get.”
“ No , you’re a single father, and this is the only way I can help reduce your financial stress.”
“ I am not financially stressed.”
“ Oh , yes, I am sorry, decorated sir.” I knew he was saluting on the other side of the phone, and I rolled my eyes. “ Love you, bye!”
“ Jerk .” I clicked on Brooke’s name on my chat and quickly sent her a text.
Me : Hey , I didn’t see you leave this morning.
I waited for her response because she generally took seconds to reply, and that was one thing I liked about her. She was quick.
When five minutes passed with no response from her, I assumed that she was busy today and would get back to me when she could.
I got up and waved my hand; Brady immediately ran toward me, and I scratched behind his ear, informing him that he did such a good job.
“ Here you go,” I stuck out a treat, and he sat down, nibbling on the meaty treat as I clipped his leash on him. I didn’t really need to put a leash on Brady’s pink collar that Anne had chosen for him, but I did that because some people were afraid of the mean-looking dog and thought he would jump them.
But he wouldn’t do that. He didn’t like people that much to bother them.
“ Are you ready to go home?” I asked him, and he barked his confirmation. We started on our walk back home, and when we arrived back to our apartment building, we bumped into Matthew , the guy Brooke used to have a crush on but who had liked her best friend. What an odd situation for her.
“ Hey !” he called as he walked over to me. “ Long time no see. How’s Brady doing?”
Seeing Matthew , Brady wagged his tail, and I could see that he was one of the few people Brady trusted.
What did Brooke see in this guy? He wasn’t a douche or anything, but he kind of was weird. His beach blonde hair was messy as if he had run his fingers through his hair the entire morning.
It was a few minutes shy of noon, and he already looked incredibly stressed.
“ He’s good,” I nodded, and Matthew smiled as he looked at Brady and pointed to him, asking for permission to pet him, and I agreed.
“ Have you been a good boy, Brady ?” he asked as he scratched Brady’s ears, and Brady responded by licking his face. Oh , Brady really liked Matthew .
Matthews blue eyes were extremely light and hinted at no traumatic backstory for him. He probably grew up with both his parents and had about two siblings, both sisters because of his carefree nature. He was the favorite child, and that was why he decided to work for a K9 center. There wasn’t anything wrong with that, but it was clear that he had never had to fight for his parents’ approval.
Perhaps that was why he was attracted to Marie ; she was also some kind of free spirit and Brooke was the only one between them who carried trauma, one that she hid incredibly well.
“ Uhm , have you seen Brooke today?” he hesitated in asking me as he glanced around the lobby.
I frowned as I gripped Brady’s leash. She wasn’t at work?
“ Not since yesterday. Why ?”
He shifted uncomfortably as he scratched his neck. “ She didn’t show up for work. No call, no explanation. She’s not answering her phone,” he explained, and I clenched my jaw.
“ Did you check with Marie ?”
“ I actually talked to her before coming here. Marie said that Brooke disappears around this time every year, but she hoped that it would be different this year because you were distracting Brooke .”
“ Distracting her from what?” My concern deepened. Brooke was reliable, almost to a fault. If she hadn’t told her manager about taking a day off, something was definitely wrong.
“ No clue; Marie didn’t say anything beyond that. If you see her, please tell her to call us so that we know she’s all right.”
“ Okay ,” I clenched my jaw as he walked away, and I opted for the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. When I got there, I saw someone messing around with her door. “ What are you doing?”
He seemed frightened as I towered over him, and Brady was already growling as we both watched the man gulp, pointing to her door.
“ Brooke asked me to water her plants for her while she was at work.” He lied straight through his teeth. He was the guy I had seen from the nail salon.
I frowned as I stepped closer to him, and he took a step back.
“ I’ll water her plants.” I stuck my hand out; so, he had been the one who was trying to stick a key that didn’t fit in her door.
“ No , Brooke entrusted me with the task. I’ll come back later,” he said as he gripped the key close to his chest. I looked him up and down, my hands itching to smash his head through the wall.
He was stalking Brooke .
“ If you do, I’ll break your wrists,” I told him, and his eyes widened. “ Come anywhere close to her again, and I will break all your bones. Do you understand me?”
Instead of answering, he scrambled off, afraid, as he disappeared behind the fire escape.
This wasn’t going to work; Brooke had to move in with me. She had somehow attracted a stalker just by being nice to him. Of course he would be attracted to her; Matthew was the fool for not seeing her charm.
I pounded on her door; everything that had happened today left me concerned about her well-being.
“ Brooke ?” I called out, and she didn’t respond. “ Baby , open up. Please .”
Silence .
“ I have to work tonight; do you think you can watch Anne for me?” I tried. Anne wouldn’t be back until tomorrow afternoon, but I knew that Brooke couldn’t resist Anne . She would always jump at the opportunity of taking care of her whenever I asked her to.
I heard feet shuffling from behind the door, and I held my breath, waiting to hear her soft voice. Instead , all I heard was another door close, and I had no idea why, but the silence that I used to love so much terrified me.
What had happened to her?