Chapter 4 #2
Brooke’s voice was small. “And my situation deals with a group of scum who are looking to rob everything from a breast cancer survivor. A woman who could have her entire life stolen from her because her husband cares more about her than his business, and these bastards are taking advantage of that.”
Leaning forward and capturing Brooke’s hand, Blake said, “That’s a huge part of it, baby.” Then her sunlit light green eyes darkened with a malice that left Brooke stunned.
“But an APS femme—one of the most precious creatures in the world to us—is also under threat from those dickless wonders and may take a hit to her own business and reputation from simply trying to help someone in need because of the kind of woman she is.” Growls echoed through the room.
“Oh, fuck no, baby. Not if we have anything to say about it.”
Stammering, Brooke whispered, “You know how much I love you all for feeling like this. I do. But I don’t understand what you can do to stop them, though. Especially if there’s not any proof of wrongdoing.”
Blake squeezed her hand. “This is where we come in. Like I’ve already said, let Trill, Drew, and Teagan do what it is they do and we’ll regroup when we have more information.
” That chilling, malicious smile appeared again.
“Because I will be goddamned if the fierce, fearless woman who has captured my imagination since grade school is going to be hurt by a group of soon-to-be-dead trash if they don’t back the fuck off. ”
?ω?ω?ω?
When Brooke walked into her apartment, accompanied by Blake, she stuck her hands on her hips and grinned at the bustle of activity.
In the center of the chaos was Alyssa, directing traffic like a drill sergeant, while Jaime and a couple of APS associates were breaking down Brooke’s portable artist board and packing her supplies.
“Homeslice.” Not pausing in what she was doing, Alyssa glowered at her best friend over her shoulder.
“After we get you and your shit over to Blake’s and organized, I am going to kick your ass from here to Tampa.
What the fuck were you thinking, hiding this kind of crap from your girls? Kelly told me everything.”
Brooke stuck up her middle finger at Alyssa. “I was thinking there was no need to worry any of you since you couldn’t do jack shit about the situation anyway.”
“Not only that,” Alyssa slammed her hands on her own hips as she turned around, shifted into second gear, and continued her tirade, “I find out from Jaim you’re all freaked out about being in your apartment alone because of that fucker The Candyman.
And you didn’t say anything to anyone. Again, my bitch: What.
In. The. Actual. Fuck? Tell me exactly why I shouldn’t open up a can of whoop-ass on you? ”
Blake, who had moved next to Jaime to help her break down the artist board, snickered. “I guess this is where I start making book on the APS femme midnight wrestling extravaganza coming our way,” she observed with a smirk.
“Seibert, you are such an asshole.” Jaime couldn’t prevent the twitching of her lips.
“Stay out of this, Blake!” both femmes yelled at the same time. The head of Utopia held up her hands before going back to what she had been doing, while Jaime shook her head, clearly fighting to keep the amusement off her face as the other two associates chuckled outright.
Alyssa shook her finger at Brooke. “You don’t hide shit from your girls, Marino. Even if there isn’t a goddamn thing we can do, you at least come to us and talk about it. We can drink wine and plot the best methods for creative ballsac removal.” She shrugged as everyone burst out laughing.
Marching over to her best friend, Alyssa hugged her before leaning back, still gripping Brooke’s shoulders.
“No more, sister. I can’t promise you Piper and Nova still won’t smack you senseless, but Delaney and Rowan think the femmes should meet at the Wendy House this week instead of Seashells like we usually do.
More privacy that way to talk about what’s been going on, considering the details behind this clusterfuck don’t sound like they need to be overheard. ”
Brooke shook her head. “No, they don’t. And you’re right, I need to come clean with you all…
but you need to understand, I don’t want my girls anywhere near these fuckers, Lys.
I have a huge feeling the Armstrong twins and the Seven are going to dig out some pretty scary shit going on around them.
Plus, I was still trying to figure things out myself. ”
Going back to what she was doing, Alyssa said, “Our first order of business right now is to get you safely tucked away in Blake’s apartment, then we’ll worry about the rest of it.
” The corner of her mouth lifted. “And you had better believe I feel damn sorry for these dudes. Pissing off the APS management team is not the best way to ensure maximum health.”
“That’s right. I’ve already asked you once whose ass I had to kick for upsetting you, tigress.
” Blake leveled her gaze at a disconcerted Brooke as she picked up one end of the portable artist table.
“Something tells me Reflex Rebranding is about to find out the hard way what happens when you mess with what is ours.
“And make no mistake about it, baby. You belong to APS, and to me. Those four motherfuckers have absolutely no idea what kind of beast they’re messing with…but they’re about to learn.”