Chapter Twenty-Three
Kip
I wake up the next morning to the smell of bacon cooking which is weird because I didn’t have any bacon in the house. Brooklyn isn’t in bed. I grab my phone and text Hawk really quickly, and then I make my way out to the kitchen. It’s full of people who are cooking some sort of breakfast feast.
“Morning Kip,” Will calls. He’s flipping pancakes. “We sent people out for food. I hope it’s okay we’ve taken over your kitchen.”
“It’s fine.”
Brooklyn brings me a coffee and sits beside me at the counter.
“How did you meet?” Zadie asks. All eyes turn our direction.
Brooklyn laughs. “I crashed my car, and Kip drove up and got me help.”
“Oh, that’s romantic,” Juno says. I feel heat rising to my face.
“It wasn’t really,” Brooklyn laughs. “He took me to a veterinarian.”
“What?” Eli says.
“Really?” Keene says.
“Yeah, that’s who did the stitches and cast.”
“That’s actually awesome,” Declan says. “I wish I had a story like that.”
“Hang out here long enough, and you will,” I say. Everyone laughs.
“Is there not a doctor in town?” Elizabeth asks.
“There is. He was just out on a call that morning,” Brooklyn answers. She sneaks a little smile at me, and it lights up my insides.
“What are you planning to do now, Brooklyn?” Juno asks as she stirs the scrambled eggs.
“I’m not sure. I’ve hit a dead end with my mom.”
Everyone is quiet for a moment. A Secret Service agent walks inside and whispers something to the President who just nods. The agent returns a few minutes later with Hawk trailing behind him.
“Hawk?” Brooklyn says, standing up.
I just nod. She gives me a curious look.
I stand up. “This is my brother, Hawk. Hawthorne, if you like to be fancy. He’s our sheriff.”
The President steps forward, “Pleasure to meet you.”
Hawk shakes his hand. The Sterlings are nothing if not friendly, each of them comes over and introduces themselves and shakes his hand. It takes a full five minutes.
“Pancakes?” Will asks.
“Sure.” Hawk takes a plate.
Brooklyn is still eyeing him suspiciously.
“How are you feeling today?” Hawk asks her. He winces as he takes in her face, which looks even worse today. The swelling is down, but all the bruising is much darker.
“Looks worse than it is,” she mumbles as she stirs her coffee.
“We almost murdered your brother over it,” Keene says with a mouth full of pancakes.
“You’re not supposed to tell people that,” Declan says.
Eli adds, “Yeah. Especially police-type people.”
Hawk lets out a loud laugh. “If Kip had done that to your sister, I would have watched while you beat the shit out of him. I saw it happen though - definitely wasn’t Kip.”
“You were here?” Will asks.
“Yeah, I had come by to get Ginger...I mean Brooklyn’s statement about the creep outside the bar, and she and Blue got tangled up. That dumb dog doesn’t know his own size.”
“Ginger?” Declan says with a raised eyebrow.
Brooklyn's face flushes.
Hawk leans into Brooklyn. “You could have told me about everything. I would have helped.”
She doesn’t respond and focuses all her energy on stirring her coffee.
After breakfast is finished and cleaned up, we move into the living room.
“Well, I have some things I’d like to share.” Hawk stands in front of the group and claps his hands together.
Brooklyn jerks her head up to stare at him.
“We ran the prints from the abandoned house and found they were a match to your stepfather’s.
We can’t find conclusively who the blood belongs to though.
I’m sorry. If you want to submit a DNA sample, we could test some of the blood against your DNA to see if it was your mother.
We have no records of her prints or DNA in our system. ”
Brooklyn’s eyes narrow. I can practically see the wheels in her head spinning.
“Daryl, Brooklyn’s stepfather, has been connected with a mid-level drug running organization in this county.
We have some ways of getting information about that group.
I can’t reveal my sources or anything, but I think they should be able to give us some information about him - possibly know his whereabouts. ”
“It’s a start,” the President says, looking at Brooklyn.
She doesn’t look relieved. She should, but she doesn’t. She’s chewing on the inside of her cheek and pressing her lips together. She opens her mouth to say something, and then she shuts it tight. After a moment, she opens her mouth again and says, “Hawk, How did you know to fingerprint that house?”
Hawk’s eyes flash to me.
“How did you know to fingerprint that house?” She repeats, louder.
“Anonymous tip,” Hawk answers. He’s still looking at me, and Brooklyn turns to face me.
“Why did he print that house, Kip?” Her breathing is growing labored.
“Brooklyn...”
“Did you tell him to print that house?” She’s yelling now. Everyone is just watching us, silently.
“Just let me explain...”
“Did you?” she interrupts.
“Yes, I called him.” Our eyes are locked. I’m not flinching. I don’t regret what I did. She was in danger, and now she’s not. I won’t apologize for that.
She turns toward the President. “James, how did you find me?”
He doesn’t answer immediately.
“How James?”
“Does it really matter?” The First Lady says.
“Yes,” Brooklyn yells. She’s standing now. “How did you find me, James?”
“I had a bulletin out on your fingerprints. We knew where you were as soon as Hawk ran the prints. Once we had it narrowed down to the region, it only took a little poking around to find you.”
She’s visibly seething now. Her eyes flash to me; they are filled with rage.
“How dare you.”
“Brooklyn, he was just trying to help,” Will says.
“If I’d wanted help, I would have asked for it.” Her voice is loud. Her hands are clenched at her sides. “I’m sick of everyone treating me like a child. I’m not a child. I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions. I don’t need babysitters.”
She storms toward the hallway.
“We just care about you,” Declan calls.
She flips him off without turning around and continues down the hallway.
After a few minutes, I softly knock on her door.
“Go away,” she yells.
I turn the handle and push it open anyway. “Brooklyn, can we talk?”
“No!”
I step inside and shut the door behind me. I feel like I should apologize, but I don’t have anything to apologize for. I’m sorry she’s upset, but that’s not what she wants to hear, I’m quite sure.
“I just wanted to make sure you were safe,” I plead.
She huffs.
“Someone died in that house, Brooklyn. I had to tell Hawk.”
Her suitcase is on the bed. She’s stuffing clothes in it.
“What are you doing?” I ask as I watch her throw her socks into the suitcase.
“Leaving. What does it look like?”
It feels like she’s slapped me across the face.
“Brooklyn, please, let’s talk about this.”
“Kip, there’s nothing to talk about.”
I step closer to her and grab her arm, so she has to stop. “Please.”
“You betrayed me,” she whispers.
I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. “Betrayed. That’s a bit dramatic.”
“Oh, should I calm down? Would that help? Am I just so hysterical that I can’t think rationally?”
“I didn't say any of that.”
“Well, you didn’t have to.” She pauses for a moment and then adds, “You didn’t trust me.”
“You didn’t even tell me your real name.” I’m still holding her arm. There’s so much heat between us now.
She yanks her arm back and stomps off to the bathroom. I follow her and watch her stuff toiletries into a bag.
“Brooklyn, you’re overreacting.”
Her eyes jerk over to me, and I think she’s about to hurl a shampoo bottle at my head.
“Let’s just talk,” I say.
She stops moving and closes her eyes. When she opens them, she doesn’t look angry anymore, she just looks sad. “It doesn’t matter anyway.”
“What doesn’t matter?”
“Any of it.”
I step closer to her. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It was just a fling.” Her eyes are holding onto mine. Each of her words feels like a punch to the gut.
Just a fling?
“We agreed this was temporary. I’m just leaving earlier than we expected.”
Temporary.
It was part of our agreement. It’s what I thought I wanted.
“Probably for the best then,” I say. I’m holding my face still. I don’t want to show her how I’m feeling. Hell, I don’t admit it even to myself. I knew getting involved with her would bite me in the ass. I knew it wouldn’t end well.
There’s a flash of pain across her face, and then she straightens her shoulders and lifts her head up high. “It is, isn’t it?”
I leave her room without another word. The sooner she leaves, the better.