Page 20 of Brooks (Dirty Misfits MC 1)
Except, that wasn’t the next sound. The next sound that hit my ears wasn’t police sirens or squealing tires or an ambulance honking its horn in traffic.
Oh, no. The next sound that hit my ears was a familiar sound. A sound I had heard when those Black Flag jackoffs came to my door.
Only, the cadence of the knocks struck me as familiar.
Boom, boom! Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.
The “knock knocks” continued as my eyes widened. No, it couldn’t be. That wasn’t possible, right? I mean he had only just gotten out of prison today, according to his letter. Why the hell would his first stop be my place?
Open the damn door, you idiot.
“Raven?” he said. “It’s me; Brooks. Are you all right?”
I held my breath as I moved toward the frosted glass. I tried to peer outside to see if it really was him, though I knew simply by the sound of his voice that it was. No one could mimic a voice that well. Except for Gage.
Gage had been a fantastic mimicker.
That familiar knock came again, and I knew it was him. My gut was finally convinced. Those two big booms before the fluttering of knocks sounded exactly like the first time around, and I reached for the door handle. My heart stalled in my chest and blood rushed heavily through my ears. My hand quivered as I gripped the chrome handle. I swallowed hard and drew in a deep breath to try and settle my confused mind.
Then, I turned the doorknob.
But I couldn't bring myself to open it.
Brooks sighed. “Raven, I swear it’s me. Can you please just open up so I know you’re all right?”
I pulled the door away from its latch, but I stayed behind it. I had no idea what in the world made me so frightened of this man, but I couldn't bring myself to come around the door just yet. I still didn’t hear police sirens in the distance and that struck me as odd, but the smell of Brooks’ musk wafted beneath my nostrils.
Reminding me of every time I stole a glance at him before Gage and I started dating.
“Did he hurt you?” Brooks asked.
I finally found the courage to speak. “No.”
“Are you hurt? Or bleeding?”
I cleared my throat. “No.”
“Did he—I mean did he try to…”
I opened the door a bit more as the meaning of his words dawned on me. “He didn’t have me pinned down for long before I flipped him over. Knocked the wind right out of him.”
I heard his grin through his words. “‘Atta, girl.”
I sniffled as tears rushed my eyes. “What are you doing here, Michael?”
I knew he didn’t like people calling him by his first name, but never once had he corrected me on it. I wasn’t sure why, seeing as when anyone else called him that he practically threatened them with death, Gage included. But I liked his first name.
I always wondered why he didn’t.
Brooks’ shadow loomed in the crack of my doorway. “I’m checking up on you, and I’m glad I did. Any idea why those idiots were here?”
I couldn’t contain the tears that slipped down my cheeks and I sniffled again. But when I sniffled that time, I felt a soft pressure against the door. My weakening hand fell away from the doorknob and I pressed my back against the wall, watching as the door softly swung toward me.
And when Brooks stepped into my place for the first time in all these years, tears streaked my cheeks.
“Hey there, beautiful,” he murmured.
My heart shattered at the words and I couldn't contain myself any longer. The pistol dropped from my hand and I launched myself at him, wrapping my trembling arms around his neck. He cloaked my back with his arms, scooping me close before kicking my front door closed. And as he walked me back into my living room, he settled me onto the couch.
Before sitting on the floor next to my head.
“Why in the world would you come back here?” I whispered.
He brushed away a tear sliding down my neck. “We can talk about that later. Right now, I want to know what they did to make you so upset.”
My lower lip quivered. “I’m not hurt, I promise.”
“Maybe not physically, but that’s only a fourth of the body’s actual needs.”
I snickered. “You’re really something, you know that?”
I turned my head to face him and found him grinning at me. “Trust me, I know.”
I rolled my eyes. “I see you’re still as pompous as ever.”
He stood from the floor and sat down at the end of the couch just beyond my feet. “I won’t ask you again. What did that man say to you? What has you so upset?”
His worry over me caused butterflies to explode in my gut. It had been a very long time since a handsome man had worried over me like this, and I missed it greatly.
