Romance: Brooke and Peter - A Christian Romance as a Love Story: (Romance, Christian Romance, Romance Novel, Romance Book) (Cathedral Hills Book 3)

by Morris Fenris

  She shook her head, and then regretted the motion. Great, now my head is going to get in on the action. If my stomach decides to get involved too, Zachary will know something’s not quite right, and my chance of getting away from him…

  She looked up at Peter and then walked to him, taking his hands in her own as she searched his eyes. “How did you get here?”

  “A taxi. I had it follow you from the apartment. He’s waiting for me a block away.”

  Brooke smiled, her heart feeling a glimmer of hope for a brighter future for the first time in weeks. “Let’s go.” She turned towards the door, pulling him behind her.

  “Wait! Where are we going?”

  “Away! Please, we have to hurry before he comes looking for me.” When Peter didn’t seem to share her urgency, she turned to him, “Please! Peter, you’re my only hope right now. Please, get me away from here.”

  Peter didn’t understand what was going on, but he could see the fear in her eyes and hear the desperation in her voice. “Easy, Brooke. If you want to leave the restaurant, I’ll take you home. Why don’t you go tell…”

  She shook her head vehemently, “You don’t get it. Zachary can’t know where I am, or he’ll never let me leave. I know this doesn’t make much sense, but I promise to explain everything. Just, make sure the coast is clear, and get me out of the restaurant. Please?”

  Peter nodded his head and then pulled her to stand behind him, “Fine. Let me make sure there’s no one out in the hallway.” He pulled the door open and then exited the room, feeling her holding onto the back of his shirt as he quickly made his way along the back wall and back to the hallway next to the kitchen.

  He didn’t pause, but headed for the back door. Once outside, he reached behind him and pulled her to walk next to him, noticing that she was having trouble keeping up because of the high heels she was wearing. “Those were not meant for walking long distances,” he nodded towards her feet.

  Brooke looked down and then gave him a hesitant smile, “No, they weren’t.” She looked back over her shoulder nervously, and then tried to hurry her steps, “Where is this taxi you said was waiting for you?”

  “Across the street, just there,” he replied, pointing towards the cab that was sitting on the opposite street corner.

  Peter stepped onto the sidewalk and waved to get the driver’s attention. He was pleased when the man waved back and then pulled out into traffic. “He’s going to come to us.” He noticed that she kept looking back down the alleyway and then towards the front of the restaurant as if she expected someone to come chasing after her. Oh Brooke, darlin’ what did you get yourself mixed up in?

  The taxi driver pulled up, and Peter helped Brooke into the back before sliding in next to her. “Back to her apartment…”

  “No! I can’t go back there. Don’t you have a hotel room or something…”

  Peter looked at her attire and then asked, “Don’t you want to go home and change clothes?”

  “No! Please, I can’t go back there.” She paused for a moment to marshall her thoughts, and then took a deep breath. She asked the driver if he could take them to a different address. When the driver nodded, she seemed to relax.

  “Where did you tell him to take us?”

  “Some storage units. My stuff is there, and I can get a change of clothes and pick up my car all at the same time.”

  “Brooke, what’s going on?” Peter asked her, holding her stare with his own brown eyes.

  Brooke grew quiet, lost in her own thoughts as she tried to cope with her body’s withdrawals from the drugs, and the realization that she needed to get as far away from New York City as possible. Immediately. Do not wait till morning. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. She needed to leave. Now!

  “Peter, how long were you planning on staying in the city?” she asked, changing the topic.

  “I really didn’t have a set plan. I only came out here to see if you were okay. I’ve already ascertained the answer to that is no, so tell me what I can do to help you.”

  “I’m leaving.”

  “What do you mean, leaving?”

  “I need to get out of the city. As soon as Zachary realizes I’m not at the restaurant, he’ll have every cop in the city looking for me. You don’t know him, but he works for the DA’s office and has lots of connections. Everyone loves him and won’t hesitate to help him, even if it involves skirting the rules.”

  Peter was quiet for a moment and then he told her, “I’ll make you a deal. You let me tag along with you, wherever you’re going, and after we get someplace you deem safe, you tell me everything that’s going on here.”

  Another shiver wracked her body as she nodded, “Fine.” She hated that her teeth were chattering, but then her stomach got in on the action, and she swallowed convulsively as the urge to vomit captured her attention.

  Peter saw her shiver and then the color drain from her face, “You are sick!”

  Brooke shook her head, “No! Withdrawals.” She saw his look of shock, and hurried to assure him, “It’s not what you’re thinking and I will explain everything, but right now I need this cab to stop.”

  Peter told the driver to pull over and then watched, helplessly as Brooke opened her door and emptied her stomach onto the pavement. He took the handful of tissues the driver handed over the backseat, and the bottle of water.

  When she was finished and leaned back into the cab, he handed her first the tissues and then the water. “Do you need a doctor?”

  Brooke shook her head, “I’m fine. Or, I will be.” She turned to look at him, “In case I forget to say it, thank you for caring enough to come find out what was going on.”

  “Don’t thank me just yet. I still don’t know much.”

  “Thank you anyway.” She was prevented from commenting further, because the taxi arrived at the address she’d given him.

  “Do you folks need me to wait around?” the driver asked.

  “No,” Brooke said with a shake of her head.

  “I guess not. Thanks for everything.” Peter paid the fare, including the extra hundred dollars he’d promised the man.

  “You sure you’ll be okay here?” the driver asked, looking around at the deserted location that didn’t even have the benefit of street lights. He handed Peter a business card with a phone number on it, “That’s my cell phone number. If you need a ride back to town, call me and I’ll come back.”

  Peter thanked the man again, and then took his suitcase and joined Brooke where she stood at the security gate. “Do you have a key to get in here?”

  “Don’t need one. It’s coded with a personal security code I gave them when I put my stuff in here. I was afraid I would lose a key.”

  “Why do you still have stuff in storage if you’ve been married for over four months?” Peter wanted to know.

  Brooke looked at him, but didn’t answer. Instead, she opened the gate, and then waited while he followed her inside before shutting it with a load bang of metal on metal. She walked through the rows of storage units until she came to the one she wanted. She carefully entered a code into the keypad and then smiled when a green light blinked. The walk-through door unlocked and she turned the handle, “Wait for a just minute. There’s a light inside if I can just find the switch.”

  Seconds later, the inside of the storage unit lit up, and he was surprised to see a cherry red Mustang sitting in the middle of the unit, surrounded by shelving, boxes, and covered furniture. She lovingly ran a hand over the hood of the car, and felt the same sense of excitement she’d had the first time she’d driven the vehicle.

  She’d received a huge bonus from Marco, and purchased the vehicle only days before seeing the magazines lying on his desk. Things had moved so quickly thereafter, she’d taken the easy way out and stuck everything in storage. Now, she was taking the first step towards reclaiming her life!

  “Wow! That’s some car,” Peter whistled, walking around the Mustang and admiring the black leather i
nterior and soft top.

  “Thanks,” she told him, although she’d already decided that once she was someplace safe, the car would have to go. Knowing where the money in her bonus had come from, she didn’t think she could stomach owning the car for very long. Right now, it was simply a means to an end.

  “Let me grab some clothes, and we’ll be ready to go.”

  “Where exactly are we headed?” Peter asked, watching as she rummaged through a few boxes and began pulling out clothing and shoes.

  Brooke shook her head, “I really don’t know. Someplace away from New York. Actually, probably away from the East Coast. Zachary seems to know everyone, and I need someplace to think and figure out what my next move is.”

  “Can I ask you a question?” Peter asked.

  “Sure? I don’t know if I’ll answer it, but you can ask.”

  “Why did you marry him?” Peter queried, really wanting to know what had possessed her to do something so out of character.

  Brooke looked at him and then sighed, “Honestly, I don’t know that I truly had any say or choice in the matter.” She grabbed a pair of jeans,a t-shirt, and a few other articles of clothing before ducking behind a stack of tall boxes. “I do know that I don’t want to be married to him any longer.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. You’ve only been married four months, according to the paperwork Michelle found.”

  “I know,” she said, her voice muffled behind the t-shirt she was in the process of pulling over her head. She finished dressing, and then draped the skimpy dress she’d been wearing over a nearby shelf. She didn’t care if she ever saw it again, or anything like it. Her days of being a high-fashion and swimsuit model were over!

  “I know you have a bunch of questions, but Zachary is probably already looking for me and I need to get on the road.”

  “But you just said you wanted to get unmarried,” he reminded her.

  “I do. What does that have to do with me leaving New York?”

  “Brooke, I may not be a lawyer, but even I know you usually have to file for divorce in the same state where you got married to begin with.”

  Brooke looked at him and then shook her head dejectedly, “So what you’re saying is I need to stick around for another night, and file some paperwork before I can leave town?”

  “I think so. If we can get someplace where there’s a Wi-Fi connection, I can do some research on the subject, but I think you’ll need to file the paperwork here.” He didn’t include that there was probably a waiting period she’d have to endure as well. He didn’t think she could handle any bad news right now.

  And if Zachary finds me in the meantime…. “Fine. We can get a hotel room on the other side of town, and then in the morning I’ll file the correct paperwork and we can leave.”

  “Fine. Finish up in here while I make a phone call.”

  “To Tyler?” she asked, her eyes searching his own.

  He nodded, “I won’t give him any details, but I need to let him know I found you, and that we’re leaving New York.”

  Brooke watched him step outside and softly murmured, “I wish I could go home.”

  Peter heard her soft wish, and decided right then and there that Colorado was going to be their destination. He didn’t know what she’d gotten herself mixed up in, but he would do everything he could to help her get her life back together. He cared too much for her to do otherwise.

  Chapter 4

  Peter glanced at his watch, and then shook his head as he waited for the call to connect. It was almost 2 a.m. in New York, which meant it was almost midnight back in Colorado. He hated calling so late, but not knowing what the next few hours would bring, he wanted to at least leave a message on Tyler’s cell phone that Brooke was with him.

  “Hello? Dad?” Tyler asked anxiously into the phone.

  “Tyler, It’s Peter.”

  “Peter. Man what’s up? Do you know what time it is here?” Tyler looked around the room as Trey turned the overhead lights on, and both women were now wide awake and listening in. Earlier that evening, both Trey and Tyler had asked the women in their lives to marry them. The annual Harvest Party had been in full swing, but the two couples had left before it ended, heading back to Trey’s house to watch a movie and snack on s’mores.

  Seeing that everyone was waiting to hear what had prompted such a late call, he told Peter, “I’m going to put you on speaker phone. I here with Trey, Michelle, and Jenna.”

  “Uh…okay. That’s fine. And yeah, I know what time it is. It’s almost 2 a.m. here.”

  “What’s going on? I’ve tried to call you several times. It keeps going to your voicemail.”

  “Sorry about that. You wouldn’t believe the mess I walked into down here. I don’t have time to go into all the details, but suffice it to say that your sister managed to land herself in a huge mess.”

  “Is she okay?” Tyler asked, rubbing a hand through his hair in his agitation.

  “She will be. I’m going to take care of some paperwork on her behalf tomorrow morning and then I’m bringing her home. We’re going to drive…”

  “Drive? But didn’t you fly out there?” Tyler asked.

  “Yes, and I’ll explain everything when we get back to Colorado. We’re bringing your sister’s car and I figure it will take us three or four days, depending on how long I can drive each day.”

  “Peter, just answer one question for me. Is Brooke okay?”

  There was a pause and then Peter said, “She’s not right now, but she will be. I don’t have time to go into any more details right now, but if you want to do something helpful. Pray for her.” Peter didn’t tell her brother that he couldn’t go into the details because she hadn’t shared them with him yet.

  “She needs all the divine intervention she can get right now.” Hearing the roll up storage door going up, he realized she was ready to get going. “Man…sorry to cut this short, but I have to go. I’ll call from the road when I can.”

  Peter disconnected the call and waited while Brooke drove the car out. She left it idling in the alleyway between the rows of storage units. He helped her stash a duffel bag and his suitcase in the trunk, and then he gestured for her to get into the passenger seat.

  “I can drive,” she argued with him.

  “Brooke, you’re not feeling well, and by your own admission, you’re not completely sober. Whatever is making you ill is still in your system, and I’m not judging here, but I don’t think you should be driving. It’s also 2 o’clock in the morning.”

  She hid a yawn behind her hand and nodded her head, “Yeah, I know. Fine. I’ll give you directions, and you can drive.”

  Peter held her door open for her, and noticed that she smelled like Brooke again. Ever since she’d entered middle school, she’d worn the same fragrance – a mixture of jasmine and spice. He’d come to associate the smell with her, but he hadn’t noticed it on her in the nightclub, or in the taxi.

  “Did you put on some perfume?” he asked, before starting to shut her door.

  She looked up and blushed, “Yeah. Zachary didn’t like me wearing perfume, but I found mine in my stuff in there and grabbed it. Too strong?”

  Peter hated the note of uncertainty in her voice and shook his head, “No, it’s you. Don’t ever apologize for being you.” He shut her door, and then walked slowly to the rear of the car. Someone had stolen her confidence, and he really wanted to teach that person a few manners!

  *****

  Forty-five minutes later, Peter steered the red Mustang into the parking lot of a dilapidated motel in a part of New York City that he was sure wasn’t safe or advisable. “Brooke, we’re not staying here.”

  Brooke looked around at her surroundings, and nodded her head, “Zachary would never think to look for me in a place like this. If we stay at one of the nicer hotels, not only am I liable to be recognized, but you said yourself you were running low on cash.”

  “I can afford a better room than this dive. And an ATM will f
ix the low cash situation in a flash.”

  Brooke sighed and then slowly nodded her head, “Fine – I don’t know when I’ll be able to pay you back…”

  “I don’t want to hear another word about money. Now, tell me how to get us back to a better part of town.”

  Brooke gave him directions and then grew silent, staring out the window as she thought about her future. She knew she’d signed over control of most of her money and finances to Zachary after he’d convinced her that she didn’t need the stress of dealing with those types of things. He’d promised to let his financial investment guru work on increasing her portfolio, and she’d let him.

  She also knew that going to the authorities with her story would most likely get her a seventy-two hour hold in a local psych ward. Zachary already had at least one doctor in his pocket who would testify to seeing her in the throes of drug withdrawal. It would be her word against his that she hadn’t been procuring the meds herself. And her former agent would only seal the case against her if he told about her using sleeping pills frequently.

  Peter turned on the radio, and after switching through the channels, he finally came to a contemporary Christian station. Brooke listened to the lyrics of the song on the radio and felt like crying. The singer was talking about God’s unfailing and unconditional love and wondering how it was possible that even after the mess that had been made of their life, that God could love them. Is that really true, God? It’s been so long since I talked to you. I don’t even love myself! How can you love me?

  “You okay over there?” Peter asked, sensing that Brooke was struggling to contain her emotions.

  “Not really. I’ve completely messed up my life and frankly, I don’t really see any way out.”

  Peter reached over and placed a calming hand on her arm, “There’s always a way out. Always. We’ll find it.”

  “I can’t expect you to just put your life on hold for me…”

  “Brooke, I think it’s only fair to tell you that I never stopped waiting for you to come home. I know a lot of things have happened since you left Colorado right after high school, but I still believe you’re the girl for me.”