All he saw was a blond guy dressed in black jeans and a black hoodie coming out of the elevator, a hammer in his fist and tool belt slung over his shoulder.
But that was obviously not what Brooke saw…
One minute Brooke was in total bliss, kissing Cody, and the next she saw a man in black coming at her and she was right back in the dark outside the library, Adam coming at her with that knife.
Brooke screamed and scrambled backward, trying to get away without turning her back on the guy.
Cody planted his hand on Adam’s chest and pushed him to a stop. “Don’t move.” He stepped between her and her nightmare.
“L-look out. He’s g-going to get you.”
Cody glanced back at Adam, then to her again. “It’s not him, Brooke. It’s not him. It’s one of Danny’s guys. A construction worker. He’s not going to hurt you.”
Her back hit the wall and she stared from him to the guy by the elevator and back again.
Cody’s voice softened. “He’s on Danny’s crew. One of the construction workers. That’s all. He’s not going to hurt you.”
The guy peeked around Cody. “I’m not, lady. Swear it.”
Brooke’s eyes filled with tears. “I-I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about.” Cody kept walking toward her slowly, like he didn’t want to spook her again. “You got scared. That’s all.” He was only two steps away now. “No worries, baby.” One more step. “Everything is okay.” He wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her on the head and she breathed again. “That’s it. You’re safe.”
The construction worker held his hand up. “Hey, man, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to scare your girl.”
“She’s okay. You just reminded her of someone, that’s all.” He kissed her head again. “You’re okay, right, Brooke?”
Not really. Not with her nails biting into his back as she held on tight to him.
She didn’t answer, she just kept holding on.
He didn’t seem to mind and glanced over his shoulder. “Did you need something?”
The guy shook his head. “No, man. I was just leaving for the day. Dentist appointment. I’ll be back tomorrow. Danny’s upstairs. Knows all about it.”
“Okay. If you don’t mind keeping this to yourself?”
“Sure thing, man. No sweat.” He smiled at Brooke. He had kind eyes.
“Thank you.” Cody watched the guy leave, then stared down at her. “Baby, tell me what you need?”
Her fingers clutched at him tighter. “You.”
He held her close and pressed his cheek to her forehead. “You got me. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her whole body trembled in his arms. “When will this stop?”
“I don’t know. But I think you need to talk to someone. Dr. Nash left me a referral for when you’re ready.”
Her gaze fell to the floor. “I thought it was going to be a good day.”
He put his finger beneath her chin and gently pushed up until his gaze could meet her watery green eyes. “It is a good day, sweetheart. We’re spending it together. That’s all that matters.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Brooke tried really hard to focus during the rest of the walkthrough of the second and third floor, but it was hard to get the incident in the lobby out of her head. Maybe she did need therapy.
Maybe it was too soon to be out in the world instead of under the covers in her bed, avoiding everything and everyone.
