Read Surviving Brooklyn (Brooklyn Series Book 1) Online
Authors: Elizabeth York
Surviving Brooklyn (Brooklyn Series Book 1)
Surviving
Brooklyn
By
Elizabeth York
Copyright @ 2015 by Elizabeth York
First Print May 2015
Editing by L. Hampton at Editing For You
Rosa Sophia
Steve Czach
All rights reserved in all media. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
The moral right of Elizabeth York as an author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act of 1988.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locales, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental or fictionalized.
ISBN: 978-0-692-42042-3
Table of Contents
Chapter 1____________6
Chapter 2
___________21
Chapter
4___________55
Chapter 5___________75
Chapter 14_________233
I dedicate my first novel,
Surviving Brooklyn
, to my husband: without you, this book would not be possible.
To my children: thank you for being patient and allowing me to finish this book.
To my friends, family, and fans who believed in me and gave me unconditional support.
Dedications continued…
Dear Daddy,
You have been gone five years now. I love you and miss you every day. I started this book hoping to make you proud by doing something I love.
I finished it today, Daddy. I hope you are happy. I would do anything to hear you say the words, “I’m proud of you,” but in the absence of your voice I continue trying to make you proud.
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Chapter 1
I glanced over and took in my navy blue sectional that was accented with white end tables. It was taunting me with my overwhelming need to relax. I walked over and rubbed my toes on the new gray silk rug that brought the room together. This place was heaven.
The bedroom was large which was perfect since I shoved a majority of my boxes in there. I was able to put my bed on the eastern wall, while my desk and filing cabinets sat on the west. However, the bathroom in my room was my favorite. The cabinets and counter-tops matched throughout the apartment to include his and hers sinks.
I ran a bubble bath, turned on my iPod to Avenged Sevenfold, and set it into the dock, leaving it on random. I placed vanilla candles around the bathroom and slipped my toes into the warm water, then laid back, holding my head barely above the surface as I tapped my foot along to the music.
It was the weekend, and I was going to enjoy every second until I started my new job as the Assistant District Attorney, which means this would be my last work-free weekend. I wanted to use every spare second doing everything I never got to do working for the heinous law firm I had just left. I needed to make fun plans.
As my fingers pruned, I washed up and drained the now-chilled water and stood up in the tub. I grabbed my white towel off the shower hook and patted myself dry before wrapping a towel around my hair.
I collected my clothing from the cream colored antique dresser with its wide mirror, which was a gift from my absentee father. I tried to keep my distance from him because he had a criminal lifestyle, but it didn’t stop me from accepting help every now and then.
I had sold my car and most of the furniture I owned prior to moving; the job came with a pay raise, but that didn’t help when it was time to put down a deposit to hold the apartment in Tribeca. It was not the cheapest apartment complex; I could have chosen to live in Jersey, but it was safe and there was a subway close by that was a hop-skip-and-a-jump away from work.
After I dressed in my pink pajama shorts and black tank top, I started unpacking boxes. I began in the living room, but got distracted by the case files I was told to look over. There had been a recent increase in unsolved murders, and the last Assistant District Attorney had fallen victim to the same killer.
I took some time to set up my computer and printer so I could scan the files into my laptop; I worked better when I had all the information in the same place. I scanned the photos and the police reports, then glanced over the CSI findings and the FBI profile. This was going to take more than a weekend to cover.
My phone rang and I dropped the folder, instantly apprehensive. I knew I shouldn’t be looking at case files when I was trying to relax. I went to the kitchen and grabbed my phone off the island.
“Hello,” I answered, without looking at the caller ID.
“I am calling from outside the house.” My best friend, Kate, lowered the pitch of her voice, but I knew it was her. She was trying to be creepy, but I found it funny.
“I am answering from inside the house,” I replied, trying to stifle my laughter.
“Drinks?” Kate asked. I had already known this call would come. She and her boyfriend had decided to take a break. Eddie had a choice to make and, when he made it, he chose wrong. Kate’s mom had been in the hospital, and instead of staying and being supportive, he went to work and then to the bar with friends.
I was by Kate’s side that night, and held her hand as her mother passed away. She didn’t cope well with Eddie shooting darts at the bar when she needed him to be there for her. Kate had asked him to move out that night, and has been lonely ever since.
“Pick up some Chinese food and wine, then come over here. We can turn up the radio, eat dinner, drink, and dance in our socks while you help me unpack.”
Kate immediately accepted my offer, and we hung up. I laid my phone back on the island and walked over to the television. I grabbed the remote and pushed a box out of the way, then walked over to the couch to sit and watch the news.
I watched long enough to see what the weather would be for my first week at work. People claim it is good luck if it rains on your wedding day. I was hoping the logic applied to new jobs as well.
I grabbed the new trash bags filled with packing paper and took them downstairs to the trash container. When I came back up, I found myself distracted by my dock remote. It was new, and I was always terrible when it came to new technology. It took a moment, but I finally figured it out and turned up the radio.
I sat at my desk to begin looking through the case files I had been given. My boss, D.A. Taylor Cross, had given them to me and told me that I had been hand-picked from someone higher up to take over where the last Assistant District Attorney had left off.
Normally, this kind of case would go to whoever had seniority in the office; but, they said they wanted fresh eyes on the case. Not to mention, the detective who was investigating was Mark Stone.
Mark and I had grown up together. We had been best friends all through high school and college. Then when I went to law school something between us changed. He had taken on a serious relationship with a woman named Mary. At that time, my most serious relationship was with a book called Congressional Law from 1862-1962, and I think we just drifted apart.
“Brooklyn?” I heard a familiar male voice call me from inside the apartment. I walked out of my bedroom to see Mark standing in the living room.
“I was just thinking about you,” I stated with a large smile. He stood before me in a button-down white shirt and blue jeans. His sleeves were rolled up to show he had a tattoo on his forearm. His detective badge hung from the black belt that matched his boots.
“Good thoughts?” Mark asked with a teasing tone.
His brown hair was gelled, parted off center and arched on the left side. His cobalt eyes blended perfectly with his lightly tanned skin.
“Only the best thoughts for you.” I winked to show my playfulness.
He smiled at me, showing me that he still had the same dimples. They formed a line just outside his lips.
“What are you doing here and how did you get in?” I asked, suddenly suspicious.
“Taylor asked me to bring you the rest of the notes from the case file, and you left the door open. Were you trying to attract criminals to get me to come and visit? You know, there are easier ways to get to me.”
I laughed and watched as he set down the case file. His smile faltered when he looked at it. Mark was all work and no play when it came to this case; it was taking its toll on everyone. They had no leads, no evidence, and no clues to go off of. The killer was not making this easy for anyone.
“I didn’t tell you I moved.” I spoke with a silvery tone.
“I am a detective. You didn’t have to,” Mark replied with a smirk on his face.
“So, what you’re saying is that you’re a legal stalker?” I countered as I neared him.
“I am whatever you want me to be when you look at me like that!”
Mark lifted me off the floor in a bear hug. I wrapped my arms around his neck and relished the feel of him. An old familiar song came on my iPod as he set me down. He then twirled me into his arms for a dance.
“Do you remember the first time we danced to this?” Mark asked as we swayed to “The Drifters” singing “Under the Boardwalk”.
“I do, we were having oldies night at the school and Kevin had just dumped me. You held me in your arms and danced with me all night. You saved me from myself that night.” I placed my head on his chest as his hands swayed my hips to the beat.
“I’ve missed you, Mark,” I murmured against his chest as the song changed and he lifted me to swing me in the air.
This was the childish Mark I remembered. As he swung me around and I laughed out loud, I felt at ease. I had even forgotten Kate was coming until I heard her clear her throat.
“Hey, Kate,” I stated as Mark put me back on the ground. I was ready to hit the floor from the dizziness. Thankfully, Mark kept an arm on me. When I looked up at Mark, he merely winked, completely unaffected.
“Hi, Kate.” Mark held out his hand to shake hers. He had gone from free-spirited and fun to detective as soon as Kate arrived. She finagled the bags she was carrying and saluted him. I could only laugh at her attempt to be funny.
“Hey, guys. I brought Chinese food and I have three bottles of wine. Who is ready to watch Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit?” Kate asked, holding up the bags.
“Did you get any General Tso’s?” Mark asked as he took the bags from her to carry them into the kitchen.
“I sure did, because I knew you would be here,” Kate chuckled.
“Shh, Kate, no one is to know I was here,” Mark replied with laughter as she tried to follow his hands while they waved in the air in a hypnotizing motion.
“When will you stop these childish games and make a woman out of me?” Kate asked.
“When you start bringing me Chinese food and my slippers.”
“She got the General Tso’s because it is my favorite, but I share with hot guys and policemen,” I replied, putting an end to the giggles rolling out of Kate. Something told me she had already been tasting the wine.
“What category do you put me in?” Mark asked as he tickled my sides.
Feeling like I had something to prove, I pushed Mark across the kitchen with my finger and when he bumped up against the fridge I placed my body right next to him. I hovered my lips as close as I could get to his. Then I slid down him until my mouth came face to face with his zipper and I looked up, licking my lips. I then placed a kiss over his zipper and pressed my body to him as I rose back up. I smiled seductively as I sucked my finger into my mouth.
“When my body against yours starts affecting you, then I will add you to the hot guy column. Until then, you get to stay off that list,” I murmured with a smile. Kate was snorting in her drunken laughter behind me.
“That was cruel, woman!” Mark stated with a sly grin, as he went back to setting everything out. All of a sudden, Kate pushed him back against the refrigerator and held a movie case up to his face.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“You could be Chris Pine’s doppelganger.” Kate slurred her words, and the verdict was in; she was drunk.
“Did you open the wine in the cab on the way here?” I asked Kate.
A nod of the head was the only response. I took Kate’s hand and led her to the couch and started the movie for her, then Mark and I took a moment together in the kitchen.
“You have your hands full here. I am going to go,” he said. “If you have any questions about the notes in the file, you can give me a shout.” Then he handed me his business card.
“Mark, I have your number,” I replied, handing it back to him.
“You never use it.” He shoved the card back at me. I could not miss the hurt in his eyes when he said it.
The humor between friends was essentially broken. I hadn’t called him for anything because he was with Mary. I could not put my finger on it, but I hated her. Maybe it was the way she chewed with her mouth open, or the way she fixed her hair. It really didn’t matter because the moment he introduced us, I played the judge and jury and convicted her of being the worst person he could ever be with.
“I’m sorry, Mark. I will call you now that we have this case together.”
I wanted to inhale my words back into my mouth the minute I said them. His saddened eyes turned professional, cold, and the anger was clear.