Free Surviving Brooklyn (Brooklyn Series Book 1) by Elizabeth York

headed for the shower. I couldn’t even bring myself to look Mark in the eye in case he saw how shattered I was.
    I turned on the shower and climbed inside before it was even warm. The tears fell down my cheeks and into the drain. It wasn’t a moment later that the shower door was being opened and a naked Mark walked inside. I moved so he could get under the water as well, but he didn’t step forward.
    “Brooklyn,” Mark said.
    I placed my head in the water so he couldn’t see my face. It was bad enough I had confessed how I felt and even gave myself to him and all I got in return was a couple of devastating orgasms and a broken heart.
    I couldn’t think of anything to say, but it didn’t matter. The problem of sleeping with your best friend is they know what is beneath the surface. Mark enveloped me into his arms and I cried on him until the water ran cold.
    Then he turned off the shower and placed a towel around me. He led me out of the shower where he donned a white robe, and carried me in my towel to the bed. He laid me down and covered me up, then crawled in beside me. I curled into him and prayed for sleep, but it wouldn’t come soon enough.
    “Brooklyn, I do care about you,” Mark whispered as I laid my head on his chest.
    “Don’t. You’ll only make it worse.” I had enough going on to fill up my BS meter and I didn’t need him in that mix.
    “Brook, please hear me out.”
    I turned away from him, but he didn’t allow any distance between us. I kept my back to his chest for the rest of the night. Neither of us said another word to each other, and we didn’t sleep until the sun began to rise. Mark held me and gave me the comfort I always seemed to need when he was around, and he stayed right by my side the entire time.

Chapter 7
     
    I slept about an hour and my brain woke me up with thoughts of where my relationship with Mark was headed. I lifted his arm and slid out of bed. I thought I had gotten away unscathed, but then I heard Mark’s voice as I reached the door.
    “Where are you going?” He sounded gruff. I turned to look at him and smiled the best I could without giving away my intentions.
    “I am going to shower and make coffee. Sleep a little longer. It is going to be a long day.”
    Then I walked out of the bedroom, closing the doors behind me. After brewing a pot of coffee, I turned on the shower but made no move to get in.
    I walked to the front door in nothing but my towel and asked the police officers who were stationed there to run and get breakfast for themselves. I gave them a little wink to make them think Mark and I were about to have sex, and watched as they got into the elevator.
    I grabbed my bag and put on a pair of skinny jeans and my gray knee high boots. Then I dressed in a white tank top and a gray sweater that hung off my shoulder. I quickly brushed out my hair and applied my make-up. A quick spray of my perfume, and I was almost ready.
    I clipped my holster to my black belt, double-checking my gun was loaded. Then I settled her in the holster. I threw everything into my bag and rolled it out the front door.
    As I entered the lobby, I begged the concierge to hold my bag until I figured out what it was I was doing. He agreed, but must have known who I was because he was calling my room as soon I walked off. Mark would be furious, but I needed space. I needed time to think.
    I grabbed a cab and headed toward the Empire State Building. Nothing says distance like being one hundred and two stories up in the air. I just needed a little time to clear my head.
    I surrendered my gun with complaint as security wouldn’t let me up with it. My badge did nothing for me here. The trip up in the elevator was numbing. I felt constricted and worried what would happen if I was found. Mark would be livid. My boss would be furious. My dad would become a saint compared to the wrath of Mark and Taylor.
    Upon leaving the elevator on the eighty-sixth floor, I stared at the view in front of