Surviving Brooklyn (Brooklyn Series Book 1) by Elizabeth York Read Free Book Online Page B

work on. It would keep my mind busy so I wasn’t waiting for the next victim.
    There was no evidence on the body of the girl we had found. She was not listed as a missing person yet, but Mark and I would both continue to check daily. I tried not to think about it, but if we were going to catch the killer he would need to make a mistake with his next victim. I shuddered with fear and anxiety to think someone else would have to die for those women to get justice.
    I saw Mark in the afternoons when he relieved my security for dinner. Those guys irked me, even though they were very good and blended into my surroundings. I didn’t notice them, but it annoyed me to know they were somewhere babysitting me.
    I packed up my work for the day and headed upstairs so I could go home. My dad had bailed on lunch as expected, but he was supposed to pick me up for dinner tonight. I wanted to get home and shower before he arrived.
    I saw Mark standing outside his Escalade as I walked out of the building. He walked to my door and opened it for me. I piled my bags and the large box filled with case files into the backseat of his SUV and climbed in the front.
    The gray leather interior was like a hot bath after a long day. Even though I didn’t want to admit it, having Mark there to bring me home every day was a welcome relief. I kicked off my strappy heels and leaned back into the heated seat. The lumbar support was exactly what I needed after a week like this one.
    Mark held my hand across the console the entire way home. He’d started doing it every day. I must have been tired because I remembered looking at him holding my hand, and the next thing I knew he was waking me up and we were across the river, in front of my apartment.
    I yawned and Mark lifted me out of the SUV as though I was his bride. I snuggled into him and was quite content to stay against his chest when I heard a familiar voice.
    “Put her down!”
    “Nikolas, stop it,” I shouted. “He was merely trying to help me.” Mark slowly let my legs fall to catch my weight. As soon as I was standing between them, I knew this would not go well if I couldn’t stop it.
    “Aren’t has-been mafia lords supposed to stay on the lower west side?” Mark asked as he stepped closer to Nikolas.
    “If that were true, then shouldn’t cops stay in Jersey where they can protect their own?” Nikolas countered, as he and Mark were nearly chest to chest.
    I was too tired for any of this. I pushed between them and tried to shove them apart but only got my arm between them. Neither of them were going to budge.
    “Nikolas, aren’t we supposed to go to dinner?”
    My dad looked my way and then back at Mark. It almost seemed like he growled as he turned to look at me again.
    “Lyubov Moya, I hate that you are so tired that you need a Neanderthal to carry you inside. Maybe we should reschedule dinner.”
    I hated it when he called me his love in Russian. He only called me that when he wanted something. The fact that those words left my dad’s lips was a sign that maybe dinner should be canceled. Then, something occurred to me.
    “Mark is going to join us for dinner, aren’t you, Mark?” I gave him a pleading stare. I even put my hands up like I was praying.
    “Yes, I was going to escort her to dinner tonight. She is not to be left unattended until we catch this killer.”
    I breathed a sigh of relief when my dad made an excuse not to go to dinner. When he walked off, Mark and I gathered all my things from the SUV and carried them into the apartment.
    Once inside, I set everything in the living room so I could spread out and work over the weekend. Mark stood speechless in my foyer like a bellhop waiting for a tip. I discarded my blazer and untucked my shirt as I walked toward him.
    “I am going to pour some wine and watch reruns of the Big Bang Theory from my DVR. Do you want to join me?” I asked. I could see he wanted to say something, but he remained stoic. I turned around and