Devoted - The Complete Series: A BWWM Romance Boxset (23 page)

“Amen.” We mumble into our hands. I peer over at Brianna, her eyes are misty as she watches her father across the other end of the table.

“I bet you’re going to have a little girl,” Evelyn intrudes on the moment, cutting her ham up into tiny chunks. “Wouldn’t that be funny, Henry? Let me tell you,” she changes her focus to me, “you’re gonna have your hands full if you have another girl. Won’t they Henry? Two teen girls is a lot to handle.” She smiles before popping a piece of ham into her mouth.

“They’re gonna do just fine,” Henry answers. “Brianna, you’re going to make a great mother,” he tells her softly. Brianna’s eyes tear up as she listens to her father. “I’ve seen you with this little one today,” he points his fork in Brooklyn’s direction, “and if you ask me, you’re already doing a fine job.”

“Thank you, Dad.” Brianna smiles. I feel like I can actually see the weight of the world slide off her shoulders as she straightens up in her seat. As everyone at the table focuses on digging into the delicious meal, I still can’t pry my eyes off of Brianna. Her father is right, she’s going to make a great mother.
A great mother, and a perfect wife.

Chapter Eleven

Brianna

What a perfect day
, I watch as Bradley and my father laugh together across the picnic table. My mother is completely immersed in reading a Dr. Seuss book to Brooklyn on the grass. When Bradley insisted that we meet with my family today, I had no idea what to expect. He refused to share any of his plans with me, telling me that the details were a secret. I’m not sure why it had to be such a mystery. I’m not complaining, this lunch in Central Park has been lovely. However, spending time with the entire family like this is hardly a covert mission.

“I’m just going to take a little stroll with your father, we won’t be long.” Bradley’s fingertips graze against my round belly. I arch my back and push my newly popped bump out proudly. It took almost six months to finally look pregnant and now I’m soaking up every second.

“You two are going for a walk? Now?” My mother interrupts, looking over at Dad with her eyebrow cocked. “Henry, it’s starting to cloud in and we still have to pack up the car,” she nods at the remnants of our family lunch strewn around.

I gaze up at the sky and see the fat, gray clouds that she’s referring to hovering around the bright blue sky we’ve been enjoying all afternoon. We haven’t been alone, of course. On a gorgeous day like we were having it seems like all of Manhattan crams themselves into Central Park to catch a few rays. From the group yoga session we witnessed earlier across the field, to the hipster moms all pushing expensive strollers, it’s been a perfect day for people watching. Although, with Brooklyn dancing and singing, it’s been hard for any of us to watch anything but her joyful face.

“Don’t worry, Mama, I’ll help you get this all tidied up. It won’t take long.” I reassure her. “Just make sure you guys don’t take too long, she’s right, you can see rain is on it’s way and I don’t want to get caught in a downpour.” I look at Bradley and my father. It’s nice to see them get along so well now. Since we went to dinner at their house nearly a month ago, family gatherings are becoming a regular routine.

“We’ll be back in a jiffy,” my father rests his hand on my mother’s shoulder gently. “The boy wants to ask me something and I think it’s only right that I hear him out,” he looks into her eyes and they share a smile.
I hope that Bradley and I still look at each other like that forty years from now.

As the men disappear down the path together, I look over at Brooklyn. “Do you wanna play ponies?” She looks up at me with her brown eyes hopefully. I swear, you can never play ponies enough with this girl. I’m pretty sure I could turn into a pony and she would still demand more.

“Sure, you grab them out of your backpack over there,” I point to the little Dora the Explorer bag tucked under the table. “I’ve just gotta go use the washroom, but when I get back we’ll play. Ok?” Brooklyn’s eyes sparkle with excitement as she lunges under the table to retrieve her toys. “Mama, can you keep your eye on her for a couple minutes? This baby is kicking at my bladder again,” I hold my hand on my swollen baby bump.

“I’ll do you one better, I won’t just keep my eye on you,” she talks to Brooklyn. “I’ll play ponies with you until Brianna gets back. How does that sound?”

“Yay!” Brooklyn enthusiastically approves of my mother’s plan.

Making my way to the public washroom down the hill, the clouds seem to be rolling in quicker now. Just as my hand reaches the door I feel the first light sprinkles of rain mist against my face.
Great, those guys better hurry up.
Hopefully Mama just takes Brooklyn to the car. The water just reminds me of how uncomfortable my full bladder feels so I hurry inside to relieve myself.

After flushing the toilet handle by giving it a little kick with my foot, I leave the stall and walk over to the sink. The exit door flings open and a woman walks in, looking like she was just dredged up from the depths of a dirty pond. “Wow, it must really be coming down out there!” I quickly rinse off my hands so I can get moving and help Mama toss the stuff in the car and get Brooklyn squared away.

“The rain is God’s baptism. It figures you would hide from it, since you whisper Satan’s words into the Pharaoh’s ear.” My entire body shivers as my skin covers in gooseflesh. I turn and stare at the woman, with her stringy, soaked hair and deeply sunk, hollow eyes I hadn’t recognized her.

“Eileen? Oh my God! What are you doing?” My voice is shrill and echoing off the bathroom stalls.

“Do not take our father’s name in vain!” She reaches in her pocket and I feel my eyes grow wide as she pulls something out in her clenched palm. I look frantically at the door that she’s blocking, the only way out of here is behind her. She flicks her wrist and it becomes clear what she’s yanked from her jeans as she flicks open a switchblade in her hand.

“Shit! Eileen, don’t do this. You don’t know what you’re doing. Put down the knife,” I beg, my voice trembling as I back up toward the stall I just came out of slowly.

“You took her from me, you took
my
child!” She lunges across the room at me and I fall backward through the stall door and slam the door shut in her face. My fingers struggle to shut the flimsy lock, but I can’t get my grasp when Eileen is shoving all her weight against the other side. “You’re trying to take her to the darkness, to steal her away from the light.” She screams and throws herself into the door managing to crack it open a little.

“Help!” I shriek and my words reverberate around the room. “Fuck, someone help me! Help! She’s gonna stab me!” Tears streak down my face as I try with all my might to keep the metal barrier of the stall door between us, but for someone so wiry, she’s surprisingly strong.

Eileen plows through the door and corners me in the back of the stall, feebly using the toilet to put space between us. I face the wall, trying to protect my belly from her knife and wildly scratch at the wall as if there’s a secret passage out of here I just need to find. “Eileen, please! I’m pregnant, you’re not just gonna hurt me. You’ll be hurting an innocent child. Help! Fuck! Help!” I scream again, praying that someone, anyone, will save me.

“Your child will be ok. You would raise her in darkness, but I will bring her into the light. I’m going to take her from your belly, and I’ll save her life.” Eileen lunges across the toilet toward me and I crouch down and twist around, pushing past her. My head snaps back as she palms a fistful of my hair, but I keep pulling forward in a desperate attempt to escape. She grabs my arm and flings me to the floor, jumping on my back like she’s mounting a horse. My heart races as my senses all narrow down to one purpose; to escape. I fling wildly, rolling over and knocking her off of my back and the knife skitters across the bathroom floor underneath the sinks. I start to push myself back up off the floor to run out of here before she has a chance to reclaim her weapon, but she shoves me down with her foot and knocks my forehead against the stall frame.

“Eileen! What the fuck!” I hear Bradley’s voice boom around me, but I can’t move. “Brianna! Fuck, Brianna, are you ok?” I want to feel his arms around me. To know that everything will be ok, but blood is pooling on the floor in front of my face and my vision is narrowing. I can hear Eileen screaming and Bradley and my father’s voices meld together in the distance as my sight shrinks inside of a black tunnel. I drop my head to the floor and everything goes dark.

DEVOTED

Part Three (Conclusion)

A BWWM Interracial Romance Serial

First edition. July 20, 2015.

Copyright
© 2015
Sadie Black.

Written by Sadie Black.

The right of Sadie Black to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This book was published by Sadie Black. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author.

This work of fiction is intended for mature audiences only. All characters represented within are eighteen years of age or older and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. This work is property of Sadie Black, please do not reproduce illegally.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.

Thank you for supporting the hard work of Indie authors.

Please note that this is a work of adult fiction and contains graphic descriptions of sexual activity, graphic language, and violence. It is intended for mature readers aged 18 over only. All characters depicted as engaging in sexual activity in this work of fiction are consenting adults, eighteen years of age or older. Blood relatives never engage in sexual activity of any kind.

Chapter One

Bradley

“Get out of the way!” I push past a growing crowd of people at the bathroom door. Most of them have their cell phones out, holding them out in front of them so they can record Brianna crumpled on the floor with a pool of blood collecting around her head. Henry is on my heels as I notice that there’s a woman on her belly scurrying under the sinks to reach something…
a knife!

It takes every fiber of my being to hurry past Brianna over to the sinks. I want to hold her, to help her, to make everything ok. However, some crazy bitch wielding a knife can only make this worse. I run over to the woman, slithering like a snake under the sinks and grab her feet, yanking her back. As soon as I drop her muddy shoes back to the grimy floor she is desperately grasping for the weapon again. I jump over her squirming, determined body and stomp on her hand with all of my weight.

“Yowww! No, no, no! Her baby is going to grow up in darkness. I’m saving her from the Pharaoh!” the dirty bag-of-bones shrieks as I look down in horror.

“Eileen? What the fuck are you doing here? Oh my God, you crazy bitch!” I glance over at Brianna,
dear Lord, please save Brianna and our baby
. Henry is holding his daughter in his arms, but Brianna looks lifeless as he holds her, tears dripping from his chin down onto her face. “Henry, is she…” I leave the unasked question hanging in the humid air; I can’t bring myself to say the words.