Brooke & Ben: Before Fate Interrupted Read Online Free PDF Page A

friend.”
    “Oh yeah?”
    He nodded. “Big
guy.”
    “Big guy, huh?
Bigger than you?”
    Roger laughed
and stole a glance at Brooke. “A lot.”
    Tasha studied
his gruesome outfit in the pale orange light, her face brightening. “Can I ask
you a favor?”
    He couldn’t
resist trading another look with Brooke before answering. “Sure.”
    “Can you put
your mask on and drag me around the house by this rope? Pretend I’m your
captured victim.”
    Brooke raised
her eyebrows in quiet anticipation, resisting the chill in the air and anxious
to hear his reply.
    “Seriously?”
    “Come on, it’ll
be fun. I’ll say stuff like: He’s going
to kill me. Where’s your car? My family is looking for me. Stuff like that.”
    Roger frowned.
“I’m not sure....”
    “Yay!” Tasha
squealed, doing a walrus clap. “This will be so much fun!”
    The patio door
slid open and then slid back shut. “There you are, Dragon!”
    Brooke stared up
at the large man standing just outside the glass door, her brow creasing.
    The behemoth
came closer, wearing a patched leather vest and towering above them like a
skyscraper. His enormous hand made the can of beer he was holding look like a
doll house accessory.
    “This is my
friend, Todd,” Roger said.
    Todd’s eyes thinned.
    “He’s Todd and
I’m Roger.”
    “You already
said that part,” Brooke said.
    Tasha craned her
neck and looked up at Todd. “Who are you supposed to be? The thing from Cloverfield ?”
    Todd’s broad shoulders
slumped. “I’m Opie from Sons of Anarchy .”
    “Are those real?”
Tasha admired the colorful sleeves of tattoos wrapping his massive arms.
    “Damn straight,
girlie.”
    “They’re nice.”
She turned back to Roger and held up her hands. “Untie a little of my rope so
you can tow me around the house.”
    “Oh shit,” Todd
laughed, winking at Brooke. “This party’s about to get started.”
    “Now, don’t be
afraid to jerk me around a little if I start falling behind,” Tasha said,
watching Roger loosen the rope.
    “Hey, where is…”
    “The bathroom?”
Roger blurted, cutting Todd off in mid-sentence. “It’s down the hall on the
right.”
    Todd frowned,
his leather vest flapping with the breeze. “Okaaaay.”
    Brooke pinched
her eyes together, chilled to the bone and not sure why she was still standing
there.
    “Okay, let’s
go,” Tasha said.
    Roger diffidently
slipped his mask back on and took Tasha by the rope before turning to Brooke.
They held each other’s gaze in the crackling light. “It was nice meeting you,”
he said, the mask muffling his words but not the look in his eyes.
    She smiled
weakly. “You too.”
    He turned to
Todd and shrugged. “I’ll see you soon, Todd .”
    “Have fun… Roger !” He slapped him on the back with
Tasha trailing close behind.
    She hunched her
shoulders and brought the terror back to her face. “Why are you doing this?”
she cried.
    Roger stopped
and turned. “Because you told me to.”
    “No, I know. Just
keep going,” she whispered. “I’m getting in to character. There’s a fifty
dollar Target card up for grabs here so don’t blow it. We’ll split it.”
    He stole one
last look at Brooke before dragging Tasha inside the house. The door slid shut,
quieting the music once again.
    Todd turned to
Brooke with a wide smile. “Alcohol sure does make people do some weird stuff.”
    “Tell me about
it.”
    “One time, I
drank an entire case of beer and killed a man.”
    Brooke blinked
at him in the thunderstruck silence that followed, his words ringing hollow in
her ears.
    Todd burst into
laughter. “I’m just kidding!” He drew in a heavy breath and turned serious. “It
was only a twelve pack.”
    Brooke shook her
head and laughed. “Is everyone drinking the punch tonight?”
    “Not me,” he
said, taking a long drink of beer.
    “Man, you’re
tall.”
    Todd swallowed. “Thank
you. I’ve been working out.”
    “How…”
    “Six-eight,” he replied,
answering