Devoted - The Complete Series: A BWWM Romance Boxset (14 page)

DEVOTED

Part Two

A BWWM Interracial Romance Serial

First edition. July 7, 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 1

Brianna

“Damn it, Dwight, I don’t have all day,” Bradley growls at his iPad waiting for his lawyer to send him a link. As if on command, his inbox makes the familiar
ding
announcing new mail, and Bradley wastes no time opening the message. I watch as his finger hovers over the blue link trembling slightly before he presses it. A YouTube video opens, giving us a glimpse into a sunny afternoon on the beach. The owner of the shaky footage is recording a beach volleyball game while giggling with her friend about some cute guys. Sure enough, the cell phone footage sweeps across the sand to the glistening hard bodies of two 20-something white guys in long board shorts standing around pretending that they’re trying not to be noticed. Although their inexplicable flexing and slightly oiled up muscles are telling a different story.

The camera quickly sweeps back across the sand and a blast of wind hits the speaker making Bradley and I both jump in our seats. I’m still waiting for something in this video to explain why we’re sitting on a private jet heading for Florida right now. The volleyball game barely comes back into focus when the girl behind the camera decides to focus on a woman walking into the water with a large basket instead.

“Oh my God Julia, look at her! I told you this beach was full of crazies.” The unidentified recorder laughs as she gains the attention of her friend. They both break out into a giggle fest as we watch the woman walk into the waves fully clothed. The water splashes up over her shoes as she struggles to keep the basket balanced. Her jeans are soaking up the waves lapping at her ankles, yet she seems oblivious. Her only focus is holding the basket steady as she moves forward deeper into the rolling ocean waves.

The woman stops in her tracks, wrestling to hang onto the basket which seems to be jostling in her hands. In the background, a couple of teenage boys stop splashing water at each other to turn and stare. Bradley and I watch in horror as the woman tries to shove something back down into the basket. No longer able to contain the movements, the woman leans over and holds it on the surface of the water. The reason for her struggles are quickly revealed when a tiny toddler almost flips it upside down in an attempt to stand up, throwing her arms around the woman’s neck.

Bradley and I gasp at the same time as the girls behind the camera, my breathing slows down as my heartbeat seems to rise in my throat.
What the hell is she doing?
The child is crying so frantically that we can’t hear anything except “Mama please! Mama, Mama.”

The woman looks completely unaffected, almost like a zombie. It’s like she’s taken too much Ambien. I’ve seen this look before, it’s a look of hopelessness, of giving up. Screams rip through the iPad speakers so loudly that they crackle. On the screen the cell phone jostles around, but footage remains fixed on the woman and child. She’s trying to pry her child’s arms from around her neck in an eerily calm manner. It’s like she’s running on autopilot as she attempts to make the panic-stricken little girl sit down in the wooden basket bobbing on the waves.

“James! James! Get over here, look at this woman. Stop her! What is she doing? Oh my God, she’s going to drown that kid! Holy fuck she’s gonna drown her!” The woman behind the camera starts screaming. Apparently the consequences of crazy aren’t funny to her anymore.

A rumble of screaming and yelling erupts over the beach as more people take notice, still the woman looks completely unaffected by the scene she’s causing. Her sole focus is on keeping the little girl in the basket. Two college age boys slice through the water and reach her as the woman is still attempting to push the basket away after successfully pulling her daughter’s arms off of her.

The little girl is screaming in a cry of desperation that can only come from sheer terror. Above the screams of the panic-struck crowd, I can hear the little girl’s cries cut through them all begging the woman, “Mama no! Please, please Mama no. No!” She sobs over and over.

I twist my head away from the screen, afraid of what I might see next. Bradley is completely absorbed in the video, hunched toward the image. His face is twisted in anguish and his eyes are misting up with tears as he continues watching. I can’t stand to see him like this, so helpless. I go back to watching the horrible video instead.

It isn’t until one of the good Samaritans pulls the basket away from her that the woman seems to come to, like somebody snapped their fingers beside her at a hypnotist show. I actually see her shoulders twitch like she was shaken from some sort of deep dream… or nightmare. When she sees the young man attempt to rescue the girl she begins to freak out, you would think from her reaction that he’s trying to kill her. The woman begins thrashing and jerking as one of the men holds her tight. She’s still trying with all her might to kick the basket into the water. She’s screaming and writhing as though she is possessed.

Luckily, the young man has a firm grasp on the little girl. He easily pulls her free and holds her safely over the water as her little toes dangle by his side. The other young man is forced to restrain the woman. She looks like she could become violent at any second. As he holds her arms behind her, she twists and flails about.

Her face is contorted with anger, “You ruined everything! She needs to be found in the reeds, I need to save her from the Pharaoh! You don’t understand, Moses, he came to me in a dream. He told me!”

The young man carrying the child brings her safely back to the shore and a crowd of mostly women surround them. People are clapping, others have their hands drawn to their chest in horror at the scene that just unfolded in front of them. In the background security is racing up the beach, spitting sand from their tires at anyone foolish enough to still be lying on their towels in their path. The cell phone camera swirls back over to the woman in the water. She’s sobbing and leaning over like she’s trying to unclasp herself from the man’s grasp and float away into the ocean herself. She’s still pleading her case with conviction, “You don’t understand,” she cries over and over.

“Oh my God, that bitch is so fucking crazy. She just tried to kill her kid! Did you see that?”

The video is abruptly ended, but the scene of the terrified child and the sobbing mother are burned into my mind. The moment is already replaying itself over and over in horrifying detail. Bradley and I are both still frozen, staring at the screen despite the fact that the video is over, apparently in the same deep traumatized trance.

My hand instinctively hovers over my belly as fat tears roll down my cheeks. I can barely swallow, feeling like somebody punched me right in the throat.
How can anyone harm a child?
The idea of rips a hole in my heart. Glancing at Bradley’s set jaw and white knuckled grip on the armrest, he appears to be equally affected by the video not with sadness, but with rage.

“Was, I mean,
is
that your daughter?” I whisper the words over my strained vocal chords. Bradley finally looks up from the screen, his hazel eyes darkened by anger. He shakes his head slowly side to side, wordlessly, but his face tells me exactly what he’s feeling.

“No. Brooklyn isn’t my daughter, she’s my niece. Fuck Eileen!” He slams his fist on the armrest making me jump at the unexpected outburst. “I’m sorry,” he unfurls his fingers and rubs them over my shoulder gently, reassuring me. “I didn’t mean to scare you, it’s just, well, this is a lot to take in right now.” He sweeps his hand toward the iPad, now turned off and reflecting our anguish back at us. I nod in agreement as Brooklyn’s frantic face flashes before my eyes again bringing fresh tears with the memory.

“Bradley, what is this all about? What’s going on?” My voice cracks as I desperately search his face for answers that I’m not sure he has.

Bradley opens his mouth, but an announcement from the pilot interrupts him. “Good afternoon, Sir. I wanted to inform you that all systems are a go and we’re ready to take off. The air conditions are working in our favor today so we’re expecting to arrive at William Gwinn Airport in three hours and forty minutes today since the tailwind will be pushing us along in the right direction. Nicole will be your flight attendant on this trip, so don’t hesitate to get her assistance for anything that will make this short flight a little more comfortable. I’d ask that you remain seated with your buckles fastened for take-off and Nicole will alert you when it’s safe to walk around.”

Nicole smiles at us, well more accurately at Bradley, from the front of the small but luxurious jet. With her plastered on make-up and flat-ironed hair she looks like she’s spent a lot of time perfecting the look of a stewardess, right down to the extra-toothy grin reserved for my man.

The jet engines roar as we bump and roll down the tarmac. Within seconds we’re leaning back against our seats as the nose of the little plane pokes through the clouds like an Olympic high diver cutting into a pool of water. As the plane levels out, so does Bradley’s mood. The hostility he carried on his face has melted away into sadness.

Nicole stands up with an unnaturally large smile to make her way to our seat, but Bradley raises his hand, signaling her to leave us alone. I get a little kick out of watching the disappointment cloud over her face and rub it in a bit when I lean into him and rest my head against his arm.

“Eileen, the woman you saw in the video, she’s my sister-in-law and she’s sick.” His voice wavers a little. There’s no doubt in my mind that she isn’t well, I don’t think anyone who watches that video will think differently. “She’s my brother’s wife, well, she’s my brother’s widow I guess,” he circles his thumb and forefinger around the gold watch on his wrist while he searches for his words.

“I’m so sorry you lost your brother, Bradley.” I touch his arm, waiting for him to continue.

He nods at my condolence and clears his throat loudly. “Thank you.” I can feel him draw a huge breath into his lungs and I stop leaning on his arm so I can look at him. I’ve never seen him so emotional, Bradley keeps clenching his jaw like he’s trying to keep his feelings locked inside. “Trevor died from leukemia a year and a half ago when Brooklyn was six months, I know she doesn’t remember him, but she sure looks like him. Whenever I see her, I see him looking back at me.”

“That must be hard,” I grab his hand and give it a little squeeze.

“You’d think so, but I actually find it comforting in a lot of ways. When Trevor found out he was near the end, he asked me to watch over Brooklyn and to do everything I could for her. Begged me is probably a more accurate description. He knew Eileen wasn’t well, I mean, she had a drinking problem before he ever got sick, but he thought she beat it when she quit for her pregnancy. He was wrong. Obviously, it goes without saying that she’s also mentally ill.”