Michelle tentatively knocked on the door of Brook's room before opening it a crack.
"Can I come in?" she asked.
"Sure." He said in a toneless voice. She shut the door behind her.
"I - need some help." She said hesitantly.
"With what?" Brook asked. She turned around and pointed to her dress zip.
"This," she said. He got up from his bed and moved to help her.
"I thought you'd get Paige or Leslie's help for this." He said in a low voice.
"I'd much rather you did it," she said.
"So you're talking to me again?" he asked, sliding the zip down. Despite his mood, his pulse sped up at the sight of Michelle's exposed skin on her back.
"I love you too much to stay mad forever." She said softly. She turned around to face him. He gazed at her features, his eyes full of regret.
"Michelle, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I do trust you. I just got jealous and thought -" She placed a finger on his lips.
"Shh, it's okay." She wrapped her arms around him. She felt him respond by placing his arms around her and he hugged her back.
"Nothing has ever been permanent in my life Michelle." He said against her shoulder. "But since I met you, you've got me imagining a life I never dreamed of having before." He held her back to look at her.
"I want to be a part of your life. Every part. That means being a normal boyfriend to you." Michelle nodded for him to continue.
"And that means I'm gonna get jealous from time to time. I may even act like a jerk again if I see some guy flirt with you. But I just want you to know that it means 'I love you and you belong with me'." Michelle touched his face.
"You need to start paying better attention to me. Don't you remember when I told you I'm yours?" She asked with a soft smile.
"I do," Brook said before pulling her back into a hug. "No matter what Michelle, I love you."
"Then stop talking and kiss me." she teased. He grinned and captured her lips with his own, his hands slipping inside her dress as they both fell back on the bed in a tangle.
Being in a relationship has both highs and lows. But being with Brook makes me believe we can get through anything. So we had our first fight. But we made up within the hour. And I know every blow makes us stronger and every trial makes our love grow. Hmm. maybe I can use that line for a song. Anyway, I started writing to record my twenty-first birthday. To sum it up in one sentence - at 11:59 p.m. on 29th July, I was super high. At 12:05 a.m. the 30th, I threw up. The rest is to follow.
My favorite part was taking a couple of pictures with Brook. I'm gonna save these forever. Because they serve as a reminder that even though Brook is far from a normal boyfriend, there are times when we can experience normal everyday moments together. And kissy face couple pictures are proof of that.
Michelle put her pen down thinking. Since her birthday a week ago, things had been less lighthearted around the crew. The tension had mounted as more sightings of the Inferno Ghosts cropped up in the city. The crew was on pins and needles wondering what the Ghosts would do next.
"What are you doing up here?" Brook asked when he found Michelle curled on his bed one evening.
"I was um, documenting my birthday the old-school way? I came up here because it was getting kind of loud downstairs. Jett Payton and Reece were working on something to trace the Ghosts and had some - opinions about how it should be done." Michelle said.
"Nothing new there," Brook said. He came and sat next to her and looked over her work. She had arranged the photos she had taken on her birthday in a collage in her diary and drawn tiny hearts on their edges.
"That's cute. But don't I get some copies?" Brook asked.
"As soon as I find a stationary shop you'll get the copies," Michelle promised. She noticed Brook's eyes weren't as bright as usual.
"Something bothering you?" she asked, laying her hand on his.
"No. Everything's fine." Brook said, trying to sound casual.
"Brook..." Michelle tilted her head so she could see into his face. He sighed. He knew she wouldn't settle for anything but the truth.
"The Ghosts are moving much more openly through the city. They haven't caught the police's eye but they're leaving signs for us as though to warn us."
"What are they after? Are they still searching for the Koenigsegg?"
"Probably. But I don't think that's it."
"Maybe - they're trying to get us to come after them? I mean they are after us so maybe they want us to walk into their territory without having to come to us?"
"Maybe - but it doesn't feel like their normal methods."
"How so?"
"Well for one, they've never let themselves be tracked so easily before. If there's one thing they're good at it's stealth. Now they've thrown all their cover away and don't care if they're seen, at least by our people." Michelle frowned in thought.
"It's like they want us and only us to find them..." she said slowly.
"Exactly. But why?"
"They want to lure us out. And they're risking being seen doing it." Michelle thought aloud.
"Jackson has worse methods to do that. He would've -" Brook stopped suddenly and stood up.
"I need to check something." He said getting up and going out of the room. Michelle followed him.
"Leslie, where's the chief?" Brook asked as he came down the stairs.
"In the garage. Brook, you need to take a break. You look tired." She said.
"Later." He brushed off and walked out the front door. Leslie looked at Michelle.
"That boy doesn't know when to stop. See if you can persuade him, will you Michelle?"
"I'll try," Michelle said. She went and stood behind the couch. The others were still there but had switched from the computer to the TV and were watching a news channel.
"Anything important?" Michelle asked. She noticed Jett's worried face and turned to the TV.
"One of the cops who was patrolling the area near the Black Boulder showroom - he was found dead," Reece said. Michelle's breath caught in her throat.
"Was it - them?" she asked, her voice shaky.
"It had to be. They were the only ones besides us there that night. And... that cop." Reece said in a hard voice.
"They slaughtered him. They brutally -" Payton cut Jett off.
"Enough Jett." He said and nodded towards Michelle. Paige came silently and joined them.
"I should've brought real grenades that night, blown those," Paige called them a name Michelle winced at, "to bits before they could kill that cop."
"Brook said they've been less cautious lately?" Michelle put forward.
"Less cautious, more active. They're leaving their mark around the city like a calling card. They're not just after Ginswell anymore." Payton said.
"But can't we do something about it?" Michelle asked.
"We've been trying to avoid them so far. Looks like they want to draw us out now." Leslie said from the corner.
"By murdering a cop? This can't go on like this!" Michelle said vehemently. "What if we tried to set a trap for them that would bring them out into the open?"
"Trap them before they try to trap us... Not a bad idea Michelle." Payton said.
"Yeah, except that if it was possible, we would've done it by now," Paige said with folded arms. "Jackson Kromer knows we want to avoid the cops and he's playing to our weakness. He's trying to goad us into showing ourselves and risking getting the FBI's attention in the process. That would get rid of us from his sight once and for all."
"But why kill an innocent cop?" Michelle asked.
"It's their way of showing they can't be touched, even by the law." Payton almost growled. "They've been doing it for years. Killing off cops, families... it feeds his blood lust and ego." The landline rang at that moment, startling everyone into a tense silence.
"Only our auto shop contacts have that number," Leslie said. Payton got up to pick up the phone. He listened intently for a few seconds before his face contorted. Finally he slammed the phone down.
"Payton, what is it?" Paige asked. Payton turned to them, his expression dark with rage.
"It was them. Jackson's gang found the garage on Waterborne Road. Four of our men were there. They're dead." Michelle gasped.
"What?" Jett asked wide-eyed.
"He killed them." Payton's words sent a chill through the room.
"Was that - Jackson himself?" Reece asked.
"No, one of his men. And that's not the only thing he said." Payton said his voice hard. Michelle noticed Paige curl her fists into balls.
"What else?" she asked, her expression just as dark as Payton's.
"The sergeant - is alive." Brook's voice came from behind them. Michelle turned to the front door. Brook was standing there, his face ashen but devoid of expression. Payton turned to him.
"How did you find out?" he asked tonelessly. Soriano came behind Brook and noticed everyone's expressions in the room.
"What's going on?" he asked. Paige looked at him with contempt.
"Your secret's out chief. And looks like you're the one who let Brook know." Soriano staggered back.
"Brook." He said but Brook walked into the room and rounded on Payton.
"How did you know?" he asked, his voice dead calm.
"Jackson. He found one of our auto shops and killed four of our men."
"He found and destroyed five auto shops," Brook said, flinging a bunch of news clippings onto the floor. Everyone gathered around to see them. Each of the clippings showed pictures of ordinary auto shop workers mysteriously murdered with no leads or suspects.
"Where did you find these?" Soriano asked Brook pointing to the clippings. Brook turned to him.
"In the garage on your work table. While you were on the phone." He answered. Michelle swallowed. Brook's voice sounded so hollow.
"So the sergeant was alive. And the chief knew about this." Reece said, his voice also hardening with anger.
"You were keeping something this big from us chief?" Leslie asked. Soriano's expression could only show guilt and regret.
"I had to." He answered.
"Pathetic excuse." Paige retorted harshly.
"He did it to protect Brook. He didn't realize other auto shops would suffer in the process." Payton said with scorn. He turned to Brook.
"He's after you," he said. He glanced at Michelle.
"And her," Payton said. Brook's fists balled so tight his knuckles whitened.
"He'll get me," he said walking towards the door. Payton grabbed his arm but he shook it off roughly.
"Where do you think you're going?" Payton asked.
"To get revenge," Brook answered forebodingly.