The Punishment: The Downing Family Book 3 Read online

  The Punishment

  The Downing Family Book 3

  Cassie Wild

  Belmonte Publishing, LLC

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 Belmonte Publishing LLC

  Published by Belmonte Publishing LLC

  Contents

  Reading Order

  Free Prequel

  1. Daria

  2. Brooks

  3. Daria

  4. Brooks

  5. Daria

  6. Brooks

  7. Daria

  8. Brooks

  9. Daria

  10. Daria

  11. Brooks

  12. Daria

  13. Brooks

  14. Daria

  15. Brooks

  16. Daria

  17. Daria

  18. Brooks

  19. Daria

  20. Brooks

  21. Daria

  22. Brooks

  23. Daria

  24. Brooks

  25. Daria

  26. Brooks

  27. Daria

  28. Brooks

  Preview: Book 4 (Downing Family)

  About the Author

  Reading Order

  Thank you so much for reading The Punishment, book 3 in the Downing Family series. The books should be read in order, starting with The Escape. Don’t miss the other books in the series.

  1. The Escape

  2. The Debt

  3. The Punishment (This Book)

  4. The Setup (October 12)

  Free Prequel

  Get an exclusive prequel to the Downing Family. Click Here to subscribe to my newsletter and receive the exclusive 50 pages prequel – NOT available anywhere else.

  One

  Daria

  “Help!” The cry, broken and weak, escaped from my lips unheard. I tried again, and this time, terror clutched me in its icy grasp, giving my voice more weight. “Somebody help me!”

  At first, people had run away, scared, I assumed, by the sound I now knew had been a gunshot.

  But as I fell to my knees next to Brooks, someone approached. I looked up, dazed and scared, as a man crouched in front of us. His eyes flicked from my face down to the still body of Brooks lying between us.

  “I’ve called 911,” he said, still holding his phone cradled against his ear. He said something else, but I didn’t understand the words. Numbers, nonsense words…

  He was talking to somebody on the phone, a 911 operator, I finally realized. The emergency help line in America.

  “Are they coming?” I asked, my voice high-pitched and shaky.

  He nodded at me, still talking on the phone. Finally, he tapped the screen and put it down on the sidewalk between us, and I heard a voice through the speaker. “Stay on the line…”

  I ignored the instruction as I looked back down at Brooks.

  There was so much blood. It stained the entire front of his shirt.

  Without thinking, I shoved my hand into my bag and pulled out a scarf. I almost always kept one on hand in case I wanted to tie my hair up with it. I didn’t think about the germs that were probably all over the cloth as I pressed it against Brooks’ shoulder.

  “You’re not a doctor or nurse by any chance, are you?” I asked, looking over at the man kneeling next to Brooks.

  “I’m a school teacher,” he said with a rueful smile.

  Great.

  I kept my hands in place, feeling the shallow rise and fall of my darling’s chest. At least he was still breathing. That was good, I kept telling myself. As long as he was breathing, hope was alive.

  “I’ve taken a first aid course.” He touched his fingers to Brooks’ neck, and I watched, helpless. “His pulse seems pretty strong, all things considered.” Nodding at my hands, he continued, “Keep doing that.”

  There wasn’t much else I could think to do, but I dipped my head, indicating that I understood.

  The woman’s voice came through the phone again, and I forced myself to think, to focus on her words this time. Focus on the positive things that were happening in the midst of the horror. The man bent over Brooks’ prone body had called emergency services. Whoever was on the phone was able to help.

  “An ambulance is on the way,” the woman said, her voice calm and reassuring. “Just stay with me…”

  I closed my eyes and focused on Brooks’ still body.

  Stay with me…

  “Stay with me, Brooks,” I whispered.

  His lashes fluttered, and one hand lifted, just a bare inch from the ground.

  “Brooks!”

  His lashes flickered once more.

  I wanted to grab his hand and press it to my heart, but I didn’t dare let up the pressure I had against his chest. “I’m here,” I told him. “I’m right here, Brooks. And I’m not going anywhere.”

  His lips parted, and he muttered something, but the words were so faint that I couldn’t make out what he said.

  “I’m right here,” I told him again.

  His face contorted into a grimace, and abruptly, his eyes flew open. He stared up blindly. I bent over him, trying to catch his gaze. But his eyes were still opaque. Unseeing. What did it mean?

  “I’m here,” I said again. “Stay with me, Brooks. Stay with me.”

  “Daria…”

  His voice was strong, and despite the horror tearing at my heart, I knew I must not let him down. I blinked back my tears. If he could be strong, so could I. I bent a little closer, until just a few inches separated us. Looking into his eyes, I said, “I’m right here. I’ll never leave you.”

  In the distance, the wail of sirens penetrated the air around me.

  They seemed so far away.

  “Help is coming,” I told him.

  Cops arrived just as the paramedics showed up, and they had to drag me away from Brooks’ side.

  “Ma’am…ma’am!”

  The words were all but shouted into my face, and finally, I tore my gaze from Brooks’ still form and looked at the uniformed officer. The woman gripped my upper arms and shook me slightly. “Did you hear me?”

  Mute, I shook my head.

  “I need you to calm down, ma’am,” she said, her words firm and measured. “The paramedics are going to help your friend, but you need to calm down.”

  How could I possibly calm down?

  As if she could read my thoughts, she softened her tone. “You’ll help him by being calm. So…help him. Calm down.”

  Help Brooks.

  I could do that.

  Sucking in one breath, then another, I focused on the cop’s face. I couldn’t look at Brooks. Not right now. If I saw him pale and bleeding again, I might lose the small grasp of composure I’d gained. I might fall apart.

  I couldn’t do that.

  “I’m okay,” I said, my voice thin and tight.

  “That’s good,” she said, nodding in approval. “Can you talk to me? I need some information.”

  From the corner of my eye, I saw them hefting Brooks onto a stretcher. “I have to be with Brooks,” I whispered.

  “You will be. I’ll take you to the hospital. But I need some information.”

  Terrified, I looked from her back over to Brooks.

  But I nodded.

  I needed to help.

  I needed to do something.

  Anything to stop this madness.

  * * *

  I’d lied to them.

  When
they asked who I was, I’d told them I was Brooks’ fiancée. I couldn’t stand the thought of him being alone, couldn’t stand the thought of not knowing what was happening to him.

  I’d seen the nurse’s glance drop to my hand, and I’d somehow managed to continue with the lie. “I can’t wear the ring to school,” I said. “I’m a dancer. No adornment during our training.”

  That was bullshit, of course. But she didn’t know that. She just nodded as if in understanding, and she made a few notes before leading me through the doors and through winding halls until we stopped outside a curtained off area.

  She pulled the curtain back and nodded for me to step inside. “He’s been asking for you. You only have a few minutes. We have to get him into surgery.”

  “Surgery?” Panicked, I wheeled my head around and stared at the nurse, but she was bent over Brooks now, disconnecting tubes and wires, checking the various machines hooked up to him.

  She straightened and tested one of the monitors with lines showing his heartbeat, then she glanced back at me.

  “You have to go now,” she said gently.

  “But I just got back here!”

  “We have to get him into surgery, Ms. Gorev. You can visit later.”

  The reassuring look in her eyes did little to ease the fear that something might happen during the surgery, that he wouldn’t come out alive.

  But I couldn’t leave yet. Reaching out, I took Brooks’ hand. “It’s going to be okay. I’m only a few steps away,” I told him.

  I didn’t know if I was reassuring him or myself.

  Two

  Brooks

  A nasty taste coated my tongue.

  I was cold.

  I was never cold.

  There was a faint, pungent scent that tickled my nose.

  I cracked one eye open and tried to make out my surroundings. I had no idea where I was.

  I lay on my back in an unfamiliar bed—a miserably hard bed at that. I caught sight of a TV mounted to the wall before a hammer slammed into my head, and I squeezed my eyes shut against the pain.

  I panted a few breaths until the fire in my upper body eased off, then opened my eyes again. I lifted my head this time and looked around. Any movement seemed to make the pain well up, and I had to stop and take a breath yet again.

  Once the agony eased off, I held my head up more slowly and was able to take in more of the room. I didn’t recognize my surroundings, and I couldn’t figure out why I hurt so much. More than I ever had in my life.

  Something nagged at the back of my mind. Daria.

  Where was she?

  I’d been with her…hadn’t I?

  I pulled an image of her face to mind. Her features were drawn and tight, tears streaming from her eyes.

  She was bent over me. Telling me to hold on. Saying over and over again, “I’m here…I’m here, Brooks.”

  I swallowed as the blurred memories began to piece themselves together.

  I’d been walking with Daria.

  From out of nowhere, there was an explosion…

  Was it around me? No, it was inside me…my shoulder had blown apart.

  The tangled web of memories had the pain in my head welling up once more. Groaning, I lifted a hand, pressing it to my brow.

  “Hey there.”

  That familiar voice made me go still, and I lowered my hand, searching the darkness. “Sean?”

  “Yeah.” Something shifted in the shadows, and then he was at my side.

  He bent over the railing, and I could sense him staring down at me. The light was dim, and I could only make out his rough shape. Apparently, he could see me more clearly.

  “You look like shit,” he said, though I could hear something else beneath his gruff voice. Worry?

  “Maybe getting shot will do that to you,” I said, my voice a mere rasp. “I was shot, wasn’t I?” I tried to find him in the dim light, but it hurt too much to move.

  “Yeah, man. You were shot. It went right through the muscle on top of your shoulder, missed the bone, thankfully.”

  “Shit.” Making a face, I tried to wet my lips, but my mouth was dry as sand. “Can I get some water?”

  Sean turned, and I could sense him moving away, although I was too exhausted to move, even if just to look at him. He was back at my side only a few seconds later.

  “Let’s lift the head of the bed up,” he said.

  “Give me some water first,” I told him.

  “After you’re sitting up. You don’t want to wear it, and I doubt you can sit up all that easily right now.” I heard him pushing some buttons, and the bed rose upright with a slow, faint mechanical whine, bringing Sean’s features more clearly into focus. I decided that water might not be that important. Even though my body was being moved through passive means, it still hurt like hell to change any position.

  In addition to my headache, the pain emanated from my right shoulder, and I realized that moving would suck over the next few days.

  Sean brought a cup of water to me, guiding the straw. I hated that I needed that help, but I was too fucking thirsty to let pride interfere. I guzzled the water and relief crashed through me at the tepid, slightly metallic taste. It was sweeter than ambrosia in that moment, and I felt like I could have gone through an entire gallon.

  But I tired after just a few sips. Nudging Sean’s hand away, I said, “Thanks.”

  He grunted under his breath, and I closed my eyes, trying to draw my scattered thoughts together. Just the simple act of focusing made my head pound, but I didn’t let the pain interfere this time.

  “I was shot,” I said softly.

  “We’ve already established that.” Something scraped across the floor, and I craned my head, watching Sean approach.

  He was dragging a chair with him.

  The sound was like an icepick in my ears.

  It stopped after a few more seconds when he placed the chair next to the bed and sat down.

  “Do you remember everything that happened?” he asked.

  Blood pounded in my ears as I riffled through my fogged memories. “I was with Daria. She’d spent the night with me…” Panic grabbed me by the throat and flooded me with desperate strength. Shooting out a hand, I grabbed Sean’s shoulder. “Daria. Is she okay? Was it Duardo?”

  “We don’t know who it was yet, man.” He curled a hand around my wrist but didn’t try to break free. “We’re working on it. And Daria is fine. She’s back at the apartment with Isabel. I got some guys watching them.”

  Relieved, I let go of his shoulder. For a few minutes, I just lay there, regaining my breath and waiting for my heart to slow.

  “Can you tell me what happened?” I asked. “I’m in the hospital, right?”

  “Yeah.” Sean blew out a heavy breath and leaned back in the chair.

  My eyes were adjusting to the dim light, and I could see Sean’s face. He was scruffy, his normally meticulous hair a mess, as if he’d been running his fingers through it for most of the day. Maybe he had.

  “What all do you remember?” he asked, leaning forward once more, elbows braced on his knees.

  “Shit, man.” I closed my eyes. “Can’t you just tell me?”

  “You might as well use me as a sounding board. The cops will be here to question you in the morning, and we don’t have as many contacts with the department here in New York. You need to figure out what you’re going to tell them.”

  “I’ll tell them I was shot in the middle of a New York City sidewalk in broad sunlight as I walked my girlfriend to class.”

  Sean’s brows winged up. “Girlfriend. Since when are you and Daria that serious?”

  Of all the things I’d said, that was naturally what he latched on to. I tried to drag my hand down my face, but even that small movement hurt. I moved slowly, refusing to let the weakness of my body control my actions. Under my hand, my cheeks were raspy with stubble. I needed a shower. A shave. I needed to see Daria.

  “Brooks?”

  I rotated
my head on the pillow and looked at my younger brother. “I don’t know what we are yet,” I whispered. “But we’re…something.”

  He looked away for a long moment, then finally met my eyes. “You never were one for the easy road, were you?”

  “Like I’d have a chance at it in this family,” I muttered.

  I was exhausted, the pull of sleep already dragging at me. But I couldn’t sleep until I knew what had happened.

  “We were on our way into her school,” I told Sean, this time without prodding. “I was walking her to the door. When I heard the gunshot, my brain knew what it was, but I didn’t process it in time to do anything. I just remember I was on the ground. Daria was screaming and yelling at me. Crying.” The memory of that tightened my throat. Whoever had done this had made Daria cry. I’d bruise them for that alone.

  I shifted on the bed and pain tore at me. Swearing, I dropped my head back onto the pillow and focused on my breathing as I waited for the agony to pass.

  Sean bent over me, concern in his eyes. “Want me to get the nurse? They’ve got drugs for the pain.”

  “No.” I shook my head, grateful when I could do that without hurting too much. “Daria wasn’t hurt, was she?”

  “No.” Sean shook his head. “Just you.”

  I blew out a relieved breath and closed my eyes. “How bad is it?”

  “Not too bad. You were lucky. Whoever took that shot was either a very bad aim if he meant to kill you or a very good aim if the goal was just to mess you up. The bullet tore through the muscle in your shoulder and nicked one of the arteries there, I forgot the name of it. But it wasn’t fatal, thank god.” He pulled up his sleeve and revealed a bruised area in the crook of his elbow. “You needed some blood. Both Briar and I donated some, but you needed more. If you hadn’t been where the paramedics could get to you fast, then get you to the emergency room, you could have bled out.” He hesitated a moment, then added, “Daria too. She helped save your life. She put pressure on the area until the medics got there.”