Chapter One

Brooklyn entered her shabby, rickety building and looked over her shoulder with relief. She had somehow managed to escape them. Clutching at her rapidly heaving chest, Brooklyn climbed the dimly lit stairs to her apartment on the second floor. If Brandon had been at home, she would have asked him to pick her up from work but Brandon hadn’t returned home for two days. She knew that he never missed his evening classes despite everything. If she needed to see him, she knew where to go but that was the last option, an emergency situation. She was used to him being absent for days, with his phone switched off. It wasn’t a big deal at all. 

She unlocked the door to her apartment and walked inside. Switching on the night lights, she quickly locked the door back. Not hungry at all, she changed and took a quick shower to get rid of the bald man’s touch. It nauseated her to even think about it. Brooklyn shuddered to even think of what would have happened if her hot stalker hadn’t rescued her! She changed into her pajamas and lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling where the plaster was peeling off. The landlord was a stingy, old fool who refused to get it repaired. Brooklyn had grown used to it. What else could she do? She didn’t have enough money to rent a better apartment. Out of her meager salary, she had to repay the medical loan that she had to take for her mom’s treatment. So for her, this was home. 

Brooklyn closed her eyes but sleep was elusive tonight. A pair of hazel eyes haunted her. What did he want? Why was he stalking her? Was he a bad man? Did he want to kill her? 

“Why me, God? What have I ever done to him?” whispered Brooklyn in a broken voice. She wondered what the men did after she left? Were they looking for her? A shudder went down her spine and she placed a cushion over her head and curled up to sleep. 

“Please save me, God,” she mumbled before sleep overcame her. 

The next morning, Brooklyn woke up to the sound of the doorbell. She sat up and rubbed the sleep off her eyes. Who could it be, so early in the morning? It couldn’t be Brandon, since he had a duplicate set of keys with him.  She tiptoed towards the door and looked through the keyhole since there was no eye hole on the door. She could make out a man’s body wearing a black suit. Fear gripped her whole body, crippling her completely. Her stalker also wore a black suit last night, was it him? She looked again. No it couldn’t be him since the man outside was a little stout. Relieved, she opened the door to a crack and peered through the small gap. 

A pair of jet-black eyes with bleached blonde hair looked back at her curiously. “Miss Brooklyn?” he asked with interest. Brooklyn nodded with apprehension. She had never seen the man before yet he knew her name and address. Who could it be? 

“Yes, how do you know me?” she croaked with fear. The man smiled and held out her handbag to her. Brooklyn gasped with horror. Her handbag! It had fallen off her shoulder when the bald man had picked her up last night. She had completely forgotten about it in her haste. She snatched the bag away and checked its contents. They were intact! 

“Sir has sent it. Have a good day, Miss Brooklyn,” said the man, climbing down the stairs carefully. Brooklyn blinked twice at his words. Sir? Who was his sir? Was it her hot stalker or the bald man? Before she could ask him, he had disappeared. Sighing Brooklyn closed the door and stood perplexed against it. 

She could only make out one thing from it. Whoever his ‘Sir' was, he knew her name, he knew where she lived! Suddenly Mia's words from yesterday came to her mind. The man at table number 50 knew everything about her! Was the hot stalker the same man? Was he the stout man’s ‘Sir'? Brooklyn didn’t want to think anymore. She would go crazy if she thought so much. She had to get ready for work. Her stomach grumbled and she quickly took a shower and walked into the kitchen to check what she could eat. There wasn’t anything other than a little milk and cereal so she quickly ate it up and walked back to her bedroom to get ready. 

Her mind went back to the hot stalker. She wondered what he might have done with her handbag! It only had her uniform, her identity proof, her old broken mobile phone, her wallet with only 10 dollars, and her mom’s photograph. Nothing interesting! Taking out her soiled uniform, she washed it and hung it in the washroom to dry. Quickly getting ready, she stuffed another uniform into her bag and walked out of her apartment. Locking it well, she walked down the stairs dreading the way to work. She decided to take the roundabout way to avoid the bald man if he was around. 

She arrived five minutes late and was summoned to Mr. Foster’s office immediately. Thus her day started with a blast and a warning. Brooklyn dragged herself the whole morning, working relentlessly till it was lunchtime. “Brooks, I’m treating you to lunch. I’ve kept your lunch in the staff room. Go and grab it before it turns cold,” said Claudia, keeping her promise. Being always overcrowded, they didn’t get a proper lunch break. They had to accommodate ten minutes from their schedule and go and eat turn by turn. It was inhuman but it was Foster’s rule and no one was allowed to protest. 

“Thanks, Claudi. I have a request. Can you pay me for the extra shift I did yesterday? I need it to buy some food items,” said Brooklyn, remembering that she had nothing to eat at home. Claudia looked at her with sadness.

“Of course, dear,” she said, taking out the tip-off money that she had collected all morning and handing her the amount. 

“Thanks,” grinned Brooklyn. She could now buy food items and have a proper dinner after days. The tips and the money Claudia paid her would be enough to last her a week. With two months’ rent due, she was in a dilemma whether to buy food or save it to pay the rent. 

She walked towards the staff room to eat her lunch. Claudia had left for her a hamburger and Brooklyn’s mouth watered seeing it. She hadn’t eaten such stuff in months! Although a lot of food was wasted at the restaurant, Foster ensured that the waitresses didn’t get any of it. So for Brooklyn, lunch was usually a bun and water. That was all she could afford to buy. 

After ten minutes, she emerged from the staff room, feeling happy and content. Mia shot her an exciting look. “What happened?” asked Brooklyn, seeing her bright eyes. Mia took out a 100 dollar bill and waved it in front of her eyes. 

“My tip!” she exclaimed. Brooklyn’s face paled considerably. There was only one person who gave her a 100 dollar tip. Her hot stalker! Did that mean that he was here? 

“Was he here?” Brooklyn asked with dread. Mia nodded vigorously. 

“Yes, he asked for you and then ordered coffee. Only one cup. He looked around for you and then he received a phone call and disappeared, leaving me this,” she said, doing a happy dance with the money. Brooklyn gave her a forced smile and sighed. How could she be happy to know that her stalker was back again? What exactly did he want? The rest of the day went by without any incidents and finally, Brooklyn was done for the day. She decided to buy some beef, eggs, bread, milk, cereal, and rice to last her a week. She would save the rest of the money for rent. Determined, she went to the department store but everything was so expensive! Still, she managed to look for discounts and could afford to buy only half of the stuff.  Carrying the stuff, she walked down to her apartment taking the longer route. A light drizzle started, and she pulled the cardigan closer. She walked as fast as her legs could carry her when she again had the eerie feeling of being followed. She looked behind her shoulder and to her horror, the black Porsche from yesterday skidded to a halt right next to her. 

Brooklyn was startled out of her wit’s end. The packet of food fell from her hands and scattered around the pavement. It started to rain, cold rain, and the people rushed around, hurrying to take shelter. Some pedestrians walked over the food items in their haste to getaway. Tears stung at her eyes seeing her week's food all gone to waste. What would she eat now? The sound of a car door opening made her whirl around with anger. 

Her blood boiled when her eyes met a pair of cold hazel ones. Her stalker! He emerged from the car, wearing an expensive black suit that might have cost him a fortune. He slowly walked towards her, like a predator on the prowl, his eyes fixed upon her. There was a cold ruthlessness in his eyes as if he was angry. Big fat tears fell from Brooklyn’s eyes as she glared at the man. It was because of him that she lost her food. 

“Why are you stalking me, huh? Why don’t you kill me if you want to? I lost my food because of you. Now what will I eat this whole week?” she sobbed, her voice breaking a little. Her words echoed around the almost deserted place. The man looked taken aback by her outburst. Brooklyn didn’t wait for a second longer. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, drenched, hungry and tired.