The White Queen (S.Rogers)

Chapter 60

Brooklyn sighed, as she rocked back onto her feet from her knees, before putting her hands on her hips, staring down at the safe set into the floorboards of her closet. There was no more getting around it. There was no more room. The last payment from the Mr. Marino had come in, and try as she might, she simply couldn't put any more into the safe. There was still a fair amount left to go in, as well. Somewhere around thirty thousand if she was completely honest. That much wouldn't even fit in the little safe she kept under the bed. That one had been getting low, since she liked to use that one for her shopping and her personal expenses, especially since Christmas. That had been an expensive holiday for the household, but well worth it considering how well the gifts had gone over. Steve was definitely happy with the watches. He had taken to wearing the wrist watch more and more, taking it off before they went to bed, setting it on the beside table next to the side of the bed he had claimed.

Biting her lip, she considered her options. She could always ask Mr. Marino to have another safe installed. But she had a distinct feeling that when Steve learned of that, he might get a bit stroppy. He was still trying to find a safe way for them to get the money into a bank. The options were limited, he admitted, since she was still refusing to use her own name in connection with the accounts. He had suggested that he open the account in his name, and just hand everything over to her, with her as a co-signer, so she had full access, but to the world it would be his account. The only problem with this, he said, was that if anything happened to him, the government might freeze the account in an attempt to take it. Seeing as he had no legal dependents. And even if he left everything in the account to her in a will, the probate might take a long time. At which point, someone unsavory in the government might find a reason to object to America's heroic blueprint to leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars to some strange woman with little to no past.

Brooklyn wondered if she should talk to Marcus, to find out just how well the fake background he had set up for her would stand up to scrutiny. She knew that for the most part, the school had accepted it. It would stand up if she was pulled over for speeding. It might hold up if she was even arrested for a minor offense. But taxes? Bank accounts? How well would that work?

Either way, the fact of the matter was, Brooklyn needed a better solution to what she had now. Steve was right. She couldn't keep hundreds of thousands of dollars in a safe in her apartment. Maybe she would be safe with a few tens of thousands. But not hundreds.

Which meant that she was going to have to inform Steve that they needed a solution, and fast. The thirty thousand or so dollars sitting on a shelf was questionable, if strangers ever searched her apartment for some strange reason. It needed to be handled.

Groaning and rubbing her face, she picked up the remaining cash and walked over to the dresser. After her temper tantrum, or rather, her brat phase (as Steve liked to call it) she had gone back through her clothing and returned many items to the closet and dresser. But there was still room, if she did it right. Opening the bottom drawer, she pulled out a few of the pairs of jeans, and began lining up the cash bricks along the bottom of the drawer. Then she placed the jeans back on top, pressing them down gently, to make sure it was all settled. At least at first glance, no one would know they were there. Keeping one brick out of the drawer, she shut it, before going over to the bed and pulling out the small lock box she kept there. Setting it on the bed, she got the key out of her nightstand, sitting down next to the box, and unlocking it. Flipping it open, she sighed when she saw how little there was, compared to before Christmas. It was times like this when she regretted letting Steve convince her to stop working in the club. It wasn't that she missed dodging hands, or exposing herself to sweaty men for grimy green money. But at the same time, she missed the money she made. It was at least partially steady.