Protected by a Hero

by Susan Stoker, Cristin Harber, Cora Seton, Lynn Raye Harris, Kaylea Cross, Katie Reus, Tessa Layne

  Parker picked up his cell and called Jared.

  Jared answered on the second ring. “If this has anything to do with that Shadow security thing that you promised me was a ‘simple job,’ I’m not in the mood.”

  “Think it’s bigger than that.” Parker’s eyes narrowed as he continued to add friends and expand his Monarch network. The caterpillar was gone, and a butterfly had taken its place, promising him he was ready to fly.

  “Yeah, how so?”

  Parker kept clicking. The butterfly sent him a notification that it was hungry. What the hell did that mean—oh, he needed to join more groups to keep his stupid butterfly happy. The site was genius if it wasn’t so damn dangerous.

  “Parker,” Jared snapped. “What the fuck do you have?”

  “It’s a theory, but I may’ve scratched the surface of a terrorist plot.”

  He groaned and cursed. “Be there in five.”

  Shit. Okay. This was what he did, what Titan handled. But he also needed to find Lexi and make sure she was safe. For the first time, the right move wasn’t analytically clear—no, wrong. It wasn’t the first time thinking about her had altered his decision-making process.

  Parker rubbed his temples. He needed to see this idea through, to investigate what he thought. But at the same time, his mind searched for the woman who made him want to question his standard operating procedure.

  Jared stormed into Parker’s tech-lair. “Explain.”

  So he did, spending twenty minutes walking Boss Man through the site and his thoughts. Jared rubbed his face, looking over everything the screen said and analyzing the limited intelligence they had.

  Finally, Jared shook his head. “Seems extraordinarily complicated for micro-targeted attacks. If the fuckers want to come over here and cause havoc, why not ping people off the street? Attack random homes.”

  Parker pulled up a page of his Monarch groups, noting the obnoxious, already-hungry-again butterfly. “All military.”

  “I got that.” Then Jared’s brows went up as his eyes narrowed on what Parker was certain was a list of deployed wives support groups. “Shit. Fuck.”

  “Right?” Parker nodded solemnly. “Those fuckers come over here and hurt families, kids, while their dad and mom are overseas? If there’s no rhyme or reason to the attack—” He scrolled down the list. Young and old. Every part of the country. There were too many people to protect at once. Thousands of vulnerable possibilities. “Screw low morale—a lot of those soldiers will do what it takes to protect their families. And those who don’t do something will be distracted and dysfunctional.”

  “Fuck.” Jared cracked his knuckles. “Alright, I have a couple calls to make. What’s your next move? Where are you digging on this?”

  “Back hack the IP of a lead in the DC General’s server. Look at the hole in Monarch’s site and see what it really shows, then trace the security footage to follow the stolen laptop.”

  “Good. Do it.”

  Parker’s fingers were already flying on the keyboard. “It’ll take time.”

  “If that thing is on the run to God knows where, we don’t have time.”

  No time and not enough manpower. Lexi had to keep herself safe, at least until they made progress.

  “And, Parker?”

  He looked up, still typing, still worrying about his woman.

  “If this is what you think it is, then I need to turn it over.”

  Parker nodded, not feeling territorial at all. “No problem.”

  Boss Man’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “You fight to keep every project under your control, and the possibility that this mother bear might be the greatest looming threat out there, you’re cool with passing it along and not asking to stay with it?”

  He paused, thinking over the absurdity of what Jared had just suggested, then he nodded. “Something like that.”

  “What’s going on with you?”

  He took a deep breath before sharing how his personal and professional lives had crashed together. “Silver is Lexi.”

  Jared’s jaw worked side to side. “I’m not exactly sure what that means.”

  Parker had never not shared everything in minute detail when it came to his concerns, ideas, and solutions, and Jared always listened, even when Parker went a little too deep in the weeds. So this was different. They both seemed to feel it too.

  “You have a problem with asking for help?” Jared asked.

  “No.”

  “Alright then. Ask when it’s needed.”

  “Ten-four, Boss Man.” Maybe. She was so guarded that Titan storming after her might make her run deeper. He was at a crossroads, torn between following after a terrorist threat or chasing down his woman on the run.

  Jared pulled his phone out, already dialing, when he paused and turned around. “Don’t make me pull you out of custody again.”

  “No worries for that.” Parker kept his face stoic and unreadable, but on the inside, he’d already decided Lexi was his priority and changed his mental operations to focus on a missing-person job. Soon as he had anything to go on and Jared had turned over the threat concerns, he’d be out the door.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Parker pinged Lexi-slash-Silver again every way he knew how and went back to tracing her through camera footage, searching for her motorcycle. A quick blip of a reply, nothing more than a symbolic hello, came across his phone, and his chest tightened, possessive concern eating him alive. Parker studied his cell phone then replied with digits and a message that it was a secure line. Then he stared. And stared. Waiting.

  The screen lit before it rang, and relief broke through him as the unknown number flashed on the phone’s console. He swiped the handset off the desk. “Where are you?”

  “You should leave me alone. You told me to go dark,” she whispered.

  “I also said I’d find you. It’d be easier if you answered when I reach out.” His fingers flew across the keyboard, trying to pinpoint her precise location. It might have been secure on his end, but she was still flailing in the wind. Time wasn’t on his side. Eastern United States. Alright. Getting somewhere. Lexi was at least still on his side of the country.

  “Stop. I know what you’re doing, Parker.”

  “Of course you know what I’m doing.” Though he could tell she’d gone through a lot of hoops to hide where she was when she called. Not that that would stop him. He hit a cyber-wall. Shit. Backing out, Parker tried another way, searching for a hole, something she wouldn’t have anticipated. He ran a hand into his hair, growling at the screen. “What I don’t get is why I have to.”

  “I’ve created this mess. I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want you to get in trouble with the law. I don’t want you to accidentally murder someone on my behalf.”

  God, she had no idea. “Don’t be like that, Lex. Where are you?”

  The next line of code got past another one of her barriers. His search narrowed as he triangulated. Virginia. Okay, so she hadn’t gone too far.

  She sucked in a breath. “Don’t use my name.”

  So quiet. Too quiet. Her words stabbed in his chest, building pressure that he wasn’t used to. She was scared, and he needed to fix that.

  “We’re past the point of being concerned over a name-handle connection,” he said. “You’re in trouble. I can fix this. It’s what I do.”

  She remained silent.

  “Goddamn it, Lexi, where are you?” He went back to the first screen that had started his initial search. Inside Union Station, she was just walking into the coffee shop. Even in that simple, grainy picture, she was so damn beautiful that he almost couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  “Just let me stay dark for a while, and I’ll be back.”

  “It doesn’t work like that, Lex.”

  “Everything will be forgotten.”

  “There’s a whole lot I have no intention of forgetting.” He’d almost pinpointed her. She was in northern Virgi
nia.

  “You can’t just beat up your way out of this. I’m causing trouble for everyone—God, were you arrested?”

  “You have no idea what’s going on. You need a safe house and security.”

  He should’ve told her more of who he was, what he did for a living, how he was more than a set of hands and a brain that could turn her world upside down. He should have sworn that he was her protector, and that he would kill himself to make sure he was holding her at the end of the day—God help anyone stupid enough to try to come after her again. Damn it. He should’ve said more than Titan was complicated because Titan was his authority to scorch the earth until he found her.

  “I have it under control, and I’ll call you later.”

  The line went dead a half second before he could pinpoint her location.

  “Fuck!” He slammed his phone receiver down and pushed back from the desk.

  Breathing hard and mind racing, he didn’t know the next move and couldn’t make heads or tails of what he was supposed to do. He had a decent area with multiple modes of transportation and several interstates. Not a lot, but the data was a starting point. Parker snapped out of his stupor and worked the remnants of her signal, hoping to find some regional bread crumb.

  A throat cleared behind him. His head turned and took in Winters leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

  Parker blew out his frustration. “Busy.”

  Winters took a step forward. “What the fuck was all that about?”

  Anxiety, confusion, and a thousand things in between skewered his judgment. “Nothing.”

  “Parker?” he tried again.

  Parker ran his hands along his desk to try to let the smooth surface calm his nerves. His work area was icy cold. They kept it that way for the electronics. The lights were dim, and the room hummed. None of it gave him direction, none of it centered him, and finding no answers, he dropped his head farther, rubbed his temples, and cursed.

  His buddy laughed quietly. “You want me to guess what’s wrong with you?”

  Parker shook his head. “I am fucked.”

  “Nah, you’re never one to get into a position that screws you. Though you almost landed your genius ass in jail today, so what do I know?”

  “A friend of mine found herself in deep and doesn’t know how to get out. She thinks she has it handled, and she doesn’t.”

  “You realize you’re being vague and talking in circles?” Winters scowled.

  Parker sighed. “It’s a long story.”

  “Is there a short version?”

  Short version… there wasn’t one. Other than the one-sentence summary he’d given Boss Man. Lex is Silver. Jared just walked back in, so the conversation had the potential to get much worse.

  “They’re running with your intel. Looks like you’re right,” Boss Man grumbled then tilted his head. “What the fuck is that face for? Thought you had your thing to do.”

  Winters gave Parker a look and a moment to answer Boss Man, but Parker didn’t. Winters turned toward Jared. “Parker’s got problems.”

  Parker scoffed, internally agreeing. “I don’t have damn problems.”

  Winters laughed. “Then he has a chick with a problem.”

  “Thought we’d been through this already.” Jared’s eyes sliced to Parker. “Fix it.”

  “Yeah.” Parker turned back to his computer, his eyes catching on the screen where he’d left Lexi frozen in place. He couldn’t look at that and play dumb to the extent of his interest in her, so he pushed away and stood. “Working on it.”

  Winters made a wry noise, his mouth down-turned as though he was trying not to laugh. Jared raised an eyebrow at Winters. Parker wanted both men out of his office.

  “This problem,” Jared pushed, eyeing the dynamic between Parker and Winters. “Fixed soon? Fixed when?”

  Parker rubbed his temples. “Think I need some time off.”

  Jared’s raised eyebrow dropped, and he glowered. “You need time off for a problem connected to a terrorist cell with a chick I just learned is involved?”

  “Yeah. Basically.” Though when it was laid out like that, it had a problematic vibe that Boss Man wouldn’t deal well with.

  “Wait, she is?” Winters asked, dumbstruck.

  “No.” Jared’s boots turned, and he pounded out of the room, growling as he went. “No time off. Work it from here.”

  The headache punching at Parker’s temples worsened. “Alright, wait.”

  Jared glared. “You have twenty seconds to try again.”

  Winters leaned against the wall. “Might as well explain everything, ’cause I’m confused as all hell.”

  “Shut it, Winters,” Jared snapped. “This isn’t gossip central. But, Parker, man, you’re screwing shit up.”

  Parker pulled in a breath through his teeth. “A hacker I’ve known most my life—” Explaining the intricacies of something Jared didn’t care wouldn’t help his case. “Turns out is the same person as the woman I’m… seeing.”

  Winters laughed. “Now there’s an upgrade.”

  “Would you shut the hell up?” Jared growled.

  “What am I missing?” Winters asked.

  Jared paced. “The hacker and the girl are the same person, and there’s a terrorist cell that the ARO implanted in the States, and they’ve set their eyes on a niche attack on US soil.”

  The ARO? Parker’s stomach dropped. Shit. Worse than he’d expected. Jared’s contact had worked fast. Bad news all around. The Arab Revolutionary Organization was smart and wanted headlines.

  Winters ran a hand over his face. “What’s Lexi have to do with them?”

  The line between Boss Man’s brows deepened as he stared at Parker. “You didn’t see this coming?”

  “Why would I have seen this coming?” He turned to Winters. “You’ve known the girl as long as me. You know she was into this?”

  Winters shook his head. “Nope. Lexi, one. Boy genius, zilch.”

  “Jackass.” Frustration wasn’t making Parker’s explanation any easier.

  “Thought you were smart.” Jared shook his head. “Fuck me, I was wrong.”

  “What?” Parker asked.

  “Man, you do not think you need some time off. Something looking like Lexi running free with some attack dog after her? You say, ‘Call up the fuckin’ troops, we’ve got work to do.’”

  Parker blinked. “This is off the books.”

  “Everything’s off the books.”

  “This doesn’t pay.”

  “The best jobs don’t,” Jared replied.

  Parker dropped to his chair and leaned back, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “I’m not sure what I’m getting into. Titan doesn’t need that.”

  Jared shook his head. “If there’s one person who knows what shit Titan gets into, it’s you.” He rubbed his forehead. “Get Rocco, debrief with him. Winters, sit in. Keep your boy on point. You have whatever resources you need.”

  Parker stood back up, anxious energy making him bob and weave like a freakin’ Whac-a-Mole. “Seriously, Boss Man—”

  “What?” Jared growled.

  “This is personal.”

  “Somehow, for the last decade of your life or however the hell long you’ve worked here, you’ve missed out on something basic. You got personal, we deal with personal. And, brother, you have never got personal. When shit pops up, as it’s done now, we go in and fix it. Winters needed his girl. We got his girl. I needed a hand with Sugar. Even though she was kicking and screaming, we dragged her sweet ass home. Rocco, Caterina. Cash and Nic. Don’t even make me mention Roman.”

  Parker shook his head. “This isn’t like any of that.” Except was it?

  “Whatever it’s like, it’s the only outside-of-Titan personal connection you have. Whatever that woman is to you, you make her fuckin’ day. That means you save her life, you kill some rogue attacker, you smoke out some terrorist fuck. You do a hacker thing. You get the job done. Read me?”

  “Loud and clear.�
��

  Jared stormed out, and Winters grumbled in agreement. Parker, again, dropped to his chair, uncomfortable with everything that was about to happen and never more grateful for who he worked with and how good they were at it.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Lexi crept down yet another alleyway and scooted into the mom-and-pop shop. Old Town Alexandria was filled with tourists, likely because it was warmer than it had been in weeks. The thick band of people gave her an added layer of protection, allowing her to blend in with random groups and grab onto their cell phones’ hot spots whenever she needed quick access.

  Hiding in plain sight, she wasn’t in a faraway hole, as she’d just finished doing for the past couple of weeks. Staying close by wasn’t her smartest move, but it was fueled by not wanting to be that far from Parker. From Black. One and the same. Even though she wouldn’t let him help her. Dragging him into her nightmare terrified her. Just like Shadow. She still hadn’t heard from him.

  Lexi pushed through the door and waited in line, exhaustion making her mind cloud. Maybe she should’ve found a hotel room instead of an ice cream parlor…

  “What’ll it be?” the kid behind the counter asked.

  She ordered quickly and quietly, as though if she talked loudly, someone would know where she was. Lexi paid in cash for an orange sherbet with hot fudge, dropped the change into a jar, and took the already melting mess to the back of the shop where she could hide and map out her next move. She had no idea what that’d be. Maybe she should call Parker back and tell him she was done being belligerent.

  God, she wanted to call him, but how much more of a mess would she create by doing so? Instead, she stabbed her spoon into the bowl of ice cream, hoping it could temporarily fix everything. A couple of spoonfuls in, she wasn’t ready to admit it wasn’t working, but she wasn’t ready to stop.

  A shadow curved over her table. Her stomach shrank as much as her body tingled. “You found me.”

  It wasn’t her broker or whoever had grabbed her at Union Station. Nope. Like her blood could sense how tall, dark, and handsome Parker was, it rushed and burned in her veins. She turned to see it was most certainly tall, dark, and maybe deadly, judging by the fire in his smoldering gaze. His muscles seemed relaxed, but given their lack of restraint in Union Station, she was sure that didn’t matter. Parker and Black were definitely an impressive combination. But he shouldn’t be there. He might be all muscles and brains, but he didn’t deserve to have a threat in his life just for knowing her.