by Susan Stoker, Cristin Harber, Cora Seton, Lynn Raye Harris, Kaylea Cross, Katie Reus, Tessa Layne
Lexi woke at the sound of the garage opening. Parker casually walked into his house and tossed his keys on the end table, shrugging out of his jacket. She was exhausted. The time on the cable box said it was close to five in the morning, almost twenty-four hours since he’d hauled her to safety.
“Scoot over.” He plopped down on the other end of the couch then hauled her onto his chest so that she faced him.
“All in a day’s work, huh?” she asked sleepily.
“Something like that.” He rubbed her back lazily, letting her melt back to sleep.
“You’re my hero.”
His body moved as he shook his head. “Pretty sure you’re the one who infiltrated a terror cell.”
After they returned to Virginia, she went to Parker’s, where Colby Winters’s wife, Mia, had been waiting for her. Sugar and Parker went to Titan. Mia was beyond nice, even though she always had been when Lexi had met her in passing, but this was different. This was Mia working, helping, because Parker had quietly made arrangements for someone for Lexi to talk to.
Mia was non-judgmental, and they talked for hours, telling stories about the guys, about Mia finding a place in their crazy bunch before most of them had settled down. She made Lexi feel welcome, unlike a guest in their world but a person who was… not to be abandoned. Not a loner. Not to be made fun of. Nothing like that. Mia seemed to speak as though she spoke on behalf of every person Lexi had met or had known through the Matt-Parker connection. The whole gab session had felt less like therapy and more like a relief. She was unbelievably at peace considering the last day.
Lexi had a family, even if they weren’t blood. It started with Parker, and apparently by default, she had inherited a large network of over-the-top people who seemed to really like her.
“Where’s your head after today?” he asked, laying his forehead on hers and breathing in.
“Nowhere but here.”
“Good.”
“Right?” She snuggled against him. “I’ve always been alone, and it turns out now that I’m not.”
He nodded. “Turns out.” Then he pressed his lips to the top of her head. “This is my favorite time of day. Glad I’m spending it with you.”
“It’s, like, ass crack o’clock.”
“It’s the hour that feels the longest. When the night’s always the darkest. You just have to make it to the next day.”
“Yeah.” She yawned. “Just have to make it through to dawn.”
“Kinda my motto in life…”
His words played in her head, something itching for a connection despite the sleepy-fuzzies in her mind. Oh… “BlackDawn?”
“Yeah, nothing too complicated, I guess.”
“SilverChaos was simple. Life was chaotic growing up in a dozen shitty foster homes. It was meant to be a play on a silver lining. Like ‘Oh, I have a talent that can help with the hell of life.’”
“I get it.”
She sighed. “That’s sweet, and for some reason, I feel like you really do. But it’s nothing a person can get unless you live with no place to call home and no parents.”
He squeezed her tightly. “I was a foster baby too, Lex. No roots. No family. Nothing except for a drive to forget it all.”
Her wide eyes soaked him in. “Really?” Not that it really mattered, but it kind of did.
“Yup. I don’t think I bounced around as much as you, but each time a foster home caught me phreaking a phone line or trying whatever was in Phrak that month, they’d pull the plug on me, ship me off again.”
“I’m kinda geeking out on you, Parker. Thought maybe you were too cool. Though you make up for it with all those muscles and militarism.” She laughed and listened to him rumbling the same.
He spun a lock of her hair on his finger. “The hacker who dresses like a rock star and rides a Gixxer is using me for my body.”
“I love you, Parker,” she whispered.
“Love you too, sweetheart.”
Then she closed her eyes and drifted away, at home with Parker’s protective arms around her.
* * *
The familiar ring of Lexi’s phone stole Parker from sleep. They were on the couch, and the late-morning light hung over the room. His wrists were sore from yesterday’s scratches and cuts and where the tape had ripped the hair off his skin. He reached for the phone on the table, saw it was her sister, and nudged Lexi awake. “Meredith’s calling.”
“Oh.” She sat up and answered it, all sleepy-sweet. “Hey, Mere.”
“Lexi! Help me!”
The words blared loudly enough that Parker could hear, and they sent a cold rush down his spine. He took the phone before Lexi could offer a word. “Meredith?”
“The key from under the mat. He’s here. He won’t go. Help me.”
“Who?” Parker’s cloudy mind pushed to wake up, thinking about the little he knew about Lexi’s foster sister.
“Matt.”
“That motherfucker.” He sat up, placing Lexi by his side. “Where are you?”
“In my closet.”
Parker seethed. In her closet? “Why?”
“He’s raging in the kitchen.”
“He’s drunk?”
“Yeah.”
Fuck that dude. Whatever had happened in that guy’s life to make him pull this shit… “Hang on.” He switched lines, dialed 9-1-1, and merged the calls. When the operator answered, he urged Meredith, “Go on, Meredith.” While he listened, he pulled his boots back on and grabbed his keys and sidearm.
Lexi’s eyes were wide. “What’s going on?”
“Your ex better hope the cops get there before I do.”
She popped off the couch. “I’m going with.”
“No.”
But she ignored him, rushing off to grab whatever. Parker relented with a sigh, knowing he didn’t have time to fight a battle he wouldn’t win.
Lexi reappeared moments later, dressed and ready to go. “Ready.”
He nodded, and she took off for his Rover as though he might change his mind. Which he might. The 911 operator gave updates on when the patrol unit would be there, and it made Parker’s gut hurt that he would get there first. They screeched down the road, crossing the familiar path to her sister’s apartment building. He threw the SUV into park on the curb, and Lexi was out the door before he could tell her stop. Jogging to catch up, he chided her to keep behind him, and thankfully she agreed. They waved at Malcolm, who shook his head.
“I knew that boy was gonna be trouble when he stumbled by.”
“Sorry,” Lexi said as they ran for an opening elevator. “Cops are coming. Send them up.”
The ascent took forever, but finally they were on the right floor.
Parker continued to listen on the phone as they approached her apartment. “I’m coming in, Meredith.”
“Sir,” the 911 operator snapped, “please do not enter—”
He twisted the handle, cracking the door open, then he looked at Lexi. “Stay in the hall until the cops get here. Okay?”
“No—”
“Damn it, Lex.”
“Parker,” Meredith cut in. “He’s banging so hard, the door’s going to break.”
Lexi’s eyes searched the front door as if she could see through it. “I’m going inside too.”
“No—”
“Can you hear me?” Meredith whispered. “He stopped. Everything’s quiet.”
“Tell her we’re coming.” Lexi pushed against the door.
Shit. She was going to do whatever she wanted anyway. “Stay behind me, Lex.”
“Okay.”
“I’m walking in.” But as he said the words, he could tell the phone call had ended. Damn. He slipped the phone into his pocket and withdrew his sidearm. He heard Matt storming back down a hallway that fed blindly into the kitchen. “Get your sister, get out. Wait for the cops.”
“Okay.”
Parker stole toward the kitchen, and Lexi went in the opposite direction. His eyes swept for Matt. Park
er had only been in the apartment once before, to meet her sister and scoop up Bacon, but it was oddly laid out. There were alcoves that worried him. He rounded the corner, and damn it, Matt wasn’t there.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
“It’s me,” Lexi said, tapping on the walk-in closet door. “Mere, open up.”
The closet door pulled wide, and her sister tentatively peeked out.
“Come on—”
“Peaches.”
Everything in the room turned sideways at the sound of Matt’s drunk voice. Lexi stared at Meredith’s wide eyes, but she snapped to. The ladies jumped into the closet, trying to slam the door.
Matt snatched it before it latched. Lexi tried to shut him out while Meredith shouted for him to go away. Somewhere nearby, Parker surely had to hear what was going on. Matt’s arm snaked into the open space, past Lexi, and hooked onto Meredith. His fingers bit into her hair, and he pulled her through the slice of open door, forcing Lexi to let go in surprise.
“No!”
With a shove, he threw Meredith down. Her sister stumbled face first as Parker burst into the room.
“Help!” Lexi called as Matt’s fist connected with her temple. The world exploded. She lost her bearings and fell back, fighting against the spinning stars and tink of metal hangers falling on her.
Matt pushed her into the closet and slammed the door, making more hangers clink and clamor around them. Her ex hovered over her, his hand extended as though he wanted to help her up. “I didn’t mean to do that, Lex.”
She scooted back until she hit the wall, watching him twist the lock on the door. “Are you insane?”
“Open up!” Parker slammed a fist on the door. “Swear to Christ, Matt, if I come in, you’re not walking out.”
Matt swayed on his feet. “You’re all the time causin’ me to do shit that I wouldn’t do unless you push me, peaches.”
“You broke into Mere’s!”
“I used the key.” He shrugged, drunk and disinterested. “We needed to talk. It’s time for you to come home.”
“I don’t want to be with you! I’ve never wanted to be with you. This”—she bounced her finger between them—“isn’t how you have a relationship. You need help, Matt. For a lot of things.”
“Oh, fuck you, goddamn overreacting bitch.”
She threw out her arms. “You have me trapped in my sister’s closet.”
“Back up, Lex,” Parker shouted through the door. “You good?”
Well, not if he was going to shoot through the damn thing. “Yeah!”
Matt’s face contorted. “Don’t talk to him—”
The door exploded as Parker plowed through, knocking Matt over. Parker drilled his fists into Matt, then Parker grabbed Lexi and pushed her out of the closet.
Matt staggered up. “Dick.”
Parker pinned her with a look. “Girls. Hall. Now.” Then he pivoted.
“Let’s go, Lex.”
As Meredith dragged her out the door, Lexi turned, taking a last glance back. Parker had the barrel of a gun under her ex’s chin. Oh shit.
* * *
“If it isn’t Prince Charming,” Matt stupidly said with the bad-news end of a Glock shoved under his jaw. “Who’d you come here for: Lex or Mere? Moved from one sister to the next? Classy, bro. Class-ss-y.”
“Dude, you are so far gone, you’re not worth the damn bullet.”
“Aw, fuck you,” Matt slurred, blood running out of his nose and the corner of his mouth.
Parker pulled back from the kill shot but didn’t relax enough to take his aim off Matt. “We’re going to come to an understanding before the cops get here. This is your one chance to fix your life before you ruin it any more than you’ve done.”
“Nah.” Matt threw his shoulders back and stumbled into hanging clothes. “Mere’s gonna tell Lexi it’s time to come home. She’s done with you, cocksucker.”
The angry pulse of his blood thumped in his ears. “I could explain that you lost her, that you should rot for ever having touched her like you did.” Parker shook his head, molars gnashing. “But I’m going to do you one worse.”
Matt cackled, wiping his bloody mouth with the back of his hand. “Yeah, try me.”
“You’ve never had her. She’s been mine for years, and you didn’t know. Might not be in a way you’ll ever get, but I do. And that”—he pushed Matt—“is why she’s the best thing that ever happened to me. So thank you, you motherfucking asshole, for screwing up the way you did. Because she loves me.” Parker pushed him again.
Matt made a feeble attempt to push back, and Parker nailed him with his free hand, landing a solid left hook, and dropped the bastard.
“Summerland County police, stand down.”
About damn time. Two uniformed officers were in Parker’s peripheral vision.
“Sir, put the weapon down,” an officer said.
Matt staggered up, fortified by the presence of cops.
“No problem.” Parker laid the gun by his foot and kicked it back. “But real quick. One more thing.” His fist flew, knocking Matt back onto his ass. Parker put his hands in the air. “Alright, now I’m done.”
“Back up.”
Parker did as he was told.
Matt moved, and both cops clamored, “Stay down. Sir, stay down.”
But the uniforms’ attention was on Parker’s Glock. Parker turned to leave and saw Meredith peeking into the bedroom as he came out of the closet.
“Thank you,” she said as her sister rushed by.
“Sure thing.” He grabbed Lexi as she jumped into his arms. “Sweetheart, you okay?”
“Yes.” Her lips planted on his.
“Ladies, sir, living room,” the older officer said. “We’ll need to talk.”
The other officer had Matt in handcuffs and on his feet, pushing him past them.
“Fuck you, stupid bitches.”
The cop shook him. “Shut up, man.”
With Lexi still in his arms, Parker growled at Matt, “Never come near them again.”
“Sir!” the older cop snapped at him.
“Right, right.” He nodded. “Living room, let’s go.” Parker set Lexi down, and they followed Meredith.
There was a brief struggle at the apartment door as Matt decided to resist, but the younger cop yanked his arms back and left with Matt cussing.
The older uniform watched until the door shut then shook his head. “Alright, whose apartment is this?”
The next few minutes were a recounting of everything from Matt using the key under the mat to Parker knocking in the closet door. The ladies bounced back and forth as they told their opinions and explained how the events had unfolded.
With his lips pressed into a firm line, the officer stared at his small notebook then flipped it closed. “You’d like to press charges?”
Both women answered in unison, “Yes.”
“And…” Lexi pushed her shoulders back and raised her chin as though she were readying for a fight. “I kept a diary of things I want him in trouble for as well. I have pictures too.”
Parker cringed inwardly that she’d ever had to do that, but it didn’t surprise him that she’d kept details. He put his arms around Lexi and dropped his chin on the top of her head. “Whatever you want to do, we’ll get it done.”
The officer nodded. “A lot goes unprosecuted because of a lack of documentation. That will help.”
Relief spread on Lexi’s face.
As Meredith fell into conversation with the officer, Parker gathered Lexi in his arms, pressed his mouth to her ear, and promised her the world, ending simply with, “I love you.”
“Oh, hey,” Meredith said. “Since you’re here, you should grab what’s left of Lex’s things to take home.”
Lexi’s face turned bright pink. “His home isn’t my home, Mere!”
He laughed. That again. Except she was kind of right. He looked around at Meredith’s place, full of not-overly-girly touches that made the place look as though
a woman was invested in everything within the walls. Lex deserved that—they deserved that and more.
“Yeah, we’ll grab the box, and whatever you have over at your old place while Matt’s otherwise detained, then we’ll figure it out.” He dropped a kiss on the top of Lexi’s head. “Lex thinks she’s going to scare me away with a box of clothes and digging her roots into my house.”
Meredith’s protective, sisterly gaze narrowed. “Is she?”
“Not a chance. Where’s the box?” The girls chatted away as he formed his plan about housing. Lexi would either freak out or love it. And even if she freaked, she’d love it five minutes later, so all would be good.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Boss Man grumbled from across the table as Cash and Roman tossed the football back and forth. Nicola, Sugar, and Beth sprinted, field stripping and reassembling AR-15s, timing themselves to see who was better. It was very, very competitive, and pretty damn entertaining to see their pregnant bellies pushed against the table as they raced. Winters was asleep on the floor with Thelma the bulldog lying across his legs and Bacon snoring on his chest. But Lexi’s eyes were locked on the main flat screen, almost unmoving for the last thirty minutes.
Their group was chained to the war room, waiting to see if the malware Lexi had activated worked. They’d had a ping from the DIA that it was moving through the ARO system but then nothing. So they were waiting and watching.
Parker’s chest felt tight. A lot was riding on whether it worked or not. Even if it didn’t, they had broken up a terrorist cell hiding in plain sight in the middle of Pennsylvania Dutch country. Which, obviously, was a great thing. But if the malware did work, they’d gain access to worldwide information on the ARO. That was a big deal. It could save a hundred times the number of lives, civilian and soldier alike.
“Think fast!” Roman snapped the ball at the girls.
Nicola jumped up and snagged it, having a sense that the football was incoming. Call it a brotherly-sisterly vibe. Whatever it was, she moved fast. “Like you’d catch me off guard.” She tossed it back.
Roman threw to Cash, who tossed it back to Nic. She snagged it, spun her pregnant belly around, and lofted it back at her husband.
