by J. M. Madden
He shook his head. "No, I'm good. I was just sitting in the sun and being warm and the next thing I know you're waking me up."
She grinned at him. "You were pretty cute laying there, your mouth hanging open and snoring."
He scowled at her even as he shifted up to a sitting position. "Whatever," he laughed.
"You were! I heard you as I was walking down the trail."
Embarrassment warmed his cheeks and he hoped she was exaggerating. He never used to snore. It was a safety issue for SEALs. It had been too long since he'd left the teams.
They walked back up the hill together and the mood was definitely lighter. Parker was feeling better in general and Andy's mood had improved after talking to her boss about the plan to release info. "It would definitely be nice to get to the courthouse without having to run a gamut of bullets and people trying to kill us," he murmured.
Andy wrapped her arm through his elbow and he couldn't decide if she'd done it for him or for her. He appreciated the balance she gave him, but he didn't want her treating him like he needed help. That was one of the most aggravating things about the injuries he'd received in Yemen. They were visible, and people tended to treat him like he was less of a man.
Even if he was, in fact, less physically capable than the man he’d been, he didn't want other people treating him like it.
She didn't say anything, though, so he chose to believe that she just wanted to touch him as they walked up the slope together.
Mac and Roz were at the table eating dinner already. It looked like Roz had made pork chops, potatoes, and buttered corn. Some of her phenomenal biscuits were in a basket in the middle of the table. After settling Andy into a seat he took his own chair.
After they'd taken the edge off their hunger, they started talking about inconsequential things and he realized sitting there that he enjoyed all of these people. Roz was a little prickly about things, but he could understand why with her background. Mac took the middle of the road in everything just to keep from getting into an argument. He listened to everyone’s opinions or positions and managed to state his position calmly, using neutral language without animosity or heat. Parker appreciated that because it was so easy to spew anger at people these days, or to try to force your opinion on other people. That was the entire reason they were in this situation. The al Fareq family had tried to force their opinion on the community that housed them. And now the community was fighting back.
Parker hoped that Mozi would take the plea deal. It was good for everyone involved. Well, except for the Fareq family. That wasn't his concern. Getting them off the streets was.
Andromeda's phone pinged with an incoming email. She swiped a few times, then sat back in the chair to read. "Oh, damn this is good. They did it. It'll be in the morning paper."
Parker reached over and squeezed her hand. "That's excellent."
"Now to hope they take the bait and cut him off," Mac murmured.
They all looked down at their plates, hoping.
Andromeda's phone pinged with an incoming text message super early that morning. Mike had sent her a link to the actual article. Sitting up in her dark room she paged though the document, excitement brewing in her. This was fabulous. The details the woman had released were subtle yet worded in a way to bring attention to the fresh information. She'd done an excellent job.
Too excited to go back to sleep, Andromeda headed out to the kitchen for a glass of water. When she passed through the living room she realized there was a shape sitting in the darkness.
"Parker?"
Crossing the room, she lowered herself to the cushion beside him. Sitting up with his head in his hands, he glanced at her.
"Hey. What are you doing up?"
Andromeda looked at him in the meager light. His hair was mussed and his eyes seemed a little dazed.
"Mike sent me a link to the article,” she told him. “It's incredible. I hope it does what I need it to."
"Good, good," he said softly.
Then he looked into the coals of the fire again.
"Are you okay?"
Reaching out, she rested a hand on his back and gasped. His t-shirt was wet with sweat. "Are you okay? Do you have a fever?"
She reached up to press her fingers to his forehead, but he captured her hand and folded it into his own. "No fever. Just... well, I have dreams sometimes. Flashbacks. They wake me up."
Her heart swelled with empathy for him. "I'm sorry, Parker. I can't imagine living through what you did."
He shook his head. "You know, we're trained for exactly the thing I dealt with, but it's very different when it actually happens to you for real. They don't tell you that your tormentors will go home with you, or that there's no magic pill that will make all your demons go away. They don't tell you about the aftermath. There are times that I wake up swinging and fighting… and I worry about even being in a relationship. How would I feel if we developed a relationship and you woke up at night with me punching you? I think hurting you would damage me even more than anything else I've been through. I would never do that to you."
Andromeda felt like her heart was going to shatter in pain. How had he dealt with this?
"How long ago did this happen to you?"
He sighed. "It's been almost four years. I got out of the Navy at thirty-one."
She shook her head. "That is so young. You gave so much to them."
Blinking, he looked back at the coals. "Yeah," he sighed. "But it was worth it. I'd do anything for the guys in my team. They literally carried me out."
"I'm sure."
She wanted to be there for him now, but she wasn't sure how. They were in such a chaotic situation right now that they barely knew what was going to happen minute to minute, let alone a week from now.
It worried her that he didn't have anyone. It sounded like his parents were gone a lot of the time and when they were home, Pennsylvania was a long way from Denver.
"And what about the people you work with now?"
His frown faded and he gave her a smile. "I haven't been there very long, but the guys are all incredible. The boss is amazing, the jobs are amazing. They don't make more out of our disabilities than we have to. If something doesn't work, we figure out a different way to do it, we adapt and overcome obstacles. I feel more useful now than I have in a long time. I actually feel like I have a career again."
That was good. Everyone needed that kind of fulfillment.
"That's invaluable."
"Yes," he agreed softly, but there was a hesitation in his voice.
"What, Parker?"
"Nothing." He squeezed her hand again. "Thank you for checking on me. You should probably go back to bed. We still have a couple of hours before dawn."
"Why don't you come lay down with me?"
Andromeda blinked, wondering where that had come from. It hadn't been an offer she'd actually thought about issuing. It had just fallen out of her mouth.
Parker seemed too lonely sitting on the couch here in the dark.
His eyes glinted in the light from the banked fireplace. "I don't know that that would be a good idea. I already know I'm going to have a hard time giving you up again."
Damn. He really was breaking her heart.
"Come on. I just want you to hold me again like you used to. I know you're worried about hurting me, but I don't think it's as big of an issue as you think. You would never hurt me, Parker."
He cleared his throat and swallowed hard enough that she could hear, but he seemed unable to tell her no as she stood and held her hand out to him. He followed her into her bedroom and watched as she closed the door. She was wearing the t-shirt and sleep pants she'd bought at the store, conscious that there were other people in the house. Now she pulled the blankets back on the bed and motioned for Parker to crawl in. Moving gingerly, he lowered himself to the edge of her mattress and reclined, holding his side. Once he was settled she crawled in beside him and pulled the blankets over both of them. Then she stretched he
r arm across his belly and nestled her head against the cup of his shoulder. Immediately his arms went around her, and they both sighed. There was a little bit of light from the connecting bathroom, just enough to see.
"I never thought I'd feel this again,” Parker murmured to her. "When my former commander called and told me you were on something hot, I didn't know what I was getting into, but I knew I couldn't leave you in danger."
"I can't tell you how happy I was to see you. Shocked, but happy."
He tightened his arm around her back and she felt him bury his nose in her hair.
"I love this cut on you," he murmured. “And you smell like peaches.”
"Thank you. Cheap shampoo from a box store,” she laughed. “And I’ve had this cut for a few years."
"Mm."
Andromeda's eyes were getting heavy, but she didn't want to fall asleep just yet. It had been so long since she'd held him in her arms. Parker was a big, earthy man and she loved feeling the play of muscles under his skin, and the feel of the hair on his arms tickling her arm. Her fingers started to move, just drawing lazy circles on his belly above the t-shirt fabric. Then, somehow, her fingers found bare skin.
It was like they'd both hit a live wire. Her fingers stilled, as did his breathing.
"This is dangerous," he whispered.
Yes, it was, but Andromeda couldn't imagine peeling herself away from him now.
Moving up onto an elbow she looked down into his eyes. Parker looked resigned and worried, but a little excited too. Andromeda pushed the blankets down until she could expose his lean torso, then she pulled the t-shirt up a bit. Running her fingers over his skin, she watched the muscles tighten in response to her touch.
"Ouch," he whispered.
"Oh, sorry."
Moving away from his abdomen she pushed his shirt higher, up over his pecs. In the weak light from the bathroom she could see light striations on his skin. Scars from the torturer in Yemen. Leaning down she pressed a kiss to one of the deeper ones, then moved to another one. Parker sighed beneath her and she could feel the thud of his heart accelerate. She pressed another kiss to the flat disk of his nipple, but she was surprised when he caught her hand.
"This is going in a really dangerous direction. As much as I would love to make love with you, I don't know that now is a good time, for several different reasons."
She sighed, knowing that he was right but hating to admit it. Just that little bit of touching had warmed her body. “I know. I just kind of lost myself there for a minute."
"Let's revisit this in a few days, after the court case. I don't have to get back to Colorado right away."
Nodding, she pulled his shirt back down and nestled back into his chest. Then she pulled the blankets up again. She would have to make do with just cuddling tonight.
The fact that she'd been ready to jump his bones kind of shocked her. She hadn't slept with a man for several years, not since that junior partner from a local law firm had taken her to a Christmas party. He'd been smart and ambitious, but they'd had differing opinions on too many things. Jason had been at least five years ago.
Five? Damn. Maybe that was why her body had woken so quickly. She was in a hell of a dry spell.
Parker was right, though. Now wasn't the time or the place, as much as she hated to admit it.
Once they settled down, they slept like children, curled around each other for comfort.
Roz gave him a frown as he walked out of Andy's room the next morning and he couldn't help but grin. "I didn't do it," he said as she swatted him with a dishtowel. Mac looked up, a considering smile on his face as he coated a stack of pancakes with syrup. Andy came out of the room right behind him.
"Be nice, Roz. All we did was sleep."
She scowled at Andy but just shook her head. "You're old enough to know what you're doing."
Parker held a chair out for Andy to sit down, then started helping himself to the pancakes and bacon. He groaned as he stuffed a strip of meaty, salty goodness into his mouth. "Roz, you're wasted up here on this mountain."
She laughed as she sat down with her cup of coffee. "I don't think so. I'm happy in my own little world up here."
"I love it as well," Mac said softly. "The silence is golden."
Parker was surprised when Roz grinned at the big man and nodded her head. Mac seemed just as surprised, but he grinned back at her, then tucked into his pancakes.
Parker was very aware that Andy watched him almost constantly. He looked up, catching her eye, and gave her a smile. In the yellow morning light she looked soft and sexable, her hair hanging over her forehead and her skin free of makeup.
She'd held onto him the entire night last night, and he'd woken several times slightly alarmed. But as soon as he remembered who he was holding he would relax and fall back to sleep. She was such a wonderful armful.
It had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do to turn her down last night, but there was no way he was up to performing the way he wanted to with her. There was more work that needed to be done on their relationship, or connection… whatever it was right now.
And he needed to think about what he wanted if they did move forward. They had always been compatible sexually, but what would happen long term? They were each in careers that they loved. She'd invested her entire professional future in the Columbus Prosecutor's office. No, he hadn't been at Lost and Found as long, but he'd found the same camaraderie and brotherhood that he'd had in the Navy. That was invaluable to him.
He had a lot of thinking to do. What he knew right now was that it would be very easy to fall in love with her again. If he hadn't already...
Chapter 13
Since Roz had cooked, Andromeda washed the dishes and Parker dried and put them away, with her direction. They worked quietly together, not needing to say anything to be connected.
Occasionally Parker's hand would brush against her own as she handed him dishes and it was comforting. She'd never lived with a man before, but she could see doing it with Parker.
After all of the breakfast things were cleaned up, Roz sat him down at the table with her medical supplies. Parker shrugged out of his t-shirt, and Andromeda had to stare. Now that she knew how he had gotten all of the scars scattered across his body, she wanted to scream at the world that it wasn't right.
"Did they get the fucker?" Andromeda asked, unable to help herself.
Parker grinned at her. "My buddy Cicero did. Then he gave me the knife he’d made all these cuts with."
"Ew. That's kind of macabre."
"It was satisfaction for me," he said softly.
She rested her hand on his shoulder as Roz peeled the bandage away.
"This is looking good, Parker. I'll cover it with a waterproof bandage, then a heavier bandage. Both entrance and exit wounds look good, but you need to keep them clean, and dry preferably. If it had been any deeper it would have hit something vital, but you lucked out."
He nodded, sitting straight as she reapplied the bandages.
Andromeda's phone rang as they were finishing up. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Eleven a.m. Her heart raced when she saw who was calling.
"You'd better have good news for me, Mike."
"The ink is still wet on the paper, this sucker is so fresh."
"He signed it?" She asked incredulously. "I can't believe it."
"The jail is getting me a transcript of the conversation Mozi had with his father early this morning. I hear there was a lot of yelling. When can you be here?"
Andromeda blinked. "It will take me a few hours to get there. I'll leave within the next half hour."
"Not as quick as I would like, but I won't take this from you. I think you need to be the one to take his statement."
Damn, he was an awesome boss. "Thank you, Mike. I'll be there as soon as I possibly can."
"You better be."
They hung up and she looked at Parker, standing in the kitchen doorway. His black t-shirt was back on and he stood rea
dy. "I'll pack my bag."
Andromeda looked at Roz. "I know we've crashed your life this week, but I need another favor."
"Name it. This is the most excitement I've had for months."
"Just in case this deal falls through somehow, could you possibly drive Mac up to Columbus for me?"
She nodded without even a hesitation. "Of course. The truck is gassed up and I'll pack a small bag now.”
Andromeda crossed the room to wrap her friend in a hug. "You are an incredibly great friend. I love you to pieces."
Roz smiled and kissed her cheek. "I love you too, dear. Now get your butt moving. Can’t keep the criminals waiting.”
Andromeda didn't wait any longer. She went into her bedroom and packed the few things she'd accumulated. She wore a pair of jeans and sneakers right now, and it would have to do until she got to her office. She had a spare outfit there.
"Mind if I drive?"
She looked at Parker in surprise. "Sure, you feel up to it?"
He nodded firmly and she handed him the keyring. He'd changed back into a black t-shirt and BDUs. Roz must have been able to get all the blood out of them. There was a weapon strapped to his hip, and he moved more confidently than she'd seen him move in days.
Andromeda gave Parker a few directions then they were cruising north on Interstate 77. While he drove, she planned; typing out a document full of questions on her laptop. Every variation, every contingency she could think of, she made note of. She wanted these cases to be air tight.
After an hour and a half of driving, they merged onto the ramp for 70 Westbound.
"I'm going to stop and get gas."
Andromeda blinked as she put her computer away. "Yeah, I can stand to use the bathroom. Maybe we can grab some lunch too. I have a feeling that once I get in there I won't take a break for several hours."
They refueled and refreshed, then were back on the road within just a few minutes. Parker ate several sandwiches and seemed to be almost fully recovered from his gunshot wound. He was amazing. She had offered to drive but he'd waved her off. "You have work to do. I'm fine to drive. We're only about an hour and a half from Columbus, so you'd better maximize the time I'm giving you."
