by M L Sparrow
“I never thought of that,” he murmured thoughtfully, brows pulled together as he pushed back the cap of his hat. “Weird, isn’t it, how one thing can change your life?”
Nodding, she bit her lip as she realized that if not for the crash and ultimately Jack’s death, she may not have met Parker. Maybe they wouldn’t be together now.
Pushing that uncomfortable thought from her head, she asked, “Where are we heading?”
“There’s a shop down here you’ll like,” he replied.
Near the end of the street, they came to a small store, with a sign above the door proclaiming it to be Baker’s Books. Inside, it was cool and dark, with the musky smell of old books, rows and rows of which were stacked everywhere. There seemed to be no method to the madness, but she loved it.
“This is great,” she breathed, running a finger along the spines as she studied what was on offer. “I could spend all day in here.”
“I know, that’s why I brought you here with only an hour ‘til closing.”
Glancing over her shoulder at him, she stuck out her tongue. Standing there with his hands sunk deep into his pockets, he watched as she explored the shelves, picking up the occasional book and flicking through it, careful of the delicate pages.
She could spend all day browsing through the old tomes, but she knew it wasn’t really Parkers thing and, though he didn’t say anything, she could see him roaming around in disinterest.
Buying a leather-bound edition of The Secret Garden just because she couldn’t resist, she found him outside talking to a pretty red head wearing a short denim skirt and cowboy boots. Leaning away from her slightly, Parker looked distinctly uncomfortable as she chattered at him.
As soon as he noticed her approaching, he reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her into his side. “This is Chloe.”
The girls face fell, but she pulled it together quickly, smiling as she said, “Hi, I’m Jenna. I knew Parker from school, we were good friends.” A sly smile directed at him.
Chloe nodded tightly in response. Were all the girls he’d slept with conniving bitches?
Turning away quickly, Parker said, “We have to go.”
“Oh, okay… It was nice to see you, we should catch up some time,” she called after them as Parker marched off down the street.
It still annoyed her that girls flirted with him right in front of her, but not as much as it used to and now at least she could see the funny side; they must be really desperate to chase after a guy when he was clearly in love with someone else.
Obviously, Jenna and Parker had slept together in the past, judging by his edginess and the guilty look on his face when he glanced at her, but he didn’t need to worry. It was all in the past, after all. Why would she be jealous about things he’d done before he even knew her? Sure, she didn’t like the idea of him with all those other girls, however, as long as he wasn’t screwing around while they were together she had no reason to be mad.
Some people might say she was crazy, but she trusted him not to betray her, not with Jenna, or Karla, or any of the other faceless beauties from his past, because he loved her and she gloried in that knowledge.
Chapter Twenty
That thing with Jenna this evening had been awkward. Thankfully, Chloe hadn’t seemed bothered by it and he was relieved that she seemed so at ease with his past; most girls would be jealous as hell but Chloe barely batted an eyelash.
She was in the shower, washing off the pond water, when Axel and Conner appeared beside him. Sitting on a folding chair outside, watching Boone trying to tear apart the already deflated football which had probably once belonged to the kids next door, he ignored his brothers for as long as possible, trying to pretend they weren’t standing behind him.
“Ignoring us, baby brother?”
God, he hated it when Axel called him that. Most siblings probably wouldn’t mind, but there was nothing affectionate about the nickname when his brother said it.
Dragging up a chair beside him, Axel sat down heavily and stretched out his legs. Without preamble, he said, “We need your help with that job tonight.”
Parker was shaking his head, before Axel had even finished his sentence. “Not gonna happen.”
“All you gotta do is drive, me and Con’ll do the rest.”
“Ask Tyler.”
“Ty’s too fucked up to do anything these days,” he replied dismissively. “This stuff we’re gettin’, it’ll sell for thousands. I’ll send your share over, I’m sure you could use it.” Not that he’d actually trust his brother to send it to him.
“I’m not collecting drugs.”
“No drugs,” Axel waved that assumption away, “Kyle and his crew got that covered. Just some TV’s and shit that Alejandro found at the side of the road.”
Snorting, he shook his head; like he was stupid enough to believe that.
“It’s barely even illegal,” Conner put in, smirking as he took a puff of his cigarette and blew the smoke in Parker’s direction.
“How much money we talkin’?” he asked, though he knew better. If they were caught, he was fucked, but in all the years his brothers had been doing illegal deeds they’d only been arrested a handful of times and none of them had been to prison. Plus, he could use the cash…
“At least a thousand bucks each,” Axel answered, eyes bright.
“Just driving?” he clarified. “Nothing else?”
“Just driving, you don’t have to lift a finger.” When he nodded, Axel stood and slapped him on the back as he went into the house, saying over his shoulder, “Knew you’d see sense, baby brother.”
A few hours later, when it was dark, he went to find Chloe outside, sitting in the chair he’d vacated earlier. She’d moved it so that she was beneath the outside light, her new book open in her lap and Boone curled up at her feet.
“Sugar, I’m gonna go for a drink with my brothers, you mind?”
Disbelief flashed in her eyes, but then she smiled sincerely and he felt a kick in his stomach. He felt like a dick for lying to her, but he felt even worse for doing something he knew she’d disapprove of.
“Of course, go bond.” Reaching up, she gripped his t-shirt and pulled him down for a quick kiss.
Leaving her there to read, he climbed into the driver’s seat of Axel’s truck and turned the key. Taking off his hat, like he always did when driving, he tossed it onto the dash. The vehicle snarled to life, the seats vibrating as they pulled away. As they reached the trailer park exit, he slowed down to let a girl with a baby on her hip cross in front of them.
This was his chance, he thought, he could just get out now and forget all about this. But he didn’t, instead he pulled out onto the road and headed towards Alejandro’s place, just outside of town.
When they stopped, his brothers jumped out and went to bang on the door of the small, rundown house. With the windows down, Parker could hear the conversation that took place once a tall Mexican guy opened the door. Alejandro and Axel had been friends since before he could remember and growing up he’d been like another brother – not that Parker had ever wanted another brother to torment him.
Now, keeping his eyes locked on the steering wheel, he tried to ignore them as Alejandro gestured towards the van and asked in a booming voice, “What’s up with him?”
“He don’t wanna be seen with us crooks,” Axel snorted.
“He’s on the straight and narrow,” Conner put in, the disgust in his voice evident.
Jaw locking together, Parker’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel, knuckles turning white as Alejandro laughed, throwing back his head with the force of it, as if it were the most amusing thing he’d ever heard.
Once they were done pissing around, they disappeared into the house and came out a while later, each with a tower of boxes. Loading the boxes into the back of the truck with a metallic thunk, they headed back for more. This time they returned carrying a large box with a flat screen TV printed on the side of it between them.
Panting,
Axel appeared at the window. “We could use a hand, baby brother.”
Shaking his head, Parker replied adamantly, “No fucking way, we had a deal. I’m just driving.”
“Ya see, if you don’t pitch in I can’t pay you as much. Wouldn’t be fair.”
He should have known. There was always a fucking catch.
Getting out of the car, he shut the door with a click, his muscles trembling as he forced himself not to slam it shut. Axel smirked, thinking he’d got his way. He wasn’t smirking when Parker began walking off down the street.
“Where the fuck you goin’?” he yelled.
“Shove your money.”
“Parker! Baby brother…”
Ignoring him, Parker continued walking. It was a fair way back to the trailer site, but he spent that time trying decide whether or not he should tell Chloe what had almost happened tonight. He hadn’t actually done anything, so there was really nothing to tell, yet it felt dishonest to say nothing.
When he got back to the trailer though, Chloe was already asleep. Glancing at his phone he realized it was already gone midnight. With the sound of the TV coming from his parent’s room, he stripped out of his clothes and got onto the mattress next to her. It hadn’t been blown up properly and it sagged when he lay down, causing Chloe to slide down into the dip, her body pressing against his. Curling his arm around her waist, he closed his eyes, but everything kept going around and around in his head.
Though he did drift off, his sleep was restless and he woke when he heard a car outside. Standing by the door, Boone growled softly. It was probably just his brothers coming back. Calling the dog to him with a quiet whistle, he stroked his head to calm him, but Boone continued to pace back and forth.
Frowning, Parker sat up and awkwardly clambered off the blow-up mattress, trying not to disturb Chloe, who rolled over and began snuggling with his pillow. Smiling down at her, he brushed the hair off her forehead, before padding over to the window. Pulling aside the net curtains, he peered outside.
Fuck! There was a police car outside and figures moving around the trailer. Before he could do anything, the front door burst open and uniformed officers swarmed inside. Immediately, Boone lunged at them, barking furiously, teeth bared.
“Put that dog somewhere,” one of the officers shouted over the noise, pointing his gun down at him as Boone danced around them.
“Okay, okay. Don’t fuckin’ shoot him!” Grabbing his collar, Parker wrestled Boone away, his heart pounding as he shoved him into the bathroom and shut the door, leaving him to howl and scratch at the door.
“What’s going on?” Chloe cried, clutching the sheet to her chest.
“Ma’am, put your hands where I can see them,” someone ordered and she obeyed immediately, glancing over at him with wide, frightened eyes, even as another officer yelled at him to put his hands against the wall.
Doing as he was told, he called, “It’s fine, sugar, don’t worry.”
The officer behind him grabbed one arm and yanked it behind his back, before taking the other and slapping on a pair of cuffs. Pushing him over to the sofa, the officer told him to sit, which he did. A minute later, his parents were sat down next to him and Ty was forced, swearing loudly, into the arm chair.
“You have not right to burst into my home!” his mom shrieked, “Look at my door. You better pay for that!”
“We have reason to believe that there are illegal drugs and guns in this house. We’re also arresting your sons for the possession of stolen goods.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Tyler yelled. And, for once, he actually hadn’t.
Parker’s stomach churned and he glanced over at Chloe to find her watching him. At least they hadn’t cuffed her too. His palms were sweating, but he couldn’t wipe them whilst they were behind his back.
Blanking out the rest of his mom and brother’s protests, he watched as they searched the room, more officers disappearing into the bedrooms. One of them went outside and appeared a minute later with an excitable spaniel straining on a lead, wagging it’s tail so hard that it’s whole back end swayed.
God, he hoped Tyler didn’t keep a stash of whatever he was on in his room.
Twenty minutes later, the police had a suspicious amount of cash, bags of cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy, several hand guns and a fucking automatic rifle. What were his brothers doing with an automatic rifle?
If Chloe’s eyes got any bigger they’d pop right out of her head.
“We’re taking you two in for questioning.”
Tyler was hauled to his feet and marched out, fighting all the way and calling them every name under the sun, and another cop walked towards him. Fuck, he was about to be sick. They couldn’t pin any of that shit on him, could they?
“You got this all wrong. I’m not part of this.”
“Up,” the cop ordered as his colleagues gathered up the evidence.
“Seriously, I’m just down for the holidays. We only got here yesterday. I have nothing to do with any of this.”
“Then it’ll be a short interview. Let’s go.”
“Okay. Fine. Just let me grab a shirt.”
The cop hesitated, then nodded sharply, “Fine, but be quick.”
A second later, there was a click as his cuffs were removed. Rubbing his wrists, he stepped up to the mattress, where his bag had been upended, and rifled through the mess until he found a shirt and a pair of tracksuit bottoms, which he pulled on.
“Shoes,” he explained, pointing to the other side of the blow-up mattress, where his trainers were laying near Chloe’s feet. Walking over to her, he hoped no one noticed his hands shaking. Jamming his feet into his trainers, he bent down to tie the laces.
“Say I was with you,” he whispered as his mouth passed by Chloe’s ear. He saw the shock in her eyes, her mouth opening in a silent ‘O’, but he couldn’t say anything more without giving himself away. Grabbing another set of clothes off the bed, he held them up for the cop to see, saying, “For my brother.”
Nodding, the officer took them and handed them to another cop, before gesturing for Parker to turn around so that he could put the cuffs back on.
“Why you cuffing him?” his mom demanded angrily, “He ain’t resisting.”
“It’s fine, Mom,” he said, even as he looked over his shoulder at Chloe, caught her eyes, begged her. He could lose his scholarship, his future gone because of one fucking mistake. He shouldn’t have agreed to help last night. He was such an idiot.
Suddenly, a thought occurred. If he wasn’t at college, Chloe would be alone, she might move on to someone who wasn’t such a useless asshole. He’d lose her. That thought made him sicker than any of the others and he actually felt his stomach heave as the cop pushed him towards the squad car. Several of their neighbors had gathered to watch the show and he’d never felt so ashamed as he did then, as they handled him into the back of the vehicle, pushing down his head so that he wouldn’t hit it.
The door slammed shut.
After being processed, he was taken into an interview room and left there for what felt like hours. Rocking back on his chair legs, he scraped his hand through his hair and tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling.
The door creaked as it opened and some guy in a suit walked in, setting his take-away cup down on the table alongside a brown folder. Clearly he wasn’t going to try and play good cop by bringing him a coffee too. And damn, did he need one. The scent was making him drool.
Sitting down, the guy pulled in his chair and set a small, hand held recorder between them, before saying, “This is Detective Joyce, interviewing…”
The Detective gestured at him to state his name, which he did, letting his chair fall back to the floor.
Formalities done, Detective Joyce leant forward, his hands clasped atop the table. “So, Parker, what do you know about your brother’s dealings with Alejandro Rodriguez?”
“Nothing,” he answered immediately, “I’m at university in Texas, I’ve only come home fo
r the holidays.”
“You don’t know anything? That’s strange because we have reason to suspect that you were with two of your brothers, Axel and Conner Mitchell, last night. Assisting in transporting stolen goods.”
Now was the time to decide. He either told the truth and hoped they let him off, or he trusted Chloe to lie for him.
Heart pounding, he said, “I was with my girlfriend last night.”
Flipping open the folder, Detective Joyce scanned whatever was written there. “Your girlfriend is Chloe Newman, correct?”
“Yes.”
“What were you doing?”
Shit, how would Chloe answer? “Watching TV.”
“What show?”
“I don’t remember, we weren’t really watching, if you know what I mean.”
“That’s funny.” Tapping one finger against the table, he took a slow sip of his coffee before continuing, “You see, I’ve already spoken to Miss Newman and she says you were sitting outside watching the stars.” Quirking a brow, he commented, “Very romantic.”
“We did that too,” he said quickly, breaking into a sweat.
“Before or after?”
“Before.”
Sighing, Detective Joyce leaned back in his chair. “Chloe’s British, right? In the U.S. on a study visa?” He waited for Parker to nod tightly, before continuing, “Lying to the police is a crime, she could get her visa revoked if it comes to light that she’s not being entirely truthful with us.”
Shit, he hadn’t even thought of that. He was the worst boyfriend in the world.
Dropping his head into his hands, he rubbed at his tired eyes with the heels of his palms, before mumbling, “I wasn’t with her.”
“What was that, Mr. Mitchell?”
Lifting his head, he repeated, “I wasn’t with her last night. I asked her to say I was, she has nothing to do with any of this. I was with my brothers, but I didn’t do anything, I swear. I left, I walked away. I did the right thing, damn it!”
“I believe you. An all-star quarterback on the way to the NFL, we’re not interested in prosecuting you; we want your brothers.”
Instantly, his heart dropped into his stomach. It was written in stone, more sacred than any law: you didn’t betray your family. Swallowing hard, he repeated, “I don’t know anything.”
