Child of Mercy

by Lisa Olsen

  “All by my lonesome.” A note of pride rang in his voice and I flashed him a smile. It’s funny how you can know someone for years and not really know them.

  “I didn’t realize you were so handy.”

  “You know I’m good with my hands,” he winked, and I gave him the requisite roll of the eyes. There it was, same old Parker.

  “Now I know who to call if anything breaks in my apartment.”

  “Anytime. Come with me, I’ll show you the best part.”

  I let him drag me up the creaky stairs, hoping I wouldn’t fall through a weak board at any moment. Despite the squeaks and groans, the house seemed pretty solid though, and I followed him into the master bedroom. The walls and floors were done in that room too. The bed was messy, yesterday’s clothes lying in a heap.

  “Sorry, wasn’t expecting guests.” He kicked the mess into the closet and shut the door.

  “And here I thought you always prepared for unexpected guests, in here of all places.” I shot him a teasing grin, poking my head into the bathroom. There was a room I could spend some major time in. Refurbished in a period style, the old tile had been painstakingly restored, and a large framed mirror hung over the pedestal sink. What drew the eye was the enormous clawfoot tub, the kind you can sink in up to your eyeballs, and I couldn’t help a lustful sigh.

  With very little prompting, Parker shared the rest of the plans he had for the house. There were four other bedrooms and a full basement, though it wasn’t finished. He didn’t show me the other rooms and I assumed they were in rough shape like the rest of the house. Taking me back down to the kitchen, he painted a picture of quartz counter tops and warm cherry cabinets.

  “Do you even know how to cook?” I asked, as he went on about the six burner gas stove he’d ordered.

  “That’s beside the point. If you’re going to do something, you might as well do it right.”

  “A good lesson in life,” I agreed, letting him lead me to the bottom of the stairs.

  “Listen, why don’t you go up and get some rest? You must be tired.”

  “Trying to get me into your bed?” I raised a brow. “Typical.” I seriously thought about taking a dip in his bathtub though, but I wasn’t entirely convinced I wanted to spend the night.

  Parker’s chuckled over my lame joke. “It’s the best bed in the house, with or without me in it.”

  “I’m not quite ready to sleep yet, so you go ahead if you’re tired. I’ll just go sit on your couch and watch TV for a while. You don’t mind, do you? I’ll keep it low.” I assumed not since he’d brought me over.

  “I’ll stay up with you.”

  “No, it’s late. You go on up, I’ll be fine here.” I didn’t feel tired at all, even though I’d been pretty wiped out after my shift at the club. Raziel’s Grace must have zapped the fatigue away.

  “Merce, I don’t have to be at the club until after four tomorrow, I think I can handle a late night. Besides, I normally take a while to unwind after work, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I do,” I admitted.

  “Good, then park it.” He turned me by the shoulders and marched me to the sofa. “Here, find something good on.” He tossed me the remote, a rare move for a man in my experience. “I’m gonna grab a beer, you want anything? Coffee, tea, warm milk?”

  Ugh, for warm milk… “You wouldn’t happen to have any decaffeinated tea would you?”

  “It so happens that I do. Chai okay?”

  “Very okay,” I nodded, settling into what would be my favorite spot on my own couch. While I heard him pushing buttons on the microwave in the kitchen, I surfed through the channels with the fancy remote that showed me a preview of everything on. Parker had every channel known to man and there were a few movies I wouldn’t mind catching the end of. I settled on one with regency period costumes figuring he’d veto it when he joined me, but Parker didn’t bat an eye at my choice when he set our drinks on the coffee table.

  “I think that one’s on demand this month if you want to start it over from the beginning,” he commented, dropping into the spot on the opposite end of the couch. I scooted my feet out of the way to make room for him, but he picked them back up and set them on his lap once he was settled.

  “No, I’m good, I’ve seen it before.”

  “I have to say, I don’t get this movie.”

  “I’m surprised you’ve even seen this movie.”

  “It was on once while I was doing something else,” he shrugged. “Like I said though, I don’t get it. She’s in love with him, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “And he’s still in love with her, even though she broke his heart a long time ago, right?”

  “Yep. What’s not to understand?”

  “So, what’s with all the dancing around it? Why not ask her out?”

  “Because they didn’t do things that way back then.” I would have said more, but Parker picked up one of my feet and started massaging it absently. Distracted by the action, I tried to pay attention to what he said.

  “Okay, not ask her out then, but why not write her love letters or send her some posies or whatever shit they did back then? Talk to her father or something? He’s got money now, he’d make a good match or whatever her family’s looking for. And her, she won’t even look at him most of the time. It’s like she’s afraid of her own shadow.” He shook his head in disgust. “Those two deserve to be miserable if they won’t fight for what they want.”

  He obviously paid attention the last time he’d watched the movie because that pretty much summed it up. It wasn’t until the last ten minutes of the story that they admit their feelings for each other. “Not everyone thinks they deserve a shot at happiness,” I replied, thinking that applied to more than the movie we watched.

  “That’s a pile of crap. Nobody gives you happiness, you have to go out and find it for yourself.”

  I didn’t know what to say about that, and we fell to watching the movie, his hands still moving over my feet.

  “That feels amazing,” I breathed after a while, sinking lower on the couch.

  “Told you I was good with my hands.” He gave me a lopsided grin across the couch, his hands moving higher over my ankle.

  The romantic movie, a warm cup of tea, the subdued lighting, a massage… “Are you trying to seduce me?” I wondered aloud, losing a little of my calm.

  “Why, is it working?”

  “Parker…”

  “Relax, angel, I’ll behave,” he chuckled, switching to my other foot. “I won’t touch anything above the ankle unless you ask me to.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate that.”

  “But all you have to do is ask…” His lips twitched as he returned his attention to the TV.

  I did feel a lot more relaxed by the time the end credits ran, both from the soothing cup of tea and Parker’s magic fingers. True to his word, he didn’t try anything else, just laid his arm across my ankles when he got tired of rubbing my feet. When the last song faded, he switched off the TV.

  “Sleepy yet?”

  “No, not really,” I admitted, wondering if he’d suggest going up to bed again. I wasn’t clear on the sleeping arrangements he proposed, but it was clear from what he said next he wasn’t thinking about that.

  “Alright then, how about you fill me in on what really happened with Ben the last time you saw him?”

  “Oh, you remembered that, huh?” It seemed like a different night that Detective Santiago visited the bar looking for Ben.

  “Yeah, something about that stuck with me. So, let’s hear it,” he prompted, turning to face me better.

  “Well, he sorta showed up at the rehearsal dinner and kidnapped me,” I began, hurrying through my narrative as best I could to downplay the danger. Before I was halfway through the story, Parker was up pacing the length of the living room in agitation. By the time I mentioned Lucifer, he looked ready to jump out of his skin and my words tumbled out faster, trying to set him at ease.

  Parker look
ed nowhere close to ease when I finished though, fingers running through his hair as he leaned against the fireplace mantle as if to steady himself. “God damn it, Mercy, you can’t keep stuff like that to yourself. Shit… you just let him go after that? And now he’s out there somewhere, maybe planning to come after you again.”

  “He won’t.” I sat up straight, flinching at the anger in his voice. “The evil’s all out of him.”

  “Because the devil told you so.” His tone spoke volumes and I held my ground.

  “No, I saw it myself. I told you, Ben’s harmless.”

  “Yeah, so harmless that he managed to dope you up and…” His words fell away as distress got the better of him and I rose to take his hand.

  “Hey, I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me, he thinks he’s in love with me.”

  “This time. You understand what a guy like that will do in the name of love, right?” His eyes searched mine and I dropped my gaze, fully aware of what Ben might have done through the sick filter of his derangement.

  “Yeah, I get it,” I said softly. “It scared the hell out of me at the time. But I got through it, and I really don’t think he’s out there planning anything else. He probably just needed some time to get his head together after all the crap Azazael put him through. Besides, Lucifer’s looking out for me in that respect.”

  “And that’s supposed to make me feel better.”

  “Parker…” I caught hold of his hand before he could get away. “It’s over now, and I’m fine.”

  He didn’t turn back to look at me, his voice tight with emotion. “If anything happened to you…” I squeezed his hand when he didn’t say anything else and he looked back with a half smile. “I think I’d go nuts, you know?”

  “You’re a good friend.” I used the word like a shield because we both knew it couldn’t be more, and I saw the realization of that in his eyes.

  “Tell me the next time something big like that goes down, okay? Friends do that.”

  “I will, I promise. I just didn’t want anyone to worry.”

  “Christ, that’s what friends are for.” He shook my hand lightly before letting go of it to pick up his beer, setting it back down again without drinking the warm dregs. “I’d offer to move you in here to protect you, but something tells me you’d kick my ass for saying it.”

  “Thanks, but you know I can take care of myself.”

  “I know, but I’ll still worry.”

  “Thank you,” I replied, thinking it was nice to have someone worry about me for a change.

  “Well, it’s late. I think we should hit the hay, and before you argue with me I’ll remind you that you’re sleeping for two,” he pointed out.

  “Okay, but I’m not taking your bed. I’ll be fine here on the couch.”

  “Like I’m some kind of mook that makes you sleep on the couch? I have a spare bed upstairs. Come on, I’ll set you up with fresh sheets.”

  “You do?” I blinked, wondering why that had been left off the tour. I soon found out it was because the floor was covered in paper, the walls taped off for painting, the supplies piled in a corner. The bed was covered in a plastic drop cloth, but it didn’t take long to get it made up in pristine white sheets and a spare comforter.

  “The bathroom down the hall works, but it’s not pretty, so you can use mine if you want to.” Parker scratched at the back of his head tiredly once the room was settled. “Other than that…”

  “Thanks, Parker. I think I’ve got everything I need to get through the night.”

  “How about you, little guy?” He patted my stomach. “Need anything else for the night?”

  “I think we’re both fine, thanks,” I smiled at the thought. “Are you alright in there, Bunny?” I rubbed my belly and felt a flutter of movement. “Oh… feel that.” I grabbed his hand and placed it on the swell of my abdomen, holding my breath as I waited for it to repeat.

  “What am I supposed to be feeling?” Parker’s brows drew together in concentration as he strained to feel something. “It just feels like you want a sandwich.”

  “That’s because it’s not… oh, there, did you feel that?” I moved his hand over a couple of inches, smiling at the silly grin that stretched across his face.

  “Holy shit… there’s really something kicking around in there.”

  “Of course there is.” What did he think I had growing inside me?

  “He’s a natural kicker… I’m gonna get him a soccer ball. Or maybe a football. He’ll need to develop defensive skills if you keep calling him Bunny,” he teased.

  “Maybe she won’t mind so much,” I laughed as another flurry of movement seemed to support my statement.

  “Amazing,” Parker breathed, and I glanced up to find him looking at me with undisguised longing. For just an instant I wondered what it would be like to kiss him. Not a hurried, sloppy kiss to convince a cop we were an item, but a real kiss. Slow… lingering… I drifted closer to him, feeling that pull, before I realized what was happening and I turned away.

  “It’s, um… it’s late.”

  “Yeah,” he said, letting go of me abruptly. “Yeah, I should let you rest. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Goodnight, Parker. Thanks for everything.”

  “Anytime, angel.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “You’ve gotta help me.” My brother Matt brushed right past me to flop onto my sofa the moment I opened my door.

  “Nice to see you too, Matty.” I shut the door, following him back inside. “How’s married life treating you?” I hadn’t seen much of him since the wedding, but I figured the last thing a newlywed wanted to do was hang out with his sister.

  “Oriana’s driving me nuts.”

  I bit back the I told you so that leapt to the tip of my tongue, sensing it wouldn’t be appreciated. “What do you expect me to do about it? You married her in sickness and in health for as long as there are stars in the sky, remember?”

  “I know, I said it and I meant it. But I need your help.”

  “With what?” If he wanted marriage counseling, he was barking up the wrong tree.

  “I can’t keep bringing her to work with me, my boss is giving me looks every time he stops by and she’s there.”

  I waited for him to say something else, but he didn’t elaborate. “Then don’t take her to work with you. Problem solved.”

  “Yeah, but I can’t leave her home alone without her getting into everything. You know how she is, she hasn’t lived in the world for… I’m not exactly sure how long. I came home the other night and she’d shaved a hole in the carpet because she wanted to see what was under it. I caught her just in time the other day before she drank the nasty old Windex under the sink because she loved the pretty blue color. She’s set the microwave on fire twice now putting random things in there to see what would happen. I’m afraid I’m gonna come home and find the building burnt to the ground one of these nights.”

  It sounded worse than leaving a two year old alone at night. I could see where he was going and I didn’t like the direction. “She can’t stay here, you know I work most nights.” Technically Nelo could chaperone, but I preferred not to go that route unless absolutely necessary. His common sense skills were sometimes iffy themselves.

  “No, what she needs is something to occupy her time when I’m not around. Like a job or something.”

  Personally, I was skeptical of Oriana’s employment skill set, not to mention her people skills, but I wasn’t sure what he wanted from me. “What do you expect me to do about it, buy her a newspaper? They advertise new jobs every day.”

  “Yeah, but Oriana is… special, you know that.”

  “That’s one way of putting it,” I agreed. “What did you have in mind then?” Because it was obvious he’d formed a plan in that head of his.

  “Do you think you could get her a job at Eden?” Matty gave me his ‘pretty please’ face, the one designed to wangle an extra cookie or scoop of ice cream when we were younger.
/>   “Are you high? You think a night club is the best place for Oriana to spend her nights?”

  “Not just any club, your club. That way you can sort of watch out for her and make sure she stays out of trouble.”

  It was obvious he had no idea what was involved in being a bartender. Most nights I barely had time to think, let alone watch over a problem waiting to happen like Oriana. “It’s not my club. Why aren’t you asking Parker about this?” Probably because Matty knew he’d say no in a heartbeat.

  “Yeah, but Parker will do whatever you ask. Come on, sis, please? For me? For my sanity?”

  I let out a long breath, knowing he’d never let up until I caved. “Alright, I’ll ask him, but that’s all. If he says no, you’re on your own.”

  Of course, that was easier said that done. Business was booming that night, and it was almost closing time by the time I found a good opportunity to get Parker alone, buttering him up by bringing him a drink in his office.

  “Parker, do you have a minute?”

  “Always,” he looked up with a smile. “What’s up, darlin’?”

  “I don’t suppose you could do me the teensiest little favor…” I slid the drink across the desk towards him, perching on the inside corner.

  “Uh oh… should I get out my wallet or my car keys?”

  “Oh, neither. This is more a generosity of spirit.”

  “You’re out of luck then.” He leaned back in his seat with the drink, and I think he might have been checking out my legs before his eyes swung back up to me.

  “Come on, you don’t even know what I’m going to ask you for yet.”

  “True. What is it then?”

  “Give Oriana a job.”

  “No dice.” He sat up straight in the chair, turning away from me to face his computer again.

  “Please…? You can fire her if she doesn’t work out, like any other new hire, but give her a chance.”

  “Oh, I can, can I? It’s that easy, is it?” he snorted. “Does she have ID? A social security number? A food handler’s license?”

  “Um…”

  “I’m running a legitimate business here, Merce. I need those things for any new hire.”