Black Dawn

by Cristin Harber

  Nothing.

  He checked the screen. The number wasn’t ringing a bell, and he remembered almost every phone number he’d ever seen. The line was still live. He tried again. “Hello?”

  “Can you help me?”

  The familiar voice was a sucker punch to his stomach. Lexi’s barely audible, tear-soaked whisper nearly leveled him.

  “Lex?” He never should have let her get in that truck. He should’ve gone back to their house and done something. Anything. All his fury and anger was gone, his protective thoughts making his muscles twitch to get to her. “Lexi, where are you?”

  “Please.” She sniffled. “There’s no one else I could ask.” Her voice shook. “Please.”

  “Where are you?” But his fingers were already flying across the keyboard, calling up a program that would triangulate then pinpoint her exact location. The coordinates flashed on screen, and his heart jumped. She was calling from his home address.

  Her phone cut off before she could respond. Parker ran out of Titan HQ and jumped in his Range Rover, bypassing anyone who asked what the hell was going on. When he pulled out of the parking garage, sleeting rain hit his windshield, and wind whipped his SUV. His mind processed a thousand questions that spider-webbed from a few basics. Why was she at his house, and where was Matt? He punched redial on his cell, but it went to voicemail.

  Hey, it’s Lexi. Leave a message.

  “I’ll be there in ten.” He coasted through lights, blew past the speed limit, used the shoulders, and when he finally hit his street, he floored it. Parker yanked the steering wheel, sliding into the driveway. In the whipping sleet, Lexi, without a jacket, sat on the front stoop of his house. Her dripping hair hung over her face, and she hunched over a package while cradling Fatso the dog. It took him a micro-second to snap out of his terror-fueled trance, and he moved fast.

  “You okay?” No. Fuck. No, she wasn’t. “Goddamn it.”

  The little dog growled and yapped and squirmed to kill him. Parker worked fast to open his door. He twisted the key, punched in the code, and disarmed the anti-asshole sensors as the biting rain slapped down. The rain howled as he quickly crouched in her line of sight. Lexi was doubled over, and her face was swollen. He grabbed her and the dog, dragging them, dripping, over the threshold. Her frozen body shook and trembled against him. There wasn’t time to ask how she’d gotten his phone number or if Matt had dropped her there like that.

  A quick assessment said she’d been knocked around, and that was just what he could see on her face. The blue tinge of her lips didn’t help the bruises he saw on her cheeks. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

  She shifted her head slightly, barely signaling no. He went to touch her, and Fatso went berserk.

  “Easy, Bacon,” she whispered.

  Fatso was Bacon? Made more sense but still… water poured off of her, and her hair stuck to her face. She clung desperately to whatever that was in her arms.

  “We need to warm you up. Get you guys dried off. Let’s go.”

  She nodded. Her gaze finally shifted up, and he saw that her eyes were sob-and-slap swollen. There was blood on her shirt, as if her nose or mouth had been bleeding. The rain must’ve washed the evidence off her skin. He couldn’t tell what was blue from cold and what was just bruised.

  Without thinking, he took the heavy, flat, plastic-wrapped bag from her hand, set it on the floor, and wrapped her in his arms, holding her so that he could breathe. The dog whimpered, and Lexi stiffened before she relaxed into his hug.

  He apologized in murmurs but didn’t let go, running his hands over her soaked back. “I shouldn’t have let you go with him.”

  Her frail shoulders bunched, but she didn’t speak.

  “Come on, Lex.”

  “Wait.” The faintness in her voice sounded like she looked. Weak, water-soaked, and wary.

  “Yeah?”

  “I need to—that’s my computer.” Her teeth chattered so hard, the words were barely intelligible. “I need—to make sure—it didn’t get wet.”

  He blinked. If there was anyone who would get that, it was him, but that she’d said it caught him off guard. “Okay.”

  Lexi peeled the plastic away with bluish, shivering hands and displayed a computer bag. She popped it open and smoothed her hand over a nice piece of equipment. He got why she didn’t want rain to touch it, but what he didn’t get was why she had something so high-functioning. It wasn’t for normal use. But that didn’t matter at the moment.

  “It’s the most important thing I own,” she said as though reading his mind.

  Interesting and curious. “You’re both still freezing. Let’s go.”

  Parker tucked her against him, his eyes staying on the computer for a half second before her cold, tense body brought his focus back to her. She leaned against him, and he moved them toward the hall bathroom then thought of the one in his bedroom. A steam shower. Heated floor. The water could rain down, and he could make that room cook like a sauna.

  “Just a little farther.” He pushed through his bedroom and into the bathroom before setting her on the edge of a large soaking tub he’d never used. Bacon curled and shivered at her feet. “Shower or bath?”

  Her mouth opened, but the chattering teeth seemed to be the only thing she could do.

  “Shower’s faster.” He twisted the water on, turned it for steam, and hit every switch in the room to make the bathroom as warm as quickly as he could. He turned to her, suddenly unsure of the next move. “Can you… are you okay? To do this?”

  “Yes.” But her hands covered her face.

  Shit. “Lex.” He dropped in front of her again. Seemed as though he’d done that too many times recently, always trying to make sure she was okay. If he’d done the right thing the first time, none of these other times would have happened. “What’s the matter?”

  “This is so embarrassing,” she whispered.

  Her scratchy voice was broken, and it dug into his chest. Steam billowed around the room, but still, he couldn’t move from her. He wanted desperately to make this right. Carefully, he touched her cheek. Well, almost. He didn’t touch her, but he could practically feel her skin. “I’m sorry I let this happen to you.”

  “You didn’t.” She shook her head, letting her hair tangle with his fingers.

  “Oh, sweetheart.” Slowly, he rubbed a few wet strands between his thumb and forefinger then tucked it behind her ear. He pulled back, found some towels, and rubbed her dog dry while she watched. “I’ll throw some clothes in here.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “Both of you are cold. Shower for you. Towels for him.”

  “Her,” she corrected. “That’s Bacon Byte.”

  Parker rolled his lips into his mouth to keep from smiling. Much cuter name than Fatso.

  “No, it’s okay. You can laugh.” She shrugged. “She’s pudgy.”

  “Alright, Bacon. Dry enough?” He tossed the wet dog towels into the corner as Bacon tentatively sniffed his knuckles then licked his hand. When Bacon had been with him and Matt at GUNS, the dog acted semi-uninterested in him though she had avoided Matt. But different environment, different dog. “I think she likes me.”

  “She’s smart. I rescued her. She needed some looking out for—so I couldn’t leave her with him. The going back thing… I know it sounds stupid, but she’s helped me. I couldn’t leave her.”

  Parker pushed off the ground and studied her. She had bruises on her cheeks and forehead, yet she was still the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. “There were other ways to help your dog.”

  “I know.” She bit her lip. “I panicked. Matt said if I ever left, he’d kill Bacon.”

  “What the fuck,” Parker grumbled.

  Bacon barked.

  “Thanks, Parker.” The warm room had faded the blueish tint on her skin. “I’m sorry I came here. I just…”

  “I’m glad you did.”

  Her eyes locked on his. It was the absolute wrong time to
feel his heartbeat, but when she cast those icy blue eyes at him, the ground fell away. He cleared his throat and turned, not allowing himself a glance back. Anger and guilt warred for prominence, along with a fierce need to hold her and physically warm her body. Shit. He rubbed his face as he slipped out the door.

  Standing in his bedroom, listening to the shower run, he thought back to Mia’s words. Coloring outside the lines. Everything he did had order, but the woman making his heart pound? She was messy and complicated. She was broken, and he didn’t know the first thing about mending hurts. Work was the only thing he knew. But Lexi, who was likely stripping at that very moment, made him want something he was incapable of. Suddenly Mia’s word made sense in a way that confused him. He wanted what he couldn’t, shouldn’t, and absolutely wouldn’t have. A broken woman needed more love and attention than he knew how to give.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  That second Lexi was probably crawling under the hot spray of his shower. Emotionally, he didn’t have that component that made him swoon and stutter over women. Maybe a blessing, not necessarily a curse, but Parker saw the world analytically. That equated to sex being sex and dates being something to do, but none of it had ever given him “the feels.” If logic couldn’t be applied to a situation, he likely wasn’t interested. Relationships weren’t logical, which was why, until that point, he’d been more than happy for simple and no-strings.

  “Shit,” he blew out as he paced at the foot of his bed.

  Out of every person in the world, Lexi had reached to him, and now he needed to find her clothes to change into while she lathered in his soap and shampoo. Okay. Clothes first, then he needed a drink. Anything to calm his shit down. Quickly, he ran through his drawers and pulled out a T-shirt, sweatshirt, and sweatpants.

  Those in hand, he knocked and called through the closed bathroom door, “Can I throw these in?”

  “Sure. Thanks.” Her quiet voice was muffled by the shower, as though she’d spoken through the streams of water.

  “Incoming.” He cracked opened the door and tossed the clothes.

  For a split second, his mind questioned taking a glance, an accidental slip of the eye, just to see the water and suds pouring down the swell of her breasts, the slide of her flat stomach, and endless slope of her legs. Then his deviant mind made him feel like a pervert, and he cringed. He beelined for the kitchen, mumbling at himself to get it together. Sporting wood over a battered girl who’d asked for help was about as responsible as it was intelligent.

  He pulled out a bottle of bourbon and a shot glass and made quick work of throwing down a drink. The burn in his throat alleviated some of the pressure, but Parker still let out a curse. He didn’t need liquid courage. What he needed was an impenetrable shield.

  His phone rang, and Parker glanced at the screen. Not Jared as he would’ve expected. Winters. Maybe he should’ve expected that more than Boss Man. Running out of the office as though he knew where the promised land was would likely raise some eyebrows.

  He swiped the screen to answer. “Hey.”

  “What was all that earlier?” Winters asked. “Your ass ran out of the office like it was two-for-one day at Spy Depot.”

  Parker rubbed his hair. He couldn’t put into words what he assumed had happened to Lexi—Matt had hurt her because Parker had interfered in their lives. Remorse for not fighting for her flooded his system. “I’m at home. I had to”—protect, save, find—“help Lexi with a couple things.”

  “Lexi Dare?”

  “Yeah. She needed me.”

  “I bet.” Winters laughed, but it quickly died down. “This have something to do with you spouting shit about Matt being persona non grata at my place?”

  “Yeah—” The shower shut off. Despite the shot of bourbon and the call from Winters, Parker couldn’t have been more aware that she was naked and nearby. “You calling for work?”

  “No.” Winters chuckled again.

  “Alright. Get you back later then.” He didn’t wait for him to respond. Parker pocketed the phone and hung onto the counter. Literally, he clung to it as though he needed an anchor. His fingers flexed into the granite as he ordered himself to pull his shit together. He was furious. Wanted to find Matt and end him. Tear him apart limb by limb. God, he wanted to rant at Lexi for going back, then he was struck by a worry that she’d run home again. “Fuck.”

  Her footsteps, followed by the click of the dog collar, came toward him. He was no more ready to see her than he was five minutes earlier. Hell, he was worse off.

  “Hi.”

  Parker pivoted to see Lex swallowed by his sweats, and that did something to him. All his anger at Matt paused as Parker’s mind jumped to what was underneath his clothes. Or not underneath. Her clothing-covered breasts swayed as she came to a stop, their peaks making him dizzy with thoughts of sliding his hands over her just-dried stomach and roaming north. He gripped the edge of the counter even tighter as the pinch in his chest and the rush of blood to his cock made him equal parts asshole and aroused.

  “You can’t go back to him, Lex.”

  She nodded. “I know.”

  “You did before.” And his mind wanted to explode over that.

  “Yeah. That was a mistake.”

  “I’m going to kill him, you know that? It’s taking everything I have just to stay here.”

  “Please don’t. I want to forget all of that ever happened.” Her towel-dried hair hung around her face, torturing his fingers. “I never wanted to make you mad. Apparently that’s what I do really well though.”

  “What?”

  “Make men mad.” Her head turned down.

  Shit. “No, sweetheart.” He stepped toward her and instinctively pulled her to his chest, dying inside at how good it felt to hold her. “I’m not mad like that, like him. I… hated that you went back to a bad situation.”

  He gave her a light squeeze then released her, realizing that he couldn’t cling to her for no reason. They were barely friends and whatever comforting excuse he had to hug her didn’t give him permission to just hold her. His arms wanted to stay around her body though. Parker swallowed away that addictive feeling. He even tried to tamper his desire to obliterate her asshole ex, though he was curious why Matt would have left her on his door step or even given her Parker’s number. Maybe it was Matt’s way of saying Parker was to blame for the bruises? All over again, he wanted to avenge every mark on her beautiful body. Instead, he moved back to the counter and clamped his hands on that.

  She tugged at a strand of damp hair. “Thanks for the clothes.” A quiet laugh spilled from her lips. “Hot, ugh. I’m such a mess.”

  Hot in a way that made him hang tighter to the countertop. If he wasn’t careful, his bones would shatter from the force. “Nothing wrong with how you look, sweetheart.”

  She blinked. He stared.

  This was wrong. So very wrong.

  She needed space and a therapist. She needed Mia. There shouldn’t have been any tension between them. But the thick air and the sparks pounding at his pulse points hit him strongly. He didn’t feel as though she needed counseling and a change of scenery. He felt as if she needed him in a way that was much more than a place to hide.

  Which was why he had to go. He pushed back from the granite, heading to the fridge for no other reason than it was something to do.

  “I know I owe you more of an explanation for showing up like I did, for dragging you into this twice.” She scrunched the hanging hem of his sweatshirt and nervously played with it. As she did, a line of creamy skin showed on her stomach, where his sweatpants hung, rolled on her slender hips, reminding him how bare she was underneath and how those pants were a touch away from sliding down.

  Parker sucked down a breath. “I have questions.” That was putting it mildly. “I know people who can help you. I can help you. I… want…”—you—“to help you.” Bacon rolled over at his feet, and he realized how deep his voice had gone, how much he felt in those words. “Tell me anything
you need. It’s yours.”

  She licked her lips then looked down the hall. “Can I throw my clothes in your dryer?”

  “As long as you don’t get redressed in them and leave without a word.”

  “I won’t. Do you maybe have a hair brush or something? A girlfriend’s? Or…”

  He shook his head. “No girlfriend. No brush. But there’s a comb in the top drawer by the sink.”

  She bit her lip and ducked her head. “Thanks.”

  As she turned, he couldn’t help himself. “Lex.”

  She stopped, raising her eyebrows. Her porcelain skin was marred by bruises and a pink hint on her cheeks.

  “I’m glad you called me.”

  They stayed staring at each other as though there was so much more to say. “Glad you answered.”

  Lexi padded out of the room, leaving him to drink in a long breath and watch the clock on the microwave. One minute passed, and it felt like an eternity. Anxiety barreled through him. He paced then took out his phone and dialed Winters.

  Winters answered on the first ring as though he’d been expecting the call. “Hey, buddy. Calling back so soon?”

  Parker had no idea what to say or where to start. All he knew was that Winters, more or less, got shit like this and probably already knew Parker was neck-deep in Lex. “It’s wrong, right, man?”

  Winters chuckled. “That woman’s good-looking. But she’s also engaged, right?”

  “I hope like fuck not.”

  “Then why are you calling me like I’m your AA sponsor?”

  “I have no idea. She needs something I have no idea how to give.”

  More laughter. “Man, you are in over your head, aren’t you?”

  “I’m never in over my head, jackass,” Parker snapped. “Except, maybe.”

  “You gonna enlighten me about all that persona non grata shit?”

  “Not my place to share.” He leaned against the wall, pressing his forehead against it and wanting to slam his head, but waited for Winters.