Jostling Joker (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (A SEALed Brotherhood Novella Book 3)

by Victoria Bright

  She suddenly tensed. Footsteps. There were footsteps.

  Her eyes darted around the living room, unable to see anyone but still hearing bare feet against the wooden floors.

  "Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" a cold voice said from the darkness. She figured if she didn’t make a sound, they wouldn’t know she was here.

  "You’re trespassing. If you don’t answer me, I would be well within my rights to shoot you," the voice said. Parker swallowed the lump in her throat.

  "I should be asking you what you're doing in my parents' cabin," she tossed back instead, slowly standing to her feet. The light flipped on and she shielded her eyes, her eyes slightly burning from being in the dark for so long. She met the eyes of a man as he slowly approached her, a handgun aimed at her.

  He slightly lowered the gun and looked at her with a frown. He was dressed in a pair of silk pajama pants that hung low of his lips, teasing at what went below his waist. His abs and chest were beautifully sculpted, his biceps twitching as his hands tightened on the gun. His luscious mouth was still pulled in a frown, blond facial hair lightly covering his jawline and his hair thrown in a bun.

  "Um..." Parker trailed, suddenly losing her train of thought.

  "Um?" the man repeated, taking in her appearance with a raised eyebrow. She turned her eyes away, shy under his gaze. She didn't look the absolute best since she was running from someone, but she didn't realize how bad she probably looked until she saw someone that she didn't want to look rough in front of. Her blue jeans were speckled with patches of dirt from wandering through the woods to get here. Her natural puffy hair was probably a mess from the wind and rain she’d also traveled through. Her makeup was a runny mess from a combination of sweating, crying, and the rain, making her look like a raccoon with too much makeup.

  "I didn't think anyone would be here this time of year,” she finally said.

  "Still doesn't answer why you're here," he responded, his voice flat.

  "I was just looking for somewhere safe to stay—"

  "You're homeless?" he interrupted, his hand tightening on his weapon. "That's not a good enough reason to break into someone's place."

  "This is my parents' cabin," she stated. "I didn't know anyone would be here."

  "Yeah, well I'm renting this place for a few days and wasn't told anything about their daughter dropping in," he mentioned. Parker sighed.

  "Yeah...they don't know I'm here," she said, adjusting the bag on her shoulder. He only stared at her, his expression indifferent. She cleared her throat and turned her eyes away from his. "Look, I'm sorry. I'll leave. Please don’t tell my parents I was here.” She turned around and grabbed the doorknob.

  "Wait," the man suddenly said. Parker paused, but she didn't turn around.

  "You said you were looking for somewhere safe. Are you in trouble?”

  Parker's heart rate quickened at his question. This man was a complete stranger. He could've been planted here by Jarrod to trap her for all she knew.

  "Yeah, something like that," she replied. The man sighed, giving her another full lookover.

  "I can't in good conscience let you go back out there looking at that. At least stay the night and you can figure out what you're going to do tomorrow," he said.

  Parker turned and looked at him. He was beautiful. His hard blue eyes still stared at her, his mouth set in a straight line.

  "Um thanks," she stammered. "I really appreciate this."

  "Yeah," the man said and turned to walk away.

  "What's your name?" Parker called out to him. He paused and looked at her over his shoulder.

  "My friends call me Joker," he replied and retreated down the hall. Parker played the name over and over in her mind. She didn't remember Jarrod having any friends or associates named Joker, but she couldn't underestimate him. Being a drug dealer, Jarrod could know anyone.

  Parker cautiously walked through the cabin and headed for the bathroom. She'd spent many summers here with her family, enjoying the mountains and wildlife and basking in the peaceful sounds of nature. Pictures of her family were still on the walls in their original places, bringing forth memories of a happier time. She had no idea her parents were renting the place out, which was probably her fault for not keeping in touch.

  After taking a long, hot shower, she finally pulled on a long t-shirt and threw her wet hair into a puffball on top of her head. She crept back out into the living room. Joker was leaning against the counter with a beer bottle in his hand, staring into space. A single beer sat on the counter across from him. Parker padded softly across the space and met him in the kitchen, picking up the spare bottle and popped off the top.

  "Thanks," she murmured, taking a sip.

  "No problem. You look like you needed it."

  "You have no idea," Parker said with a sigh.

  Joker stared at her, which made her nervous. "What's your name?” he finally asked.

  "Parker."

  "Ah." He took a sip of his coffee. "You from around here?"

  Parker shook her head. “I used to, but I live in Georgia now.”

  "Sounds like you're a long way from home."

  "Yeah," Parker confirmed bitterly. When she noticed Joker's brow raise in suspicious, she sighed. "I'm not running for the police if that's what you're thinking."

  "That’s exactly what I was thinking. I mean you're running clear across the country and breaking into your parents’ vacation house. That doesn't sound like something innocent people would do."

  Parker rolled her eyes. "You don't know anything about me. Besides, you probably wouldn't even understand. The police can't seem to help me, so I honestly doubt you'd be able to," she snapped.

  "Just like I don't anything about you, you definitely don't know anything about me or what I'm capable of," Joker responded, his tone cool.

  Parker swallowed. "Is that a threat of some sort?" she asked, hoping that her voice didn't sound as shaky as she felt.

  "Just a simple statement," Joker replied with a shrug as he pushed off the counter. "Come on. We have some things to talk about."

  Chapter 3

  Joker

  Joker looked over at the beauty sitting on the opposite end of the couch. When he decided to rent a cabin for the weekend, he didn’t expect to have to babysit the cabin owner’s daughter after she basically broke in. He wasn’t in the right state of mind to play hero right now. All he wanted to do was be on his own and get his head on straight, but Parker being here threw a wrench in those plans. He hadn’t quite decided if that was a good or bad thing just yet.

  Parker had her legs tucked under her, cradling her beer bottle in her hands. Her skin was a beautiful golden brown; her doe-like eyes a sparkling chestnut color. She'd looked completely broken and terrified when he found her by the door. Running mascara and tear trails streaked her face, along with smudges of dirt on her cheeks and clothes. She'd looked like she'd been on quite the journey to get here and when she said she’d needed somewhere safe to stay, he would've felt like an asshole if he’d sent her back out into the dark woods this late at night.

  "So," Joker started, putting his beer on the coffee table. "Want to explain what you're running from and why?"

  Parker sighed and put her beer down as well, never meeting Joker's gaze. "Does it really matter?"

  Joker leaned back against the couch and narrowed his eyes at her. “I don’t remember your parents putting a clause in the rental agreement saying that their daughter would be crashing my getaway, so yeah, it matters. Start talking."

  She bit her lip and nervously looked toward the door. "I'm running from someone who wants to kill me, okay?"

  Oh for fuck’s sake. If that were the case, he’d be playing bodyguard if this person knew she’d come here. “Do you know who they are?” Joker asked. She picked at the loose thread at the bottom of her t-shirt.

  "My ex boyfriend," she whispered. "He's out on bail and he's looking for me."

  “I see,” he replied w
ith a slight nod. ”Why do you think he wants to kill you?"

  Parker took a shaky breath and blinked back tears that glossed her eyes. "Because he told me he would. He thinks I talked to the cops about his involvement in a massive drug trade. But I didn't say anything at all. I think someone is trying to set me up to cover their own ass.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably to protect themselves from retaliation,” she said and sighed. "Either way, I kept getting voicemails from him and letters in my mailbox saying that he was going to come pay me a little visit to make sure I didn't talk again. I didn't stick around to find out what he meant by that."

  "And you’ve gone to the police about this?" he asked. Parker nodded her head.

  “Of course. I already had a restraining order against him, so they only told me to equip myself with pepper spray and to call them if he was violating the restraining order.”

  “What was the restraining order for?”

  She bit her bottom lip, still fiddling with the loose thread on her shirt. “He was pretty abusive in our relationship, so I got one when I ended things with him. Now that he's out on bail, it's like he doesn't care about getting in trouble. He’s been going out of his way to find me, so I needed somewhere to go to think of my next plan and here I am. I had no idea my parents were renting the place out.”

  “Do you parents know about this? Why didn't you go to their house?"

  "That's the first place he'd go.” Her face paled as she brought her eyes to meet his. “What if I’ve put them in danger? I have to call them.” She hopped off the couch and moved across headed toward the hall.

  “They aren’t home,” Joker called behind her.

  She paused and looked at him, uncertainty filling her features. “Are you sure? How do you know?”

  “When I was trying to book this cabin, they’d originally had these four days as unavailable because they wouldn’t be in town. But after contacting them and telling them my situation, they’d made an exception for me. Left the key under the welcome mat and got everything ready a couple of days before leaving.”

  Her shoulders sagged a little in what he assumed was relief. “Oh.” She wrapped her arms around herself and looked down at the floor. “Did…they say where they were going or how long they’d be gone?”

  “I don’t think it’s normal to disclose where you’re going to a stranger,” he replied, grabbing his beer. “They gave me a contact number in case I had any issues with anything and told me to contact them if I needed to.”

  “I see,” she replied.

  Joker thought a moment. “Do you think this guy will come here?"

  Parker shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know if he remembers where this cabin is. We only came out here to spend a couple of holidays with my family, but that was at the beginning of our relationship.”

  "If he knows what's good for him, he wouldn't come here, especially if I'm still here."

  "Jarrod isn't someone you want to mess with," she warned with a shake of her head. "I've seen him do some really bad things to people who crossed him. I'd rather leave than to get you involved."

  The fear harbored behind her beautiful gaze slightly broke him. He'd remembered seeing the same fear in his mom's eyes whenever his dad came home drunk. He also saw that look when the bills were due and his mother was unsure how they'd get by. Sure, he hadn't booked this vacation to try to protect the cabin owner's daughter, but if this was his way of making things right for not being there for his mother in the end, it was a sacrifice he was happy to make.

  Joker gave Parker a reassuring grin. "That's because Jarrod hasn't met me yet." He stood and stretched, stifling a yawn. “Get some sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”

  She looked at him, her brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?” she asked as he passed her.

  “If you have someone after you, I would assume you need to know how to protect yourself?” he mused.

  She folded her arms over her ample chest. “I know how to protect myself.”

  “Do you?” he asked with a raised brow. “What would you do if he were to walk through that door right this second?” Parker turned her gaze to the floor without a word, nibbling on her bottom lip. Joker took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. He shouldn’t want to kiss her, but he couldn’t stop thinking about how soft her lips looked. He fought to keep his gaze on her eyes instead of letting them drop to her shapely legs.

  “I would find a way to get out and get to safety,” she finally said.

  Joker shook his head. “With that mentality, you’re going to be running forever. You’ll never have peace of mind until you deal with it head on. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  “I guess,” she muttered.

  “Good. Get some rest. You’ll need it.”

  Chapter 4

  Parker

  The smell of frying bacon awoke Parker the next morning. She slowly sat up in bed and stretched, the sun filtering through the cracked blinds. Last night was the first time in a few weeks that she’d slept without constantly waking up paranoid that Jarrod knew where she was. Not only did she feel safe in the cabin, she felt even more secure now that Joker was here. And at least he had a weapon, unlike her.

  She made her way to the kitchen and saw him standing in front of the stove. His pajama pants were replaced with a pair of dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt. His hair was pulled into another sloppy bun and his facial hair last night was cleaned up with a small trim. He looked over at her, the hard line of his mouth replaced with a small smile.

  "Breakfast will be ready soon," he simply stated, turning back to the stove. Parker moved over to the breakfast bench and sat down, watching Joker as he continued to cook. Her eyes wandered along his body, biting her lip when her gaze lingered on his ass. That man is wearing the hell out of those jeans.

  "When you're done staring at my ass, let me know how you like your eggs," he suddenly said, his tone holding an air of amusement. Parker's face went hot as she cleared her throat and turned her eyes to her hands resting on the counter.

  "Um, scrambled is fine," she answered.

  "Cool."

  She drummed her fingers against the counter as an awkward silence filled the space. "So um, Joker, is it?"

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  "Are you like the villain Joker or something?"

  "No. A jokester."

  Parker scoffed. "You don't seem like a jokester unless it's opposite day. You kind of seem like a serious tight-ass."

  Joker was silent for a moment, simply putting the eggs on a plate. He didn't say anything as he plated the rest of the food and finally sat a plate in front of Parker.

  “First, I’m not very friendly with people who break and enter into a place I’m staying in.” He grabbed his plate. “Second, with how things are going in my life right now, there's nothing I want to joke about," he said, walking away from her and onto the back deck with his breakfast.

  She watched him as he settled in a chair and stared out at the lake as he took a forkful of eggs into his mouth. With a sigh, she turned back to her own breakfast. Had she said something wrong? From his confidence when she tried to warn him about Jarrod to what he’d just said, many questions began to form in her mind about him. Who was he exactly and why did she feel she could trust him so quickly? Her eyes drifted back to him as she chewed her bacon thoughtfully. He’d had plenty of opportunities to hurt her if he truly wanted to; she did kind of crash his vacation after all. She also doubted he’d volunteer to teach her how to protect herself if he had an ulterior motive. With nowhere else to go at the moment, she wasn’t left with much of a choice to trust him for now.

  Joker returned inside five minutes later with an empty plate. Parker looked at him with a raised brow as he strolled over to the sink.

  “Jesus, did you even get to taste your food before you inhaled it?” she asked. Her heart fluttered a bit at the sound of his deep chuckle.

  “You ask a l
ot of questions,” he mused as he washed the plate. “You learn to eat fast when you’re short on time.”

  “That can’t be good for your digestive system.”

  “It’s used to it.” He put the plate in the drain basket, turned to face her, and leaned against the counter.

  “Do you always eat so slow? By the time you finish, it’ll be dinner time.” A small grin pulled at his lips as he looked at her, his blue eyes twinkling in amusement.

  She giggled. “Now that I’m here, I don’t think I’m that short on time. Just savoring the moments where I can eat or sleep without looking over my shoulder or being on guard,” she admitted.

  His grin fell back into the hard line again. “How long have you been running from him?” he asked.

  Parker pushed her remaining eggs around on her plate. “Like a week and a half. I stayed with a couple of friends at first, but didn’t stay long because I know he would’ve known where to look for me. I could only afford a bus ticket, so it took a few days to get to San Diego.”

  “Why didn’t you call your parents to tell them you were in trouble? Or at least tell them you were in town?”

  “I’d thought about it. I just didn’t want to bother them with my problems.”

  “Or…you didn’t want to have a particular conversation maybe?” he asked. Parker met his eyes. It was as if he could see right through anything she’d say. He wasn’t wrong though. The main reason she hadn’t called them to tell them what was going on was because she knew she was in for an ear full. They hadn’t really cared for Jarrod from the moment they’d met him, saying they got a bad vibe from him and that he’d seemed as if he was up to no good. She’d dismissed their concerns, just thinking that they didn’t understand her relationship.

  In the beginning, Jarrod was good to her. He’d wined and dined her and she had to admit that dating a bad boy sounded like an exciting thing. As soon as they were both comfortable in their relationship almost a year later, things began to change. He started to get angry with her a lot for the smallest things. His abuse started with throwing things and punching the wall. Then it morphed into pushing her, slapping her, and finally punching her. It only got worse once he started to get high on his supply of cocaine.