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

by Victoria Bright

  “Mind blown was what I was going for,” he said with a chuckle.

  She smiled and draped an arm over him. “Completely earth shattering. I’m a believer now,” she teased.

  “That’s more like it.”

  “Like I said, I’m probably just overthinking things.”

  Ethan kissed her on the forehead and closed his eyes. “Stop thinking and go to sleep.”

  “But I’m not tired.”

  Ethan opened his eyes again and looked at her. “If you’re not tired, then I didn’t do a good enough job,” he mused. Parker shook her head.

  “It’s not you. I took a nap, remember?”

  “Ah, right. I know just the trick for that.”

  He rolled over onto his side and hugged her close to him, his fingers barely touching her skin as they ran up and down her spine. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent, comfort enveloping her as she snuggled closer to him. She wished she could have more nights like this with him. If it were possible for the both of them to stay at the cabin forever, she’d do it without a second thought. She liked being around him, feeling butterflies in the pit of her stomach when his beautiful blue eyes were on her. His touch gave her a sense of peace she hadn’t felt in a long time and the tender gesture of caressing her back made her feel warm inside. She’d stop thinking about the what ifs for now. She would enjoy this moment for what it was and deal with everything else in the morning. Right now, everything was perfect. She closed her eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 9

  Joker

  The next morning, Joker woke up in bed alone, but smelled the scent of breakfast wafting down the hallway. He closed his eyes and smiled to himself. Last night with Parker had been unexpected, but it was exactly what he needed. The night he shared with her was different from the other women he’d had before her. It was unclear if it was because they were both in a vulnerable state right now, but he couldn’t deny the feelings stirring inside of him at the thought of her.

  He took a quick shower and strolled out into the kitchen, seeing Parker standing at the stove with her curly hair piled on top of her head and fully dressed in a pair of denim jeans and a black tank top.

  “Morning,” she said with a soft smile when he came into view.

  “Morning,” he said, walking over to her and glancing at the stove. “Who would’ve thought good sex could get me breakfast? Had I know that, I would’ve done it earlier,” he joked. She playfully bumped him with her hip and continued scrambling eggs.

  “Oh shut up. It has nothing to do with last night. I just thought it would be nice to do this for you considering everything you’ve done for me.”

  “I liked my reason better,” he whispered and pecked her on the cheek before moving over to the fridge.

  “What’s the plan for the day?” she asked over her shoulder.

  “Gun range if you still want to,” he said, grabbing the carton of orange juice. When she didn’t respond, he turned around and looked at her. “I mean did you still want to go?”

  “Yeah, definitely,” she said, though her voice didn’t sound really convincing.

  Parker plated the food and took them over to the breakfast nook. “Come sit,” she said, patting the empty bar stool next to her as she sat down. Joker poured two glasses of juice and brought them over, taking a seat next to her. They ate in awkward silence for a few minutes.

  “Feeling all right?” he asked. She nodded and took another forkful of eggs in her mouth without a word. “How do you feel about the gun range?”

  “I’m a little nervous, but I’m sure it’s necessary,” she answered.

  “You’ll do fine. It’s a lot safer than going out into the woods and shooting bottles and cans,” he reassured her.

  “I’m sure.”

  “And about last night?”

  She finally looked at him and cocked her head, her expression indifferent. “What about it?”

  “Are you having any regrets about it?”

  “Um…no. It was good.”

  “So why do I feel like a bad one-night stand that you happened to see again? It’s pretty damn awkward this morning,” he teased.

  Parker gave her a small smile and pushed her food around her plate. “I don’t know. It’s definitely not you. I just…I kind of wish this didn’t have to end, you know? I don’t know if the feelings I have are because of the situation I’m in or because you’re just…I don’t know. It’s silly. I don’t even know if I’m making sense.”

  “What do you feel?” Joker asked softly. She looked at him for a brief moment before finally dropping her gaze back to her plate.

  “A lot of things. I’ve never grown so close to someone in such a short amount of time. It may just be because you’re protecting me or maybe it’s more. I find myself wanting to know more about you, spending a little more time together granted that all of this blows over. But it’s not technically possible because you have your own life that you’ll go back to in a few days and I’ll be going wherever I’m going. But like I said, I’m probably just thinking all of this because of this current situation. It’s not uncommon for someone to fall in love with a hero.”

  Fall in love? Joker shook his head and bit into a piece of toast. “I’m no hero,” he said.

  “Then what would you call yourself?”

  “Just a guy trying to help as best as he can.”

  Disappointment flickered over her features as she nodded. “Right.”

  The rest of breakfast was filled with the awkward silence again until Parker got up and took her plate to the sink. “I’m going to try to call my parents really quick,” she said and disappeared.

  Joker nodded, sighing when she was out of sight. Despite sex being amazing last night, he would’ve avoided it if he knew things would be this odd the next morning. He’d admitted that he could understand where Parker was coming from in a sense; he’d felt something similar but simply thought it was just that the both of them were in a vulnerable state last night. They both needed an escape from the reasons they were here.

  Or…perhaps there was a little bit more to it than that.

  The smell of her sweet lotion shouldn’t make his stomach tighten with need. The warmth of her skin shouldn’t make his hair stand on end or make him warm inside. Her presence shouldn’t make his heart skip a beat or make him feel content. He shouldn’t have those feelings for a woman he didn’t really know, but it didn’t stop him from having them.

  What would happen after they left the cabin? Sure, he’d make sure he made arrangements to get her somewhere safe, but after last night, what did that mean for them? Was it a one-time thing just to get it out of their systems or the start of something that could lead to more? He hadn’t really thought too hard on settling down, but now the loss of his mother consumed him with loneliness. His mother wouldn’t able to see him get married or finally give her the grandchildren she always begged him for. He would never get to see her give the same love to his future children that he’d once received as a child.

  His mind drifted back to Parker. He was pretty sure everything she was feeling was due to what he was doing for her. Once the threat was over, she’d probably go back to her life back on the east coast. The muscle in his jaw twitched. He had to remember that she was only here because she wanted somewhere safe to be. He just happened to be here to get away. Maybe nothing would happen between them. Perhaps fate just brought two people together who needed each other temporarily right now. He was helping her and in exchanged, she was helping him through his rough patch. Nothing more, nothing less.

  “When are we leaving?” she asked suddenly. He turned to see her standing at the end of the hall, her hands in her back pockets. He looked back to his half eaten breakfast, his appetite now gone.

  “I guess we can leave now if you want,” he said as he stood. “Were you able to reach your parents?”

  She shook her head. “Voicemail again. I just left a message this time. Hopefully they won’t be
pissed to know that I’m here while you are,” she said.

  No sooner than the words left her mouth, an alert came through his phone. He pulled his phone from his pocket, seeing that he had a message on his AirBnB app from her father. “Speak of the devil,” he said with a smirk.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “I have a message from your father,” he said, tapping on the notification to open the message.

  “Oh God,” she muttered, crossing over to stand beside him.

  Ethan,

  I just received my daughter’s voicemail a few minutes ago and she says she’s staying with you? I’m very sorry for your interrupted stay. I was unaware that she’d be in town or that she’d go up to the cabin without calling us first. I will completely understand if you’d like a refund for you stay to make up for this or if you’d like to stay a few extra days for free. Just let me know. Again, I’m very sorry about this and will handle this immediately.

  Thank you,

  Gerald.

  Parker’s phone then rang in her hand. “It’s him,” she said and blew out a breath before answering and putting him on speaker. “Hey, Dad.”

  “Parker McKayla Lovick, are you crazy?” his voice boomed. Parker cringed as she listened to him go on. “We don’t hear from you in almost two years and all of a sudden you come and crash someone’s stay? What were you thinking?”

  “I…” Tears glistened in Parker’s eyes as she struggled to find the words to say. Joker took the phone from her.

  “Mr. Lovick, it’s Ethan,” he said.

  “Ethan, I just sent you a message. Again, I’m really sorry about my daughter. I had no idea—”

  “It’s really not a problem,” Joker interrupted. “She hasn’t caused any issues.”

  “While that may be the case, you paid good money to rent the cabin and—”

  “Mr. Lovick, Parker is in trouble,” Joker cut in again. Parker looked at him in a mixture of shock and anger, as if she didn’t want them to know what was going on with her.

  “Probably because of that no good boyfriend of hers. If she’s on the run from the police, then she definitely shouldn’t be there,” Gerald said in a huff.

  Joker looked up at Parker, who watched him as she wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s not that simple, sir,” he said. “She came here in the middle of the night seeking refuge. From what she’s told me, her ex boyfriend is after her and…” He glanced to Parker, who nodded. “And he’s trying to kill her.”

  “Kill her?” he repeated, his tone from earlier dissolving from anger to parental concern. “I’d like to speak with her.”

  Joker handed her back the phone. She took it with a soft sigh and began to explain the situation to her father as Joker cleaned up the dishes. By the time he was finished, Parker had settled down at the breakfast nook, a mixture of relief and exhaustion on her face.

  “How’d it go?” he asked.

  “They want to come home from their trip early, but I told them not to. I’m sure my dad will be here soon anyway because he doesn’t listen to anything I say,” she said with a small smile.

  “Is he still upset?”

  She shrugged slightly. “It’s hard to tell. He’s concerned that Jarrod is after me, but I got the ‘I told you so’ lecture as expected. And he fussed a little more about me not calling him beforehand.” She sighed. “Whatever. Anyway, I’m ready to go when you are.”

  “Hold it with both hands…good, good,” Joker advised as Parker held the Beretta in her hands. He could feel her trembling underneath his touch as she held the gun. “Shooting a gun may seem daunting, but it’s all a mind thing. Just focus on the target.”

  She blew out a shaky breath and nodded. “Yeah, I’m just nervous. Never shot a gun before.”

  “That’s why we’re here.” He placed his hands on top of hers. “Line up with the target.” Parker followed his instructions, doing her best to steady her hand. She looked over at Joker, who simply nodded at her. Taking a deep breath, she focused back on the target for a few moments before taking her first shot.

  “Ah!” she shrieked, dropping the gun on the deep shelf.

  “Whoa,” Joker exclaimed, retrieving the gun. “You have to hold onto the gun, Parker. Otherwise you’re asking to hurt yourself or someone else.”

  “Sorry,” she mumbled, stepping away from the booth. “I can’t do this.”

  “It’ll take some time,” Joker coaxed, giving her a small smile. “Plus, you shot the target in the balls.”

  Parker looked at the target sheet, noticing where her bullet went through and giggled. “I guess I did, huh?”

  “Imagine if that was your ex. No way he’d want to mess with you after that shot. I damn sure wouldn’t want to get on your bad side,” Joker teased.

  She laughed. “Yeah, yeah. You try. I want to see how you shoot.”

  He shrugged. “Okay then.”

  He stepped into the booth, pushing a full clip into his Glock and cocking it. “Watch and learn, grasshopper,” he said to her over his shoulder before aiming it at the target.

  “How many headshots do you think you can get?” Parker called behind him.

  “I guess we can find out.”

  He could feel her eyes on him as he shot his weapon, confidence radiating through him. It felt good to hold a gun again. He was back in his element, back to what felt normal to him. He was almost actually ready to go back to be with his team, but then there was Parker. Unless she was somewhere safe, all he’d do over there was worry about her and the last thing he needed was a distraction while in dangerous enemy territory.

  Once the clip was empty, Joker lowered the gun and looked at the target. Parker moved to stand beside him, cocking her head as she looked at the paper target.

  “Wow,” she said, nodding her head. “All but two in the head. It’s like a gaping hole in the paper.”

  Joker dusted his shoulder. “What can I say? I’m a good shot,” he teased. Parker smiled.

  “Can’t deny that.” She sighed. “Look, even if we practice for hours here, I still don’t know if I’ll be comfortable with using a gun. Just shooting it was enough to freak me out; I kind of don’t want to think about what would happen if Jarrod was standing in front of me,” she admitted.

  “Are you just afraid of them or is it something else? Fear is something you can get over, but trauma because of a gun is something else.”

  “I just don’t like them. Thinking about the damage I could do with one just gives me major anxiety. And having that kind of anxiety in the heat of the moment would probably cause my mind to go blank and freeze, which seems like a quicker way for me to be killed.”

  Joker rubbed his forehead and finally nodded. “Fair enough. So how will you protect yourself?”

  She shrugged. “I’ll do what I have to do and worry about that when the time comes,” she said softly. Joker suppressed the urge to sigh. He didn’t want to pressure her into learning how to use a gun if she truly didn’t want to, but a part of him was frustrated that she wouldn’t even try. He knew not everyone was comfortable handling a gun, but he’d think she’d put that aside considering someone was out to kill her. And if the guy was following her across the country, he doubted he’d come here just to hit or stab her.

  “Then I guess there’s nothing left to do here,” he said, his voice flat. Parker looked as if she wanted to say something, but decided against it, instead walking behind him as he headed for the exit. He was only one person and he couldn’t be everywhere to protect her.

  He just hoped she’d know what to do when the time came.

  Chapter 10

  Parker

  Things were tense over the next few hours at the cabin. They watched different shows on television without a word. Parker hoped she hadn’t sounded ungrateful at the gun range. She’d appreciated him trying to help, but she couldn’t see herself shooting Jarrod. There had to be another way to deal with this rather than to kill him.

  But he won’t stop
until one of us is dead.

  She sighed and tried to focus on the episode of Hell’s Kitchen on the screen, glancing over at Ethan from time to time. His features were tightened with what looked like annoyance and helplessness, making her feel guilty. He was doing everything he could to help her, but she hoped he could understand her reason for not wanting to deal with a gun.

  “I could really go for a steak for dinner tonight,” she said, finally breaking the silence. He looked over at her.

  “I hope you aren’t looking at me to cook it. That’s out of my range of breakfast food knowledge,” he stated.

  Parker playfully rolled her eyes. “Well duh. I have enough problems in my life right now. I don’t want to add food poisoning to it,” she teased.

  “Hey, as long as you know that. But steak does sound good.” He turned back to the T.V., as if the conversation was over. She shifted in her seat.

  “Um, I could make it for us if you want.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you think going to the grocery store is a good idea?” he asked. It probably wasn’t considering she’d held a broken wine bottle up at a grocery stocker. She wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t even let her back in the store. She figured she’d be okay to stay here while he grabbed a few things. It wasn’t like he’d be gone long anyway.

  “I’ll be fine here. I’ll hide in the closet until you get back if it makes you feel any better,” she teased. He shook his head and stood, apparently not in the mood to joke around about leaving her behind.

  “That’s a bit excessive, don’t you think?”

  “Probably, but you can never be too sure.”

  “What, do you think he’ll come while I’m gone?”

  “Who knows?” she answered with a shrug. Ethan looked at her for a few moments before moving down the hall and disappearing. What the hell, she thought. When he came back, he was cocking a gun and moving toward her. “Ethan—”