The UN Series Complete Box Set (206 page)

CHAPTER TEN

PARKER

I drive back to St. Louis with my brother sitting in the passenger seat of my truck. We both sit in silence as we mull over what we just found out. She had been with my father. Of course, she was high on drugs, and they had got into a fight. When he was tired of listening to her, he had his limo driver pull over and he threw her out of the car. Luckily, she suffered only minor injuries.

We ended up spending over two hours there and got what we wanted, but it’s not comforting. And some cracked-out whore’s testimony isn’t gonna be enough to put Dick away. I mean, ideally spending the rest of his life in jail will be more satisfying than just killing the bastard. Death is too quick and easy. I want him to sit in a little cell with nothing but time and silence. Forcing him to think about what he did and how his sons brought him down. But he has too many cops on the payroll. Hell, maybe even judges. So no, her testimony won’t be enough.

My phone ringing through the speakers of my truck interrupts the music. I lift my finger to my lips to motion to Braxton to be quiet when I see it’s Kat.

Reaching up to my dash, I press answer on my hands-free. “Hey, babe,” I try to sound happy.

“Hey, sweetie. How did it go?” she asks.

I had told her that Slade needed me to help him with something at his house. I couldn’t tell her I was going to another city to see a woman with Braxton. Too many questions would have followed that. “It went well. On my way home now.”

“That’s good. I wish I could have seen you before I went into work.”

“Me too.” I had hoped it wouldn’t take that long and I would have made it back home before her shift had started. But nope.

“Well, uh …” The tone of her voice has changed from warm to unsure.

“Something wrong?” I ask shifting in my seat.

“No,” she says slowly. “But, well, your mom …”

I stiffen. “What about my mother?” I demand feeling uneasy.

“She came to the hospital and …”

“Why the fuck was she up there?” I snap, interrupting her.

“Geez, Parker. Calm down,” she says. “She’s okay. If that’s what you’re worried about.” If she only knew how much I didn’t care for my mother. “It was just … awkward,” she decides.

“Why was she there, Kat?” I demand wanting her to get to the point.

“She just wanted to see me,” she says simply.

I open my mouth but close it. I look over at Braxton, and he looks as surprised as I feel. “She came up there just to see you?” I ask.

“Yes. And well, she said that she hasn’t spoken to you in a while, and for some reason, your brother, Braxton, is also ignoring her. I told her that we had just seen him the other day …”

“Shit!” Braxton hisses, and I look over at him with narrowed eyes.

“What?” she asks. “Was that supposed to be a secret that he came over?” Did she think that was me and not Braxton? I flip on the blinker and switch lanes. “It’s fine,” I say, but it’s not. If she tells my dad that Braxton and I have been hangin’ out, he’ll know something is up between us. “What else did she have to say?” I growl.

“She invited us over for dinner. Tomorrow night …”

“Absolutely not!”

“Parker,” she snaps getting frustrated. “Quit interrupting me! And I already told her we would.”

I tighten my hands on the steering wheel as I shake my head. “Anyway,” she adds her voice softer now. “I gotta go. We have a trauma coming in. I’ll see you when I get home. Love you.” Then she hangs up.

“What the fuck is Mom doing?” Braxton asks.

I shrug. “Maybe she knows we’re on to Dad,” I offer.

He shakes his head. “There’s no way for her to know that.”

“Maybe she should know,” I offer.

His head falls back onto the headrest. He closes his eyes and sighs heavily. “Shit is about to hit the fan.”

Yes, it is. And I wanna make sure that Kat is as far away from it as possible.

He opens his eyes and looks over at me. “You have to tell her, Parker. There’s no way around it now.”

“I know.” She needs to know who was responsible for almost taking her life. She needs to know that my mother and father are bad news and to stay clear of them. Her safety depends on that.

******

After I drop Braxton off at his house, I decide to make a stop before I head home. As I pull into the circle drive, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I haven’t been here in over six months. Even after I moved out, I never came back very often.

Getting out of my truck, I take a deep breath and walk up the six white steps. I ring the doorbell and bow my head, waiting for her to answer.

“Parker?”

I lift my head to see my mother standing in the doorway with a smile on her face. Her dark hair is up in a perfect twist like always. She has on a light blue blouse that matches her eyes and black slacks. She always did make sure she looked her best. She would wake up hours before anyone else in the house and do her hair and makeup in order to look perfect. To make the world think that she wasn’t an ugly bitch.

“Come in,” she says stepping to the side of the stained glass door. 

I shake my head. “This won’t take long.”

Her smile falls off her face. “Stay away from Kat,” I demand.

“But …”

“No!” I interrupt whatever bullshit she was about to feed me. “I don’t want you anywhere near her.”

“Parker …”

“She may not know what kind of person you are, but I do, and I don’t trust you.”

Her bottom lip quivers and her eyes fill with tears. “I would never hurt her,” she says placing her hand over her heart.

I take a step toward her, and she takes a quick one back. “You already have!” I say through clenched teeth. “When I called you and told you what he had done to her, you didn’t even apologize for what he did. You didn’t even ask if she was okay! All you did was make excuses for him.” I look aimlessly around the entrance of their mansion. “For this life that you have grown accustomed to. Maybe you don’t mind him fucking hookers.” She gasps. “Or letting him beat up other women for fun, but I sure as hell am not gonna stand by and allow it. And I sure as hell won’t allow Kat around a woman as spineless as you!” I shout.

She cries as she cups her hand over her mouth. “I can’t stop him.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit! You don’t want to stop him,” I growl back. Releasing a heavy breath, I say the one thing I came here to say. “I mean it when I say stay away from her!” I turn and walk away from her when she speaks.

“I wanna know my future daughter-in-law.”

Stopping, I turn back around and look up at her standing in the entrance of her million-dollar mansion. “That’s not gonna happen.” I smile. “Besides, she won’t want to get to know you once you’re in prison.”

She lets out a sob. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

I snort. “The jury won’t see it that way once I put Dad away.” Her eyes widen. “You had every chance to do the right thing. Now, it’s too late!” Then I give my mother my back for the last time and walk away.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

PARKER

I rock back and forth on the couch as I wait for Kat to arrive home. I didn’t sleep all night. Once I got home from confronting my mother, I showered and then just laid in our bed.  I smelled her pillow and remembered what that bastard did to her. How much I could have lost if only he had succeeded. Then sometime this morning, I made it to the kitchen for some breakfast. After I had found nothing, I made my way to the couch. I’ve been sitting here ever since softly petting Puss Puss as Boner sleeps on the couch next to us.

Kat has taught me a lot when it comes to love. It’s funny that I never wanted it, and now, I can’t imagine my life without it.

I sit straight up when I hear the front door open and shut. I watch as Kat walks into the living room. A tired smile on her face, she’s still dressed in her dark blue scrubs as she tosses her purse onto the recliner.

I stand from the couch as she continues to walk toward the kitchen. “Kat?”

She comes to a stop and spins around to face me. “Parker,” she says in surprise. “I didn’t see you sitting there.” She laughs to herself. “What are you doing, baby? I figured you’d still be asleep.” She comes up to me and gives me a tight hug. I return it but much more timidly.

“What’s wrong?” she asks now frowning as she pulls away from me.

I sigh as I run a hand through my hair. “I, uh, I need to tell you something.”

“Okay,” she says without hesitation.

I grab both of her hands and pull her down into the couch. “It’s about my dad,” I begin.

“What about him?” she asks as worry replaces her smile. “Is he okay?”

I let out a rough laugh. “Unfortunately,” I mumble.

She shakes her head as she frowns. “I don’t understand, Parker.”

I rub my sweaty palms on my jeans. “He … He was the one who …” I take a deep breath. Fuck, why is this so hard? I stand from the couch needing the movement.

She looks up at me, concerned and confused as to what I’m babbling about. “What did he do?” she asks softly.

My hearts beats faster in my chest and a sharp pain has me taking a deep breath. “He was the one,” is all I can say. How do you tell the woman you love that your father tried to kill her?

“The one?” Her brows pull together. “Babe, you’re not making much sense.” She lets out a little laugh as she stands from the couch. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.” She grabs my hand and starts to pull me toward the hallway, but I yank it back.

“He was the one who had Mason kidnap you!” I shout fisting my hands down by my side.

She stares at me wide-eyed and the color in her cheeks fades a little. “What?” she breathes.

I release a long breath. “He was the one who wanted you dead.” The words are like a knife to my own heart. To say them out loud, to her. It’s hard to swallow.

She shakes her head slow at first as she stares at me still wide-eyed. But as the seconds tick by, it starts to shake faster and faster. “No.” Her voice cracks as she finally speaks. And it shatters my heart.

“I’m so sorry, baby.” I take a step toward her, but she takes a step back.

“How long have you known this?” she demands.

I hang my head. “Since that day. He had a note delivered to the hospital …” I look up just as she spins around, giving me her back. She runs out of the living room and down the hall.

“Kat, please let me explain,” I start as I follow her. “The note wasn’t enough to put him away. But I finally got a lead today. I have every friend I can trust working on taking him down,” I finish saying as I enter our bedroom. She’s running around it like a mad woman. Opening and closing doors. She grabs a suitcase out of our closet and starts throwing clothes into it. “What are you doing?” I ask.

“I’m getting the fuck out of here.”

“Kat.” I walk over to her and grab her upper arm. She stops for a moment as she looks up at me. “Will you stop for a second and just listen to me.”

Her nostrils flare as tears threaten her eyes. “There’s nothing you could say to make me stay,” she declares.

“I’m going to take care of it,” I assure her. “I promise you’re safe here.”

Without saying anything, she jerks her arm free of my hand, grabs her bag, and slams the front door.

CHAPTER TWELVE

SLADE

I stand in the kitchen, placing pancakes on my plate as Angel stands next to me making Sadey her breakfast when the doorbell rings.

“I’ll get it.” I lean down and give her a kiss on the cheek before walking out of the kitchen.

“Kat,” I say in surprise when I open the door to see Kat standing there with a suitcase and a single tear running down her face.

“May I come in?” she asks lifting her chin.

“Absolutely,” I say moving to the side for her.

Angel enters the entryway and frowns when she sees her friend. “What’s wrong?”

Kat’s bottom lip starts to quiver. After a long second, she lets go of her suitcase and places her hands on her face. She sobs as Angel runs to her and wraps her arms around her. “What happened?” she demands harshly looking over at me.

I raise my hands and shrug. “How am I supposed to know?” I ask softly.

“Well, you’re his best friend,” she snaps as if I control what Parker does.

“I …” I start to say, but Kat pulls away from her and speaks.

“I just need to sleep somewhere for a few hours. Then I’ll go to a hotel. I just couldn’t stay home.”

Angel rubs her back. “You can stay here as long as you need.” She soothes her.

I hear my phone ringing back in our bedroom, and I leave the girls to discuss the possibility of having a roommate as I run to get it.

Parker lights up my screen.

“What the fuck did you do, man?” I ask in greeting.

“What?” he snaps obviously already irritated.

I close our bedroom door so the girls can’t hear me if they walk by. “Kat just showed up at our door with a suitcase, and when Angel asked what was wrong, she just burst into tears.”

“Fuck!” he hisses. “Listen, keep her there. I’m on my way.” Then he hangs up.

What the fuck is going on? Keep her here? Did he not hear the part about a suitcase? I don’t think she plans to go anywhere. Which is fine, she is more than welcome to stay here as long as she wants.

“Slade?”

I spin around to see my beautiful wife standing in the doorway to our bedroom. I smile big. “Yes, gorgeous.”

She narrows her eyes at me. This always happens. If one guy in our group fucks up, we’re all in trouble. “Do not call Parker and tell him where she is. He keeps blowing up her phone, but she is ignoring him.” Then she slams the door.

Well, shit!

******

Fifteen minutes later, my mother shows up to pick up Sadey. Angel has to go into the bakery for a little bit this morning, and I needed to go to the office for a couple of hours, but now, I’m not so sure how our day is going to play out.

I shut the door after my mom leaves and walk into the kitchen. I look longingly at my now very cold pancakes and decide a banana will have to do. I plop down at the end of the table as the girls sit at the other end. They don’t speak. Kat has her elbows on the table with her head in her hands while Sam lightly rubs her back.

Kat’s head snaps up when we hear the front door open and slam shut. I let out a long breath. Here it goes!

Parker enters the kitchen breathing heavy and hard eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Kat demands.

Angel’s eyes turn to me. “Did you call him after I told you not to?”

“He had already called me,” I say softly. I really don’t wanna start this day off like this, but there’s no way out. Parker is my friend, and whatever he did, I’m sure he had a good reason for it.

“What don’t you understand?” Kat asks. “I don’t want to be around you,” she shouts.

He places his hands up in surrender. “Please let me explain?” he begs.

She stands and crosses her arms over her chest as she pushes her hip out. “Yes, please explain how you knew all this time that your father was the one who tried to kill me,” she snaps.

Oh, shit! Angel gasps, placing a hand over her mouth, and I drop my head to look down at my lap.
He told her!

“Please tell me how you have all the guys you can trust on it?” she demands. “Please tell me how you’re going to keep him from doing it again.”

“Guys you can trust?” I hear Angel wonder out loud, and I close my eyes. “Slade?” I open them and slowly look up at her. “Did you know this?”

If I could, I would lie. There are times in our marriage when yes, I lie. But they are little lies here and there. This one, however, I cannot lie about. I nod my head. “Yes.” I sigh. “I was there when Dick dropped off the letter that told Parker he was involved,” I admit.

To my surprise, Angel doesn’t yell at me. Instead, she just shakes her head as she looks at me with disgust. This is just a perfect fucking day so far!

“Well,” Kat snaps. “I’m waiting.”

Parker runs a hand down his face as he lets out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know what to say,” he says honestly.

“You could have told me who it was that tried to have me killed.”

“What good would that have done?” he asks.

Her eyes bug out, and I know that was not the answer she was looking for.

“What good would that have done?” she repeats. “Hell, I don’t know, maybe give me a heads-up for when he came to see me at the hospital. Maybe I wouldn’t have eaten the strawberries he sent me because I was afraid they were poisoned. Maybe …”

He holds up his hand cutting her off. “He came and saw you?” he snaps. “When?”

“I don’t remember the exact date,” she yells. “But yes, he came and saw me my first week back to work,” she explains.

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?” he yells. “Why the fuck would you keep that from me? Don’t you understand ….?”

She reaches back and slaps him across the face. Angel smiles in satisfaction while I just watch as if it’s a replay of the time Angel slapped me.

“No! I don’t understand. Because you kept things from me. So don’t you dare blame this on me, Parker!” she spits in his face. He goes to speak, but she shoves him out of the way and walks past him. “I don’t want you or anyone else around me. That’s why I left in the first place.”

He turns around to face her back as she walks out of the kitchen. His shoulders fall, and his chest rises with a heavy sigh. “Do you think I haven’t tried?” he asks her softly causing her to come to a stop but not turning around to face him. “Do you really think I’m not trying to make that bastard pay?” He takes a step toward her. “Do you think that I don’t think of that day every day of my life? Do you have any idea how fucking angry I was when I read that piece of shit note he left me?” She turns around slowly to face him. A single tear runs down her face. “I hate him, Kat, for what he did to you. And I swear on my life that I will make him pay.” He fists his hands down by his sides. “How many times I’ve sat outside of my parents’ house with a gun in my hand. All I need is one bullet and his miserable life would be over. But you deserve more than that. He deserves to spend the rest of his life locked away knowing that he can’t hurt you again.” He steps closer and another tear falls down her cheek. “I love you, Kat. You are the only person who matters to me.” He takes another step and lifts his hand to wipe away another tear. “I need you, though. You can be as mad at me as you want, but please, don’t leave me.”

She sniffs as more tears fall down her face. “You don’t understand, Parker. This isn’t about you and me anymore.”

“They don’t matter,” he assures her. “My family doesn’t matter to me. It’s all about you and me.”

She takes a deep breath and speaks. “I’m pregnant.”

Well, that just changed things. I look over at Angel and tears are now running down her face. She must feel me staring because she walks over to me, grabs my hand, and pulls me from the table. And I follow her out of the kitchen.