Warning Track (10 page)

She pulled away and smiled. “Thanks, Parker.”

She was about to get in her car when he stopped her. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Working.”

“After work.”

“Uh…” she looked up at the sky as she thought about her schedule.
 

“Whatever it is, cancel it,” Parker said, cutting her off. “Meet me here tomorrow and bring your cleats and glove.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and asked, “What are you up to, Kirbs?”

“Just want to play a little ball with my favorite short stop.”

Her eyes lit up as she nodded. “Sounds like a good time. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“If you wear short shorts, that would be good too.”

She rolled her eyes and shut her door. Parker watched her drive off and thought, even though shit was awkward between them, he felt the last part of his evening was a small victory. Even though he didn’t get a kiss like he wanted, he did score a second date.

Chapter Five

**Connor**

Throwing his keys on the coffee table, he sank down onto the couch as he put his feet up on the table in front of him. When Molly called him and told him that his brother was possibly at Nash’s house, Connor lost his mind. The moment he finally confirmed that his brother was, in fact, at Nash’s house, he let loose on him. Connor didn’t care if his brother was fragile…if he was going through some serious mind games because, out of all the places he could be, he was at Nash’s, the infamous bad-boy trouble-maker. Nash was doing him a disservice and he was going to have to have a talk with the man because after the piss-poor conversation Connor just had with Luke, it didn’t seem like his brother would be giving up his squatting rights anytime soon.
 

Connor popped the lid off of a bottle of beer and brought the sweet microbrew to his lips. He needed it, needed to relax. As he settled into the couch, he thought about how there was another way he could relax and when he looked up, she was heading right toward him.

“Hey, you’re home. I thought you were working late.”

Connor slightly winced at the lie he’d told Lucy about not coming home right after work. He didn’t want her to get involved in the Molly and Luke drama because, for one, they were living in their own little love triangle drama, but also because Lucy and Molly hated each other. Lucy didn’t take well to Molly’s name being mentioned.
 

“Yeah, I got some things done faster than I thought.” He reached out and grabbed her hand, forcing her to sit on his lap. “Come here, love.”

Shifting comfortably on his lap, Lucy rested her head on his shoulder and kissed his jaw. “I’m glad you’re home earlier then you said you were going to be.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

“I couldn’t wait to get your fat meat log in my mouth,” Lucy said innocently, as she kissed along Connor’s jaw.
 

He nearly spit out the beer in his mouth at her comment and started coughing as the beer that stayed in his mouth went down the wrong tube. Lucy just rubbed his chest and giggled.
 

“Seriously, you can’t say shit like that to a man.”

“And why not? I thought we were always supposed to be honest with each other.”

A small pang of guilt ran through Connor’s mind as he thought about the little lie he’d told Lucy today. If he was being honest, he’d only told the little lie for Lucy’s sake. He was watching out for her.
 

“So, you’re saying you want to suck me off?”

Lucy licked her lips and nodded her head. Connor instantly went hard, not that he wasn’t already sporting a woody from her first proclamation.
 

“Well, no one’s stopping you, beautiful.” Connor held out his arms as he allowed total access to his lap. Lucy looked down, pleased with his bulge and slowly maneuvered between his legs. “Just so you know, when you’re done sucking me dry, you can bet that pretty little ass of yours that I’m going to fuck you so hard with my tongue.” That warranted a bright smile from his girl.
 

Not speaking, Lucy unbuckled Connor’s pants as he rested his head against the back of the couch and waited for Lucy’s sweet lips to take him in completely. She was about to pull his briefs down when his phone started ringing.
 

Inwardly groaning, Connor pulled his phone from his pocket, just to put it on silent, when he glanced at the incoming call and saw that it was Molly.
 

Shit, he needed to answer.

Glancing down at a confused Lucy, Connor said, “Give me one second, love. I need to take this.”

It was as if he’d slapped her because the look on her face at his removal from her seduction gutted him. He didn’t want to hurt Lucy, but he didn’t really have a choice when it came to his brother. He would do anything for Luke, and if that meant butting in on his life and making sure his….girlfriend was okay, then he was going to do that.
 

Connor held up his finger to Lucy as he said silently, “one second” and walked into his office. He silently shut the door and answered the phone, “Hey, Molly.”

“Did you talk to him?” Molly didn’t even bother with pleasantries.
 

“I did, you were right, he’s been staying there.”

Connor heard a loud smack on the other end of the line and he just hoped she hadn’t harmed herself.
 

“I can’t believe this; he’s been living a couple of blocks away from me this whole time. Why would he do that, Connor? Why wouldn’t he just try to work things out with me? Why is he with…that girl?”

Exhausted from the drama that wasn’t technically his, he sat down in one of his leather chairs and said, “He’s not well, Molly. He has a lot of demons, you can see them racing through his eyes as you talk to him. Even though I tried to ring him a new asshole, he wasn’t even affected. It was if he was made of stone or his soul was sucked out of him. He’s not the same man.”

“Did you tell him to come back to me, to work things out?”

“I did.”

“And what did he say?” Molly’s voice rose over the phone.
 

“He didn’t say much, he just stared into space. A part of me thinks that subconsciously he’s keeping himself away because he knows he’s not the same man…the man you want him to be. He’s hurt, scared, and tormented; I’m not sure how he would react if he was with you. And what about Winnie? I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“Nothing is going to happen to her. She’s going to stay with your parents if Luke ever comes back. I want to work things out with him. I want to help him through what he’s going through. When we’re together, you know, like really together, we connect. We’re the only ones who can pull each other out of our funks; we’re each other’s soul mates, Connor. We’re each other’s drug…the only way to heal us is us. You have to help me.”

Connor ran his hand over his face as he said, “I have an idea.”

“Do it, whatever it is, just do it.”

“I think if I bribe Nash enough, he’ll kick Luke out, but it has to be enough money where he would betray his friend, his brother.”

“I don’t have money…”

“I’ll take care of it, Molly. I have plenty,” Connor said without hesitation. “Believe me, I want nothing more than for you and Luke to be happy again. If Nash kicks Luke out, he really doesn’t have any other choice of where to go besides you, because none of his other friends will allow him to crash on their couch when they know the situation. Luke was smart and went with Nash because he knew Nash was just as fucked-up as he is.”

“When are you going to bribe Nash? I want to be ready to hand Winnie over and make sure she’s comfortable.”

“I’ll visit the bastard tomorrow. Will that give you enough time?”

“Yes, the sooner the better. I’ll start to pack Winnie’s things tonight. Thank you so much, Connor. I can’t tell you how much I’ve appreciated everything you’ve done for me during this time, even just being there to talk to.”

“Anytime, Molly. I care about you two, I want to see you happy again. You deserve it.”

“Thanks.”

Connor hung up with Molly and looked down at his phone as he thought about what he was going to do tomorrow. Luke was going to have to learn the hard way that he needed to pull his head out of his ass. Wanting to ease the tension that was now in his shoulders, Connor went to the living room to find Lucy, so they could finish what they started.
 

But when he went out to the living room, Lucy had her purse over her shoulder and her overnight bag gathered.
 

“Where are you going?” Connor asked tentatively.
 

“I need to go home.”

“Why? Did you forget something? You have everything you need here, love. But if you need something, let me drive you.” Connor started toward her, but she held her hand up.
 

“Don’t bother helping me; you’re already spent from helping out Molly.”

Shit, she must have heard the conversation. Preparing for the nuclear blast that was about to hit him, he steadied his breath and spoke evenly, “Lucy, she found out where Luke’s been hiding.”

“I don’t care!” Lucy shouted. “Her fucked-up life is not our problem.”

“It is when her boyfriend is my brother.”

“No, it’s not! If Luke wants to stay the hell away from her, I say good riddance and hell if I blame him. The man is smart, trying to get out before he makes a huge mistake.”

“Lucy…” Connor said warningly.
 

“Oh my God, you’re defending her.”

“I’m not defending her.” Connor kept his voice even, trying not to convey his frustration over the ongoing problem that existed between Molly and Lucy. “I’m just looking at things from both sides. If you were in that situation, wouldn’t you want someone helping you as well?”

“You see, I would never be in that position because I’m not a psychotic bitch like she is.” Lucy adjusted the straps to her bag and said, “I can’t be around you right now. Your betrayal is too overwhelming.”

It took everything in Connor’s body not to roll his eyes. “Now you’re overreacting.”

He should have saved some of his control for his mouth as well because the look on Lucy’s face spoke absolute death. Shit, she was going to slit his throat; he could see it in the way her eye twitched.
 

“Don’t you dare fucking say I’m overreacting.” Pregnancy hormones were fun, Connor thought, as he saw tears fall from Lucy’s face at the same time that she glared ice daggers in his direction. “Don’t you remember what she did to me? Do I need to remind you?”

“No, you don’t.” Connor tried to talk soothingly as he walked toward Lucy, who was in a very defensive position, basically saying, “Come near me and I’ll cut your dick off.”

“Don’t come near me. I swear to God, if you touch me, I’ll scream bloody murder.”

She must have gotten a fresh batch of pregnancy hormones because she was ripe with anger, holy fuck.
 

“Lucy, please. I was just trying to help, to be a good guy.”

“How about instead of paying attention to her problems, you could pay attention to your pregnant girlfriend?” The minute she said girlfriend, her face twisted as if she’d just solved the world’s hardest algorithm. “You fucking piece of shit, is that where you were tonight, instead of working? Were you with her?”

“No!” Connor said rather too quickly. “I went to go talk to Luke.”

“Even worse!” Lucy threw her hands up in the air.

Connor’s face twisted in confusion. “How is that worse?”

“Don’t patronize me; don’t you dare patronize me.” He didn’t think he was patronizing her at all, but then again, he didn’t think he was doing most of the things her crazy brain accused him of. “I’m out of here and if you try to call me, text, or come after me, I’ll make sure you never see this baby, ever. You hear me?”

“Don’t do that, Lucy, don’t use the baby as a pawn.”

“It’s not even yours, so why do you even care?”

And there it was, she just validated the fear that he’d been carrying around since they found out the baby was Austin’s. She never really thought the baby could be Connor’s. Even though he was always there for her, she didn’t consider the baby to be his, truly she didn’t.
 

Feeling deflated, Connor just shook his head as he looked at the floor. He hoped that Lucy felt bad for her comment, but when he glanced up to catch her look, she turned toward the door and left him, slamming the door in a very Lucy-like fashion.
 

What the fuck was he supposed to do now?

**Jane**

Balancing a recycled paper tray of two teas and one coffee for Patty, Jane walked into JB Events, her event planning business. She hated to admit it, but because of her association with the almighty and very popular, Brady Matthews, her business had sky-rocketed. To the point that they were looking into a bigger building and hiring more staff. Never in a million years did she think she would be turning down business because they just didn’t have enough woman-power to take on every inquiry. That was why she had a morning meeting with her girls to go over resumes. They needed help and they needed to train before both Jane and Lucy’s babies came along, since that would leave Patty working all on her own. Lucky for Jane, well, and Patty, Albert had become more of a freelancer, rather than working every day in an office in Marketing and was available to help out in any way possible.