Edge (Parker Reed #2)

by J. M. Walker

  “That’s a lot of money, Devin. It’ll take a couple minutes.”

  “Have you lost your touch, princess?” He tapped his knuckles against the glass pane of the one-way window. “Maybe I should remind you what’s at stake.”

  Before I could get the words out, one of the men in the room with Parker and my dad pulled out a knife. Suddenly, the lights in the room turned off.

  “What the hell?” Devin slapped the intercom. “What’s going on?”

  The lights flashed back on. “Sorry, boss. Storming like shit outside,” a deep voice said from inside the room.

  A large man dressed in black moved behind the other guard.

  I opened my mouth to scream when he slit his throat. That’s when I saw him. The warmest eyes that I had ever gazed upon. So green.

  Parker.

  ARKER BROUGHT his finger up to his lips, indicating for me to be quiet. He nodded once.

  My mouth snapped closed, knowing that this would finally be over soon. The lights in the room that I was in shut off with a loud pop. I gasped.

  “What the fuck?” Devin yelled. “Get the security lights on. Why aren’t they on?!”

  My fingers flew across the keyboard, keeping the security lights off until further notice. A couple more buttons and the locks to the room sounded, springing free.

  “Shit! Keely, get me my damn money,” Devin demanded.

  Gunshots rang out from the hallway mixing with yells and screams. I jumped.

  “Turn on the lights, angel,” a deep voice, sounded in my ear.

  A breath left me on a whoosh but I did as I was told.

  When the lights turned back on, I winced at the mess before me. Two of Devin’s security detail were lying on the ground, blood pooling beneath them.

  “Breathe, Keely.” Parker came into my field of vision. “Let’s get you free, okay?”

  “Where’s Devin?” I asked, looking around him. My eyes widened when I saw Aidan pointing a gun at a kneeling Devin.

  Aidan looked my way. His jaw clenched, his eyes darkening with sympathy. “He’s all yours, darling.”

  Parker untied my ankles and waist and helped me to my feet. “I know you have questions but right now, we need to get Devin secured,” he told me softly.

  I nodded and cupped his battered face.

  He pulled my hand free from him and kissed my palm. “I’m fine, angel. I promise you.”

  “I’ll kill him,” I whispered. I felt all eyes on me as I walked up to Devin.

  Dark purple and green bruises had formed on his face. “Well, this is fitting,” he said, his split lip glistening with blood.

  “Is it? Is it really, Devin?” I asked, kneeling in front of him. “Did you imagine it playing out this way? Oh wait. I bet you didn’t. Know why? Cause all you think about is yourself.” I patted him on the shoulder, brushing off a piece of debris. “I loved you. A long time ago. When I was a stupid little girl and didn’t know any better.”

  “You still fucking love me. I can see it in your eyes.” His gaze searched my face. “I bet Parker hates that. Knowing that I was your first.” He glanced over my head. “Don’t you, Parker? How does it feel knowing I ripped—”

  Faster than I thought was possible, my fist landed against his jaw. A sharp pain shot up my hand, sending heat over my body. I embraced it, pulling the edge of the sting from within. “Don’t you dare talk to him.” I grabbed his jaw, digging my fingers into his cheeks like he had done to me so many times before. “You have not earned that right.”

  “So what are you going to do, Keely?” he spat. “Kill me? You don’t have it in you.”

  “Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t. You will never know.” Aidan handed me a phone and I continued. “You see. I could kill you. All of these people here would love it if I did. But I’m not like them. They are trained to kill. Me? I’m trained to create.” I showed him the screen of the phone. “You see this?” I pointed a red button on the small screen. “If you don’t tell me everything that there is to know about your businesses, your underground dealings, and every shady thing you have control of, I will make sure that your life is a living hell.”

  Devin chuckled. “You’re only acting all tough because you’re not alone. Before when it was just you and I, you were trembling under my touch.”

  I looked up at Aidan and Colin. “Hold him.”

  They grabbed Devin’s arms, fighting against him when he struggled in their grip.

  “What the hell is this? Do you know who I am?” he demanded.

  “Oh I know who you are. You see, while you were standing by the window, I was using your computer. The files on you? I sent to my own personal computer. And the account number you gave me? I sent to the CIA.”

  “You fucking bitch!”

  Rising to my feet, I stared down at him and pressed a finger against my ear. “We have him, Agent Cross.”

  “Holy shit,” the deep voice sounded and then Cross cleared his throat. “Roger that, Miss Price.”

  I pulled the earpiece from my ear and placed it in Devin’s pocket. “Here’s a little reminder.”

  “I should have killed you when I had the chance,” he growled, struggling against Aidan and Colin’s hold.

  “Good try. You couldn’t have killed me.” Leaning down to his ear, I brushed my cheek against his. “How does it feel to be poor?” I asked, pressing a button on my phone.

  His back stiffened. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  I kissed his cheek. “Goodbye, Devin.”

  “No! Tell me. What did you do with my money!” he screamed.

  “Let’s go, asshole.” Aidan pulled him to his feet with the help of Colin and pushed him out of the room just as Agent Cross came down the hall.

  “Devin?” I called out just as they neared the door.

  They paused and turned him towards me.

  “I will personally make sure that you never live comfortably in jail. You will wish that I killed you.”

  “Never.” A dark shadow passed over his face. “I will haunt your dreams. For the rest of your life, you will think of me when you sleep,” he yelled as Aidan and Colin shoved him out the door. His yelling continued down the hallway. “I will haunt you!” he screamed. “I will fucking haunt you!”

  EVIN’S VOICE still jarred in my thoughts. He didn’t need to tell me that he would haunt me. He already had. But I knew that with time, that would stop. Just like most abuse victims. I had Parker. He would help me. And now I had my father.

  We were still at Devin’s hotel. Colin and Jones were talking to Agent Cross. Parker was sitting beside me with his arms wrapped tightly around my middle. He was squeezing me hard, like he was trying to get under my skin.

  “Will you tell me what’s going on now?” I asked him when Aidan and Liz approached us.

  Parker nodded towards them. “Well as you clearly know, they’ve been in on this the whole time.”

  “Clearly.”

  Liz’s cheeks reddened as she sat on the other side of me. “I’ve missed you.”

  “I missed you.” Guilt twisted at my stomach. “I’m so sorry for not calling you.”

  She shook her head. “No. Girl, trust me. I get it. I wish I could have contacted you.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Because I’ve known all along that Parker was alive. So has Aidan.” She grabbed my hand, squeezing it lightly.

  “We couldn’t come to you without blowing our cover,” Aidan explained, cupping Parker’s nape. “We’re not as good actors as you are, darling.”

  I laughed, my cheeks heating.

  “Now we can go back to normal,” Liz said, her voice cheery.

  Normal. Was there such a thing?

  Aidan caught my look and rose to his feet. “Come, baby. Let’s go give our statements so we can go home.”

  She nodded before wrapping her arms around my neck. “We’ll get together soon. We need a date at Rope.”

  I smiled. “I would love that.”

 
When they left, I placed my head in my hands. “Normal.” I laughed. “Will anything ever be normal again, Parker?”

  He squeezed the back of my neck. “Look at me.”

  I met his gaze, wincing when I saw his split lip and the dark bruises on his face. “Are you okay?”

  He cupped my cheeks and placed a soft kiss on my mouth before leaning his forehead against mine. “I’m sorry you had to see that side of me. I want you to know that I’m done. I already told Colin that there will be no more of this.”

  “You retired?” I asked, brushing my hands down his chest, trying to force the image of him slitting that man’s throat out of my mind.

  “I did, angel. I’m also going to hand over the company to Aidan and Liz. I’ve made enough money off of it, we can live comfortably for the rest of our lives.”

  “Really?”

  “I’m done, pet,” he whispered. “I can’t do this anymore.”

  Tears threatened to burn my eyes. “We can run your company together. You don’t have to—”

  “I know. But right now, I just want to spend every chance I can with you. We’ll train new Doms and submissives. Together.” He brushed his thumb over my mouth.

  “I want to go home,” I said as Parker released me.

  “What’s up?” he asked when Colin and Agent Cross appeared in front of us.

  “We have some good news and some bad news.” Colin sat beside Parker and gave him a file. “Devin will be in jail for God knows how long but unfortunately, he has a good lawyer.”

  “He lawyered up right away, didn’t he?” I asked, looking through the file with Parker.

  “Yes, he did. So although he may be going to jail, it will be cozy.” Colin said that with malice like if he had any say, the guy would be six feet in the ground already.

  “What the hell is the bad news?” Parker barked, scrubbing a hand down his badly bruised face.

  “Devin was involved in a lot of shit.” Agent Cross folded his arms under his chest, leaning against the wall. “It will take a miracle to bring everything down within a year.”

  “What about the human trafficking?” I asked, swallowing past the bitter taste that had taken up residence in my mouth.

  Colin sighed. “We have people in there, under cover, but I honestly have no idea how long that will take to get shut down. Human trafficking goes on constantly. It’s hard to destroy and it’ll be hard to trace everything back to him.”

  Of course it would be. I had to give Devin that; he was good.

  “What about everything else?” Parker asked, shutting the case file.

  “We’re working on it. Slowly. We have to play it safe. There are a lot of innocent lives at stake. It’s not just Devin we have to worry about.” Cross pushed off the wall. “I will keep in touch but know that you guys did a fucking amazing job. If you were interested, I’d offer you a job with the FBI.”

  Parker and I looked at each other. “No thank you,” we said in unison.

  “Keely?”

  I jumped, my head whipping around. My gaze landed on an older, battered man, who walked with a limp towards me. “Daddy,” I said on a cry.

  Tears welled in his eyes as he held his arms out. Running into his open arms, I hugged him tight.

  He cupped my nape and kissed my head. “I’m sorry. For everything. I can’t say that enough.”

  Tears streamed down my face and I had to swallow a couple of times before I could form a proper sentence. “No. You’re safe. You’re alive. That’s all I care about.”

  He cupped my cheeks and placed a soft peck on my forehead. “I’m so proud of you. How…where did you learn…”

  “From you.” I wiped under my eyes. “I learned from you. After the…accident…I found your journals.”

  “Did you destroy them after?”

  “I did.”

  “Good girl.” He pulled me back into his embrace. “My baby girl. All grown up.”

  I laughed. “Daddy, there’s someone that I’d like you to meet.” I pulled him towards Parker sitting on the couch. “I know you…you’ve already met but…”

  Parker rose to his feet, wincing a bit and gripped his side. “Parker Reed, sir. It’s nice to officially meet you.” He stuck out his hand.

  My dad returned the handshake. “Eric Price. It’s nice to meet you, too.”

  AFTER LEAVING Devin’s hotel, Parker and I rented a car and drove to his cottage. Alone. We had both been quiet since everything had happened. I couldn’t help but play everything over and over in my mind. We were safe. My dad was alive and being taken back to my apartment that I had shared with Troy so long ago. Colin and Jones were on their way to their cottage and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of peace wash over us.

  I pulled out my phone and called Troy. “Hey honey,” I said, when he answered.

  “How are you doing, baby girl?”

  “I’m alright. I just…I wanted to let you know that everything is done. It’s…done.”

  “And now you need time. I don’t know exactly what happened but…wow…I can’t imagine.”

  I took a breath. “Yeah. I will fill you in but right now, I’m headed to Parker’s cottage.”

  “Good. Be safe.”

  We chatted for a couple more minutes before we said our goodbyes. Snuggling into Parker’s side, I wrapped my hands around his arm.

  “After everything that has happened, I don’t feel comfortable living at the cottage. Not when Devin’s people knows where it is.”

  “I thought only Devin knew.”

  “I can’t trust that. So as much as I don’t want to, we will be moving.”

  “Okay. Whatever is best.” Parker had cameras at his cottage. Who knew if Devin had hacked those as well? My stomach twisted. I found myself not wanting to know.

  Parker leaned an elbow on the windowsill and rubbed his chin. “But first, after this shit gets sorted, we’re taking a very long vacation.”

  “IT FEELS weird being back here.” Parker stared out the window, holding my hand tight in his.

  I agreed with him. His cottage...our cottage, sat before us.

  Pulling strength from both of us, I stepped out of the vehicle. I waited a moment for Parker to join me and when he didn’t, I walked around to the driver side door. Opening it, I reached a hand in. “I left pieces of me around for you.”

  His gaze slowly slid from the house to mine. “You did?”

  “Come with me, Sir,” I said with a smile. He grasped my hand, letting me pull him from the seat.

  Heading up the steps, I unlocked the door. There was a dark cloud hanging over the house. Parker had told his mom that we were moving but we would never sell. He was going to gut our playroom, move every piece to wherever we moved to but I had talked him out of it.

  “Rent it out to someone at Rope. We can get a new playroom,” I had told him.

  Parker had liked the idea so much that Liz and Aidan were now moving in. At least they would know why we would never go back there what with Devin’s people still being around.

  We were concerned for Liz and Aidan’s safety at first until Aidan had a full sweep of the house done. One bad incident and they were out. We agreed, telling them to wait a bit before they actually took up residence.

  “Keely.”

  I spun on my heel, finding Parker holding a small red plastic heart. Memories of the tube of hearts that he had given me so long ago flowed into my mind. Each heart holding a note, giving me small tasks for that day. Although he wasn’t with me at the time, I had felt close to him anyways.

  “Open it,” I said, nodding towards the heart.

  He twisted the tiny item, pulling the two halves apart and unfolded the piece of paper that the heart was holding. His eyes moved across the words that I had written him.

  Anxiety curled in my belly that maybe he didn’t like my surprise. I was only trying—

  A heavy body crashed into me, warm lips slamming to mine in a kiss of desperation and frantic need. The metallic taste of bl
ood washed over my tongue and I pulled back.

  “Your lip,” I panted, brushing my thumb over where the cut had split.

  He only grinned and covered my mouth with his. He grazed his hands down my back before cupping my rear and pulling me against him.

  I gasped, opening to him. Every inch of him pressed into me. Every hard curve and every thick line of his toned muscular body. “Parker.” I wanted to continue but I really wanted him to see the rest of my surprise.

  “As much as I hurt, I need you.” His mouth slid down the length of my jaw to my ear. “Your words. Tell me.”

  My heart stuttered at the deep husky voice and I repeated the words that I had written him. “You are strong.”

  “More.” He nipped my ear, licking the spot soon after.

  “You are brave.” I arched against him, scratching my nails through the hair at his nape. It had grown out some and I found myself loving to pull it. “You are mine. You will get through this. By yourself and together, with me. You are my Master.”

  He growled, sinking his teeth into my neck and pushed me up against the wall.

  A whimper escaped me but I continued talking. “You are the strongest person that I know.”

  He circled his hips against me, his fingers digging into the flesh of my rear to the point of painful.

  “You...God...Parker.” I undulated my hips against him, matching his movements.

  His mouth kissed along my jaw before covering mine in a hard bruising kiss.

  Our tongues meshed, dancing as one. “Parker. Please.”

  Grabbing both of my arms, he pulled them above my head, holding my wrists in one large hand. His other hand reached up under my skirt, brushing over the slick fabric of my panties. Diving a finger underneath, he pushed it into me. I moaned into his mouth, shaking against him.

  “So fucking wet,” he said slowly, his voice deep with arousal.

  Much to my surprise, he lowered to his knees in front of me. “Take off your skirt and panties.”

  My stomach gave a tumble at the firm demand and I did as I was told.

  He licked his lips and wrapped a hand around the back of my knee before hooking it over his shoulder. “Hold on, pet. I’m going to eat your delicious pussy until you beg for me to stop.” A wicked grin spread on his face. “I won’t be gentle.”