I throw the ice pack onto my bed as I start to undo my shirt when the visual of that little girl lying face down in the road returns. It won’t leave my mind. Then I remember the blanket I stepped on.
My head snaps up. “The blanket...” I take off out of my room and run back outside. I grab the blanket out of my cop car and head straight to the laundry room. I gently wash it off in the sink. I have an unbelievable urge to vomit as the blood runs over my hands and down the drain, but I hold it down. The bad thing is that I’ve seen worse than a dead child lying in the road. Hell, I’ve been the one doing the killing. Never a child but aren’t we taught that a life is a life? No matter whether they are two or fifty, it never gets easier.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath as the copper smell fills my nose. After a few deep breaths, which do nothing to calm my nerves, I look back down at the blanket as I turn off the water. I wring it out.
I then turn and place it in the washing machine. I set it to delicate and press start. I stand there with my hands on the washer and my head hung as I take a deep breath. My fucking nose still throbs and my head still pounds. I’m exhausted. But there’s one last thing I need to do before I can even think about going to sleep. I shove off the washer and head toward the front door.
CHAPTER FOUR
PARKER
I walk into the back door of Angel’s Bakery, which Samantha, my best friend Slade’s wife, owns. I remember the first time I met her. I hadn’t seen Slade in a couple of years. His little brother, Micah, had called and invited me to Las Vegas for his bachelor and bachelorette party. It was there that I found out my best friend from high school was also getting married.
“Dude. I cannot believe you are engaged. What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how much pussy we could be getting tonight? We could have one crazy fucking party back at our hotel room. And when I say party, I mean orgy. Hell, we probably could have done those two girls in the bathroom at the bar.” I can’t believe it! The man in front of me, my best friend since high school, is engaged. I thought I would never see the day because we used to get girls left and right. Hell, I just saw him for the first time in two years at the bar at our casino a few hours ago and already had two women ready and willing to go. And what does he say? I’m engaged. What the fuck?
He shakes his head with a smile. “We used to have parties like that.”
“Exactly! That’s what I’m saying. Imagine how crazy they would be here in Vegas. Vegas, man.” I lean my head back and close my eyes. “We could have one badass party. I’ve been dreaming about it for weeks. Women, naked, some lying on the countertop as we drink liquor off of their big fucking fake tits.” I grab my own chest for reference. I open my eyes and stare at our friend Josh. “Come on, Josh, help me out. You know what it would be like.”
Josh throws his hands up in the air. “Don’t get me involved in this conversation. I’m with someone.”
“Fucking pathetic.” I sigh. “What the fuck happened to you two?” Then I look over to a friend of theirs that I just met, Tate. “Please tell me you are single.”
Tate nods his head. “Absolutely.”
“Thank God, I have someone to chase pussy with.” I turn my head and look over the busy club. I sit up straighter in my chair and point the tip of my beer over to the bar area. “Like look at that fucking hot piece of ass.” I lean over further to get a better look. She’s dressed in a fuck-me red dress that makes me think easy access.
“Fuck, she is hot,” I say as my dick already starts to harden.
Slade gets my attention as he stands from the table. He starts to walk away when I speak. “Where are you going?”
He gives me a cocky smile.
“You’re taken.” Then I smirk. “Or are you?” The fucker may be engaged, but he’ll never be faithful. Men like us just don’t settle down. We don’t choose one woman when we can have several.
My smile grows as he walks right up to the woman as if he knows her. He leans down and whispers into her ear and she smiles up at him as if he just told her his greatest secret. I sit up straighter and rub my hands together as she starts to follow him back to our table. As she gets closer, I can see how hot she truly is. She has bright green eyes and long dark hair.
“Parker, meet Angel.” Slade gestures to her once he reaches our table.
I smirk. “Hello, Angel.” I look her up and down, but my eyes linger on her tits. “You don’t look like an angel to me but I would love to spend all night getting a piece of heaven.”
Slade clears his throat to get my attention. “This is my Angel.” He wraps his arm around her and pulls her into his side.
I look back and forth between them a few times wide-eyed. His Angel? What the fuck does that mean?
“Angel, this is my friend, Parker.”
She reaches her right hand out. “Hello, Parker. It’s nice to meet you,” she says sweetly but loud enough to be heard over the music.
“Wait.” I continue to look back and forth between them. “This is your fiancée?” No fucking way.
She laughs. “My name is Samantha. You can call me Sam.”
“You lucky son of a bitch. Why didn’t you say that when I pointed her out?” I finally reach my hand out to shake hers. I’m actually jealous of the son of a bitch.
*****
I moved back to St. Louis right after Las Vegas. I’ve been here ever since. I got to see them wed and I got to see them have a beautiful little girl, who I look at as my niece. It’s truly been amazing to see their love grow. But like I said, love isn’t for everyone.
I see her baking my favorite brownies. I swear I’ve gained ten pounds since she opened Angel’s Bakery.
“Hey, Parker,” she says cheerfully. “Get in a bar fight last night over someone’s wife?” she muses with a smirk as she looks at my nose.
I try to give her a smile, but it’s weak. The child weighs heavily on my mind. I allow my eyes to fall to her tits that hide behind her sweater and apron. “I bet Slade misses those big tits from when you were breastfeeding, huh?” I try to crack a joke. I have given Sam shit since the first day I met her. And she usually throws it right back.
Her eyes narrow at me, and I let out a sigh. I’m trying to be a dick. That’s who I usually am. “I, uh…I came to ask you for a favor,” I say, trying to swallow my pride. A favor is like love. It can be used against you.
“Oh,” she says surprised. “Of course,” she answers without even knowing what it is that I want her to do. She’s nice like that. “What do you need?”
“Well…” I run a hand over the back of my neck taking a deep breath. “I worked a case last night. There was a fatality.” Her smile falls. “I want to do something for the family.” I try shrugging off the idea that I’m trying to be nice for once. I’m not known for niceness. “I thought of maybe taking them some food.” That sounded stupid saying it out loud. “Anything. But I don’t know how to cook anything besides mac n’ cheese.” I chuckle at my unease.
She nods her head. “I’ll take care of it,” is all she says before she looks back down at her brownies.
“Thank you,” I say softly before turning around to leave this awkward conversation.
“Parker?”
I turn back around to face her, but she doesn’t look up to me. “Did you…Did you have to…?”
I know what she’s trying to ask. She wants to know if I was the one who killed the person. I killed a guy who once tried to kill her and Slade. And given the chance, I would kill the bastard again. “No,” is all I say before I turn and leave.
*****
Walking back into our house, I stop when I hear Tate and Missy giggling in the living room. They sit on the couch like the love-struck couple they are. And I refrain from rolling my eyes.
“You just getting off work?” Tate asks.
That question tells me that Missy hasn’t told him about our conversation in the kitchen from earlier. “No. I had to go handle something.” I watch Missy smile a
nd giggle as she cuddles up to Tate’s side. “Do I dare ask what you two are doing?”
“We’re waiting for my friend, Katherine, to call me back. She picks up her bridesmaid’s dress today,” she says excitedly. “But for some reason she isn’t answering her phone.” She frowns.
The wedding. I forget about that. It’s in two weeks. “Please tell me she’s single.” I could use some new pussy. And I’m the only single groomsman. Slade has Samantha. Slade’s brother has Holly. Our other friend Josh is married to Samantha’s best friend, Courtney. I’m the only smart one left. Single and ready to mingle, as they say.
“She is,” Missy says with a smile. “But please don’t have sex at our wedding,” she begs. “I don’t want our wedding to be a repeat of Sam and Slade’s.”
“What was so wrong with that?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
“Seriously?” she asks with a knowing smile. “You slept with Holly’s cousin in the hall closet.”
“At least I was discreet about it.” Lie. I regretted it right afterward. The bitch instantly wanted more from me than just my cock. And that was the only thing I was offering her.
They laugh. “And you kissed my mother…?” Tate says as he arches an eyebrow as if he still needs to ask me about that.
I point a finger at him. “That was a total accident,” I say truthfully. I needed Holly’s cousin to think that I had another bitch already lined up when she wouldn’t quit following me around. I chose the first hot woman I saw—how was I supposed to know that was his mother?
“Just keep your dick in your pants for three hours,” Tate adds.
“Three hours?” Holy hell. “What kind of wedding are you two having?”
“That is the wedding and reception combined, Parker,” Missy informs me, and I refrain from rolling my eyes.
“I’m not promising anything,” I say truthfully.
Missy leans over and whispers into Tate’s ear and I place my hands on my hips as if I’m a teenage girl who’s being talked about. “What did you say?” I question. There’s really no telling. I’m not Missy’s favorite person in the world. She hates that I fuck around and I hate that she moved in. Okay, hate is a strong word. I don’t hate that she moved in, I hate that she scares away most of the women that I bring home to fuck.
Tate looks up at me and smiles as he throws his arm over her shoulders. It’s so crazy to see his tattooed, muscled-up arm over her creamy skin and small frame. They couldn’t be more different, but different just works for them. “What is it?” I ask again, wondering what she could have said to him.
“We want you to be the first to know,” he says with a smile.
The first thought that comes to mind is that they’re gonna move. Or that they just want me to move out? It’s understandable; he and I were both single when I Never mind I think I just figured moved in so I can see them wanting this place to themselves.
“We’re having a baby.” He smiles bigger than I’ve ever seen before, and he then bends down and kisses her on the head and she giggles. It’s disgustingly cute.
“What?” I ask shocked. “I didn’t know you guys were trying,” I add.
“We weren’t,” Missy says excitedly. “It just happened.”
I can’t help but smile; they are so excited. They’ve been through so much. They’ve already lost one baby. I’m excited for them, and I’m not even a part of their family. Well, not biologically anyway.
“That’s great,” I say walking over to the couch. I give Tate a manly high five and then bend down to give Missy a big hug. “That’s great, guys. I’m the first one to know?” I ask, remembering what they had said.
“Yes. Can you please keep it a secret?” Missy asks. “We don’t wanna announce it until after the wedding.”
“Absolutely,” I say, nodding my head. “Congratulations,” I say before turning around and heading to my room, allowing the lovebirds alone time.
I fall down onto my bed, still dressed in my bloody cop uniform. I’m too fucking tired to give a shit at the moment and throw my hand over my eyes to block out the sunlight that has my headache pounding. A soft purring sound reaches my ears before I feel the soft fur of my cat rub up against my side. I reach out my free hand and pet her. I sigh as my cat, Puss Puss, lays down next to me. It’s crazy how unpredictable life can be. Three hours ago, I was covering up someone’s child on the freeway. Now, my best friends just told me that they are expecting their own.
*****
KATHERINE
“I’m sorry,” I say as I look over at my friend in the driver’s seat. I swallowed what pride I had left and called her to come and pick me up from jail. As soon as they placed me in a holding cell, I realized that I had to meet her to pick up my bridesmaid’s dress today. I missed my appointment, but since I explained it to her, she offered to come and pick me up.
“No worries,” Missy says with a shrug. “But don’t think you’re off the hook,” she says giving me a side glare. “I wanna know exactly what happened. How in the hell did you end up in jail?” She pulls her lip back in disgust. “It had to have been awful.”
I rub my sore wrists. My back hurts as well from that cop’s knee. Hope his nose hurts for days. “Some bastard with a badge had something to prove.” The guy really needed to stay the hell out of my way. I could have handled it all on my own.
“Did Rollin get arrested as well? Or just you?”
I breathe a heavy sigh. “We both did.”
She chuckles and I narrow my eyes on her. “I’m sorry,” she says throwing up a hand. “I know it’s not funny. But it kinda is.” She giggles. “Who bailed him out?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” I lean my head back on the headrest and close my eyes. “The last twenty-four hours have been a total disaster,” I mumble, before throwing my arm over my eyes. I’m still dressed like a hooker, but only now, I have grass stains on my top and shorts from the cop who shoved me down in my front yard. So, now I just look like a dirty hooker.
I’m sure the neighbors enjoyed the show. Not the first, and I doubt it will be the last.
“Well, start from the beginning,” she says as she turns down my street to my house. The house my father bought brand new fifteen years ago when we moved here from California. It’s an older home, but it looks classy, and it’s in an upscale neighborhood. The kind of neighborhood where you see kids playing in the streets on a Saturday afternoon. And early morning runners on the sidewalks. It looks like it belongs on the cover of one of those old-time magazines.
I moved out when I turned eighteen and went off to college and earned a bachelor’s degree in science at the University of Oklahoma. After graduating, I remained in Oklahoma to work. But two years ago, I got a call from my father. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and I was on the next flight back to St. Louis. The following week, he put the house in my name.
“I want everything in her name,” my father’s says as he speaks to the attorney.
“Dad, you don’t have to do this…”
“Katherine.” His voice raises, and I shut my mouth. My father is a strong man, but I can see him start to crack. But what do you expect when you’re told that you’re going to eventually forget everyone who means the world to you?
I sit up in my chair and reach over to him, running my hand down his back. “Okay, Dad. Whatever you want to do.” I turn to face the attorney and nod my head.
“The beginning?” Missy gets my attention.
“What?” I blink a few times.
“I asked you to start from the beginning. You can’t keep me in the dark,” she whines.
Missy pulls into my driveway, and I bite the inside of my cheek when I see the side of my Chevy truck. I took a baseball bat to it. I did that! Why? Because I clearly wasn’t thinking. I wanna say that at that point in time, I was at my all-time low, but it’s not. I’ve been lower, if you can imagine that. I’ve never been one to think about the consequences of my actions. I just act, and I don’t pride myself
on that. But I’m like my mother. She was that way. Did what she wanted when she wanted. She was also a bitch. I got that from her, too. Lucky me!
“Holy shit!” Missy screeches as she slams on the brakes. My body jerks forward, only stopping due to my seatbelt. “What in the hell happened to your truck? Were you in a wreck as well?”
“No,” I say, opening the passenger door. “I hit it with a baseball bat.” A few times. I just couldn’t stop. It felt so good to let all of my anger out.
“What?” she says slamming her door shut and following me to my front door, almost tripping over her feet as she continues to stare at the once pretty perfect truck. “Why would you do that?” she asks wide-eyed. “And the tire?” she asks pointing at it.
I open the door, knowing it was unlocked. The cops don’t really give you a chance to lock up your belongings when you head-butt them. “Knife,” I inform her.
“Were you attacked?” she asks following me into my home.
I would call it that, but I don’t think the St. Louis police department would see it that way. Most men have a God complex to begin with. They think they fucking own the world. Give them a badge and a gun, and well, you can pretty much fall to your knees and ask sir what you can do for him. Makes me want to vomit!
“Geez,” she hisses as she looks around my home. Glass on the floor. The small loveseat is turned over from when I shoved Rollin into it and he tumbled over with it. There’s a couch cushion on the floor as well. This is why I don’t have nice shit. I always fuck it up. It’s what I do. I’ve been told that I have intimacy issues. I say I have issues with stupidity. And that’s exactly what Rollin is—stupid!
“Rollin and I got into a fight,” I say as if it happens often, which it does, and she knows that.
“No, shit!” I don’t think I’ve ever heard Missy cuss so much in the two years that I’ve known her. “I figured that the moment you called from jail and informed me that you had both been arrested.” She runs a hand through her blond hair as she continues to take in the house with wide eyes.
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