She wasn’t talking as much, so he rattled on about his family, maybe a little too much. He prided himself on keeping his family separate from his football image. His parents were hard-working middle class people who didn’t get why their son decided to go all superstar arrogant when his football career began taking off. He’d tried to explain he was doing it to gain an edge, to make sure people remembered him. It was what one did in this digital voyeuristic world. To make a name for yourself you had to be out there, sometimes wrestling with your own morality, to get noticed. His name had been tossed around on sports shows a little, but when he started partying, narrowly escaped being identified on a sex tape and declaring that he was going to make mincemeat out of Seth’s legacy, suddenly all eyes were on him. That didn’t go over too well with his father, who respected Seth Blake and his career. And luckily, the footage of his dalliance was so grainy it allowed him the luxury of neither confirming nor denying it was him.
He’d told her about his humble beginnings, and she’d listened attentively. She didn’t criticize or insult him; she smiled when he told her what a total dork he used to be when he was a kid. She even giggled when he told the story of how his little brother’s head got stuck in the banister at their house and he thought it would be a good idea to grease up his neck and face with lard. It felt good to talk about being awkward and fun and unsure of himself. It was one of the best times in his life. Before the fame and the whirlwind lifestyle.
Two hours later, they were done. Since they had a limited amount of time, they settled on two appetizers, the main course, and a dessert. He had to admit he didn’t know what he was doing, but it was nice muddling through it all with her. She’d played on his strengths and made fancy deviled eggs and a cheese and meat platter that was sure to please his protein-loving friends. Chicken was a safe bet for the main course to be served with vegetables, and she’d even whipped up a small butternut squash bake and roasted Brussels sprouts for Wade’s girlfriend, who she found out was a vegetarian when she’d texted with the details of the venue change. To top it off, she made sure to get the preferred liquor of his teammates. When he asked how she knew that, she said she called Morgan who had lists of things like that for when she hosted team functions with Seth.
The phone started ringing. It felt like an intrusion to him because he didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. He wanted to stay in the fun space with Parker. He felt close to her and happy. But he answered it anyway. It was Regency calling to inform them the first set of guests were coming up on the elevator. He wanted to tell Parker how much he appreciated all her help, but she’d already scooted out to the dining room to set the table. When she scurried back into the kitchen and removed his apron, he put his hands on her waist to stop her from moving around again.
“Hold still, for just a second.” He tightened his grip. “Where are you keeping your gun?”
“It’s in my handbag if you must know. There.” She wiped a bit of flour off his cheek. “No one would ever know you had a crash course in cooking tonight. Everything looks good.”
“Especially you. Thank you.”
“I told you I would make everything OK.”
The front door opened. From the boisterous sounds, he was pretty sure it was Keenen and Trey. She wriggled out of his grasp and threw some spoons into the sink.
“Remember, everything is family style, so you set a dish down and pass it around the table.” She grabbed the leather briefcase that sat in one of chairs and slung the strap over her shoulder.
He frowned. “You’re not eating with us?”
“I’m still on the clock.” She shrugged. “The guys have got the hallways and lobby covered, so I thought I’d go through the mail we collected from your agent and publicist in your study if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, but I thought after all of this hard work, you’d want to relax. We had fun putting this together, it would be a shame not to enjoy it.”
“I’ll relax when whoever is trying to terrorize you is caught. There could be a clue in those letters and emails. But you go, enjoy. You did a great job cooking. Remember, you’re all here to celebrate being an awesome team. I’ll leave the door open. Yell if you need me.”
Riley watched as Parker made her way to his study. He was disappointed, but at least she wasn’t leaving. The rest of the guests were arriving. He was happy to see Ross and his wife had made it. Wade brought Marcia. Perhaps his friend took his advice and decided to make things work with her. She was a keeper, but he worried about his friend’s indecisiveness about committing. He knew the key to a successful night of bonding with his teammates was to be relaxed and ease everyone’s minds that he could get the job done next week. He was the quarterback, and for the first time, he thought he understood what that meant. This year of playing hard had redefined his goals and his outlook on life. Texas was no longer a stepping-stone. It was taking root in his soul. He had a great career and all the money he could possibly want. But there was something else tugging at him to remain in the Lone Star state. Or, more accurately, someone tugging at him. She’d just effortlessly strutted into his study wearing three-inch strappy heels, intent on finding out who was trying to kill him.
* * *
At first, Parker thought Avery was insane for suggesting she wear something more elegant tonight to blend in with the party guests. But now she decided it did feel good to dress up for once. She felt like she was going out for a night on the town. Well, she was on the job, of course, but at least it would help to blend in with the guests. She did another sweep of the bedrooms before she settled down at Riley’s desk and leafed through the letters. It had been a whacky last few hours, but she’d had fun with Riley. It was nice to hear him talk about his childhood.
Once she finally hunkered down, she immediately became enraged at what she saw. Sure, there were plenty of kinky emails she’d printed out from his fan account with the Tomcats from female fans that loved him. Some of them got pretty explicit. But for every sexy love letter, there was one threatening his life for frivolous reasons. They didn’t like the way he combed his hair. They asserted he’d skated into being a franchise poster boy for the Tomcats because of his looks. He had too much confidence. She’d complained about the same things, but it was only in jest. Well, mostly. Nowadays she loved to get a rise out of him because he always took the bait and pushed back. She respected that about him and took comfort that many of the things she routinely accused him of weren’t true.
She needed a break. There was way too much negativity dripping from the correspondence. She got up and stretched her arms. Not running on her usual schedule and her recent sparring session with Sam had thrown her body out of whack. She walked over to the glass bookshelf and looked at the awards and photos. He had a slew of recent pictures, but only a few from his past. There was a picture of his family. They were a good-looking group. He had a few team photos of his early years in high school.
She sat back down and could hear laughter coming from down the hall. It sounded like the guests were having a great time. She was happy he’d listened and didn’t play any loud, mind-numbing music that would interfere with the conversation. They needed to listen to each other and engage.
She looked up when she heard the light knock on the study door. It was Keenen Rothschild, her old schoolmate. He looked nice in a gray suit, a vast departure from the bold clothing choices he normally made. She did notice the polka-dot handkerchief though. He’d always been a big man on campus, but she was never impressed by his bravado. He’d asked her out repeatedly, but she always turned him down. While he was amazing on the field, he was a big-time slacker in his classes.
“Parker Carson, as I live and breathe.”
“Keenen.” She put down an e-mail and laced her fingers together. “Are you having a good time?”
“Yes. It would be even better if you were out there with us.”
“Does Riley need me?”
“No, he’s fine. Always the center of attention.�
��
She flashed a tight smile. “It’s part of the job requirement. Nobody likes a lackluster quarterback. It’s bad for team morale and it doesn’t help fill stadium seats.”
“Park, you were always a cool customer. Even when we were in school. I remember sitting behind you in English Lit. You always smelled so good.”
“And you always tried to cheat off my test papers.”
“I wasn’t really trying to cheat. I was just looking for an excuse to get close to you.” He grinned.
“Then I apologize for that time I elbowed you.” She didn’t know what he’d been up to that day but she’d felt like he was getting way too close. So she jerked back her arm and hit him square in the chest. He pretended to recover quickly, but she never forgot that look of pain on his face.
“I recovered and learned a lot about respecting a person’s personal space. Or at least that’s what your sister Sam said she was teaching me when she tried to wring my neck.”
“Well, something good came out of it.”
“Do you keep in touch with anyone? You used to hang out with Myrna and Jackie, right?”
“Not so much. We fell out of touch when we graduated.”
“I think Myrna’s married and is in charge of her dad’s chain of grocery stores. Jackie moved to Indiana after she met some guy on one of those online dating websites.”
“Good for them. Sounds like everyone is living their dreams.” She hadn’t thought about those girls in a long time. They had been friends once, but she’d always felt out of place. While they were giggling about boys and going to the mall, she was learning how to sharp shoot. The lone wolf mentality was a Carson curse.
“Myrna asked about you the last time I saw her. I did a commercial for their grocery chain.”
“That’s right. I saw it last week, now that I think about it, but I didn’t make the connection with her family. It seems small potatoes for someone like you. I thought you were all about bigger fish.”
“Someone told me recently that I had a lot to be grateful for and it would be a good thing to give back where I came from. So I do a commercial here and there, help out a few community centers to keep me grounded.” He looked over his shoulder. “Great advice. But don’t tell Sloane I said that. He might get the wrong idea about how much I pay attention to him.”
“Riley told you that?”
“Yeah. He’s really becoming a Goody Two-shoes. It hurts my heart. He used to be so much fun.”
“He’s still Riley Sloane, he’s just a little more mature.” She picked up another e-mail hoping he’d get the hint. She had to get back to work. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
He shuffled his feet. “I have a confession to make. I had a big crush on you. And I went about it the wrong way. My football heroics weren’t impressing you.”
“Flashy men have always been a turnoff for me.”
He laughed. “Then Sloane must drive you crazy.”
“He may appear to be a little brash at first, but he grows on you.”
There was another tap on the door. It was Trey. “Rothschild, we thought you went missing. I should have known you were in here trying to flirt.”
“Don’t worry, Trey. He wasn’t making any progress.” Parker smiled and put down the paper. It seemed the party was coming to her.
“Damn.” Trey laughed. “How you been Parker? Beat anybody up lately? Riley said you were part of his protection detail.”
“I’ve been on my best behavior, no matter what he says.”
“So you watch over Sloane morning, noon, and night?” Keenen raised an eyebrow.
“We work in shifts. I’m not an omnipresent bodyguard.” She squinted at him.
“You still doing that PI thing?” Trey said.
“Yes.”
“How’s that working out for you?” Keenen said.
“I’m my own boss and I’m not wasting my law enforcement skills.”
“I have,” Trey rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat. “A friend who may have a paternity issue. Do you take cases like that?”
“Yes. I have helped Cassidy and a few other attorneys with family law issues.” She reached into her bag and retrieved a card. “Give your friend my card. We can set up a consultation.”
Trey looked at the card. “Wow. I’m impressed. You have an office and everything.”
Well, technically it was Cassidy’s law office, but she’d bartered with her. She sometimes did work in exchange for an office and a phone line. She was hardly ever there, but it made clients feel more comfortable knowing she had a physical place of business. And it was damned impressive that it was located in the Blake Enterprises building.
There was a harder knock on the door. It was MG.
“Parker, my favorite sexy detective. You look hot in that dress.”
“Thanks, MG. Nice not to see your name in the news these days.” She laughed.
“I’ve been trying to keep out of trouble. At least until the Super Bowl party.” He smirked and looked at the card Trey was holding. “Nice business card. Do you do private security?”
“If you’re looking for something like that, Regency would be great. They’re the all-stars of law enforcement and military in the private sector.”
“Yeah, but they’re not as pretty as you,” MG replied.
Riley walked in with a plate of food and set it down on the desk. “Hey, the party is out there. Leave Parker alone.”
“I was just saying hello to an old classmate, who still looks gorgeous by the way.” Keenen smiled.
“I was asking for information for a friend.” Trey held up the card.
“I wanted to know if Parker would guard my body,” MG said.
“Well, I don’t think the women you brought with you would see it that way.” Riley folded his arms over his chest. “Out. Now.”
“Parker, I’d love to talk about old times. Maybe we could have a drink some time.” Keenen tapped on the desk.
“I don’t think so.”
He frowned. “Why not?”
“The same reason I gave you in high school.”
“My friend will be calling after the Super Bowl,” Trey told her.
“I hope I can help him with his issue.”
“If you get tired of hanging out with pretty boy, you know where to find me,” MG said as he followed Keenen and Trey out of the office.
Riley furrowed his eyebrows. “Were they bothering you?”
“No.” Parker picked up a deviled egg from the plate and bit into it. “MG was just being MG. Trey may have a case for me. And Keenen and I used to attend the same high school. His massive ego can’t get over the fact that I didn’t fawn all over him back then.”
He grinned. “So he chased after you relentlessly in high school and you kept turning him down?”
“You don’t have to look so happy about it.” She laughed. “He is your friend.”
“Yeah. He is. I know him. He gives dogs a bad name.”
“Really, Saint Sloane?”
His smile was warm. Then he nodded toward the pile of letters and printed emails and it vanished. “Making any headway?”
“I have enough dirty letters from fans to compose an erotic romance novel.” She put her hand on the pile to the left. “But unfortunately, there are just as many people who want to punch you in the face. Most of it is typical stuff. Nothing’s raising any alarms bells yet.”
He pointed to the plate. “Well, I insist you eat something more than one deviled egg.”
“Thanks. How are things going out there?”
“Pretty good.”
“See? You can have fun without half naked women writhing about in G-strings.”
“Who knew?” He laughed.
“Get back out there with your guests. I’ll help you clean up when everyone’s gone.”
Three hours later, the party had ended and they were busy cleaning up in the kitchen as Riley went on about the party. He’d managed to have a meaningful chat wit
h Ross and Patrick. And Keenen, Trey, and MG toned down the rowdy behavior. He felt confident that they were all on the same page and most importantly, had confidence in him. They were all hyped for the media storm that was coming on Monday, and they’d all rallied around him after the threats, making sure he knew they supported him. It was an auspicious moment for the team, one he didn’t want to distract from with this stalker threat business. He wanted to keep the focus on the team and what they’d accomplished.
They were finishing up, and Riley had just grabbed a beer when Luther came inside. “Annie Oakley is back,” he grumbled.
Dakota Prescott barged past him and took off her coat and held it out for Luther, who looked at her like she was crazy. Finally, she continued into the living room and threw it and her purse on the couch.
Dakota cooed. “Riley, sweetheart, I told you I’d be back.” She waltzed over and tried to kiss him on the mouth, but he moved, so she caught him on the cheek.
“That was three days ago. To be honest, I thought you’d left town.”
“Without saying good-bye?” She lowered her sunglasses.
“So, are the sunglasses an homage to Corey Hart?” Parker mused.
“Who?”
“‘Sunglasses at Night’? It was a classic eighties tune.”
“How old are you? A hundred?”
“I’m two years older than you,” Parker replied.
“Any-who.” Dakota rolled her eyes and continued. “You owe me, Riley. You wouldn’t sleep with me the other night, and I need my fix.”
“Dakota.” He cleared his throat. “Now is not the time.”
Parker blinked at Dakota’s statement. They hadn’t slept together that night. Relief flooded through her, but she didn’t know why she should care what Riley Sloane did.
“Why not? Because she’s here?” She sneered at Parker.
Hard Target (All or Nothing Book 1) Page 12