Parker Security Complete Series

by Camilla Blake

  “There is no way in hell I will ever let that happen,” I said. “You’re going to have to kill me first.”

  “Some guys are into that sort of thing. Not me, though. That chloro worked pretty good on you, though. Who’s to say we didn’t have a little sample when you first got here and were still out cold?”

  He was trying to get a reaction. He was trying to get me upset; I knew this. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. They hadn’t done anything to me—I knew that, too.

  “You didn’t do that.”

  He shrugged. “Didn’t I?”

  It was hard not to jump up and try to tear his face off. That’s really what I wanted to do. Not just because he had me in here, but because he was an annoying little shit. “So, who else do I have to call?” I asked, gritting my teeth.

  “See, that’s one of the things I like about you, Lena. There’s not a whole lot, but you’re all business, and I can respect that. You’re going to call your job. Tell them that something came up. Or that you’re taking some personal time. Whatever. I’m sure you’re the type of person who has never even showed up late to work before, so of course they’re going to be wondering where you are.” He scrolled through my phone. “Ah, here we go. Parker.” He shook his head. “I’d never get involved with a girl who worked at a security firm. That seems like you’re just asking for trouble.”

  He handed the phone over to me as it started to ring, once again on speaker phone. It was Cole who picked up, and the familiarity of his voice made my throat ache. What I would give to be back in the office right now, giving him a hard time, acting like I found him to be the most annoying person on the planet.

  “Oh, hey, Lena,” he said. “You running late?” There was a pause. “Were you up all night with Shep?”

  I could practically hear his smile, and I swallowed away the ache in my throat. Holden rolled his eyes and made a face like he was about to puke. “Listen, Cole,” I said. “I know this is going to seem really abrupt, but… I need to take some time off. I’ve had some… some personal issues going on that I need to deal with. I’m not going to be coming in today. Probably not tomorrow, either.”

  “Everything all right?”

  “Yeah, it’s fine. It’s just… well, it’s a personal matter really. I… uh… I decided to end things with Shep.”

  “You did? Why?”

  “I’m not going to get into it right now. It wasn’t an easy decision, and there were a lot of factors. But I just really need to take a little time right now and focus on myself, not have to worry about work or any of that stuff. I’m sorry. Like I said, I know it probably seems really abrupt.”

  “So… what should I tell everyone? And Jay’s not back yet, you know. I mean, I know personal crises don’t really schedule appointments to take place when it’s convenient for everyone, but I’m not sure if Drew is going to be too psyched that you’re not coming in for the next few days.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I’ll deal with Drew if need be.”

  But as I spoke, I started to wonder if that was even going to be an option. Would I ever see them again? Would I ever go back to work, sit behind my desk? Give Cole shit? Get to hold Jason’s baby? All the things that I’d never be able to do seemed to flip through my mind on super-speed, the big things and the small, the exciting and the mundane. It happened in a second, but it was like I felt it in every cell of my body. Tears came to my eyes. “I’ve got to go,” I said, my voice cracking. “Goodbye.”

  He started to say something, but I disconnected the call. Holden was looking at me curiously as he held his hand out for the phone.

  “Are those tears?” he asked. “You sure didn’t strike me as the type to cry.”

  “I’m not crying.” And I bit the inside of my cheek, hard, to distract myself. It worked—the tears stayed at bay. I was not going to give Holden the satisfaction.

  Chapter 18

  Shep

  “What’s up with you, man?” Kurt eyed me as we stood in the middle of the ring. We’d been sparring and he’d just caught me with a left jab that under any other circumstance I would’ve dodged, or at least wouldn’t have walked into. Under any other circumstance, I wouldn’t have even let him get close enough to me to land a shot like that. But today, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t focus on what I was supposed to be doing.

  I let my hands drop to my sides. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I just don’t have the focus today. Obviously.”

  “Yeah, I can tell,” he said. “You’ve been distracted. What’s going on?”

  I paused. I hadn’t told anyone about the call from Lena. I also hadn’t told anyone that I’d gone to her house to try and talk with her in person, but she hadn’t been home. I had waited around for a little while, but she never showed, and I wasn’t about to grab the spare key and let myself into her house. Because if she really had meant it—but there was no way she could’ve really meant that, was there?—then I sure as hell didn’t want to be sitting, uninvited, in her house when she did show up. I felt like things were not finished between us, though. Was it just that I’d never really been broken up with before, and certainly not by someone I felt this strongly about? I couldn’t rule that out. Maybe it was just the sting of true rejection that had thrown me for such a loop, but… something didn’t feel right. It was such an abrupt change. Or was it? Had I been missing the signs that had been there all along? Had she been losing interest? Giving me hints that I hadn’t picked up on? That didn’t seem like Lena at all, though. She was the sort of person who would be upfront about it; she wouldn’t play games. So really, I had to take what she’d said at face value. I had to believe it.

  I looked at Kurt. “It’s…” I couldn’t bring myself to say it. There were guys at this gym who were dealing with all sorts of shit, and they didn’t let it get in the way of their training. I wanted to be a good example, not a cautionary tale. “It’s nothing, man,” I said. “I’ll pull it together.” I raised my fists. “Come on.”

  ***

  When I left the gym a few hours later, I felt marginally better. I had finished the sparring round with Kurt and managed to actually focus. Which felt good, because at least for that brief period of time, I wasn’t thinking about Lena. I wanted to go back over to her house. I wanted to call her. Really, what I wanted was to take her in my arms, look in her eyes, and then make love, but that was probably the last thing on earth that she wanted to do.

  You’re close approaching the territory of a stalker, I thought to myself as I walked back to my apartment. It was like I could feel this invisible pull, though, trying to drag me to her little house in the Inner Richmond. I imagined her there, just getting home from work, rummaging through the fridge, looking for something easy to throw together for dinner. I wanted to be there. I wanted us to make something simple together and enjoy it at the kitchen table, or maybe out on the deck, and then just hang out, watch a little TV, enjoy each other’s company. I wanted it so badly it hurt, way more than that left jab Kurt had dished out to me earlier. It was an ache in my chest, and I figured I now knew why they called it a broken heart.

  Neither of my roommates was at home when I got there, which I was glad for. Not that I didn’t want to see them, but I just didn’t have it in me to make small talk. Which was why I almost ignored the call when my phone rang, but I saw that it was Holden, and I knew if I ignored it, he’d just keep calling back.

  “How’s my favorite brother doing?” he asked.

  “Fine,” I said. “Just getting back from the gym.”

  “Great.” He sounded abnormally chipper. “You ready for that fight?”

  “Getting there.”

  “What’s the matter? You don’t sound nearly as excited as I’d expect you to be.”

  Holden was not necessarily the person you would talk to about your relationship issues. But he was my brother, and I figured he’d find out soon enough. It wasn’t like this was going to be a secret that I was going to keep from every
one forever. And maybe it would help to talk about it.

  “Lena broke up with me,” I said. “Just the other day. She called me and, completely out of the blue, broke up with me.” It still stung to say it. “I’m sure you’re thrilled.”

  “Aw, shit, man. That’s rough. I’m sorry to hear it.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  “No, I really am. I mean, she sure as shit wasn’t my cup of tea, but I don’t like thinking that you’re upset about something. Hopefully now, though, you’ll see that she really wasn’t the right person for you. I mean, really wasn’t. In fact, I don’t think you could’ve found someone worse—”

  “Okay, okay, I get it. You didn’t like her. Well, you don’t ever have to see her again, so that should make you happy.”

  “Indeed.”

  “And you can go gloat to Mom and Dad about that, too. I’m sure they’ll also be thrilled.”

  “Listen, Shep. I know you seem to think that we don’t have your back all of a sudden, but that’s not true. And Mom and Dad didn’t think she was right for you, either, but they won’t want to hear that you’re upset. Why don’t you let me take you out to the Lacy Lady? That’ll cheer you up.”

  “I’m not going to a strip club.”

  “Why not? That’s the first place I head whenever I get dumped.”

  “Because getting a lap dance isn’t going to make me feel better. What would make me feel better would be to at least talk to Lena in person. I mean, it was the weirdest thing, Holden; she just called me up and broke up with me. And it sounded like I was on speakerphone or something. Like she couldn’t be bothered to actually hold the phone to her ear? But before that, everything seemed fine. It was great. I was… I was happier than I’d ever been.”

  “God, what a bitch. How could she do that to you? I think that just goes to show she wasn’t as good of a person as you thought. You know, it kind of sounds like she tricked you.”

  “She didn’t trick me,” I snapped. “You make it sound like I’m some little kid that just got completely taken advantage of.”

  “Just callin’ it like I see it, bro. We didn’t like the way she ordered you around. It did kind of seem like you were under some kind of spell. Everyone else could see it. Nobody wants that for you. I know it sucks right now, but it won’t forever. You’ll get over this real quick, and I bet you’ll find someone who’s a whole lot nicer to you than that bitch ever was.”

  “Don’t say that!” I said sharply. “She never did anything to disrespect you. And I have no reason to disrespect her now, either.”

  “Whatever you say. I’m just glad you’re free of that shit. Just give it time, and you’ll look back on this and be glad that it worked out the way it did.”

  Part of me wanted to believe that he was right, that eventually this wouldn’t hurt so much, that it wouldn’t be what I felt was consuming all of my thoughts. Another part of me, though, never wanted the hurt to go away, because I wanted the reminder. The reminder that I couldn’t actually trust my feelings, because my feelings had been telling me that everything with Lena had been going better than I ever could have hoped, that things were heading in the right direction. And then to get a phone call like that, which caught me completely off-guard, it was totally out of left field. I must’ve missed something with her. She must’ve been giving some sort of hint that things weren’t going as well as I thought, but I’d been too damn oblivious to notice.

  The only thing I knew for sure—I never wanted to experience pain like this again.

  Chapter 19

  Lena

  Holden had a smile on his face as he stood in the doorway. “You two be good,” he said. “Well, Lena, you be good. Junior, you just give it to her any old way you want.” He laughed and then shut the door.

  This kid, Junior, was probably in his late twenties, but he had a young face, marred by acne scars and scabs from where he’d picked. His eyes were a little too close together, and he breathed loudly through his mouth. Holden had come in a few minutes earlier to announce that one of his boys would “like a taste” and he was going to oblige.

  “It shouldn’t take too long,” Holden had whispered to me, before Junior had stepped in behind him. “And if you do good, maybe I’ll think about letting you go.”

  My whole body felt rigid with fear, but I knew I couldn’t let Junior see that. He had something of a smirk on his face as he eyed me.

  “I don’t care what Holden says,” he said now. “I think you’re real pretty. And Shep? That Shep. He’s always had good taste in women. Always gets the hot ones. I could never get a girl like that. You might not be as hot as some of the girls he’s been with, but you’re smart. I can tell that about you. Some people like that.”

  I tried to swallow but my mouth, my throat, my entire body, really, felt completely parched. My lips were dry and I barely had any saliva.

  “Listen,” I said. “Before anything happens between the two of us… I need you to do something for me, okay?”

  He cocked his head. “Me do something for you? Holden said not to do anything but give it to you good.” He cracked some of his knuckles. “So that’s what I plan to do.”

  Like hell I was going to let this idiot anywhere near me. “Right,” I said. “I understand. But I really need a drink.”

  “Like a beer?”

  “No, not a beer. Just some water. I haven’t had any water; I don’t know how long I’ve been in here. I need something to drink.” And that was true—I did need something to drink, probably something to eat, also, but I was really just stalling. Just trying to buy some time so I could figure out what the hell I was going to do to get out of this.

  “Water?” he asked.

  “Just a cup of water. Please. I don’t think I need to tell someone like you, but things will be a lot more… they’ll feel a lot better for you if I was hydrated. I mean, I’m sure you know that. I’m sure you’ve been with plenty of girls and know that. You know how important it is.”

  “You mean like make sure you’re wet enough?”

  I cringed inwardly. “Yeah, exactly. If I’m not hydrated, then it’s just going to be dry and uncomfortable for you. You wouldn’t want to get chafed.”

  He shrugged. “Ain’t that what saliva’s for?”

  The thought of him going down on me, or spitting in his hand and then sticking it between my legs, almost made me throw up.

  “It’s better if it’s natural. You know, if it… if it comes from the woman.”

  He stood there frowning, mulling it over. “Okay,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll get you some water.”

  He shut the door firmly behind him when he left. I had just bought myself a little time, but now what? I could try to escape when he opened the door to come back in. But there was a good chance I might not get past him, and if I did, that Holden would be nearby. No. There wasn’t going to be an option for escape right now. The only thing I could hope to do is to prevent Junior from doing what he planned to do once he returned. I knew there would be ramifications for such actions, but I had to do something. I was not about to let myself be raped just because Holden had put the possibility of letting me go on the table. I didn’t really believe he would do that in the first place.

  Junior returned with an old plastic water bottle, half full of water. He looked pleased with himself, like he knew he had been given a task and completed it successfully. I snatched it from him and tried to drink slowly, only realizing after the liquid had passed my lips how truly thirsty I was. The water was gone in a flash; I felt as if I could have guzzled another five gallons.

  “There,” he said. He took a step toward me, then another. “You want to lie down or somethin’?” His hands went to his jeans, fumbling with the button. “You want to touch Junior Junior?” He laughed. “That’s what I call him. Get it? Junior Junior. Ha ha!”

  I smiled weakly. There was only one thing I could really do right now. I let him walk all the way over to me, let him put his hands on me, one roug
hly around my waist, the other grabbing at my breasts. Every fiber of my being was screaming to get away, but there wasn’t anywhere to go. There was nowhere to escape. I remembered watching a nature documentary once, about lions in Africa, and how the lions had managed to take down an adult water buffalo. The buffalo didn’t die right away, though, and was still alive, still had its head up, as the lions proceeded to feast on it from behind. It had been sickening to watch, yet I hadn’t changed the channel. You could see the shock in the animal’s eyes, its overwhelming, screaming desire to get up, to get away, yet there was nothing it could do as it was slowly ripped apart, consumed. I felt similar. Except… there was something I could do.

  I shifted my weight onto my left leg, bent my right knee, brought it back, and then rammed it up and slightly in as hard as I could, felt my kneecap connect with the squishy stuff between Junior’s legs. A direct hit to the testicles, and he dropped like a sack of wet cement, howling.

  I backed up against the far wall as the door flew open. Holden was there, along with Abe. They looked to the ground, where Junior was curled up in a fetal position, his hand between his legs, and then to me. They looked at each other, and then both burst out laughing.