Page 23 of Shadows Redeemed
“When did you find out he was a cop?”
The look on his face revealed he had no clue what she was talking about. He bounced his gaze back and forth between her and Parker. “A cop? Jacob? Lady, if that’s true, then he should go to prison for some of the shit he did. Now, as I said…”
One of Broussard’s thugs, a mountain of a man with a shaved head and arms covered in tattoos, stepped forward menacingly. “Now. I think it’s time for you two to leave.” A growl rumbled out of him as he reached for Sage’s arm.
In a flash, Parker was between them, his fist connecting solidly with the thug’s jaw. The man stumbled backward, crashing into a nearby table before landing hard on the floor.
“Hey, it worked!” Parker yelled.
She sighed as she felt her body tense. “We could have simply left.”
But there was no time for that now. The bar erupted into chaos. Patrons scrambled for the exits as Broussards’s other men surged forward. Sage’s training kicked in, and she found herself back-to-back with Parker, fending off attacks from all sides.
It was over almost as quickly as it began. Sage’s ears rang with the sound of shattering glass and splintering wood. She tasted blood in her mouth from a split lip, and her knuckles stung from connecting with someone’s face. But as the dust settled, she and Parker were still standing, while Broussard and his men nursed their wounds.
“This ain’t over,” Broussard spat, wiping blood from his nose. “You don’t know who you’re messing with.”
Sage met his glare with one of her own. “Neither do you.” She then turned on her heel and stormed out of the bar, Parker close behind.
The afternoon was stifling, which did little for her mood, and only seemed to match the atmosphere of the bar. She leaned against the hood of her car, taking deep breaths to calm herracing heart as she slammed her fists to her hips. Parker stood beside her, his presence a comforting anchor.
“You okay?” he asked, echoing his earlier question.
She nodded, wincing slightly as she probed her split lip. “Nothing I can’t handle. You?”
Parker flexed his hand, his knuckles already bruising. “I’ll live. Though I gotta say, it felt great not getting my ass handed to me in that bar again.”
Despite everything, she found herself chuckling. “I bet it happens to you a lot, huh?”
He rolled his eyes, giving a slow shake of his head.
Just then, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She fished it out, her heart skipping a beat when she saw the caller ID. “It’s your brother,” she told Parker, before answering the call. “Neat vanishing act this morning.”
Jacob’s voice came through, tinged with a mixture of amusement and concern. “Well, I didn’t want to be a hindrance between the two of you if you needed his room for… well, you know.”
“Bullshit. You’re running. Just like last time. Your handler’s dead. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“There’s a lot of things I’m not telling you, and I don’t intend to start now.” She heard him take a deep breath. “I’m calling to tell you to keep Parker away from this. I had told him I needed his help, but if these people will kill a cop, then who knows what else they’ll do.”
Sage frowned as she cut a quick glance at Parker. “Keep him out of it? I don’t think he’s going to like that idea too much.”
“Listen, you two just got your asses handed to you, and you’re lucky to have walked out of there. I assure you, they won’t let you leave next time. They’ll carry you out.”
She shoved herself off the car, jerking her gaze around the bar. “Where are you, Jacob?”
“I’m long gone. Don’t worry. Just keep my baby brother out of this. It’s for his own good. You can handle yourself. He’s not like us. I was wrong to involve him in the first place.”
“Come in and you can keep an eye on him yourself. My team can protect you. Their former SEALs, for crying out loud. No one’s busting through them, trust me.”
Jacob’s laugh was bitter. “Protect me? Sage, you can’t even protect yourself. Just get him as far away from this as you can, and then you two can play twist the sheets all you want.”
Sage felt her cheeks burn, both from embarrassment and frustration. “That’s none of your business. And it doesn’t change the fact that you’re in danger. The Broussards?—”
“The Broussards play for keeps,” Jacob cut her off, his voice suddenly serious. “This isn’t a game. You need to back off. Get your team to back off. And get my brother out of it. They’ve already threatened to kill him.”
She turned her gaze back to Parker, her eyes going wide, just as Jacob ended the call.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
