Page 37 of Shadows Redeemed
Parker growled. He had to find a way out of this before his brother did something stupid. But with the detectives, Luc Broussard, and Bryce all watching him, waiting for him to break, Parker felt trapped in a nightmare he couldn’t escape.
As he stood there, surrounded by enemies on all sides, Parker made a silent vow. He wouldn’t let them win. He didn’t know how he would pull it off, but he wouldn’t let them take Jacob down. And he sure as hell wouldn’t let them hurt Sage, nevertheless use her to do their dirty work. One way or another, he was going to find a way out of this mess—he had no other choice.
The game was on, and Parker had no intention of losing. He ran his gaze around the place, looking for anything he could use to attack the closest thug to him and make a bolt for it. However, just as he saw the metal pipe, just before he lunged for it, knowing he would probably get shot in the process, his brother appeared in one of the grimy windows.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SAGE RODE THE ELEVATOR in silence, her arms crossed over her chest, her hands clenched tight, knuckles white. Every thought, every memory, every worry, all traced back to Parker. It was like it had been him along, and not his brother.
Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, she tried to steady herself, but the images of the night before—the cabin, Parker’s laugh, then the sudden violence of his abduction—flashed like strobe lights behind her eyelids. She was failing him. She could feel it.
Elvis stood beside her, unusually quiet, especially for him. Normally, his sarcasm and jokes would fill the air, but now, he simply stared straight ahead, respecting her silence. He wasn’t an idiot. She didn’t doubt he had figured out what had gone down between her and Parker in the bayou. But the intensity of the situation had drained even him of any urge to poke fun at her. There would be time for that later—if there was a later.
The elevator doors slid open, and she stepped out into the hallway, each step a weight that mirrored the one in her chest. Elvis followed, his footsteps heavy and subdued. When they finally reached his room where the team had set up base, she could feel the tension, almost as if walking through a wall. Danestood near the window, arms crossed over his chest, whispering to a man she didn’t recognize.
She crossed the room to where Gage and Blaze stood, each with a cup of coffee in their hands as they waited. “Who’s he?”
Elvis went to join Dane and the newcomer, reaching out and pulling the stranger into a bear hug as he said hello.All right, so not a baddie. But who…?
“That’s Cookie,” Gage told her as he lowered his cup to his waist. “He’s one of Dane’s old SEAL buddies, just passing through. That is, he was until Dane filled him in on why we were here. Now, the man’s decided to stick around and lend a hand.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “To be honest, we could use the help on this one, I think.”
Sage couldn’t disagree. Not with Parker’s life on the line. And not with the options she ahead of her.
Blowing out a breath, she moved over to the coffeemaker and brewed her a cup. “Any updates?” She tried to keep the edge of desperation out of her voice, but she could still hear the tightness in her tone. She couldn’t help it. Her emotions were in overdrive.
Blaze nodded. “Melinda and I have been tracking the street cams since Elvis called after he found you. It hasn’t been easy, to be honest, because the bayou doesn’t have cameras, but I think we finally caught a break when they entered town.”
Melinda leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest, her dark hair falling over her shoulders to rest on her chest. “Once we saw where your phone was, we followed the maps, guessing where he’d hit town again. From there, we followed him to an abandoned warehouse in the Art District. They’re on S. Rampart Street.” She pointed to her screen. “Even got a video of them hauling him out of the car.” She cocked a brow, a smirk toying at her lips. “Was he naked when they found the two of you?”
Sage left her brewing coffee and darted to where Melinda sat, bending over when she got there to watch the video. “Play it.”
Melinda said nothing, though the grin remained fixed on her lips. She merely leaned forward and hit a button on her keyboard.
Sage had seen a lot of nasty things done by a lot of nasty people, but never concerning someone she loved. Her breath caught in her throat as her heart raced, the images on the screen showing two of the men who busted into the cabin that morning hauling Parker out of the car and toward a set of rusted bay doors. Parker’s head hung limp, and the two men literally had to drag him to get him inside.
“Is he… is he alive?” Her voice was barely a whisper, fear making her mouth go dry. She knew Melinda couldn’t possibly know from the footage she just saw, but she needed someone to say yes, even if it was a lie.
But no one would ever lie to her. Especially about something as serious as Parker’s life.
Blaze eased down into the chair in front of his laptop, his expression grim. “I can’t tell for sure. He’s not moving that we can see, but he didn’t seem shot or anything. No blood outside of where they beat the hell out of him.” He paused, then added softly. “But I think we need to move fast on this.”
Sage clenched her fists at her sides, pushing back the rising panic. They had to get to him before it was too late. Before they lost him for good.
As the team started gearing up to head out, her phone rang, the shrill sound cutting through the tense atmosphere like a blade. She pulled it from her pocket, her pulse quickening when she saw the caller ID. Jacob.
Well, this won’t be good.She glanced up at Dane, giving a shrug of her brows.
He gave her a curt nod, and she answered the call, her voice tense. “Jacob.”
“Sage.” His voice was sharp, filled with the same frustration and anger that had been simmering in her since he disappeared. “You were supposed to keep Parker away from this. What the hell? Now Broussard has him? That’s not really keeping him out of it, now is it?”
Her breath caught in her throat. How did he know? “Jacob, listen to me?—”
“No,” he interrupted, his tone harsh. “You listen. I’ve already told you. This isn’t your fight. I didn’t ask you to come here, and I sure as hell didn’t ask you to get my brother involved. This is between me and the Broussards and whatever dirty ass cop is shoving everyone in my direction. You and your team need to get out of New Orleans, because you being here has only screwed things up, and now Parker may pay for it with his life.”
“No, you didn’t ask me here. Parker did. And he was in it long before I got here.” She slammed a hand onto her hip as she spun around in a small circle. “I don’t know how the hell you know what’s going on, but me and my team aren’t going anywhere. I know where Parker is. We’re heading there now. You need to stay away from it and let us handle it.”
Jacob was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was lower, colder. “Not going to happen. He’s my brother. I’ll get him out of there. You and your people stay out of it. I don’t need your help, and more to the point, I don’t want it. If you remain here, you’re just going to make things worse.”
