Page 9 of Shadows Redeemed
For the next hour, he shared with her team everything he knew about his brother’s predicament, always stressing the fact that someone had to be setting Jacob up. Dane and the others asked questions, each taking their own notes as the story unfolded. Sage listened intently, her brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to determine if any of the details changed in the retelling. They didn’t. Parker’s tenacity and unwavering loyalty to his brother, even in the face of such daunting odds, impressed her.
As the conversation wore on, she found herself drawn to Parker in a way she hadn’t expected. There was a steadiness about him, a quiet strength she found both admirable and, if she were being honest with herself, rather attractive. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like if Jacob had been more like his brother, less reckless, more… thoughtful. Perhaps their relationship might have flourished instead of crashing and burning as it had.
But as quickly as the thought crossed her mind, she pushed it aside. Her relationship with Jacob was destined to fail because of who he was. He never would have committed to her long-term, his job always coming before everything else. No, only Parker was the one who would put his girl first. Jacob was married to the job. Parker wanted to experience life.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.Focus, Sage,she chided herself. This is about helping Parker, not indulging in what-ifs. She had to keep her head in the game, no matter how tempting it might be to get sidetracked. And with how Parker looked sitting there, sipping coffee as he shared his story, it was extremely tempting.
As the conversation wound down, Parker leaned back in his seat, running his gaze over the others. “I really appreciate all of you coming out to help me with this.” He then turned to Sage. “I don’t know why you did it, but I’m glad you changed your mind.”
She glanced around at the others, smiling at each of them. “I had some friends convince me that turning my back on a friend wasn’t exactly my nature.” Shrugging, she turned back to Parker, still smiling. “Then they all said they were coming with me. It’s a team thing.”
Parker gave a slow bob of his head. “Well, I’m glad they did. I don’t think I could have done this on my own. I know the complicated history here, but I’m grateful you put that aside so you could help me.”
Sage felt a familiar flutter in her chest, a reminder of the feelings she had once harbored for Jacob. However, as she met his brother’s gaze, she couldn’t help but feel that somehow things weren’t as settled as she had thought they were. He was so different from Jacob, yet there was a certain playfulness mixed in with his steadiness that drew her in. Sucking in a breath, she sat up straighter in her chair. If she allowed it to, that is.
She quickly turned to Dane. “Parker has a tail. I spotted him in the lobby. I think I know where to find Jacob, but I don’t need this man tagging along.”
Dane nodded and then looked over at Elvis. “Think you can run a block?”
A wide grin spread across the dark-haired man’s face. “I’ll be more than happy to put the Do Not Disturb sign on him.”
She looked over at Dane. “And what will the rest of you do?”
Her boss pointed over to Blaze. “We’ll get the scuttlebutt from a few sources and weed through it. I want to get a background on the Broussards just to see how aggressive we need to be. I’ll also reach out to Nicolas back in Biloxi, see if he has any contacts here. Someone we can trust.”
She gave a slight dip of her head. “All right. I’ll stay in touch. You do the same.” She then turned to Parker. “You’re with me.”
“Give me five minutes,” Elvis said as he pushed himself off the couch. “Then make good your escape.”
Sage gave him a description of the guy, and then they all left the room, Elvis taking the first elevator, while they waited for the second. On the ride down, she couldn’t help but steal one last glance at Parker. There was something about him that drew her in, a quiet strength and integrity she found both intriguing and sexy as hell. And as much as she tried to push the thought aside, she couldn’t help but wonder if, under different circumstances, she might have been drawn to him in a way she had never been with Jacob. Something lasting.
Giving herself a mental shake, she pushed the thought aside, reminding herself he was Jacob’s brother and off-limits. Still, her body didn’t seem to care.
She once again clamped down on her wayward thoughts. Her focus had to remain on the task at hand. They had a mystery to solve, a brother to clear, and she knew she couldn’t afford to get distracted, not when so much was at stake. With a deep breath, she stepped out of the elevator, Parker right behind her. A quick glance to the front doors showed Elvis blocking the few to the elevators as he held a map up, asking Parker’s tail all kinds ofuseless questions. She ushered Parker out the back, her mind already racing with the possibilities of what waited for them at the cabin.
CHAPTER SIX
PARKER GRIPPED THE DASHBOARD as Sage made a sharp right turn, the car bouncing roughly as she slid from asphalt to gravel, but he kept the curse he wanted to hurl at her to himself. Sage had already told him once she’d leave his ass on the side of the road if he spewed one more criticism, and he didn’t doubt she’d do it.
As the car settled down into a slight jitter rather than full-out broken shocks, he pressed back in his seat, wiping his hair out of his eyes. “Thanks again for bringing your team. I really do appreciate it.”
“Yeah, well, they wouldn’t let me come alone. Trust me, I tried.” She shot him a dirty look. “They’re pretty strong on the entire team means family thing.” She jerked her eyes back to the road, tightening her grip on the steering wheel, and he could see the tightness in her features. She was always the one who wanted to do things on her own.
“Well, from what I saw, you all seem to care about each other.”
“We do.”
Her expression changed, and it was obvious she struggled with something, but kept it to herself. “So how’ve you been since… Well since then?”
Again, she said nothing.
With a sigh, he sat back in his seat, still clutching the handle. He really should have driven himself. Instead of succumbing to the bumpy ride and getting kicked out of the car, he focused on the passing scenery, wondering about the feisty redhead beside him. He wished he had stayed in touch with her, remained a part of her life. However, when things between her and his brother imploded, everyone, including him, got burnt by the blast. His brother was an idiot because Sage Silver was worth giving up the job for, and instead, Jacob had used her to save his ass and then vanished from her life. Stupid move.
Parker felt his stomach drop as they approached the cabin, the bayou a symphony of crickets and frogs, as the wind whispered through the trees. It looked just as it had when he left it that morning, except for one thing. The door hung open, barely attached to its hinges.
He leaned forward as Sage brought the car to a stop and shut off the engine. “Well, that doesn’t look good.” He turned to her, his gut twisting with a knot of worry. “It wasn’t like that this morning.”
“Great.” She reached into her purse, pulling out a Glock 17. “Did you bring a gun? If not, stay behind me.”
