Page 13 of Shadows Redeemed
Standing, she made her way into the kitchen, moving over to the opposite side where her mother cooked as she put the phone to her ear with a weary sigh. “Talk to me.”
“Parker there with you?”
“He’s in the other room. Need me to get him?”
“No, that’s fine. You can fill him in later.” His voice seemed tense, and she could tell he was pacing in the room. “We may have a lead on Jacob’s whereabouts. Blaze did some digging and found potential footage that could point us in the right direction.”
A surge of adrenaline shot through her veins, reinvigorating her with renewed determination. “Tell me everything.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
PARKER FOLLOWED SAGE INTO their hotel, the night leaning closer to midnight than dinner time. He had reserved his own room when she told him where her team was staying so he could stick close to the investigation. The lobby was quiet, and even the clerk behind the desk seemed like he was about to fall asleep. Parker didn’t blame the man.
“How about a drink?” he asked before they were halfway to the elevators. “I’m not ready to turn in just yet.”
She turned to him, tucking a wisp of red hair behind her ear as she sighed. “It’s been a long night, Parker. I need to check in with the team and see what the plan is now that your brother vanished on them again. And then I just want to get a hot shower and some sleep. I recommend you do the same. Tomorrow’s sure to be another bullshit day.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head. “Too wound up to sleep. Dinner with your family was good, don’t get me wrong, but I kind of think they judged me the entire time I was there.”
She laughed softly, dropping her gaze to the floor. “They’ve always been a little overprotective of me in the older brother sort of way. Plus, they all work in the security field as well, so judgingpeople is like second nature to them by now. Comes with the job.”
He nodded. “I get it. And I don’t blame them after what my brother put you through. I would have probably spent the night judging me as well.” He cocked his head to the side, a pleading look in his eyes. “After putting me through that, though, you should at least keep me company for one drink. I’ll even buy.”
She stared at him for a moment, and at first, he thought she’d refuse him again. However, after a quick breath in, she gave a curt nod. “Fine.” She held up an index finger. “But only one.”
He grinned at her as he motioned toward the hotel’s bar. “We’ll start with that.”
She rolled her eyes as she dropped her arms to her sides. “One drink.”
He led the fiery redhead to the hotel bar, a slight bounce in his step he couldn’t avoid. She had only agreed to one drink, but he knew he could get her to stay for two once they started talking.
As they slid into seats around a high-top table, he motioned to the server. “What’ll you have?”
“Surprise me.” She looked tired, and he couldn’t blame her. The day had been long, and then to sit through an inquisition at a family dinner made it even longer. To say things were tense would be an understatement. But then again, he had warned her taking him to her family’s house was a bad idea.
He ordered them both a whiskey neat and then settled back in his seat to wait for the drinks. “I forgot how great your family was. I had only met them a few times while you dated my brother.”
She laughed, leaning forward and interlacing her fingers. “They’re definitely something.” As they waited for their drinks, she went on to tell him stories about the five Silver siblings growing up, and he struggled to keep the smile from his face ashe listened to her. It was obvious she loved her family, and they loved her.
The server dropped their drinks off in front of them and wished them a good evening. For a moment, they sipped their drinks in silence, the whiskey burning its way down his throat to warm his belly. As they did, he studied Sage’s profile, mesmerized as always by her beauty, but never allowed to comment on it. The soft lighting stressed her high cheekbones and the fullness of her lips, lips he truly wanted to kiss, and her dark green eyes still entranced him after all this time.
“You know, I never got the chance to thank you properly for coming out here to help me.” He leaned forward, one hand still on his glass.
She shrugged a slender shoulder. “I’m just doing my job.”
“This isn’t your job, and you know it. I know my brother didn’t make it easy for you either before you left New Orleans. He could always be a putz, even at the best of times.”
She gave a slow bob of her head. “He’s Jacob. That about sums it up.”
He scoffed. “Jacob’s an ass, and we both know it. It’s like that joke—that’s just how he is, but what they really mean is, he’s a dick but you get used to him.” He took another sip of his drink, the amber liquid burning pleasantly on the way down. “Still, I’m glad you’re here.” A sheepish wave caused him to squirm in his seat. “I’ve missed you. I always enjoyed the times we got to hang out. You always made me laugh.” She also had kept him sexually frustrated, but she didn’t know that. She didn’t need to know that.
She looked away, her gaze focusing on something in the distance over Parker’s shoulder. “You know why I left. I couldn’t stay here.”
He nodded. “Because my brother is a rascal and a class-A prick. He never should have treated you that way. Or let you go.”
“I knew the type of guy he was before I got involved with him.” She twirled her glass in a slow circle in front of her as she stared down at her drink. “I just didn’t get over my bad boy phase before I paid the price.” Glancing back at him, she gave a weak shrug. “However, I still needed to get out of New Orleans, and my friend Marissa provided me the perfect out.”
“So you like working for this G.S.I. company?” While he hoped she had found some happiness after what Jacob did to her, he couldn’t help but wish she had remained there in New Orleans with him. Taking in a deep breath, he realized he truly needed to stop allowing his thoughts to travel down paths he knew he could never travel, no matter how desperately he wanted to.
