Page 18 of Shadows Redeemed
She placed a finger on his lips as she stared deeply into his eyes. “You’re talking again.” She leaned toward him, kissing his nose softly. “Now, get some sleep. Tomorrow will be busy trying to find your brother again.”
“I’m telling you. He’s not going anywhere. You saw his condition.”
But Sage had already closed her eyes and laid her head on her pillow.
He laid there, staring at her for the longest time, not sure if she was actually sleeping or simply ignoring him. It didn’t matter. He had missed having her in his life, missed seeing her, talking to her. She hadn’t been his, of course, dating Jacob, but Parker had remained as close on the edge of their relationship as he could without crossing lines. Then that whole mess with Jacob getting his ass in trouble exploded, and Parker watched as Sage fought tooth and nail to prove Jacob’s innocence. In the end, it didn’t matter. Sage was through with him and had left, never looking back. Parker knew he had missed her more thanJacob, and he regretted never reaching out to her. But then, what would he have said?
A soft smile drifted across his face. But now…
Eventually, he fell asleep, still watching her, picturing the future. If he could talk her into giving him a chance, that is. When he woke, however, Sage had already left, not even leaving him a note.
She wasn’t the only one, either. When he returned to his room to get dressed, Jacob was gone as well.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE SOFT GLOW OF early morning light filtered through the heavy hotel curtains as Sage stirred from her slumber. Her eyes fluttered open, taking a moment to adjust to her surroundings, the room still cast mostly in darkness. As she laid there, savoring the warmth of her sheets and ignoring the call of her body, the events of the previous night came rushing back, and she felt a mix of emotions wash over her.
Opening her eyes all the way, she rolled over, smiling over at Parker, who lay sleeping peacefully, his chest rising and falling with each breath. She studied his face, noting how different he looked asleep—softer, younger somehow. She resisted the urge to reach out and touch him, not wanting to disturb his rest.
With practiced ease of making good her escape before her night’s fun woke up, she slid out of bed, her movements slow and deliberate to avoid waking him. She padded silently across the plush carpet until she could gather some clean clothes from her suitcase and headed to the bathroom. She dressed efficiently, smoothing out the wrinkles in her top as best she could, making sure everything fit right and didn’t look as if she just tossed it on. A quick glance in the mirror confirmed she looked presentable enough for the day, though her hair was a bit mussed. Sheran her fingers through it, attempting to tame the worst of the tangles before surrendering the effort. It was what it was.
Once she reached the door to her room, she paused long enough to cast one last glance at the man she’d spent the night with, a throbbing settling between her legs, and then she slipped out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. The hallway was quiet, most guests still asleep at this early hour. She made her way toward the elevators, her mind already shifting to the tasks that lay ahead to prove Jacob’s innocence and get her ass back home.
The suddenness of the night struck her anew as she stepped onto the elevator. Just yesterday, she’d focused solely on the case, on finding Jacob and uncovering the truth about the cop’s death. Now, here she was, sneaking out of her own room after a night of passionate, unexpected sex with his brother.
Her mind drifted to Jacob, the man she’d once dated, the man who was now at the center of their investigation. Not for the first time, she couldn’t help but marvel at how different the two brothers were. Where Jacob had been all charm and amiable smile, Parker was intense and brooding. Jacob had a way of making everything seem effortless, while Parker approached life with a seriousness that bordered on grim determination.
She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. This wasn’t the time to be drawing comparisons between the brothers or pondering the potential of her and Parker’s newfound connection. There was work to be done if she was ever going to put this chapter of her life behind her.
As she rounded a corner, she nearly collided with a housekeeping cart. The cleaning lady, a middle-aged woman with kind eyes, apologized profusely, but Sage smiled and waved off the woman’s apology. “No worries.”
However, before continuing on her way, Sage’s eyes fell on a keycard tucked into one of the cart’s pockets. Without hesitation, she palmed it, her movements swift and practiced.
“Have a good day,” she called over her shoulder as she continued down the hall, the stolen keycard burning a hole in her pocket. She pushed aside the twinge of guilt she felt at having stolen from the poor woman, claiming that it was necessary for the investigation and that she’d return it on her way back.
Reaching Parker’s room, she hesitated for just a moment, looking up and down the hallway before swiping the card. The lock clicked open, and she stepped inside, her heart racing with anticipation and a touch of dread.
But the room was empty. Just like she knew it would be.
She stood in the doorway, her eyes scanning every corner of the space. He had left the bed rumbled, and bloody gauze covered the small table by the window, but otherwise, there was no evidence Jacob had ever been there.
For several long minutes, she remained rooted to the spot, a flood of memories washing over her. She remembered the first time she’d met him, his easy laugh, and the way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. She thought of their whirlwind romance, the excitement and passion that had burned so brightly between them.
However, as quickly as those happy memories came, so too did the painful ones. The arguments, the lies, the growing suspicion that Jacob wasn’t the man she’d thought he was. And now, here she was, investigating him for murder while sleeping with his brother. Correction. Slept with his brother. That was it. Once. It was out of her system.
The stark differences between the two brothers struck her anew. Where Jacob had been a force of nature, sweeping her off her feet with grand gestures and bold promises, Parkerwas steady and grounded, his intensity focused inward. He possessed a quiet strength that drew her in despite her best efforts to maintain professional distance.
She shook her head, forcing herself back to the present. She couldn’t afford to get lost in memories or comparisons. There was a job to do, and she needed to focus.
With one last glance around the empty room, she stepped back into the hallway, closing the door firmly behind her. She made her way to Dane’s room, her mind already shifting to the tasks ahead. If the Broussards had set Jacob up, it begged the question why? Did they figure out he was undercover? And who killed the cop? Jacob seemed to have created a lot of enemies, but then again, that was Jacob, the proverbial bull in a China shop.
She knocked softly on the door to Elvis’s room, where they had set up base last night, hearing the muffled sounds of movement inside before it swung open. Her boss, a man in his early thirties with short-cropped, sandy brown hair and a tattoo on his arm, nodded in greeting.
“Morning. Come on in and join the party.” He pointed to a counter along the side wall. “Coffee and bagels over there.”
They had transformed the suite into a makeshift command center, with Gage and Elvis taking up the bedroom. Laptops and monitors covered every available surface, while wires and cords snaked across the floor. Covering the walls, maps and photos created a spider’s web of connections and theories. She recognized some of the men on the wall. Jacob was one, and then a couple of the Broussards. The team had been busy while she had enjoyed her night with Parker, pushing the case out of her mind for a while, and guilt filled her for letting them handle the heavy load when she was the one who brought them there.
Blaze glanced up at her from his computer, smiling at her as he gave her a slight dip of his head in greeting. Beside him, hisgirlfriend, Melinda, kept her focus on her laptop. Blaze’s fingers never stopped moving across the keyboard, but his eyes met hers with a questioning look. “You don’t look too happy. Everything all right?”
