Page 25 of Protected

Twenty minutes later, Laz brought the SUV around and they all climbed in.

Silence filled the vehicle until Jeff spoke. “I’m sorry about what happened back there,” he said, then turned to Chelsey. “I’m glad you weren’t seriously hurt. As you’ve probably figured out, there’s bad blood between me and Troy. I didn’t knowingly sleep with his wife. She never told me that—”

“Wait,” Chelsey said, and Parker stole a glance at her without turning all the way around. She lifted her hands to stop Jeff from continuing. “You don’t have to explain. Our job was to keep you safe this evening, and that’s what we did. Yes, it would’ve been nice to know up-front that Troy had been threatening you, and that he was there and might cause trouble. But it’s over now, andwhatever happens between the two of you is between you guys. I hope you’ll be willing to give Supreme a good review.”

Parker exchanged a look with Laz, who snorted. None of them, their security team, had ever asked a client for a review. They did their jobs, did it well, and were rewarded when the clients hired them again.

But a review? If reviews were requested, they were requested by Egypt or someone else in the office. Never the security specialists.

“Of course. That’s the least I can do. You were great tonight, and I know you don’t want to go out with me outside of your job, but I’ll be requesting you if I ever need a date who can also provide security.”

Parker growled under his breath and ignored the rest of their conversation. Nope. He definitely couldn’t work with Chelsey going forward. He’d end up getting himself fired for doing something stupid like beating up a client.

He released a quiet, long, drawn-out breath and stared out the SUV’s side window as the city flew by in a blur. He replayed the evening back through his mind.

What if Chelsey hadn’t been able to defend herself? What if that jerk had seriously hurt her? Parker would’ve lost his shit, and who knows how the evening would’ve gone from there.

Now that he was thinking straight, something else came to mind. Though the altercation had ended quickly, what if someone had videotaped it? They were living in a day and time when people were capturing everything on their cell phones. He’d been so caught up in the moment that he didn’t do his usual due diligence in making sure to keep his head down.

The last thing he wanted was for Wolf to find out he was still alive. At least not before Parker was ready to reveal himself. He didn’t want his father to have a heads-up.

Not yet. Not until Parker had a plan in place that would destroy Wolf once and for all.

He was ready for a normal life. No more looking over his shoulder or fearing that his father would find him.

He was done hiding.

Chapter Eleven

The next day, Parker jogged up Chelsey’s front steps and rang the doorbell. He was determined to talk to her even if it meant doing so through the door. It had to be today. It had to be before he told his Atlanta’s Finest team about his past and then asked for their help.

In hindsight, the secrets he planned to reveal to everyone was something he should’ve done already. He trusted all of them more than he ever trusted anyone, but he honestly thought his past was behind him, and maybe it still was. Either way, it was time they knew who was in their midst.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” Chelsey said by way of greeting when she swung the door open.

“But I need to talk to you, and it needs to be today,” Parker countered.

Her hair was in two messy ponytails on each side of her head, and based on the yellow, rubber gloves in her hand, she’d been doing some cleaning. He took note of the old ratty Atlanta Hawks T-shirt and cutoff jeans that showed off her sexy legs. He had always been a leg man, and hers were the first thing he’d noticed on her.

She definitely didn’t look like the sex goddess from the night before. Still, Chelsey was the most beautiful, sexy woman in the world. Even when she was glaring at him, like now.

Any sane man would probably walk away until she was in a better mood. Parker couldn’t. She was his heart, and he couldn’t go another day without her in his life. He wanted a second chance with her but first, there were things she needed to know about him.

Chelsey knew the good. Unfortunately, he now had to tell her some of the bad. He just hoped she gave him another chance once she learned about his past.

“Please, Chelsey. I need you to know why I broke things off between us. I need you to know the truth about me.”

He wasn’t sure what she saw on his face or heard in his voice, but her expression softened. Without a word, she let him into the house.

The place smelled like pine cleaner and furniture polish, and as he glanced around the open floor plan, it was clear that she’d been doing some deep cleaning. She wasn’t the neatest person in the world, and it wasn’t unusual to see a jacket on the arm of the chair or shoes in the middle of the floor.

Not today, though. Today everything was in its place. Pillows on the sofa and love seat had been fluffed. The hardwood floors gleamed, and the family pictures on the mantel had been reorganized and shined up. She’d been busy.

Chelsey dropped the gloves onto a nearby table and folded her arms across her chest. Parker’s eyes immediately zoned in on her luscious breasts. This was not the time for him to be lusting after his woman, but damn. He couldn’t ignore the way her pebbled nipples pushed against the thin material of her T-shirt. Nipples that he had teased, licked, and sucked into submission more times than he could count.

His body stirred at the memory of how good her full breasts used to feel in his hands. How amazing she’d felt hugged up to him, and how much he missed what they’d had. More than anything in the world, Parker wanted her back, but it wasn’t just because the sex had been incredible. No, it had more to do with the fact that she completed him. His life had been empty before she came along, and she filled it with love, compassion, and fun times. The last few months without her had been hell.

“Eyes up here, Buster,” Chelsey bit out.

---