Page 53 of The Fox

I succeed, tucking my whole world into our bed, making sure she’s surrounded by blankets and has a pillow to cuddle until I get back. I linger, placing a soft kiss to her forehead.

“I love you,kochanie. Your demons are my demons.”

I turn, shutting the door behind me, and walk toward the kitchen. My phone is on the charger, laying on the counter next to her beloved coffee machine.

I reach for the phone to call Parker. The clock on the oven reads close to three in the morning, but I need some insight into Amelia’s past. Despite feeling like I’m betraying her, I know that Amelia won’t let me in. Given the panic attacks she’s been having? I don’t have any other option other than going to her best friend.

“Hello?” Parker’s voice comes through the phone, and I am thankful she picked up.

“Parker? It’s Rhodes.”

“No shit. What do you want? Where is Amelia?” I hear the sass in her voice, the protectiveness for her best friend layered just underneath it. There is sleep laced in her voice, annoyance apparent.

“I need help. Amelia is having panic attacks, and I don’t think that it is only from her being ambushed.” I pause, waiting for an interruption that never comes. “Parker? You still there?”

“Yeah, I’m here.” Her voice is quieter now, as if she doesn’t want to have this conversation. “Go back to sleep, babes. It’s just Rhodes, being an arse.”

I hear her close a door, the sound coming through the line.

“What happened?”

“I had to pull her off the floor, Parker.”

“So have I.”

I still, the words Parker just said ringing in my ears. Parker knows Amelia’s demons intimately, as if she’s been beside her in the bottom of Amelia’s darkest hell. Something tells me that Parker has been in those bottomless pits, next to Amelia as she clawed her way back.

“I can’t tell you why she’s having the attacks, Rhodes.”

“But,” I start.

"I won’t betray her.” Her voice hardens, something I’ve never experienced from the redheaded woman.

“Parker. Please,” I beg, desperate for something.

“No. I will do a lot of things, Rhodes, when it comes to her. Very few people know the lengths at which I will go when it comes to Amelia. However, what I refuse to do is to give her demons any power. I refuse to betray her.I will not.If you want answers, you’ll have to ask Amelia.”

“She won’t tell me. Her walls are so high right now.”

I hear a sigh on the other end, followed by a murmur to Duncan. He must have come to check on his wife. I’m not happy with the man right now. He had purposely hidden things from mykochanie,and it doesn’t sit well with me.

“You need to let her come to you. And when she does, you need to be her safe place to land. When she tells you, Rhodes, it’ll be her giving you the last piece of herself. There is no going back, no walking away if she tells you.” Parker’s voice is like steel, unbending and without compromise.

“I’m not going anywhere, Parker.”

I will marry Amelia Conte. Protect her. Stand with her until the heavens deliver me.

“I know that.” Her voice is softer now, contemplative. “I think her heart knows that too. But Amelia cannot think with her heart. The second she makes a decision with emotion, she could get killed. Every choice she makes is meticulously crafted. Each outcome weighed to the last possibility.” Parker pauses. “You have to wait for her head to catch up.”

I lean against the counter, unsure of what to say to that. I know she’s right; if I force Amelia to share before she’s ready, I could push her away. This has to be her choice.

“Rhodes,” she says, her voice now gentle. “She will get there. I promise. I have to let you go but please keep holding her up. She needs you more than she wants to admit.”

Parker hangs up, and I lean my head back, wishing I could make this easier for the woman sleeping in the other room. The clock on the wall tells me that my alarm will go off in a few hours, so I plug the phone back into the charger, making my way toward the bedroom. Lennon wakes, purring softly before jumping from the back of the couch, following me to Amelia. He weaves into the bedroom, jumping onto the bed and curling around her side. I join them, pulling her close, and my eyes fall shut as I succumb to sleep.

CHAPTER 35

Parker---Aftermath

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