Page 100 of Parker

“I’ll always blame myself for what happened, sweetheart.” Parker tucked some hair behind her ear. “If I hadn’t lied to you about where I was going…” He searched her eyes. “You don’t do lies. Your words, remember?”

“Of course, I remember.” It was why she’d slapped him during their first in-person meeting. “But—”

“—I lied to you about what I was doing and where I was going, and you were taken from me. You, Ash, Sydnee…you all could have been killed.”

“But we weren’t.” She shifted herself up a little higher. “Am I happy about the fact that you hid your true agenda from me that day? No, I’m not. Would I have liked the chance to go with you? Absolutely. But Parker…whether you told me about your plan from the beginning or not, it wouldn’t have mattered. Justin still wouldn’t have been at FCI that day, and he and McMahon’s goon still would have come after me. Maybe not here…maybe not that exact same day… But eventually, they would have seen their chance and acted on it.”

“I just keep thinking about what could have happened to you.” His Adam’s apple worked with a hard swallow. “Whatdidhappen, and I…”

Parker’s voice cracked with emotion, and Quinn couldn’t keep from leaning up and kissing those tight lips. When they softened beneath hers a few beats later, she pulled away and smiled. “I’m alive because of you, Parker.” Her fingertips raked soft trails through the sheered hair at his temple. “I did what I did to protect you and the others. But if you hadn’t jumped into that river…” It was her turn to get choked up. “You talk about me, butyoucould’ve been killed, too. You could have died trying to save me.”

The image of him jumping off that roof still haunted her. She’d seen it happen, her heart nearly stopping from the sight. But she lost him again when Victor pushed her back under the freezing water.

It wasn’t until that muffled gunshot tore through the water—until he saved her from beingmurdered—that Quinn even knew whether or not Parker had survived the fall.

“I would jump from a thousand rooftops if it meant keeping you safe. Because that’s my job now, Quinn.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re mine, and I will do whatever it takes to protect you.”

If her heart felt any fuller, it would burst.

“I feel the same way about you.” She smirked. “Guess we make a pretty good team after all, huh?”

“The best.” He guided her body into a straddling position. “But there is one more thing I need to confess.”

“Me, too.”

“You?” Her surprising response furrowed his brow. “What do you have to—”

“It’s not really a confession, I guess.” Quinn licked her lips nervously. “I mean, I never lied about it or anything. It’s just a part of my past I want you to know about.”

“Okay…”

“So, you know how I helped the FBI with their case against Justin, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t just get immunity for my part in it.” A corner of her mouth lifted slightly. “I also got a job.” When Parker’s expression remained unchanged, Quinn explained further. “It was all part of the same deal. As long as I helped them get the evidence they neededandagreed to work for them for twelve months, I’d be in the clear for creating and implementing the code in the first place. So, I agreed, and for the next three years, I worked full-time as a technical analyst for Chicago’s FBI Cybercrimes Division.”

“Why three years if you were only required to work the one?”

“The work I did was important. Rewarding, even. And a nice change from where I started.”

“Why’d you leave?”

“I didn’t.” She swallowed. “Not fully, anyway. That’s what I wanted to tell you.” Another quick swipe of her tongue. “I’m still an official consultant for the FBI. They don’t contact me very often. Just when they come across a particularly skilled hacker they aren’t able to catch on their own. So anyway…that’s it.” Quinn filled her lungs and let the air out slowly. “Now you know everything.”

He stared back at her but remained quiet. Her pulse spiked with uncertainty. Surely he wasn’t mad, right?

How could he be upset that she was working with the good guys? Just because she hadn’t told him yet, it was still honorable work, and—

“I’m an official consultant for Homeland Security and the CIA,” Parker blurted. He blinked, but half-a-beat later, that sexy, crooked grin of his lifted those kissable lips as he added, “And I just broke about a dozen federal laws by telling you that, so unless you want me to be the one going to prison, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t let on that you know. At least not until I clear it with my handlers.”

Quinn stared back at him, her eyes searching his for the humor she expected to find. Shecontinuedstaring, thinking surely he had to be kidding. He was just teasing her, right? Making light of what he could tell had made her nervous to share?

But Parker’s eyes gave nothing away. Nothing other than the truth.

“You’re serious.” She blinked. “I thought you were just joking, but—”

“Not a joke, sweetheart.” Parker chuckled. “And in the interest of full disclosure, I already knew about your stint with the FBI. But only because I came across that information when I was digging around on Reynolds.” He winced back against the chair, as if he thought she was going to hit him or something.

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