Page 14 of Parker

“And? Did you get a match?”

He shook his head. “According to every federal law enforcement agency in the country, in the last four weeks, no woman matching Jinx’s description is or has been wanted for any sort of cybercrime.”

“Not even one?”

“Nope.

“Huh.” Sydnee finished off her lemon water. “That’s interesting.”

“No, not interesting,” he disagreed with his friend. “It’s fucking frustrating.”

Sydnee’s lips twitched, and it was obvious the woman was fighting a smile. “Listen, Park… You and I, we both grew up with silver spoons in our mouths. And while I’m no bigshot game designer like you, I’ve done okay in the adulting department, too. But you…you’re used to getting everything you want, pretty much at the drop of a hat. That’s not a bad thing, mind you. Just an observation.”

Sure didn’t sound like agoodthing, but okay. He’d bite. “What’s your point?”

“Just that…” She sighed. “Do you think it’s possible that this obsession with finding Jinx is more about the challenge of it all rather than the woman, herself?”

“No.” Parker’s answer was swift and definitive. “I can see why you might think that, but that’s not what this is about.” And just so he’d made himself clear, Parker added a reassuring, “It’snot.”

“Okay.” The sweet doctor’s nod held no judgement. “So what’s the plan? Do you want me to have Ash talk to the team? Maybe you’d have better luck tracking Jinx down with their help.”

Asher Cross was Sydnee’s fiancé and an operative for RISC’S Charlie Team.

RISC—which stood for Rescue, Intel, Security, and Capture—was an elite private security firm based out of Richmond. RISC headquarters was in Dallas, Texas along with the firm’s Alpha and Bravo Teams.

From what Parker had been told, there was also a fourth team—Delta—which worked out of Chicago. He hadn’t heard whether an Echo Team was in the works yet, although with the volatile state of the world, he wouldn’t be surprised.

“I thought about giving Ash a call,” he confirmed. “But those guys have more important things on their plates than helping me on my quest to chase down a ghost.”

“You know they’d do whatever they could. In fact, I have it on good authority that Ash still feels indebted to you for helping when Iwas in trouble.”

“In trouble.” Parker scoffed. “Pretty mild description for getting kidnappedtwiceand almost getting yourself killed.”

That shit still gave him nightmares on occasion.

The first time Sydnee was taken, Parker hadn’t even learned about it until after her rescue. She’d been in Abu Dhabi doing volunteer medical work when a group of insurgents had kidnapped and held her captive.

Luckily, Charlie Team had been the ones sent in for the rescue, which was how Syd and Asher first met. But the craziest part of their story happened a couple weeks later, after Sydnee was back on American soil.

A man who turned out to be a friend of Sydnee’s family blamed her father for his own dad’s suicide. He stalked and kidnapped Sydnee with a plan to kill her as payback.

Thankfully—with Parker’s help—Charlie Team was able to locate and save Sydnee before it was too late.

So yeah. Asher and the other three men on his team were the toughest sons of bitches Parker had ever known. Even so…

“Your fiancé doesn’t owe me a damn thing.” None of those guys did. “Besides, there isn’t anything Charlie Team can do that I haven’t already done. But I appreciate the offer.”

“Well, if you change your mind, you have his number.”

“I do.” Parker nodded. “Thank you.”

Waiting a beat, Sydnee flashed him an adorable smile before returning to their previous conversation. “What you said earlier, about that game and this restaurant being the only two places you feel as though you can be yourself…that’s not true.” She shook her head. “You can be yourself with me, Park. Always.”

The ache in his heart lessened slightly. “I know that, Syd.” He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “I really do.”

“You’d better.” She raised a single brow. “And don’t forget, you have an open invitation at the new house. You don’t even have to call first.”

With a quick squeeze of her hand, Parker pulled his free and settled his back against the cushioned seat. “Careful what you’re offering, darlin’. You and that fiancé of yours might end up with a permanent houseguest.”

---