Page 40 of Parker

Parker had to admit, he’d fully expected her to balk and throw a fit. Lord knows, the women he’d dated in past would have. But not Jinx.

Are you really that surprised? She’s nothing like those other women.

“Coffee?” He pointed to the carafe.

She nodded with an emphatic, “Yes, please.”

With a quick pour, he held it out for her, his entire body tensing when her fingertips brushed against his.

“Thanks.” Jinx brought the mug to her lips and took a careful sip.

The moan she released—eyes closed and all—sent a rush of arousal racing though him. Quickly, before she opened her eyes again, Parker made a quick adjustment and faced the cabinets fully.

Replacing the erotic images her moan had created, he prayed for strength and broached a subject sure to vanquish the electric charge pulsing through the air…

“You had a hell of a night last night, and I knew you were exhausted.” He fixed a second, appropriately filled cup of coffee for himself. “But you’ve had at least a little rest, and you’re getting well-caffeinated, so…” He turned to face her. “You wanna tell me your real name now, or should we wait for the guys to get back with your wallet?”

Becoming intently focused on the steaming cup in her hands, Jinx’s golden locks, which he could now see had a few strands of brown lowlights scattered throughout, fell like a curtain around her face.

Can’t hide from me that easily, sweetheart.

“You could wait.” She lifted her head and brought her gaze back to his. “But my wallet won’t tell you what you want to know.”

It took Parker a second to process what her words meant.

She isn’t just keeping her real name from me. She doesn’t wantanyoneto know who she is.

“You’ve been using an alias.” It wasn’t a question. “Other than Jinx, I mean.”

The scant nod confirmed his suspicions. “For the past three years.”

“What happened three years ago?”

“It really startedsixyears ago.” She looked back down at her coffee, took a sip, and turned to leave the room. “And if I’m going to do this, I should probably sit."

Well, that’s not a great sign.

Following her into the living room, Parker took the recliner while Jinx sat at the far end of the couch. Placing the mug onto the end table beside her, she curled her legs up on the cushion and grabbed a throw pillow to hug.

“The short of it is, I have really bad taste in men.”

He chuckled. “Gonna need a little more than that, sweetheart.”

Holding his stare for a stretch, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “His name is Justin Reynolds, and he’s an inmate at FCI. It’s a federal prison in Pekin, which is about two-and-a-half hours southwest of here.”

“What’s he in for?”

“The official charge was ‘accessing a computer to defraud and obtain value’.”

Parker settled back in his chair and exhaled. “So he’s a hacker.”

“He was.” She swallowed hard. “As was I.”

It was a revelation Parker had already suspected, but he was pleased she’d offered the admission willingly.

Maybe she trusts me more than she thinks.

“What does Justin have to do with you using an alias? Or more importantly, how is he tied to what happened last night?”

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