Page 49 of Parker

His jetwasextremely spacious. And yeah, there was a private bedroom and private restroom at the back—two-person shower, included. But…

“It was Quinn’s first time flying,” Parker explained. “She was understandably nervous, and I didn’t want to leave her alone so I could sneak off to dig up shit on her ex.”

That’s not the only reason you refused to leave her side the entire flight.

There was a slight pause before Asher said, “All right. As long as you’re good, I guess I’ll get off of here and let Syd know all is well in the world of Parker Collins.”

Parker huffed out a breathy chuckle. “Whatever. I know you called because you love me. Not that I blame you. I mean, I’m smart, rich, fit, and good-looking as fuck. What’s not to love?”

A low curse and then, “I’m hanging up now.”

He laughed even harder. “Hey, but seriously, man. If you could let Syd know you actually spoke to me yourself, that would be great.”

“Uh…okaaay…”

“That way she’ll know for sure I’m not chained up somewhere and being held captive by some crazed woman who plans to chop me up into little pieces and eat me with a side of fava beans and a nice Chianti.”

When he made an exaggerated sipping sound, Asher groaned.

“You really are like a twelve-year-old, you know that?”

“Hey. Your fiancée still loves me.”

“Yeah, yeah. As long as you remember she’smine.”

Though there was no real need, Parker quickly reassured the other man. “No worries there, brother. The love I have for Syd is purely familial. Trust me.”

“Oh, I do trust you. If I didn’t, you’d already be dead.”

Parker laughed again, knowing the former Special Ops sniper meant every word. Another quick glance out the window revealed an empty space where Quinn had been standing before.

“I need to go. Give Syd a big hug from me. I’ll let you know what I hear back from Ryker.”

“Sounds good. And, not to sound like my gorgeous fiancée, but…be careful. Until you know more about this wom…er…Quinn, you need to watch your back.”

The man’s sincere words tugged at Parker’s heart. “Don’t worry, brother. I’ve got this.”

“I’m sure you do.”

Ending the call, Parker sat back in his chair and grinned. A year ago, Asher wouldn’t have pissed on him if he were on fire. Now the man was about to be the closest thing to a brother-in-law he’d ever have.

And though he wasn’t quite ready to admit that to Ash, there wasn’t another man out there Parker would rather see Syd settle down with.

A low dinging sound came from the closed laptop in front of him. Reaching out, Parker opened it as he rolled himself closer. The screen lit up, and in the center was a notification for a new email.

Clicking the small rectangle, the image morphed and grew into an encrypted email requiring a special password. One assigned to Parker when he’d first been approached about a classified collaboration with Homeland.

His pulse spiked with hope that it was what he’d been waiting for.

He typed in the code he’d memorized long ago and hit enter. Immediately, the image changed, and multiple windows opened at once. With a quick scan, he confirmed they were the files he’d requested from Ryker.

Parker enlarged the first one and began reading it over.

Everything the government could find on Justin Reynolds was there. His birth certificate, kindergarten graduation certificate, the name of the shrink his parents took him to when he was twelve, the notes from the few visits he attended—Parker wasn’t even going to ask how Ryker managed to get that—and more.

But the most interesting intel he came across were a few layers down…

Here we go.

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