Shadows Redeemed (Garrison Security Innovations #4)

Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

PARKER GRIPPED THE DASHBOARD as Sage made a sharp right turn, the car bouncing roughly as she slid from asphalt to gravel, but he kept the curse he wanted to hurl at her to himself. Sage had already told him once she’d leave his ass on the side of the road if he spewed one more criticism, and he didn’t doubt she’d do it.

As the car settled down into a slight jitter rather than full-out broken shocks, he pressed back in his seat, wiping his hair out of his eyes. “Thanks again for bringing your team. I really do appreciate it.”

“Yeah, well, they wouldn’t let me come alone. Trust me, I tried.” She shot him a dirty look. “They’re pretty strong on the entire team means family thing.” She jerked her eyes back to the road, tightening her grip on the steering wheel, and he could see the tightness in her features. She was always the one who wanted to do things on her own.

“Well, from what I saw, you all seem to care about each other.”

“We do.”

Her expression changed, and it was obvious she struggled with something, but kept it to herself. “So how’ve you been since… Well since then?”

Again, she said nothing.

With a sigh, he sat back in his seat, still clutching the handle. He really should have driven himself. Instead of succumbing to the bumpy ride and getting kicked out of the car, he focused on the passing scenery, wondering about the feisty redhead beside him. He wished he had stayed in touch with her, remained a part of her life. However, when things between her and his brother imploded, everyone, including him, got burnt by the blast. His brother was an idiot because Sage Silver was worth giving up the job for, and instead, Jacob had used her to save his ass and then vanished from her life. Stupid move.

Parker felt his stomach drop as they approached the cabin, the bayou a symphony of crickets and frogs, as the wind whispered through the trees. It looked just as it had when he left it that morning, except for one thing. The door hung open, barely attached to its hinges.

He leaned forward as Sage brought the car to a stop and shut off the engine. “Well, that doesn’t look good.” He turned to her, his gut twisting with a knot of worry. “It wasn’t like that this morning.”

“Great.” She reached into her purse, pulling out a Glock 17. “Did you bring a gun? If not, stay behind me.”

“I’m fine.” He opened the door, stepping out into the chilly afternoon, reaching into his waistband as he did to pull out his own weapon. Shutting the door, he glanced over at her, holding up his weapon to assure her he could take care of himself.

She nodded, her emerald eyes narrow slits as she turned toward the rundown cabin. “Slow and easy.”

He tightened his grip, following her as she stepped up onto the porch, easing her way to the busted door. As they stepped inside, the stale, musty air hit him like a slap to the face. Someone or something had shattered the small table that had sat in the middle of the room, leaving the chairs overturned, and whoever had been there had broken one of the back windows. There were bullet holes in the wooden walls as well. Which twisted the knot in Parker’s stomach even tighter.

“Blood.” Sage crouched down to examine a spot on the floor leading to the back door, a grim look on her face. “Dried, but still relatively fresh, by the looks of it.”

Parker ran a hand through his hair, feeling lightheaded as he took in the destroyed state of the room. Nothing in the cabin had gone untouched, and he wished he knew if they tore the place up in their frustration of not finding his brother or shattered it in the struggle because they did find him. And by the looks of the place and the blood, there had definitely been a struggle. Whoever had been there came prepared for a fight.

No. There was blood, so that meant Jacob had to have been there when whoever was sent found him. But who got shot? Him or whoever found him?

He left her crouched there as he bolted for the back door, hoping to God his brother wasn’t lying dead in some gator-infested swamp. As much as Jacob tended to draw trouble to himself, Parker still loved him. They were family, but they were even more than that. They were best friends as well.

Jerking the door open, he scanned the area, keeping his gun in front of him just in case. However, nothing stood out to him. Who the hell knew about the cabin? There’s no way someone followed him. They would have jumped them both. So who the hell?—

“Parker?” Sage’s voice snapped him out of his spiraling thoughts. “You all right? See anything?”

He turned to see her standing there, her hands on her curvy hips as she stared out the door at him. He gave a quick dip of his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just… processing.” He turned back to the land around him. “There’s nothing back here but woods and swamp.” He shoved the gun back into his waistband at his back, his hands trembling slightly. “How did anyone even know about this place?”

“It’s your brother. I’m sure he’s brought his hookups out here.” By the storm clouding her face, he imagined she spoke from experience. He couldn’t blame his brother, however. Sage was gorgeous with a fiery spirit that left men panting in her wake. A few tendrils of her red hair framed her delicate face, giving her a cute, playful look despite their dire surroundings. And he had to fight the urge to walk over and tuck them behind her ear, knowing she’d more than likely break his fingers if he did, if not his entire arm.

Stop it, he scolded himself. This wasn’t the time to be ogling his brother’s ex like some pathetic schoolboy. Hell, he shouldn’t be looking at her at all.

“Did he ever date a Broussard?” she asked, disrupting his wayward train of thought as she moved around the cabin, examining everything. “Might explain how they knew about this place.”

“To be honest, after you dumped him, I don’t think he ever got serious about anyone again.” He followed her lead and started searching the cabin. “More like a series of one-night stands, never the same girl twice. I suppose one of them could have been a Broussard, but I have no way of truly knowing.” He cast a quick glance her way to see her reaction, but if the knowledge of Jacob sleeping with random women bothered her, she didn’t show it. He returned to his searching. “My brother mixed with a lot of unsavory types because of his undercover work. Could’ve been anyone out to settle a score.”

“Or law enforcement,” Sage pointed out. She moved over to examine the overturned sofa. “You said the cops think he killed one of their own. They’ll be looking for payback.”

A pit formed in his gut at the notion of his brother being hunted by both the Broussards and the police. Not that it would be the first time Jacob didn’t have people chasing him. It was just a couple of years ago that he was in almost the same mess, after all. It seemed his brother wasn’t happy unless he was pissing people off.

“It’s a possibility.” He scoured the cabin for clues, anything that might show what had become of his brother. Of course, by the looks of things, he highly doubted his brother had time to write him a note, listing out who had busted into their cabin. He was just… gone. Like a phantom whisked away by the very swamp surrounding them.

“I’m not finding much,” Sage called out in frustration. “I hate to say it, but whoever busted in here knew what they were doing. He may have bitten off more than he could chew this time.”

Parker grimaced at her blunt assessment. He knew Jacob had hurt Sage one too many times during their relationship, even though he didn’t know the full story. Hell, he’d witnessed it firsthand when Jacob brought his troubles to Parker’s doorstep more times than he could count, always vague, always frustrated. Had watched as Jacob used Sage to save his own ass two years ago, almost ruining her life, her future. And as much as he wanted to make excuses for his brother, he couldn’t deny the truth in Sage’s words. Jacob always found a way to self-destruct.

“Yeah, well, the dumbass never did know how to stay out of hot water.” He heard the bitter edge to his voice, but couldn’t help it. It wasn’t so much what Jacob had done this time that had him riled up, but more the fact that because of it, Jacob had dragged Sage into his mess. But this time Parker was the one who pulled her in.

Giving up on the futile search, he sagged against the wall, his palms on his thighs, overcome with weariness and worry. What was he going to do? Jacob was supposed to be there waiting for to find out what Parker had uncovered since they last spoke.

And then there was Sage…

She emerged from the back room, wisps of ruby hair framing her face. Even in this disheveled state, she was captivating, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away as she approached, all lithe movements and determined grace.

“We should look outside,” she said as she tucked her hair behind her ear. “That blood may have left a trail we can follow.” She glanced over, and she must have seen a troubled look on his face, because she walked over and placed a gentle hand on his arm. “Don’t worry. We’re not giving up.”

No, they weren’t. He knew that without her assurances. As much as his brother drove him crazy, their mother would never forgive him if he didn’t help save Jacob’s skin. Again.

Before he could respond, however, she dropped her arm to her side and headed back outside to search around the cabin. He followed her out with his gaze, unable to stop his eyes from going to her ass as she slid out the open doorway, sidestepping the broken door. He couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips.

Crossing the room, he stepped outside, turning to follow her. She was already searching the ground, moving plants to the side, looking over rocks and tree trunks. This woman… there was something about her fire and resilience that drew him in like a moth to an irresistible flame. He knew he should keep his distance, for both their sakes. She was his brother’s ex, after all. There was already too much baggage there, which should her off limits.

However, as he drank in her defiant stance, that stubbornness shining through despite the hopeless scene surrounding them, he knew it was already too late. There was no way he could get Sage out of his mind now that she was in there. Hell, she had always been in there, even when she dated his brother. She was too good for Jacob. Hell, she was too good for him, but that didn’t stop him from wanting her. The mystery that was Sage Silver held him transfixed, and he had a sinking suspicion he was in dangerous territory with the way she made him feel.

Shoving those complicated emotions aside for now, he forced himself to refocus. His brother’s life could very well depend on the two of them finding him and unraveling whatever mess he had gotten himself tangled up in this time.

“There’s nothing here.” She glanced around once more before looking at him and shaking her head. “No blood trail. No escape into the woods. Some tire tracks, but that’s it, really. If he got away, I can’t tell which way he went.”

Parker glanced around, pressing his lips together as he gave a slow bob of his head. “All right, so what do you think we do now? Should we go talk to the Broussards? See if we can rattle their cage?”

She arched an eyebrow, a ghost of a smirk playing at her lips. “You think getting in their faces is really the best approach? Didn’t you kind of try that already?”

“I guess not.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I just hate not knowing where he is. What if that’s his blood?”

She scoffed. “Your brother’s a mangy cat with nine lives. I’m sure he’s going to turn up somewhere. The question now is where and when.” She pointed to her car. “Now we get with my team and see what they’ve discovered. Blaze should have looked through street cams by now.”

He gave a curt nod, allowing her to take the lead back to the car. As she strode ahead, he couldn’t resist letting his gaze trail over the curves of her body. The confident sway of her hips, the tantalizing slope of her waist…

Grimacing, he jerked his gaze away from her. He was getting far too distracted, and at the worst possible time. They needed to stay focused— he needed to stay focused—if they were going to have any hope of finding his brother before it was too late.

Still, as they made their way back to the car, he couldn’t shake the image of Sage’s tousled crimson hair and beguiling eyes. His brother truly was a fool to have let a woman like her slip through his grasp. If she had been his…

A shiver rippled through him at the implication of that thought. He cared immensely for Jacob, but his loyalty to his own flesh and blood warred with the growing… infatuation?… he felt for Sage.

He needed to tread extremely carefully. Getting too invested where Sage was concerned might upend everything, including his quest to locate his missing brother.

As they reached the car, he resolved to keep a tighter rein on his wandering thoughts and impulses. No matter how alluring Sage was, he had to remain focused on the mission, on saving his brother.

At least, that’s what he told himself as he opened the passenger door for her, catching a whiff of her intoxicating floral scent, which damn near made his knees buckle.

This was going to be harder than he thought.