Shadows Redeemed (Garrison Security Innovations #4)

Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

SAGE TOSSED AND TURNED, unable to get to sleep. How could she? Her mind kept replaying the unexpected kiss she had shared with Parker, the warmth of his lips, the softness, the way he…

She sucked in a breath as she clenched her eyes against the image, unable to believe she had let him kiss her. He actually kissed her! It had awakened something deep inside her she couldn’t deny. Or ignore. But she needed to ignore it. He was Jacob’s brother, for crying out loud. That was wrong on so many levels.

But god, did he stir something inside of her. With her head on her pillow, her eyes closed, she pictured his mouth against hers once more, the taste of whiskey still on his lips, the feel of him as he pressed against her. She slid her hand under the sheet, gliding it over her breast, pulling at it, pinching her nipple, twisting it as she moaned, feeling the wetness growing between her legs.

Would it be so wrong to have a one-nighter with Parker? After all, she had done it with others. Hell, she saw Ryan Anderson every time she went back to Charleston. She even had a couple of regular hook-ups back in Biloxi for those emergency horny situations. So why would one night of in-the-sheets fun with Parker be so bad?

Imagining what he would feel like right then on top of her, she slid her hand over her belly to the valley between her thighs. She rubbed tiny circles around her clit, pressing harder with each spin of the dial. There was no way she could be with Parker. It would be too weird. He was Jacob’s brother. Her ex’s brother!

She rubbed harder, faster, her fingers moving in quick circles as she felt her breathing growing heavier. It was wrong, but she couldn’t help it. She pictured Parker on top of her, felt his hand between her legs, his finger rubbing her sensitive pearl. Soft mewling sounds of pleasure slipped past her lips, her back arching as ripples of euphoria washed over her. Clutching the bedspread with her other hand, she cried out as her orgasm took over, her body shuddering on the bed.

Collapsing on her pillows, her breathing coming out in heavy pants, she opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling. All right, so she could at least use him for that. He’d never know. It’d be her little secret.

Closing her eyes, she had hoped that after getting herself off, she’d drift off to sweet slumber, but it didn’t work that way. She found herself tenser than when she first laid down. Finally, she gave up on sleep entirely and tossed the tangled sheets off her naked body, walked over to the bottle of vodka she brought with her, and poured herself a glass in one of the small plastic cups the hotel provided. Dragging the desk chair to the window, she opened the curtain and then plopped down, staring out at the twinkling city lights. Taking a sip of her drink, wincing slightly at the bitter bite, she ran a hand through her disheveled hair, scolding herself once more for allowing the kiss. However, she couldn’t deny the inexplicable pull she felt toward him. There was just something about Parker Franklin that…

She slammed the brakes on that line of thought as she took another sip of her vodka, allowing the alcohol to warm her insides against the chill her thoughts were giving her. How in the world would she focus on finding Jacob if Parker continued to distract her? She wouldn’t. She needed to get this out of her system, and there was only one way she could think of to do that. Go to Parker’s room and fuck him.

She downed the rest of her vodka for courage and then slipped into her robe. No sense getting dressed when she would simply take them off again if everything went right.

Less than a minute later, she took a deep breath as she raised her hand and knocked on Parker’s door. Her honey stirred as she felt her heart race, not believing she was actually standing outside of his room, ready to take him to bed. What the hell was she thinking?

She heard movement on the other side of the door seconds before it swung open. Parker stood there, staring at her with a blend of surprise and something else she couldn’t quite read.

“Sage. Hey. Um, what’s up? Everything all right?”

She opened her mouth to answer him, to tell him why she was there, when she realized he was still dressed. An awkward, nervous energy radiated off him as well as he darted his eyes up and down the hall, as if looking to see if anyone was watching them. He then glanced back at her, and he must have just realized she was only wearing her robe, because his eyes went wide and a different look crossed his face.

She stepped closer, pushing his odd behavior out of her mind. She was there for a reason, and she would not walk away unsatisfied. Leaning up on her toes, she snaked an arm around his neck and pulled him closer until their lips met.

At first, he stiffened, and then he actually pushed her away from him, holding her out at arm’s length as he stared into her eyes. “Sage, I need to?—”

“Get undressed,” she said, cutting him off as she pushed him back into the room, closing the door behind her. “You started something earlier that you’re going to finish.”

“But Sage…”

She reached for the tie on her rope, ripping it open, but just before she allowed it to slide down her shoulders, her gaze landed on someone seated at the foot of the bed. An extremely familiar figure. He stared at her, brow raised as he looked at her bare chest, a maddening grin creasing his face.

Sage yanked her robe closed again, clutching it to her as she stared at him. “Jacob!” She breathed out his name, equal parts confusion and anger swirling inside her chest. Now she knew why Parker acted so weird when he opened the door. How long had Jacob been there? “What the hell are you doing here?”

“By the looks of things, keeping my brother from getting lucky tonight.” Jacob cut his narrow eyes over at Parker. “What exactly did you start earlier? Something you failed to tell me?”

A slow sigh slipped out of Parker as he shook his head, hands on his hips. “Nothing’s happened. We kissed once but…”

“Stop!” Rage erupted inside of her, burning away any lingering passion she might have felt before that moment. “He doesn’t need to know what we did or didn’t do. Now, what the hell is going on here?” She swirled on Parker, pointing a finger at his brother. “How long has he been here? And why didn’t you call me? I mean, that’s why my team is here, right?”

Parker opened his mouth, but Jacob spoke before he could get any words out. “Team? You have a team now? You’ve stepped up your game.”

She turned on Jacob. “And you’ve remained the same jackass you’ve always been. What the hell have you gotten yourself into that the entire city of New Orleans is after you?”

Jacob shrugged. “What can I say? I’m popular.”

She glanced at his shoulder, the bandage red from his bleeding. “Looks like you need a doctor.”

He gave a slow swing of his head. “Not a good idea. The minute I walk through those doors, I’m arrested or dead. Neither choice particularly gets my excitement up.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Did you kill the cop? Because if you did, I’m out of here.”

He shook his head. “Nope. Nor did I steal Broussard’s drugs or money. But I’m fairly certain it was another cop.”

She walked over to him, peeling the bandage back to examine the wound. It looked like Parker did a decent job of patching his brother up at least. “You’re still going to need a doctor to look at this.” She stood back up. “Now, what can you tell me that’ll help us find who did this? Someone had to know about whatever went down. A drug trade. Buy. What?”

He winced as she placed the bandage back into place. “I’d much rather know about you and my brother. How long has this been going on?”

“Nothing is going on. I’m only in New Orleans because Parker asked me to help clear your name.”

“Jacob…”

She assumed Parker was trying to warn his brother not to be his normal jackass self, but Jacob could never rein himself in once he got started.

“After turning me down so many times ad ignoring my calls?” He shook his head, chuckling softly. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but these people aren’t exactly your run-of-the-mill criminals.” He pushed himself off the bed and moved over to the desk chair. “And you didn’t come to New Orleans wearing that robe. You came to my brother’s room. So, please…” He sat down as he gestured to the bed. “Don’t let me stop you.”

Growling, she felt her heart pounding so hard she felt it in her ears. God, what a fool she had been to let herself get caught up in whatever game the two brothers were playing. She should have followed her gut and ignored Parker’s call for help. He obviously didn’t need it. “Fuck this. I’m out of here.” She turned and headed for the door. “I hope they roast your ass.”

“Running away so soon?” Jacob’s tone was light, almost mocking. “Don’t you want to kiss my brother goodnight at least?”

She froze, her hand halfway to the metal doorknob. Slowly, she pivoted to face him, her eyes blazing with a fury she could scarcely contain. And then she crossed the room, placed her hands on Parker’s cheeks, and pulled him down until she could kiss him hard while Jacob sat there watching. It had been an act to piss Jacob off, but as her lips touched Parker’s, she felt the warmth between her legs grow once more.

At first, Parker simply stood there while she kissed him, frozen in place, but then he surrendered, sliding his hands around her waist and pressing her tightly against him. He was the one to break the kiss this time, however, stepping back as he licked his lips, and she could only stare at him, her heart racing. If Jacob had not been sitting right there…

“What the hell have I been missing?” Jacob asked, shattering the moment. “When did you two have time to get all cozy with each other? What the fuck don’t I know?”

She spun on him, rage coursing through her once more as she glared at him. “You’ve missed a hell of a lot, but then again, you were never one to truly pay attention to things that mattered.”

He sat there, staring at her.

“This isn’t a game, Jacob,” she spat, taking a step closer to him and his indifference. “You dragged your brother into this, and he called us. Now’s not the time to be playing the smartass.”

Jacob simply shrugged, that insufferable grin still plastered across his face. “I’m just enjoying the show, sweetheart. I mean, is this why you really dumped me? You had a thing for my brother?” A bitter laugh bubbled out of him as he shook his head. “Look, if you want to play footsie with Parker, that’s up to you. Maybe it’ll keep you both out of my way.”

She glared at him. “You’re right. I can do what I want, like go home and let you fight your own battles.” She never should have allowed herself to get caught in Jacob’s tangled web to begin with, and she definitely shouldn’t have entertained thoughts and feelings like she struggled with now about his brother. She should have quashed them as soon as they had entered her mind.

Parker took a step toward her, reaching out for her, but stopping before he touched her. “Sage, please. Ignore him. We need your help. I need your help.”

Clenching her jaw, she looked between the two brothers, her expression hardened into a mask of cold resolve. “Then you need to make sure your brother keeps his damn mouth shut. I have no flesh in this game. I’m only here because you called me, and I can leave at any time.”

With that, she spun back around and headed for the door, wrenching it open before storming out and slamming it behind her hard enough that it echoed down the hall. Her heart still thundered in her chest, a tumultuous storm of anger and hurt, and a dozen other emotions she couldn’t even begin to untangle.

As she made her way back toward her own room, she struggled to regain her composure. She had a job to do, and she couldn’t afford to let this personal bullshit get in her way. Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep, steadying breath and pushed it all to the back of her mind where she intended to keep it.

Behind her, she heard a door open and then Parker calling out her name. She ignored him, not wanting to deal with him or his brother. She needed to get dressed and update her team.

As she rounded the corner, she reached for the key card in her robe, but before she could take another step, she felt Parker grab her arm, bringing her to a stop. He spun her around, but she yanked her arm from his grasp and shoved him away from her. “Go. Away.”

He stood there, desperation on his face. “Sage, don’t do this. I’m sorry. He was in the room when I got there. I don’t know how he got in, but I was trying to get all the info I could from him before I called you. I promise. I thought you were asleep.”

“I don’t care. I’m not going to put?—”

And then he pressed her against the door and kissed her.