Shadows Redeemed (Garrison Security Innovations #4)

Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

PARKER GROANED AS CONSCIOUSNESS returned to him in slow, agonizing waves, and he fought to keep the nausea at bay. His body ached from head to toe—his ribs screamed in protest with every shallow breath, and his head pounded like a drum with a five-year-old holding the drumsticks. God, did he wish someone would control that kid.

When his eyes finally fluttered open, he realized he was sitting in a chair and not at his cabin. No, not just sitting—he was bound to it. The cold, rough rope bit into his bare wrists, holding him in place, keeping him trapped. And his wrists weren’t the only thing still bare! His entire body shivered as cold air brushed over his skin. He was naked still, thanks to these morons busting in on them so early in the morning. Completely vulnerable. A flare of anger rose in him, sharp and hot, as he tugged against his restraints.

Through the throbbing of his skull, he tried to piece together everything that happened at the cabin, but most of it came in fragmented pieces—his cabin, the sudden invasion, Sage’s terrified scream as Broussard’s men kicked the door completely off its hinges, and then the savage beating that followed as he tried to protect them both. He had failed, of course. Those burly guys weren’t there to mess around—they’d taken him down fast, efficient. He hadn’t stood a chance. Sage…. Parker’s heart raced as panic seized him. Sage had been with him. She was right there when they grabbed him. He jerked his frantic gaze around the warehouse, searching for her. Where was she? Was she still alive?

Instead of finding Sage, however, his eyes landed on four men standing nearby, watching him with cold indifference.

The first one, tall and solidly built with dark hair and sharp features, was someone he recognized right away. Dominick. His brother’s old friend. The realization twisted something in Parker’s gut. Why the hell was the man there? And why was he with the three thugs who had taken him?

Parker’s throat felt dry as he rasped out, “Where the hell is Sage? What have you done with her?”

“She was fine when they left with you, from what they told me.” Dominick sighed as he tossed a bundle of clothes toward Parker’s feet. “Put these on. I’m tired of looking at you like that.”

“What the hell are you doing with these people?” Then his eyes went wide. “Wait. You knew Jacob was at the cabin. You said so when I talked to you the other day. You’re the reason they found him out there.” It hadn’t been a slip-up on Sage’s part.

But Dominick merely crossed his arms over his chest, turned, and walked away a few steps, motioning with a jerk of his head for one of the others to take over.

One of the men, a bulky guy with tattoos running down his arms, stepped forward and pulled out a knife. Parker flinched instinctively, but the man simply sliced through the ropes, freeing his wrists and legs. As soon as he was loose, Parker scrambled for the clothes—sweatpants and a T-shirt—his movements clumsy from exhaustion and pain. His body throbbed with every movement, but the adrenaline pumping through his veins pushed him forward, as he hastily pulled on the sweats and shirt, never taking his eyes off Dominick.

“You’re really working with them?” Parker demanded as he shoved his feet into some boots Dominick had set by the chair. His hands were shaking with fury. “How could you do this? How could you betray your friend like this? You’ve been friends since high school, for crying out loud.”

Dominick’s eyes flickered with what Parker took as regret before he jerked his gaze away. “I didn’t have a choice.”

The words echoed in Parker’s ears, and for a moment, he thought Dominick meant he didn’t have a choice with the Broussard crime family—the thugs who’d taken him, the ones who had undoubtedly put all this in motion.

“There’s always a choice.” Parker finished getting dressed, glaring at Dominick the entire time.. “What did they offer you?”

Dominick shook his head. “It’s not that simple. And I told you to stay out of it. Remember? I warned you that these were dangerous people. I told you you’d get hurt.” He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “You always were too stubborn for your own good, even back then.”

“I remember you told me Jacob was your best friend.” Parker glared at him. “A best friend wouldn’t betray him this way.”

“A best friend wouldn’t shove me into this position.”

“What position?”

Before Dominick could answer, however, the metal door to the warehouse scraped open. As two men stepped inside, their footsteps echoing off the concrete floor as they approached, Parker tried to glance behind them, get a feeling for where they had taken him. But on the other side of the door was simply another dark room.

Parker’s blood ran cold when he recognized them. Nealey and Sullivan—cops, detectives who had been hellbent on hunting Jacob down for months. They were the ones who had been trailing his brother, trying to pin his handler’s murder on him. But what the hell were they doing there? And with Broussard’s men? Dominick. Nealey. Sullivan. What the hell was going on here?

Dominick took a step back as the detectives strode toward them, a heavy tension hanging in the air. Parker’s mind raced as he tried to make sense of it all. Why would Dominick be working with the cops? Was this all connected to the Broussards somehow? He knew the crime family had their hands in all sorts of dirty business, but law enforcement? Jacob had said there was a dirty cop. Looks like he was right, after all.

Nealey swiped his sandy blond hair out of his eyes as he crossed the room, a permanent scowl etched onto his face. He glanced at Parker with a sneer, shaking his head as he made a tsk-tsk sound. “You should have just told us where your brother was, Parker. Now look at the mess you’ve gotten yourself into.”

Parker clenched his fingers into tight fists. “Where’s my brother, you son of a bitch?” He struggled not to lash out at them, despite the fear gnawing at him. “And where’s Sage?”

“I don’t know a damn thing about your girlfriend. Besides, you’ve got bigger problems to worry about than that.” Sullivan moved to stand in front of him, the man’s tone dripping with condescension. “Your brother’s days are numbered. He should’ve known better than to mess with the wrong people.”

Parker glared at them, fists clenched at his sides. “You’re setting him up, and I know it? You’re framing him for Fontaine’s murder, when the truth is you probably did it yourselves.”

Nealey chuckled, the sound low and cruel. “Smart boy. Too bad you don’t know when to keep your mouth shut.”

Before Parker could respond, the door to the warehouse creaked open again, and this time, the scrawny figure of Luc Broussard stepped inside. But he wasn’t alone. Bryce strode in beside him, his hands stuffed into his pockets as he smirked across the room at Parker.

Parker’s world spun out of control. It was as if the walls were closing in on him, the weight of the betrayal suffocating him from every angle. Dominick, the detectives, and Sage’s mentor Bryce Anderson—they were all in on it with the Broussards. All part of the same twisted game, setting Jacob up to take the fall for killing the cop, Eric Fontaine, and stealing Broussard’s drugs.

He felt his brows pinch. That made no sense. If Luc was there, then he knew who stole his drugs. Didn’t he? Parker racked his brain, trying hard to figure out the piece he was missing, and he knew he was missing something.

Luc smiled as he approached, his eyes cold and calculating as he raked Parker with his deadly gaze. “You’re one major pain in the ass, do you know that?” He slammed his fists to his hips as a low growl rumbled out of him. “If I didn’t need you to get to your brother, I’d have them kill you on the spot.”

Parker felt his brows rise. “I can see you’re not worried about threatening murder in front of these two.” He turned to the detectives, snarling. “I always knew I hated the two of you for a reason.”

Sullivan feigned hurt. “I’m wounded. How shall I ever get through the rest of the day?”

Parker ignored the man, turning his attention back to Luc “Where’s Sage? If you’ve hurt her?—”

Luc turned to the thicker of the three goons. “Is she…?”

The thick-bodied man crossed his arms over his chest as he shook his head. “When we left, she was taking a nice nap, but otherwise she was… breathing. At least, I think she was.”

Parker’s stomach dropped at the implication in the man’s words. His mind raced, trying to hold on to hope. If Sage was still alive, he had to find a way to save her, but with the odds stacked against him, how could he?

“You can thank me for that.” Bryce stepped forward, his gaze locking onto Parker’s. There was no warmth in his eyes, no recognition of the man who had once meant something to Sage, who had spent some time training Parker. “I assured Luc here that he didn’t need to kill her because she’ll help us bring Jacob in. You see you’re the bait. We know your brother would rather die than see anything happen to you.”

“Jacob won’t fall for this. Besides, how do you expect him to even hear you took me?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that.” Bryce leaned his head to the side, studying Parker, a smirk twisting his lips. “That’s where Sage is going to help us. You see, I know her. As soon as she wakes up, your brother’ll be her first call. Probably bitching his ass out and blaming him for what happened.”

A shuffling off to the side drew Parker’s attention. Turning, he saw Dominick shuffle forward, a nervous trembling in his hands. “Um, look, I did what you asked. I got you Parker, and told you about the cabin. I want nothing else to do with this.” He turned to Sullivan, his face pale. “We’re square, right?”

Sullivan nodded. “Yeah, we’re square.” And then he pulled out his gun and put two slugs into Dominick’s chest.

Dominick tumbled backward, eyes wide as he fell to the concrete floor. Dead.

Parker felt his eyes go wide as he jerked his gaze first to the dead man and then to Sullivan. The detective just killed a man in front of him, which meant Parker was not going to get out of there alive. Not with everything he now knew and what he witnessed.

Sullivan turned back to him, shrugging. “He served his purpose.”

Parker swallowed hard, the weight of the situation pressing down on him like a crushing weight. Regardless of what he told the old man, he knew Jacob would come for him. His brother was reckless when it came to protecting people he loved—it was a flaw, a weakness these morons were exploiting. And Parker hated it. He hated that they were using him to get to his brother.

“How do you sleep at night?” Parker spat, glaring at Bryce. “Sage trusted you. And now you’re?—”

Bryce’s eyes flickered with something—guilt, maybe—but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. “You don’t understand the stakes, son. This isn’t just about Jacob. It’s bigger than that, and there’s a hell of a lot more on the line than your punk brother’s life.” He sighed, taking in a slow breath. “The people involved aren’t the type to take IOUs.”

“Who’s involved?” Parker jerked his gaze around at the others. “Who are you so afraid of?”

Luc stepped forward, cutting the conversation short. “Enough talking. We need to get this done.” He turned to Parker, his eyes gleaming with malice. “You just better hope your girlfriend wakes up and reaches out to your brother quickly. We need those drugs.”

Parker’s heart pounded in his chest as Luc’s words sank in. They were planning to use him as bait, and Jacob would walk right into their trap. His thoughts flashed back to Sage—he knew Bryce was right. She would call Jacob, tell him what had happened, ask if he knew where they would go next. It made sense, after all. Jacob had been working for them, even if undercover, had been following them. It stood to reason he would know their hideouts. However, what Bryce and the others didn’t know was that Sage wasn’t alone. She was with a team of Former SEALs, and there was no way they would allow her to walk into the fire alone. They would all come to the rescue. The question was, would they get there before Jacob did?

Parker growled. He had to find a way out of this before his brother did something stupid. But with the detectives, Luc Broussard, and Bryce all watching him, waiting for him to break, Parker felt trapped in a nightmare he couldn’t escape.

As he stood there, surrounded by enemies on all sides, Parker made a silent vow. He wouldn’t let them win. He didn’t know how he would pull it off, but he wouldn’t let them take Jacob down. And he sure as hell wouldn’t let them hurt Sage, nevertheless use her to do their dirty work. One way or another, he was going to find a way out of this mess—he had no other choice.

The game was on, and Parker had no intention of losing. He ran his gaze around the place, looking for anything he could use to attack the closest thug to him and make a bolt for it. However, just as he saw the metal pipe, just before he lunged for it, knowing he would probably get shot in the process, his brother appeared in one of the grimy windows.