She drew in a deep breath and she realized she was thinking clearly again.
“Better?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
He didn’t smile but his eyes did, with a light that said he was proud of her. Still, there was a grim set to his features as he rose.
“You’re going to figure out how to stop him now, right?” she asked. “Find out where Devon is flying him to and have him followed and arrested?”
“No.”
“But—”
“No,” he said implacably.
She heard all sorts of things in his voice and had no idea what any of it meant. “Parker, I am not going to be the reason you don’t do your job.”
Nothing.
“Dammit, Parker, say something.”
He didn’t, and in the next minute the lobby was filled with cops, including Kel.
She was given a blanket and hot tea, and tucked into a corner like a damn victim. And then asked a million questions by the police.
And by Kel.
And then a million more by others whom she guessed were FBI and ATF, and a few more alphabet agencies she didn’t know.
But not Parker.
She was seen by medics who fretted about shock, but she wasn’t in shock. She was in the damn dark. She refused to go to the hospital and was reluctantly cleared at the scene.
Parker was the one to collect her, reappearing after too long a time where she hadn’t been able to see him in the chaos. He ushered her out to her car and into the passenger seat.
“I can drive.”
“I know,” he said, but he got behind the wheel.
“Let me guess,” she murmured. “You’ve got this.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I’ve got this. I’ve got you.”
And on that, she was going to have to trust him because she was suddenly so exhausted she couldn’t lift her own head.
Zoe opened her eyes and gasped in horror. Once again she was in the airport’s bathroom, panic flowing through her veins instead of blood. She watched in slow motion as Parker stepped in front of her so that Carver’s gun bumped him in the chest.
Parker’s gun had vanished. He had no protection at all—not that she could tell by the way he stood there still as night and deadly calm, like maybe he faced down maniacs on a daily basis.
Not Zoe. Her skin felt too tight for her body. She was both sweating and shaking. And her heart thundered against her ribs so hard she was sure they’d shatter before this was over.
“Drop the gun,” Parker said.
Carver laughed maniacally and emptied his clip into Parker’s chest.
Zoe screamed as he crumpled to the floor.
“Zoe.”
She jerked awake to the feel of Parker undoing her seat belt. They were parked in front of her house and he was outside the car, crouched at her side. “Easy,” he said. “Just me.”
Breathing like a lunatic, she’d have fallen right out of the seat if not for Parker. “You’re safe,” he said softly, his hands on her thighs.
Because he had her. And no one had ever made her feel so good. She let out a shaky breath and shoved her fingers through her hair. “I’m awake now.”
He nodded and rose to his feet, holding out a hand for hers. Night had fallen and so had the temperature. He wrapped her in his sweatshirt and led her to the house. Inside, he took her straight through the living room to the kitchen, where he sat her at the table.
“I have questions,” she said.
“I know.” He let Oreo out the back kitchen door to do his business and then fed the kittens, who were wild and unruly and climbing up her legs. He pulled them free, set them on the floor with a few of their toys, and put water on the stove to boil.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Making you tea.”
“I don’t want tea,” she said. “I want answers.”
When the tea was ready he set a hot mug in front of her and leaned back against the counter, arms crossed. Clearly not exactly open to talking, but he hadn’t refused her, either.
She’d take it. “At the airport,” she said, “Kel told me you’d done the right thing, which was a lot harder than the easy thing, and that it was going to cost you, which wasn’t the right thing.”
Parker’s face was blank, giving nothing away of his thoughts. He didn’t speak.
Shock.
“What’s today going to cost you?” she asked.
He slid his gaze away.
“Your job?” she asked.
He shrugged.
“Oh, Parker,” she breathed. “But I don’t get it. In the end you did what your boss had asked you to do. Honor the deal with Carver and let him walk.”
“They meant for him to stay in Idaho, in a known place where they could keep an eye on him. I sent him packing.”
“But Joe told the authorities that Devon only flew Carver to Coeur d’Alene.”
“We lost him from there,” he said.
She bit her lip, refusing to cry for him because he wouldn’t want her to, but it was all so unfair. That he’d ended up doing what he had was all her fault, her doing. He’d had to react to keep her safe and if she knew one thing about Parker, she knew that he’d never even weighed the choice. “Surely they’ll understand—”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s my problem, not yours.”
Right. She’d nearly forgotten. Her problems were his problems. And his problems were his problems. It infuriated her all over again. God, she was such an idiot. Because she was still falling for him, even now. Hell, she’d already fallen. She dropped her head to the table and thunked it a few times, but it didn’t help.
“Okay,” he said, and pushed away from the counter. “Bedtime.”
She lifted her head when he wrapped a palm around her arm and pulled her out of the chair. “I’m not in the mood.”
His lips quirked. “To sleep.”
“I knew that,” she muttered. Tugging free, she headed to the door and then stopped. “I need something from you,” she said to the wood.
“Anything,” he said from behind her. Right behind her.
He’d followed and was close enough that she could take in his scent. They’d been gone for hours, in an incredibly tense situation, and he still smelled amazing.
She could hate him for that alone. “I need you to be strong here, because I don’t think I can be, not after today. I need you to keep the space invasions to a minimum until you go, which I assume you’re doing sooner than later.”
Parker paused. “I have to be in D.C. to face the music on Monday,” he finally said.
Today was Friday. She swallowed hard and nodded, and walked out.
Twenty-seven
Parker walked through the house, checking windows and locks, turning off lights. He’d put off going to bed because he knew sleep wasn’t going to come for him.
He spent a few moments with the ridiculously energetic Bonnie and Clyde, who’d gotten bigger this week, their strength finally matching their courage and bravado. They were now insane heathens who climbed and destroyed everything in their midst.
And he adored them every bit as much as he did Oreo.
When he finally went upstairs, he passed by his bedroom, heading to Zoe’s, needing to check in on her just to make sure she’d been able to fall asleep without any trouble, that what had happened wasn’t bothering her.