Guarding the Truth Read online

  Chapter Seven

  Parker lay awake for some time, staring at the face of this angel beside him. She breathed deeply in a sound sleep. Now what was he going to do?

  He’d gone over the options a million times in his head while he watched her dream, a smile upon her lovely face. Nothing seemed plausible.

  If he quit his job, nothing would be solved. He could tell her father, “Sorry, but I fell in love with your daughter. I know it’s not what you would’ve wanted for her, but…” Her father would be furious.

  He considered telling her the truth, and every time it brought tears to his eyes. She would not forgive this betrayal. He knew she could not. It wasn’t in her nature.

  He could carry on, following her around, protecting her from harm and basically using her for as long as he could until the truth came out. She would be even more betrayed by that action. It was worse than the previous awful choices he’d thought up.

  Ugh. Parker lay back in a fitful sleep, praying some miracle would occur while he rested.

  After what seems like only moments, a phone jingle jerked Parker from the warm embrace he had around one very sexy body, Madeline.

  She was undisturbed by the ringing, and Parker smiled to himself, thinking of how sated she was, completely worn out. He slipped out from behind her, yanked his phone from his pants at the foot of the bed, and hit receive to avoid losing the call before tiptoeing out of the room. He knew good and well who it was. Detective Reynolds.

  Hearing from him was not a shock. They spoke every few days. It was sort of an unspoken rule that if Parker didn’t answer, he was either with Madeline or hot on her tail with the phone on vibrate. Even that first day when he’d met Madeline, Parker had known it was Reynolds who called in his apartment, but he couldn’t very well answer in Madeline’s presence.

  However, Reynolds had never called in the middle of the night. What time was it anyway? It could have been midnight or six a.m. for all Parker knew. But it was clearly dark outside, as he could see through the sliding-glass door when he entered the living room as quietly as possible, trying not to wake the goddess asleep in her bed. When he was far enough away and had shut the adjoining door, he responded. “Phillips here.”

  “’Bout time. I was getting worried. You picked up about thirty seconds ago,” Reynolds barked. Agitation was evident in his voice, more than could have been caused by Parker’s delayed response.

  “I’m here now. What’s going on?” Something had to be. He kept his voice low.

  “We think we have a lead on Jones and it’s not good news.” He paused.

  “I’m listening,” Parker mumbled into the receiver.

  “Why are you whispering? Oh my God. Dude…. Tell me you’re not sleeping with her…”

  Parker held his breath, not able to respond.

  “Parker! What the hell are you doing?” He was yelling now. Rightfully pissed. Under no circumstances would it have been okay for Parker to fraternize with Madeline Cooper, nor Maddie Kincade. He was in the middle of a job. The contract did not say “feel free to fuck the woman you’re protecting.” He was toast.

  There was nothing Parker could say or do, so he didn’t. He just waited.

  A long sigh from Reynolds. “Look, buddy. We’ve been friends forever. You’ve never pulled a stunt like this. Fuck. I’m the one who recommended you to her dad. Her dad, asshole. He’s going to kill me and then you. I can’t imagine what you were thinking.” There was a short pause filled with heavy breathing. “Frankly, I don’t have time to deal with this right now. Today isn’t an especially good day to replace you. So, please stop thinking with your little head and screw on your big head. Okay?”

  Parker knew something big was happening. Reynolds would never offhandedly dismiss an infraction like this so easily. “What happened? Give it to me straight.”

  “An informant believes Jones is in your area. Somehow he must have gotten tipped off. I can’t imagine how, seeing as no one knows where Madeline is except…except her father. Shit. Fuck. And damn. The one time I let a relative know where we’re keeping a victim and this happens. Why don’t I think this is a coincidence? Christ.” Parker could tell Reynolds was pacing. He always paced when he needed to think.

  “So, what? You think he ratted? What kind of sense does that make?”

  “I don’t know, but I aim to find out. In the meantime, stop sleeping with the man’s daughter before you get caught, and…well, fuck, never mind…on second thought, keep sleeping with her. It’s safer. Don’t leave her side. I think this is serious. This guy is the real thing. He has killed several victims. He has no qualms about adding this one to the list. If he knows where she’s hiding, he will murder her. And you too. We’ll move you ASAP from the area, but I need a few hours to arrange it.”

  “Got it. What do you want her to know?” Parker didn’t relish the idea of exposing himself to her at this time, just when things were heating up between them, but he also wouldn’t risk her life to keep the passion going.

  “Whatever keeps her alive.”

  * * *

  Something woke Madeline up, a sound. Talking. She bolted upright at the realization, wondering who would be talking in her apartment, and then it all came back to her, the passionate evening of sex. Parker. She smiled to herself, but she still felt uneasy. Who was he talking to? Was someone with him? Why?

  She grabbed an oversized T-shirt slung over the back of a chair, pulled it over her head, and padded out of the bedroom. At the entrance to the living room, she paused as he tossed his phone on the end table as though it had a disease. He never took his gaze off the night he was staring at through the sliding glass doors. Could he see something out there? The thought gave her a chill.

  Madeline froze in the doorframe between the living room and the bedroom, information dawning on her. She was living a lie and taking Parker on that roller coaster with her. Guilt stabbed at her. Until this moment, she’d never considered the repercussions of entering into a relationship with someone. Someone who didn’t know she was not Maddie Kincade, but Madeline Cooper. It was so deceptive. And the act put him in danger.

  What if her attacker happened to find her and Parker got shot at or stabbed or strangled while innocently dating a woman he thought was perfectly normal. It wasn’t at all fair that she’d dragged him into this mess, leaving a heap of skeletons in the closet. Lord, one would have to back up against the door of the metaphorical closet and push hard to shut it. It was that full. She felt sick to her stomach thinking of all the possible repercussions of her actions.

  What were you thinking, “Maddie”? Did you think you could just pretend your other life away? It was all fun and games until now. But what if someone got hurt. Parker.

  “Maddie? I’m sorry. Did I wake you?” Parker yanked her from her self pity.

  “No. I mean, I guess I heard a noise. Were you on the phone? Who would call in the middle of the night? Is everything okay? You look…deep in thought. Worried.” She opted to take the emphasis off her lie and place some sort of blame on his weird phone call. As if he were the one fooling her about something instead of the other way around. Good one, Maddie. Maybe that will ease your guilt.

  “Oh, it was nothing.” He wandered over to her side, leaving the dark night behind him beyond the glass pane. He was lying. Why? And what was he thinking about so pensively that he’d been unaware of her presence?

  Parker grasped her with his warm hands and pulled her back into the bedroom. “It’s still a while before morning. Let’s go back to sleep.” He was practically towing her over to the bed.

  She followed, mixed emotions about her lie and whatever his was warring within her. The idea of getting a few more hours of sleep, however, beat them both out. Surly everything would look clearer in the light of day…

  * * *

  Or not.

  When Maddie awoke next, Parker was not beside her. She looked around the room, a tad disoriented, before she heard the shower. She thought about joining him a
nd smiled at the idea of running her hands over his naked soapy body.

  A flush rushed up her cheeks and she clenched her legs together at the onslaught of warmth tickling her clit. She would sure like another opportunity to explore his anatomy. How could she possibly be wet and wanting again? Her sex ached from last night, but she didn’t care. She reached between her legs and ran her finger through her outer lips just as Parker had last night. A soft moan escaped her mouth and made her bite her lip. She was wet all right.

  The water flipped off in the bathroom, and jerked Madeline back to the present. She wasn’t ready to be caught masturbating.

  Madeline lay back against the pillow and stretched. Her muscles were sore, all of them. Even her neck.

  Guilt seeped back into her memory. What was she going to do? She couldn’t tell him about the whole witness protection thing. It wasn’t allowed. Strictly forbidden to tell anyone. But she also couldn’t continue seeing him under the pretense of being someone she was not. It wasn’t fair. And then there was the danger involved. Continuing with Parker could conceivably endanger his life.

  Her cell phone broke her reverie and she leaned over the edge of the bed to retrieve it from her pants pockets. Sure are a lot of inconvenient calls happening around here at odd hours.

  “Hello?”

  “Maddie, Mark here.” The infamous first-name-basis detective.

  She remembered to lower her voice as she heard Parker moving around in the bathroom. “Detective, it’s, um, not really a good time. Do you need something?” she muttered under her breath.

  “What? I can barely hear you. Listen, there’s been a development. Are you still seeing that what’s-his-name from next door?” What the hell was this all about? She’d mentioned Parker to the detective on several occasions, but what did that have to do with anything? Madeline froze, squeezing the phone in her hand.

  “Yes, why?” She tried to keep her voice low, but wasn’t sure how successful she was.

  “Can you stick around him for a few days?”

  “I’m…not…sure, why?” This was not her plan. She was just thinking she needed to get away from him. He wasn’t safe, and his innocence could get him killed because of her.

  “Maddie, it’s Jones. We think he may have been tipped off somehow.”

  Shit. How the hell did that happen?

  “Why? What? How?” She was practically shouting now and no longer cared. The stakes had been raised.

  “I don’t have all the details, but it would probably be best if you stuck to P-Patrick, or whatever you said his name was, just for the time being, until we can get you out of there. Can you do that?” Huh? What the hell was Reynolds talking about? And when did she tell him Parker’s name, correctly or otherwise.

  “Detective, what’s going on? Why would I do that? His life would be endangered too. That idea seems awfully flawed. Can’t you send the police or something?”

  Parker chose that moment to walk into the room. “Baby, you talking to someone? You sound upset.” Madeline jumped off the bed, thankful she was still wearing the T-shirt from earlier. Her heart pounded as she stared at Parker and listened to Mark.

  “Maddie, we’re working on it as fast as we can arrange things. Please. Don’t leave the apartment today, okay? Are you still listening? Can you hear me?”

  Sure. But what was she supposed to say to Parker. She realized she needed to have some sort of conversation with him, but not this way.

  “Yes, okay. Thank you for calling. I’ll see what I can do.” And she hung up.

  “Who was that? You look like you got really bad news.” He had the strangest look on his face, and his tone didn’t match it. Plus, he seemed disinterested, fumbling on the floor for his jeans. Not making eye contact.

  Had the world gone completely crazy since last night? Did I actually die having sex, and now I’m in some weird in-between stage of death where nothing makes sense as a punishment for my transgressions? It sure seemed that way. First Parker gets a weird call and acts strange. Then I get a weird call, and…Parker acts strange again. Funky common denominator if you ask me.

  “Are you hungry?” Parker changed the subject, not pressing her for more information about the mysterious phone call. His gaze flicked toward Maddie from the doorway, but it didn’t escape her attention that he hadn’t waited for a response to his question.

  “Yes, I guess so. I… I think I’ll take a shower.” At least the time alone would give Madeline the opportunity to further ponder the strange sense that she was currently starring in an episode of Twilight Zone. Even the room around her seemed black and white.

  She shook her head to clear it of the false image as Parker walked into the kitchen. Madeline’s legs were like lead. She couldn’t lift them yet and stood rooted to the floor, in a fog, dazed.

  No wonder the room has no distinct colors. My eyes are clouded over. I’ve lost my mind.

  She finally managed to amble over to the bathroom and into the shower, shrugging the T-shirt over her head on the way.

  Madeline, get a grip on yourself. You’ve got to get cleaned up, put some clothes on, and get rid of the man in the other room whose life is at stake. No matter what Detective Reynolds had said, Madeline had no intention of sticking close to Parker.

  She shook herself into action. Showered. Combed. Dressed. Record time.

  She walked into the kitchen with renewed conviction, only to find Parker leisurely enjoying toast and eggs. “Hungry? Sit down. I made you a plate. Do you always shower that fast? You aren’t like any other woman I know.”

  He produced a strained smile, not quite real. She didn’t miss the gesture. Even though Madeline had huge issues at stake this morning, Parker had some interesting stuff up his sleeve also. Too bad she didn’t have time to find out what it was.

  She couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to Parker because of her dishonesty. She needed to ditch him and fast. And then do what, Madeline? Wait for Reginald Jones to show up and kill you? At least he wouldn’t find Parker and kill him too. But that was a small consolation prize.

  When Parker glanced down at Madeline’s body with a different look in his eyes, she too drew her gaze downward. No wonder he was staring at her. She’d tugged on a pair of tight jeans and a white T-shirt over a lace bra. Her hair, still wet, was dripping on her shirt, creating the perfect wet T-shirt contest, complete with nipples that were poking out for anyone to see.

  Instead of sitting as Parker requested, Madeline paced the room. Her hands were shaking. She stilled them by crossing her arms over her betraying nipples. She couldn’t eat. Her heart was pounding. In spite of the shower, sweat ran down her back to send a chill up her spine. What should I tell him?

  “Maddie, sit. You’re making me nervous. You have to eat. You need your strength.”

  For what? What the hell parallel universe had she woken up in?

  Madeline had made no decisions about how to get Parker out of her apartment, so she sat. She ate the breakfast he prepared for her, trying to hold her hands steady.

  The food had no taste at all. It seemed as though she were chewing and swallowing cardboard. She couldn’t even recall what it had been, but it was gone. The plate empty. She stared at him across the tiny table, not speaking. Clearly they were both in distress, although she had no earthly idea what the cause of his was. And didn’t have time to guess at it.

  Madeline took a deep cleansing breath to fortify herself for what she had to do next and walked over to the window, Parker close on her heels.

  She stared out into the dawning morning and froze. There he was, Reginald Jones, the man of her every nightmare. Fear rattled in Madeline’s system, but she was unable to move, frozen, doomed by the large window. The bastard had his focus trained directly on her, as well as his gun. And then all hell broke loose, and Madeline’s world as she thought she knew it turned upside down.

  Chapter Eight

  “Madeline, get down!” Parker launched for her and took her entire body down
, covering it with his in slow motion, as if he were trained to do so. And what the hell had he called her? She only noticed because the word sounded foreign spoken from his lips.

  Shots were fired. Glass shattered. Parker crawled toward the bedroom and an inside wall, dragging Madeline beneath him, never letting any part of her be exposed. What the hell is going on?

  Realization dawned. Their entire relationship was a farce. Parker had never been an accidental neighbor. He’d been hired. Hired to keep an eye on her.

  Silence. Madeline stared at Parker. Stunned. Frozen. Glued to the floor.

  “We have to get out of here now. Are you hurt anywhere?” Parker examined her all over, feeling her entire body with his hands in a quick assessment of the possible damage. Madeline batted at him, sickened to have him touch any part of her.

  He lied to me.

  He breathed a sigh of relief, apparently from finding no holes in her, ignoring her protests. When he seemed satisfied she wasn’t hurt, he sat back a fraction. She lay there another moment, unable to respond, and then her senses kicked in.

  “Fuck you! Get off of me!” She scrambled away from him like a crab, on her back with her hands and feet grasping for purchase on the carpet. “Did my father put you up to this? Oh…my…God! I fucking can’t believe it.” She’d never once in her life used that word. Moments ago she’d been paralyzed with fear, and now, only a few seconds later, bitter anger pierced through her. Her face was hot. The shaking she’d experienced earlier in the kitchen kicked up a notch.

  “Madeline, calm down. I—”

  “Don’t you tell me what to do. Get away from me. Get out,” she yelled loud enough to wake the dead, pointing at the door.

  “Madeline,” he started again, speaking softly, “I know how this must look, but listen to me.” His voice rose. The perfect gentleman of yesterday had a flaw. He was losing his temper.

  “No. You listen to me. I don’t know who’s paying you or how much, but the jig is up. Get out. I don’t ever want to see you again.” There.