Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Parker
The past year flew by, and it was hard to believe that Gabriel was already one year old. We planned the perfect birthday party for him at our home, on the beach. Between our work schedules, we hired a part-time nanny to help out with the baby. She was a godsend and loved Gabriel.
“Where is Paige?” I asked Tracy, our nanny. “People are scheduled to arrive in a couple of hours.”
“She said she wouldn’t be long, Parker. Don’t worry. She’ll be here.”
“I hope so.” I pulled my phone from my pocket and tried calling her again. It went straight to voicemail. “Paige, sweetheart. This is your loving husband. Our son’s birthday party starts in two hours. Where are you? Call me ASAP.”
I chased the man into an alley. He lunged at me, and my fist hit his jaw, sending him crashing into a stack of crates.
I heard footsteps from behind. Without turning, I drove my elbow back into his ribs so hard that I heard the air leave his lungs as he hit the ground.
More footsteps. Another man had followed us. I turned around and stared at him.
“Still thinking about it? Huh?”
“You bet, little lady. When I’m done with you, you’re going to wish you never found us.”
“Okay,” I sighed. “That right there is your first mistake.”
He charged after me with a knife in his hand.
I lunged out of the way, grabbed his wrist, and twisted it hard until I heard the cracking of his bones.
He screamed, dropped to his knees, and I clocked him in the side of his head with my boot, sending him on his back.
Glancing at my watch, I was running out of time.
“Damn it.”
I walked over to the one man who was barely conscious and groaning. Kneeling down, I grabbed his shirt while my arm jammed into his broken ribs.
“Where is she?”
The man shook his head.
“I don’t—”
I lifted him up by his shirt just enough to painfully drop him back on the ground. He screamed.
“Wrong answer. You’ve got five seconds to decide if today ends with you walking away or being carried out in a body bag.”
“Warehouse. Pier 17, second-floor office,” he coughed out.
“Good choice.” I pulled my gun and clocked him in the side of the head.
Pulling out my phone, I saw I had two voice messages from Parker. I’d listen to them after I called Simon.
“Paige, what’s up?”
“I need you to send your guys to,” I rattled off, where I was. “The hostage is being kept in a warehouse. Pier 17. Second-floor office. I have to get home to my son’s birthday party. Parker is already blowing up my phone.”
“Go, we got this. Thanks, Paige.”
“You’re welcome.”
Parker
I was worried. I shouldn’t have been, but it wasn’t like Paige to cut it this close. The front door opened, and relief washed over me.
“There you—” I stopped, noticing the blood splatter all over her shirt.
“I have thirty minutes to shower and change before everyone gets here. If you want to talk, you’ll have to do it while I’m in the shower. Where’s Gabriel?”
“Napping. He’s preparing for his big day,” I said, following her up the stairs.
Before heading to the bathroom to shower, she stopped by the nursery and stared at our son while he slept.
“I’m here, little man.” She softly rubbed his back.
I started the shower for her while she undressed.
“You know, Paige. I’m a little angry right now.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I love you.” She stepped into the shower.
“It’s our son’s birthday. We’re having a party with fifty guests, and you got home thirty minutes before the party starts with blood all over your shirt.”
She opened the shower door. “Come here.”
“Why?” My brows furrowed.
She extended her arm, grabbed my shirt, and pulled me closer.
“I got the bad guys, saved a hostage from being killed, and made it home in time. That’s all that matters.” She kissed my lips. “Now go so I can finish getting ready.”
“We’re not done discussing this,” I said.
“I know. We’ll argue about it later and have the best make-up sex. I look forward to it.” She smiled.
And just like that, I was undone. My wife always knew the right things to say to calm me down, and I loved every minute of it.
Paige stayed true to her word. She was showered and fully ready with five minutes to spare. Guests started filtering in, and the celebration began. The food was a hit since I had Four Kinds cater it. And the cake? Nobody made a better cake than Zoey Kind.
We placed Gabriel in his highchair on the patio and placed a small cake in front of him. After we sang happy birthday, we all stood back and watched what he’d do. He took his fist and jammed it into the center of the cake with force, laughing when he saw what he had done.
“Well, he’s definitely Paige’s son.” Julian chuckled.
“Damn right, he is.” Paige smiled as she overheard. She walked over to Gabriel and kissed the top of his head. “That’s my boy.”
The party was winding down. Roman, Julian, and I grabbed our kids and walked down to the shoreline.
“Look at us,” Roman said. “Who the hell ever would have thought the three of us would be married and have kids?”
“Right?” Julian said. “It’s funny how your life can completely do a 180.”
“True. So true,” I said, holding Gabriel. “Paige barely made it home in time. And when she did, she had blood all over her shirt.”
“Did she get the mission done?” Roman asked.
“Yeah. She did.”
“Then that’s all that matters,” he said.
“I can’t wait until Gabriel is in school and gets bullied.” Julian chuckled. “Paige is going to go ballistic, and one of us will most likely have to defend her.”
“She wouldn’t do that,” I said, glancing at Julian.
“In what universe are you living in, bro?” Julian laughed.
“I guess you’re right,” I sighed.
Our wives walked down and joined us. We sat in the sand, talked, and played with the kids.
“I have a question for you,” I said to Paige.
“Okay.”
“If Gabriel gets bullied in school, what will you do?”
“Pulverize the kids who are bullying him and ruin their lives. Not only their lives, but their parents’ lives as well.”
“Told you.” Julian laughed.
“Now, Paige. We just can’t go—”
“Can’t go and do what, Parker?” Her brow raised. “If someone hurts our child, I won’t stand back and pretend it’s okay. There will be consequences.”
“Okay,” I sighed.
Julian hooked his arm around me. “Don’t worry. We’ll be here to support you.” He whispered in my ear.
“Shut up, bro.” I pushed him back, and he fell into the sand laughing.
Later that evening, we gave Gabriel a bath and put him to bed. I poured Paige and me a glass of wine and brought it up to our bedroom.
“Thanks, babe.” Paige smiled.
I climbed in next to her. “What a day.”
“It was a perfect day,” Paige said.
“Can we continue our discussion from earlier?” I asked.
“No. We’ll just get straight to the sex part.” She set her wine glass on the nightstand.
I set mine down and hovered over her.
“You made me mad today,” I said.
“I know. I’m sorry. Now shut up and kiss me before I change my mind.”
“It would be my pleasure.” I grinned before smashing my mouth into hers.