14. Amorette
AMORETTE
D ays went by without much movement. Parker avoided me and everyone else, like the plague, and the other three followed mundane daily routines like they were just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
That wasn’t true.
Andre holed himself up in his office searching for some scrap of information to help them—us—take down Vicente. He’d surface for air, make an excuse to touch me in some way, then disappear to his bedroom.
Grey was fighting everything and everyone who was willing in an effort to take some of the steam off the top.
When there was no one to fight, he’d steal me away and fuck my brains out.
That was pretty normal for him as far as I’d seen since I’d been here, but his behavior seemed more rage fueled than usual.
It was Lafe who seemed to be waiting for the other shoe to drop. He had a new purpose since the warehouse, a higher level of energy, but at the same time, he watched the doors and windows like he expected someone to pop up and attack us.
I opened the door to the movie room, ready for our nightly watch party Lafe and I had started. Andre joined us a time or two. Grey would poke his head in, then duck back out. Then there was the one time Parker had stopped by…
Lafe was already sprawled out on the couch with the remote in his hand. He smiled as he saw me and leaned forward to place the remote on the coffee table. “You’re early.”
“I finished the research for Parker, and I thought you might be here.” As much as my life had changed, I still worked for Parker. Weirdly, it was doable even when the man himself avoided me. And it was something to keep me busy. Keep my mind engaged.
I grinned back as I plopped down on the cushion next to him. His smile dimmed just a hair as he glanced at the cushion, but it brightened when he glanced up at me.
“You think Andre will make an appearance tonight?” He reached over and pulled a folded blanket from beside the couch. The fresh smell of clean laundry wafted toward me as I took the corner and spread it over my lap.
Our nights in the movie room were so normal that I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. I did neither, but it didn’t stop the thoughts from crowding my brain every time I stepped in here. It was these moments that made these men more likable. More human.
“I have no idea. I haven’t seen him all day—”
The door opened, and Andre walked in.
“We have our answer,” I snickered. Lafe and I both laughed, and Andre raised a brow.
“Anything you want to share?”
“Nope,” I answered and gave him a closed-lip smile. It probably looked forced, but I didn’t want to laugh in his face. Not when it was our nights that made this life bearable.
He sat on my other side and grabbed the blanket, tugging it down just enough to cover his legs. It was cool in here, somewhere around sixty-five or so. For as hot as the island was, they loved a chilly movie room. I did too.
“Make any traction today?” I asked Andre as Lafe found our show.
Andre’s brows furrowed, and he gave one shake of his head. “Not a fucking thing.”
“I thought I’d find you all in here,” Parker said nonchalantly as he strolled into the room with his hands in his pockets. Immediately, the tension ratcheted up with the temperature.
Andre braced his hands on his knees and glared at Parker through his lashes. “I’m surprised you’re still here.”
Parker’s jaw ticked as he fell down into the corner of the other couch. He spread his knees and draped his arm over the back. “I’d like to say that you’re ecstatic that I didn’t abandon my family, but your severe frown sends me mixed signals, dear brother.”
Scoffing, Andre rubbed his hands together, never moving his gaze from Parker. I glanced at Lafe; he seemed content to let whatever tiff play out between them.
“You’re so full of fucking secrets, I can’t trust you. You could be here biding your time, or you could actually care. And Park, you have no one to blame except yourself.”
“ Again , I told you I wanted to be here. I told you how you could trust that—”
“That’s not up to me, and you know it.”
I darted looks between the brothers. What were they talking about? This was the same conversation they’d had the last time.
“I want to be here. And I’m willing to prove it to you.
I would have told you today if you hadn’t slammed your office door in my face.
” Parker’s top lip curled and his fingers bit into the fabric of the couch.
“I’m sorry. I fucked up. You can accept it or not, but I’m trying to help.
If you can’t let me be a part of the family, then fucking tell me now.
Otherwise, I came to enjoy a little telenovela with my brothers and our little love.
” His gaze settled on me briefly before it turned into a heated glare for Andre.
Blowing out a breath, Andre sat back and reached out a hand, resting it on my knee.
There it was, that insignificant touch that didn’t feel so insignificant.
He was conditioning me. He had to be, because I was starting to look forward to them.
If he didn’t stop, I was afraid I’d come to crave them just like I craved Grey’s brutal possession.
I peeked at Lafe, and this time, he was watching me.
Damn him. I was starting to crave him too.
But it was his vulnerability that pulled so hard at me, like I was the only one who could fix him.
And that was a dangerous slope. No one could be fixed if they didn’t want to do the work themselves.
I’d learned that far too often in my previous line of work.
I gulped and dropped my gaze. I hated these little reminders of my old life. They made letting go so damn hard.
“All right, Parker,” Andre drawled. “Stay, watch the show. I’m done in the office for the day, but tomorrow we can put our heads together.”
Parker didn’t get a chance to answer because his phone rang. It was a ringtone I hadn’t heard before and his brows popped up as he pulled his phone out. It was a video call, and he was answering it.
He didn’t say anything in greeting, just stared into the phone with one brow raised. Because of the angle he was sitting, I couldn’t see who was on the screen.
“Parker. After our college days, I’d have thought you’d be more excited to speak with me,” the man said drily with a smooth Australian accent.
“We’ve seen each other at least once a year since then. We’ve hardly fallen out of touch,” Parker returned as he slouched a little deeper in the seat, getting comfortable.
The other man chuckled, and the deep timbre rolled over my shoulders. “When it suited.”
Huffing out a laugh, Parker glanced at us and then back to the phone. “I’m not alone. I’m with my brothers and our…friend. Is there a reason you’re calling, or are you just out for a catch-up?”
“Brothers, hmm? I don’t believe I’ve ever had the pleasure. Care to introduce me?”
Parker turned to Andre, clearly asking for permission. Andre narrowed his eyes.
“Who is that?” he asked softly.
“Dae-Hyun. We met when I was studying in the US. He’s from a wealthy family and has come in handy from time to time in my business,” Parker readily supplied. Dae remained quiet, probably understanding that he had to be vetted first.
“Is he associated with any organizations I’m familiar with?”
One side of Parker’s lips kicked up. “The Network.”
The way he said it seemed official, like it was similar to the Institution. I glanced up at Andre, and he was studying his brother. “Do you trust him?”
“As much as I trust anyone not in this room. And Grey, of course.”
Lafe reached out and placed his hand on my knee, rubbing circles through the blanket while he kept his gaze on the exchange. Even though he’d remained quiet through these conversations, his eyes were working.
He had an opinion. Why wasn’t he sharing it?
Andre sighed. “Then that’s fine.” He motioned for Parker to hand the phone over, but Parker smirked and shook his head. He got up, and moved toward us, then sat down in front of me, his back touching my knees.
I got my first look at the man on the phone, and I sucked in a breath.
With Grace, I’d been surrounded by beautiful people whenever we spent time together.
When I took cases, more often than not, they were beautiful women who had been trophy wives, even if they didn’t know that was what they were until they were well into marriage.
This man, however. He had flawless skin that I couldn’t decide if it was tan or pale.
Silver hair that fell softly around his face and barely brushed his shoulders.
The wide angles of his face made me think he was Korean.
Dae had to be the most beautiful man I’d ever seen in a very sort of distant, untouchable way.
A sharp pinch on my thigh made me gasp, and I turned to Lafe, glaring. His look wasn’t so much a glare but a petulant frown.
“You look familiar,” Dae said, pulling my attention back to the phone.
“I must have one of those faces,” I blurted out before any of the brothers could answer for me. I thought they would want to keep my identity secret, but I didn’t want to take any chances and put Grace on anyone’s radar if I could help it.
She was already on Vicente’s, and that chaffed and scared the shit out of me.
“Dae, this is Little Love. Andre.” He angled it to capture his oldest brother, then tilted it toward Lafe. “And Lafe.”
Neither Andre nor Lafe made any effort at greetings, and Dae merely inclined his head.
“Now that you’ve met the family, what tempted you to call me? I seriously doubt it was just to say hello.” Parker reached back and propped his arm on my curled legs. I stared at the appendage, but didn’t do anything to move it.
He was taking advantage. When I glanced back at the phone, his smirk in the thumbnail of our video confirmed he was doing it on purpose. Bastard.
“There’s been some gossip going around the mill. Don’t worry, it’s not common knowledge through the Network, but I’ve heard it from a business associate who dabbles in more unseemly ventures.” Dae only had eyes for Parker now as he got down to explaining the reasoning for the call. Good.
I used the opportunity to try and shift away, but Parker refused to move completely.
“What do you want in exchange for the information?”
Dae grinned like the cat who got the cream. It was alien on his perfect features but very fitting to show the kind of man he was beneath the surface beauty. “We’ll call it good at a favor. And I promise, Parker, you’ll want to hear this.”
“How long have you sat on the information?” Parker mused.
“Two weeks.” Dae grinned wider and revealed sharp canines.
Parker and Andre both grunted. What the hell? This was his friend? That he trusted as much as anyone outside of his brothers? And the damned man sat on information long enough to force Parker’s hand? He needed to find better friends.
“Fine, you’ll have a favor, but my stipulations still stand. We'll be good as long as you stick to those when you call it in.”
Dae shrugged, and even that was elegant. “Done. I’ve heard about your issues with Vicente, so I’ve started paying attention.”
“How much do you hear about our issues ?” Andre asked coldly.
“Not as much as you’d think. The Castillo Cartel isn’t as relevant here as in South America. Except within certain circles. Unless something has changed, your cartel doesn’t run too much business in the US, does it?” Dae was fishing, but none of the brothers said a peep.
“Get to the point, Dae,” Parker answered instead.
He laughed, but it was so quiet and calm. It was strange. “There’s been a rumor abou—”
A phone rang on Dae’s side, and the video jostled as he searched for whatever phone was making that noise. “What the fuck does he want?” When he returned, his expression was stony, with no room for negotiation. “I have to take this call.”
The video ended.
“What the fuck?” Parker immediately called him back, but it was sent to whatever video calls were sent to. Declined.
“Do you think that was planned?” Lafe asked Andre as Parker tried to call over and over again, then resorted to texting out long messages.
Andre glared at the phone and Parker. “I don’t know. You tell me, Parker. Would this acquaintance try to throw us off course? Does he have an agenda?”
“No. He plays the game like we do, and he fucking excels at it. Apparently, he had one of the best mentors from childhood. Don’t ask.
He’s never shared who that mentor was.” Parker hopped to his feet.
“If he’s not going to call back, that really was an emergency.
I need to reach out and see who he’s been speaking to and what about. ”
“Wait right the fuck there,” Andre barked. “This is the line in the sand. Will you disappear and run this your way, or will you work it out with us?”
Parker kept looking between Andre and the door, a tick throbbing under his eye.
“I’m going to work with you, brother. And don’t expect this to be easy.
He’s a wealthy asshole with a wide reach.
Unless he calls back, figuring out whatever information he was going to trade will be like searching for a needle in a fucking junkie’s haystack. ”
The breath I’d been holding burst from my lungs as I pushed the blanket away. They were coming together. That was good. It would keep them—and me—alive.
“I’m coming too. It might not be worth anything, but I’ve been getting pretty good at this research. I might be able to apply some of these skills to make sure we find the information we need.”
Parker shot me a ghost of a smile. “Unless you have any seedy connections or access to one of the dark web, I’m not sure how useful you’ll be, but please, come help. I love tying you tighter into our web.”
Ice splashed against my back as any tender feelings toward him burned away. This was why I hated him. He wanted to remind me how much I’d changed. How much of an accomplice I was truly becoming.
Well, fuck him.