24. Parker #2
“I have a whole pack, so six.”
“Good. You’re right—Doc, is it?” He nodded, and she continued.
“You’re right. Being able to know exactly where someone is, provides a tremendous sense of peace of mind.
I agree to get the tracker as long as you give one to each of the brothers.
I realize I don’t have the power they do, but it will make me feel better knowing I can always find them. ”
I couldn’t help it. I tried, even though it was pointless. Great, rolling bouts of laughter escaped me as I bent over to slap my knees. Andre chuckled, shaking his head, and Grey stepped forward and extended his arm.
“Hit me, Doc.”
“We should have done this ages ago,” Andre said with an exasperated smile. “It would have gotten rid of so many headaches if I knew where these bastards were.”
Thirty minutes later, every last one of us had a tracker. Doc insisted on giving Matías one as well. Andre told Doc we weren’t tracking him, but Doc refused to listen. He said we’d pull our heads out of our asses sooner or later.
I would have laughed, but I hadn’t realized Doc was such a fan of Matías’.
When we headed down, Matías waited for us by the front door in his own pair of black jeans, scuffed boots, and an old t-shirt. With his hair buzzed and busted face, he looked the part more than any of us did. Which, quite frankly, pissed me off.
Not the busted face, I could do without that, but that he’d be able to blend in better.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Andre asked drily, as he hit the bottom of the stairs.
I expected Matías to say with you , except he didn’t. That would have seemed both petulant and juvenile. Which was hilarious, considering he was only about five months younger than Andre.
“You’re leaving the building with no security. You might be safe, but Amorette isn’t. If Vicente decides that he wants to play, who do you think she’d be safer with? You four or me?”
Matías was asking for another beatdown. Grey and Andre both edged toward him, but he just shook his head.
“Don’t be stupid to save your pride. I’ve done more than my fair share to try and prove to you that I’m on your side. I’m helping. Deal with it.” He stood tall with his chin held high, not budging.
Little Love pinched Andre’s side, and she met his glare with a steady look of her own. He sighed, and I almost fell over.
“Fine. You want to go with us? We’re going to a Dirty Dogs party. You’ll be in even more danger than we will, but you want to put your neck out for us? Be my fucking guest.” Andre placed a hand on Little Love’s back and guided her through the door to the elevator.
I chuckled at the stupefied expression on Matías’ face. He was obviously too elated to be included, because he ran to follow us. “I have a stretch car waiting out front..”
That was oddly…thoughtful.
Andre shrugged like it wasn’t anything he was concerned with.
There were a million things I wanted to say, definitely decisions I would have made differently, but this was Andre’s show. He’d seemed to let go that I burned down the club, and I wanted it to stay that way.
For the time being, I was going to be a good boy. I snorted, drawing attention from Matías and Lafe. I waved them away.
Andre gave the driver instructions as we climbed into the back of the vehicle. It was one of those smaller limos with a bench on either side so we could face each other. “I assume the glass is bulletproof?” I rapped on the window behind me.
Matías scowled, offended I even asked. Fine, fine.
I could pretend he was in our circle for a minute.
Little Love was sitting directly across from me, tucked away nice and neat between Lafe and Grey. Now was as good a time as ever. Let my brothers see how they should be treating her. Grey was the only one who’d done even slightly more than fuck her. He gave her a knife.
That was probably the height of romance for him.
Andre, though, I’d love to dim his light in her eyes just a little.
The car started moving, and we swayed back and forth through the first couple of turns. I pulled out the ring, twisting it on my finger. Holding it in the light of the setting sun, I made sure the reflection scattered around the dark interior of the car.
When I peeked up, Little Love was watching me with a frown. I had donned a smirk, and like fuck would I let her take it away before I gave her the ring.
“Little Love, you turned down my last gift,” I murmured, as I slowly spun it around my finger. “But this one is different, I—”
“Parker.” Her voice came out strangled and my face fell. “I told you I didn’t want gifts. Not like that.”
“This isn’t what you think it is,” I said, raising a brow. My words were turning harsh because she was going to fucking reject it again before she even let me tell her what it was.
“It’s a ring. Like the last one. I don’t want that kind of gift from you.” Her face was all tender regret as she gentled her words. Like that fucking mattered.
“I see.” I pocketed it back. “What type of gifts do you accept, then? A knife from Grey is perfectly fine. So I could get you something to kill with.”
She flinched like I’d struck her. “Stop.”
“Stop, what? I’m just trying to understand why something for one brother is fair but not for another,” I snapped.
“Why?” She bent forward. “Why do you want to give me anything? I don’t understand you.
I know why Grey gave me a knife. It’s practical, and he wants me to be able to defend myself.
But why do you want to give me jewelry? Especially with the business that you run.
Don’t you see? That’s exactly the kind of gift I can’t accept.
” She shook her head. “Wearing jewelry is a status symbol. I don’t want that type of attention in the Institution. ”
I slid my gaze to Andre, then Grey. Andre had a sliver of pity in his eyes, and it swallowed me up. Like a magnet, I looked at Matías next, and he was so riveted by the exchange between us. It was like he was taking notes.
“Understood.”
Her brow furrowed, and she bit her lip like she was barring herself from saying something else.
She could keep her fucking opinions to herself, the ungrateful bitch. My gift was a weapon too, but she’d never get it now.
My phone buzzed, and when I pulled it out, Mia’s name flashed across the screen. I’d call her back later. Right now, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind not to lash out at her. She, at least, had always been on my side.
I avoided looking at Amorette for the rest of the ride as I scrolled through my phone.
She was going to lose her mind at the party. Let Andre and Grey try to keep her from getting us killed. If the mood was right, maybe I needed to let off some steam with one of the Dirty Dog bitches.
See how Amorette would like that.