Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
P arker shook his head in disgust as he entered his house from the garage, dumped his gear in the mudroom, and rearmed the alarm.
Maybe I am crazy .
He bypassed the kitchen, living room, and headed down the hallway to his bedroom, replaying the disastrous evening in his mind. What the hell had he been thinking? Actually, he hadn’t been thinking. He’d just reacted. Nothing had gone right tonight, and it was his own damn fault.
The plan had been simple: stop by and talk to Chelsey before she went to bed. He had parked his truck around the corner, thinking it would be a better chance of her letting him in if she didn’t see it. Either way, there’d been no guarantee that she’d hear him out. But he’d had to try.
All he’d wanted to do was make things right between them, but he hadn’t counted on her being out with Terrance. Parker had been just about to ring the doorbell when the car pulled into the driveway. He slipped into the shadows on the porch and had planned to stay there.
He figured Terrance didn’t stand a chance with Chelsey. She was smart, despite the fact that she’d gone out with the guy again. Parker assumed she’d thank him for getting her home safe, and then send him on his way. But no…the jerk went in for a kiss, and Parker couldn’t let that happen. Before he realized what he was doing, he’d held the guy at gunpoint.
Chelsey had been right to ask if he was crazy. That had been a bonehead thing to do. He might be crazy in love with her, but he didn’t go around brandishing a weapon like some lunatic. At least he didn’t make a habit of it. Yet, seeing another man with his woman didn’t sit right with him, especially Terrance.
“I should’ve handled his punk-ass weeks ago,” Parker murmured into the quietness of his bedroom. He didn’t bother with lights. Just walked in and fell face first onto his king-size mattress.
He sighed, still mentally kicking himself. Yes, he should’ve dealt with Terrance the moment he’d dug up the information on him. He could’ve paid the guy a visit and threatened him without Chelsey knowing. Or he could’ve made sure she knew what type of man she was spending time with.
Parker had done neither because he hadn’t expected her to go out with the man again. Normally she was a good judge of character, and her instincts were usually on point.
Apparently, not this time.
He sighed again and closed his eyes as the hum of the air conditioner lulled him into a peaceful moment. He was going to have to make Chelsey listen, because he couldn’t keep up this irrational behavior. Even if she didn’t take him back, at least he’d know that he did what he could to make things right with her. He might not want to live the rest of his life without her, but he would have to respect her decision.
Exhaustion settled around him like a heavy blanket and his eyes drifted closed. He couldn’t get Chelsey out of his mind. She was his. They belonged together. He loved her too much to walk away and had been a fool to think he could ever live life without her.
Impossible. He needed her. No one had made him feel as loved as she had, not since before his mother died.
God, he missed her and his mother. He couldn’t bring his mother back from the dead, but there was plenty he could do about Chelsey. He had to show her that they belonged together.
That was his last thought before he drifted off into a fitful sleep.
Junior hurried into the kitchen where his parents were arguing, and the incredible smell of fried chicken, his favorite, greeted him at the entrance. Unfortunately, food would have to wait.
“Why are y’all arguing?” he asked, his gaze darting between his mother and father. They used to never argue, until lately. It was because his mother didn’t like that his father was making him stay out late to sell drugs.
“Hi, baby. I didn’t know you were home.” His mother kissed his cheek, then patted it gently the way she always did.
“Junior, this is grown folks’ business. So get the fuck out,” his father shouted, anger sparking his dark brown eyes.
The menacing look he gave Junior was why everyone on the streets called him Wolf. Well, that, and the fact that he resembled a wolf with the intense slant of his eyes that were a little too close together. Also, the stealth-like way he moved probably added to the moniker.
“I told you about walking around here acting like you own the place.”
“Maverick, honey, please. Our son just got home from school. At least let him get something to eat,” Junior’s mother said and grabbed a plate from the cabinet.
His dad snatched the plate from her and shoved it back into the cabinet, probably breaking it.
“Mina, he can fix his own damn plate, but I told him to get the fuck out. And here your ass was getting ready to—”
“Don’t talk to my mother like that!” The words were out of Junior’s mouth before he could pull them back.
He never talked back to his father. Never.
But Junior also never heard his father be this mean to his mother. He never talked to her like this. She was the only person who could usually calm Wolf down, and he always called her his queen.
Before Junior could brace himself, his father backhanded him.
Pain shot through his face and rattled his brain as if an explosion had detonated inside his skull. But on reflex, Junior hit him back. He jabbed his father in the jaw, putting enough power behind the punch to cause his dad’s head to snap back. Yet, it was as if Junior hadn’t touched him. The man stayed rooted in place.
He met his father’s gaze. At first, pride radiated in the man’s eyes, but his expression quickly turned to hatred. Junior was tall for his age, but Wolf had several inches on him and at least sixty pounds of pure muscle. He was also the meanest, nastiest person Junior knew. It didn’t matter that he was his father. Wolf wouldn’t hesitate to stomp him into the ground.
Junior might only be twelve, but he had already seen and done more than most kids his age, including staying out all night to sell drugs for his father. And one thing he had already learned from his dad was to never back down from a fight, and he never would.
“If you’re big, bad, and man enough to fight me, boy, then you need to pack your shit and get the fuck out of my house,” Wolf growled.
“You said mom is your queen, but you’ve been yelling at her and treating her like shit,” Junior shot back.
“Get. Out!”
“No! I’m not leaving.” Even though inside his bones were rattling like an overstuffed washing machine, Junior refused to show fear. His father could smell fear.
Wolf moved so fast, he was a blur when he grabbed Junior by the front of his shirt and slammed him against a nearby wall. Mina screamed from across the room.
“Your ass is leaving even if I have to literally throw you out.”
“Stop it, Maverick! If my son leaves, I’m leaving too.” Mina might’ve only been five-four and maybe a hundred and ten pounds, but she shoved her way in between them, forcing his father to release him. “I mean it. He’s just a child.”
“Mina, get out the way,” Wolf barked. “This is between me and the boy. You can’t keep babying him. If he’s man enough to talk back to me, then he’s man enough to fend for himself. Now get out the way!”
He shoved her to the side and got back in Junior’s face, but Mina pushed her way between them again.
“I mean it, Maverick. If you make him leave, I’m leaving with him!” she yelled, poking him in the chest.
“Shut up, woman! I will never let you leave me,” Wolf roared.
He drew his hand back and slapped her so hard, her feet left the floor as she went flying.
“No!” Junior screamed a second before the side of Mina’s head connected with the counter, and a loud crack pierced the air before her body crumbled to the floor.
“Mama!”
“Mina!” His father pushed him out the way and ran to her. “Oh, my God. Mina, baby, I’m sorry. Please don’t be…”
“Mama!” Junior dropped to his knees next to them as tears blurred his vision. He kept screaming her name over and over, but she wasn’t moving.
When his father released her and started howling and crying, Junior moved him out the way. He gathered his mother into his arms.
“Mama. Wake up,” he cried, shaking her. “Please wake up, Mama, please.” When he looked at her face, Junior froze.
He blinked several times, trying to clear the tears from his eyes, but then…
Chelsey.
What? How?
Chelsey! His heart slammed against his chest, and his body trembled as blood poured from the side of her head.
“No! No! Chelsey!” he screamed over and over. “Chelsey! Please, baby open your eyes. Please don’t leave me. Chelsey!”
Parker bolted upright in bed with a pillow in his arms as he struggled to catch his breath. His gaze darted around the darkened room, but all he could see was blackness.
His chest heaved as his heart pounded hard enough to be heard in the next room while sweat dripped down his face.
It’s a dream. It’s just a dream.
He kept telling himself that over and over, but it seemed so real. He hadn’t dreamed about his mother’s death in years, and then to see Chelsey’s face…
Shit .
Parker tossed the pillow he was holding to the other side of the bed and dropped back down as he continued gasping for air. It was only a dream. His mother was dead, but Chelsey was alive.
The hum of the air conditioner kicking in was the only sound in the house as he forced himself to take deep, steadying breaths.
His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and Parker didn’t know how long he stared at the ceiling. He just tried focusing on breathing normally.
Chelsey’s okay . She’s fine .
He knew that. Still, he was on edge. His woman might be fine now, but if Wolf ever found out Parker was alive, no one he cared about would be safe.
“I can’t live like this anymore,” he mumbled into the darkness.
He also could no longer keep his secrets buried. Those who were close to him might one day be in danger, and they needed to know why.
Parker had never been the type to sit back to wait and see what happens. He was the type to make things happen. If he wanted Wolf to no longer be a threat, it would be up to him to get rid of his father.
Even if it means I start another war.