Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
“ W hy is she here?” Terrance asked. He set the toolbox and supplies down. “Don’t you know she’s a cop?”
“Wait. What?” the guy with the gun, the one Parker thought of as Asshole #2, lowered the weapon and backed up. “I didn’t know she was a cop.”
“Well, she used to be.”
Terrance moved closer to Chelsey, close enough to kiss her, and Parker growled under his breath. She was always telling him she could take care of herself, and she’d proven it plenty of times. Currently, she was the epitome of calm. Yet, he wanted to leap out of that chair and beat Terrence with it.
But he had to stay cool and wait. He couldn’t let them know he’d gotten loose. Not while he was coming up with a plan for when Elder returned with Wolf.
That’s who Parker wanted.
That’s who he wanted to confront, because he was done hiding. He was done looking over his shoulder, and he was done living like a fugitive.
It was time for him to deal with his father once and for all. He had hoped to let the Feds handle him, but those plans might be shot. And since Wolf was coming to him, it was going to be up to Parker to take away everything the man cared about—the syndicate, his money, and his power.
“She came here trying to free her boyfriend, but I caught her just in time,” Asshole #2 said, and went back to holding the gun on Chelsey.
“Her boyfriend ?” Terrance turned to Parker and looked at him as if he’d just noticed him sitting there.
He really was a stupid bastard. Parker still couldn’t believe Chelsey had gone out with the guy more than once. What the hell had she seen in him?
Terrance stood in front of Parker, and the hatred in his eyes was palpable. “You’re the one who pulled the gun on me that night at her place,” he said, getting in striking distance. “I guess you ain’t so tough without your weapon now, huh?”
“Actually, I am,” Parker said before he could stop himself. “I can beat your ass with my eyes closed.”
He felt, more than saw, Chelsey ease closer. She must’ve been inching toward him the whole time. Instead of being four or five feet away, she was now within two feet of him. The others didn’t seem to notice.
“Your uncle said don’t touch him. His boss has plans for him,” Asshole #2 said to Terrance.
“My Uncle E ain’t here,” Terrance said, nudging Parker hard with his foot.
He’s related to Elder?
“Touch him again, and I’ll kill you.”
Everyone turned to Chelsey, including Parker. There was so much venom in her voice and loathing in her eyes, Terrance should be afraid. Instead, he laughed. He laughed so hard one would think she was Eddie Murphy telling jokes.
“ You? You honestly think you can take me?” He rushed toward her, and Parker stiffened when the idiot grabbed the front of her hoodie.
She can take care of herself , Parker reminded himself seconds before Chelsey throat-punched Terrance.
Then with the quickness of a ninja, she kicked his legs from under him, sending him crashing to the floor face first. Nobody saw it coming, especially Terrance who was laid out gasping for air and holding his face.
“Get away from him!” Asshole #2 yelled, aiming the gun at her.
“ Maaaan ,” Parker growled, his hands balled into fists while he struggled to stay seated.
He had to stick to his plan. Sit tight until Wolf arrived. But that was hard to do while watching this shit. Chelsey might’ve been well trained, but guns could accidentally go off.
“Get the gun out of my face,” she said calmly.
“Not until you get the fuck away from him!”
She struck. Grabbed the barrel of the gun, twisted it back toward the man until he couldn’t hold onto it. Then she pointed it at him.
“Now, get on your knees!” When he didn’t move, Chelsey cocked the gun, and he hurried to his knees with his hands up.
“ Damn, woman .” The words slipped from Parker before he could stop them. “I think I just fell more in love with you.”
She grinned. “Baby, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait until I hogtie them and put them out by the dumpster.”
Parker couldn’t stay seated any longer. He stood to help her but stumbled when his legs gave out. Catching himself, he stood still until he got his footing.
“You okay?” Chelsey asked. She kept the gun trained on the guys while she rustled through the toolbox.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” When she pulled a roll of tape from the box and handed it to him, he almost laughed. “Great, more duct tape.”
They made quick work of slapping tape over the guys’ mouths, and then dragged them out back. Tying them up with the rope Terrance had brought with him was tricky, but they got it done.
“How do you want to handle this?” Chelsey asked once they were back inside.
After shoving Asshole #2’s gun into the back of his waistband, hidden under his shirt, Parker retook his seat. Chelsey placed the tape back around his wrists and ankles, but in a way he could easily break free.
“I’d prefer we get out of here and let the authorities deal with Wolf and Elder, but I need to confront him. I just don’t like the idea of you being here, but I know I’ll be wasting my time asking you to leave.”
She placed a lingering kiss on his lips. “You know me so well.”
“I do, and if you don’t leave, at least stay out of sight. Once Wolf gets over the initial shock of seeing me alive, he’s going to want to inflict his own level of punishment. I’ll be able to handle him as long as I know you’re safe.”
Chelsey shook her head. “I don’t like this. What about the others?”
“Wolf won’t let them touch me.”
“Maybe we should stick to the original plan of letting the authorities…” Chelsey’s words trailed off when they heard a door open, and voices filtered in.
Parker didn’t have to tell her to get lost. She squeezed his arm and ran to the back wall where tons of tires and pallets were located. He hoped they were enough to keep her hidden.
Two men came into view. One was Asshole #1—the guy who had first approached Parker at the restaurant. The other man walking beside him—Wolf.
But where was Elder?
As Wolf talked to the guy, asking him where the men who were supposed to be watching “Junior” were, all Parker could do was stare.
All thoughts of anything else flew from his brain as his past life flashed through his mind like a black-and-white film. Gangs. Drugs. His mother’s death.
Asshole #1 stood back while Wolf approached, walking slowly as if approaching a dead body in a casket.
Parker never imagined he’d see his father again. Dressed in a jogging suit, something he usually didn’t wear, he looked fit. He looked healthy. He hadn’t changed much. Older, with a little gray around the temples, but what hadn’t changed was the evil in his eyes.
“How are you still alive?” Wolf asked, looking as if he was seeing a ghost. He stood before Parker with his hands tucked into his pockets as silence surrounded them.
Parker wasn’t sure what he expected to feel if they ever saw each other again, but he felt nothing. No love. No hate. Nothing. This man was dead to him, and he wished he had closed this chapter of his life a long time ago.
“Elder thought you had some type of amnesia and didn’t know who you were, but that’s not the case, is it? No sense in denying it. I can see it in your cold, lifeless eyes.” He shook his head, looking at Parker with disgust. “You could’ve been leader of the Kingz. You had the brains and the balls for it. Yet, you turned out to be my biggest disappointment. What a waste.”
Wolf glanced over his shoulder at Asshole #1. “Find out where everyone is. Probably outside somewhere smoking.”
The guy hesitated. “Are you sure you want me to leave you wi—”
“Go!” Wolf barked, and the guy walked out the way he’d come in.
If he went to the back of the building, it wouldn’t take long for him to find the guys that were tied up.
“How’d you do it?” Wolf asked, still standing several feet away. “How’d you live? I bet you feel pretty good about yourself thinking you’d gotten over on me, huh? Fifteen years . All this time I thought your traitorous ass was dead. You should’ve been burned to ashes, but no. Here you are.”
Parker said nothing. Hell, he didn’t know what to say. He could threaten the guy, tell him he was going to hell, or he could warn him that he was about to lose everything he’d worked so hard for.
But he said nothing.
His father pulled his hands from his pockets, and Parker zoned in on the brass knuckles that were slid onto his fingers.
Damn, that would hurt if the man tagged him.
When Parker met Wolf’s ruthless gaze, the man smiled, and anger stirred within Parker.
“I’m not that punk kid who you beat to a pulp fifteen years ago,” he said. “I’m a man who will fight you until there’s no more breath in your body. But unlike you, I won’t stop until I know you’re dead.”
Wolf’s rusty laughter filled the space. “And you’re planning to do some damage to me while you’re bound to a chair? Really?”
“Get off me!” Chelsey growled, and Parker stiffened. “Let me go!”
“Ouch! Bitch!”
A slap reverberated through the air and when Chelsey cried out, Parker almost lost his shit. But his woman must’ve started fighting back, because Elder howled as if she had him by the balls.
Parker didn’t wait. He leaped from the chair and crashed into Wolf, knocking him to the concrete floor. The move stunned him at first, but his father started swinging. Parker got tagged by the brass knuckles, but he kept throwing punches.
All the hatred Parker had carried over the years came out each time he slammed his fist into his father’s face, his neck, his head. Then he wrapped his hands around the man’s neck and squeezed.
Die! The word roared through his mind.
He ignored the way Wolf pounded against his arms. He clawed. Punched. Slapped at his arms, but Parker didn’t loosen his grip.
Not until Wolf landed a blow to his temple.
Pain burst through his skull.
Stars floated in front of his eyes.
Bile rose to his throat.
He lost his grip on Wolf, and his father took advantage, throwing Parker off him while grabbing the gun from the back of Parker’s waist band.
They both were panting, and Parker tried not to make a sudden move. It wasn’t the first time someone held a gun to his face.
His father’s eyes held so much malice, Parker felt it deep in his soul.
“You should know better than to start a fight with the devil,” Wolf said, lethalness dangling from each word. “It’ll never end well for…
Parker grabbed the barrel of the gun as red-hot fury charged through his veins. Their bodies slammed against the floor. Wrestling back and forth for control in a tangle of arms and legs. Each struggling for the upper hand.
The gun went off. Two shots. The sound like an explosion in Parker’s brain.
His mind swirled. His eyes blurred. His ears rang.
And Wolf went limp.
Dark, thick blood oozed from the bullet hole in the side of his father’s face, and the air left Parker’s lungs. He collapsed to the floor next to Wolf, unable to move a muscle.
He’s gone.
It’s over.
Numbness turned to relief, and Parker closed his eyes, struggling to keep his shit together. He had just killed his father, and the weight of that knowledge almost crushed him.
No, he had no regrets, but still, this moment was…a lot.
Parker startled when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and his eyes flew open. That’s when he heard Chelsey screaming his name. Her fear was coming through loud and clear. Seconds later, her gorgeous face came into focus.
“Oh, thank God! Are you hit? Talk to me.”
Her words came in rapid-fire succession while her hands slid up and down his body as if searching for a wound. He didn’t have the energy to tell her he hadn’t been hit. All he could do was stare at the gray concrete ceiling.
Commotion all around him met his ears, that were still ringing a little.
“Is he okay?”
“Are you okay?”
“Do we need an ambulance?”
Everyone talked at once. His team . Atlanta’s Finest had arrived.
“Parker? Come on, baby. I need you to say something.” The pleading in Chelsey’s voice snapped him to attention.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d laid there, but he forced himself into a sitting position. God, he was tired. Every muscle in his body, as well as his mind, was weary, and he could barely move.
Chelsey’s arms were around him, and she planted kisses on his face. He could feel her trembling against him. “Please tell me you’re okay,” she said, tears staining her cheeks.
“Yeah, sweetheart. You ?”
She nodded.
Parker glanced beyond her and saw Atlanta’s Finest standing around, some of them gripping the arms of Elder, Terrence, and the thugs who had kidnapped him.
Parker had never been so happy to see a group of people in his life. “What the hell took y’all so long to get here?” he asked, and the laughter that flowed around the space soothed his tattered spirit.
His friends. His family.
Rock seemed to come out of nowhere. He strolled over to where Wolf lay and stared down at the lifeless body. Then he met Parker’s gaze.
“Well, I guess this is one way of getting rid of the slimy motherfucker.”
“Seriously, Rock?” Angelo said from somewhere nearby, and that started a swell of loud talking around the warehouse.
Parker tuned out everyone and gave Chelsey, who still had her arms around him, his full attention. He wanted to touch her, hold her, but he didn’t want his bloody hands on her body.
Instead, he buried his face into her neck and soaked up her warmth.
“It’s over,” he whispered, struggling to keep his emotions at bay. “It’s finally over.”