Chapter 14
Parker
“Investigators have been working diligently to determine the identity of the remains from Thursday night’s car accident, and with the help of Michael Lowery, a California district attorney, and medical records, authorities have been able to determine that they belong to a young woman by the name of Parker Weston.
” I was watching the news with bated breath, anxiously waiting to see which photo they would show during the report of the accident.
Relief washed over me when an old picture from my high school yearbook appeared on the screen.
Back then, I was a brunette with acne and braces, so it was unlikely that I would be recognized—especially since I was so far away from California.
Jared came over and sat down on the sofa next to me, listening quietly as the reporter continued, “Ms. Weston was a key witness in the Lorenzo Rossi trial, which involved the murder of both her parents and her sister. Mr. Rossi’s appeal will begin in a few weeks, and Lowery is pushing for Weston’s previous testimony to be used in court, but it will be up to the judge to decide whether or not the testimony will be permissible. ”
“Do you think the judge will allow it?”
“I can’t imagine why not,” Jared answered, sounding unsure. “He’d be a fool not to.”
“I was thinking the same.” I thought back to the reporter’s comments about the remains and became curious about what she was referring to. “What remains?”
“What?”
“The reporter mentioned remains and how they used medical records to determine it was me. How is that possible?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to, Parker.” He gave me a stern look and continued, “And trust me, you don’t want the answer to that. Just know that you’re one step closer to getting your life back.”
I wanted to push for a real response, but I could tell from Jared’s tone that I would just be wasting my breath.
Besides, what was done was done. I could do nothing to change any of it, so I swept the questions to the back of my mind and tried to focus on the positive. “So, does this mean we can go home?”
“Home? Already?” Kiersten asked from behind us. “I didn’t realize you guys would be heading back so soon.”
“We’ve stayed longer than either of us planned.” Jared stood as he said, “And I’m sure Billy’s ready to get us out of his hair.”
“Actually, I think he’s enjoyed having you both here.”
“I don’t know about that,” I replied as I stood and walked over to her. “But I do know he’s enjoyed having you home for a few days.”
“It’s been good to be here, but like you, it’s time for me to be heading back.”
“What? You’re leaving?” Billy asked, sounding heartbroken.
“Yeah, Dad. I told you about the project I had to finish up. I’ve gotta be getting back if I want to get it done on time, and it looks like that second one is a real possibility. I won’t know for sure until I get back and check things out.”
“I understand. I was just hoping you’d be able to stay till the end of the week.”
“I wish I could, but at least you’ll have the house back to yourself.” Kiersten motioned her hand over to Jared as she announced, “They’re heading out too.”
“I expected as much.” Billy turned to us as he said, “I’m guessing you saw the news this morning.”
“We did,” Jared answered. “We both want to thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”
“No problem. I’m glad I was able to help out.”
“I guess we’ll go grab our things and be on our way.”
“Good deal. I have some work to tend to, so I’ll be heading out too.” Billy started towards his office as he said, “Have a safe trip home, and tell Viper I’ll be looking forward to hearing from him soon.”
“Will do.”
Jared and I walked into the bedroom to gather our things, and by the time we came back out, both Kiersten and Billy were gone. Jared walked over to the kitchen to grab his laptop, but a strange expression crossed his face when he reached the table. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just thought...” His brows furrowed as he opened his laptop and studied the screen. He muttered something under his breath, then quickly closed it and said, “It’s nothing. Let’s get out of here.”
Moments later, he and I were in the SUV and headed back to Nashville.
I was both anxious and excited as I thought about getting back to the life I’d started there.
When I first began working at Stilettos with Marlowe and the other girls, I never dreamed it would be long-term.
I was just hoping to make some money and run, but now I was honestly considering a future there—not necessarily at Stilettos but somewhere in Nashville.
I’d gone to college and earned my degree.
I wanted the ability to use it, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever have the chance to do so.
That thought had me turning to Jared and asking, “So, what name will I be using when we get back?”
“What happened at Billy’s is considered club business. The brothers are the only ones who know what’s really going on with you. As far as everyone else is concerned, you’re Aubrey Cash, and we just took a trip together.”
“Oh.”
“Is there a problem with keeping that alias?”
“No, it’s not that.” After all Jared and his brothers had done, I felt bad even mentioning anything. “I was just hoping I might be able to get a real job, not that working at Stilettos with you isn’t a real job, it’s just—”
“You want more.”
“I know that makes me sound selfish, but yeah, I kind of do.” I shrugged. “I worked hard for my degree, and it just doesn’t seem fair that I can’t use it.”
“Who says you can’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, like you said, you earned the degree. It’s only right that you should be able to put it to use.” He glanced over at me, then said, “Wouldn’t take much to have it added to Aubrey Cash’s background.”
“You could do that?”
“Absolutely. I could give Aubrey a real identity, and it would be a hell of a lot better than the one she has now.”
“Like how real?”
“As real as you want her to be.”
“That would be amazing.” While I was pleased that Jared could bring Aubrey to life and give her name real meaning, it saddened me to think I’d never use the name Parker again. “I guess it’s time for us to put all things Parker behind us.”
“Not all things.” He smiled over at me. “You’re still you. You’re just going by a new name. That’s all.”
“So, you won’t have a problem calling me Aubrey again?”
“It’ll take some getting used to, but I’m sure I can manage.”
I looked at Jared with complete wonder in my eyes. I simply couldn’t believe that he’d not only saved me from Rossi and his men, but he was also giving me a chance at a new life. “I don’t know how I got so lucky.”
“Hate to break it to ya, babe, but I’m the lucky one.”
I had no idea how he could believe that, especially after all I’d put him through, but I could tell by the tone of his voice that he truly believed he was the lucky one.
My heart swelled at the thought. There was no doubt about it, I was falling in love with this man, and it scared me.
I’d lost everyone who’d ever mattered to me, and for almost two years, I lived in the shadow of death and the fear of losing my own life.
I hadn’t thought about the possibility of having something more, but because of Jared, I had a real chance of having that, and I wanted it.
I wanted it with him, but I didn’t want to rush anything.
Without having to worry about Rossi, I finally had time, and I didn’t want to waste it by rushing anything unnecessarily, including my relationship with Jared.
“You know, Marlowe’s lease is going to be up at the end of next month, so I should probably start looking for a place of my own.”
“Why would you do that?”
“’Cause I need a place to live.”
“You have one ... My place.”
“Umm, as tempting as that may be, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” The second he turned to look at me, I knew he didn’t like my response, so I quickly added, “At least not yet.”
“And why not?”
“Because we’ve only known each other a few weeks.”
“And?”
“And we aren’t ready to live together,” I argued. “It’s too soon.”
“Says who?”
“Says me, and you should be saying it too. Moving in together is a big step, and there’s no reason for us to rush into anything.
” I reached over and placed my hand on his thigh.
“I’m not going anywhere, Jared. I want to be with you, more than you know, but I’ve never been in a real relationship before, and I don’t want to mess up what we have by moving too fast.”
“I understand,” he said. I thought I’d already messed up everything by turning him down on his offer, but then he added, “How about this? You go back to Marlowe’s and stay there until the lease is up, and then we’ll see how things are between us and decide what to do from there.
I mean, I already know what I want, but if you need the time to figure it out, I’m willing to give it to you. ”
“You keep being sweet like that, and I won’t make it until the end of the lease.”
“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”
When we finally made it back to Nashville, Jared brought me to Marlowe’s old apartment and helped me carry my things inside.
I thought he’d stay and take a break after our long drive, but as soon as he placed my bags in the bedroom, he headed for the front door. “I’ve gotta get over to the clubhouse.”
“Oh, okay.”
“I’ll swing by after work.”
“Wait ... Shouldn’t I go to work too?”
“Just wait until tomorrow. Take the night and get settled in.” He stepped over to me and gave me a kiss. “I’ll have one of the guys bring you over a car.”
“A car? What happened to my car?”
“It’s gone,” he answered casually. “I wasn’t sure it couldn’t be tracked back to Peter and Sally, so I had the guys get rid of it.”
“Seriously?”
“Just covering all our bases, babe.”
While I didn’t like the idea of losing the car Peter had given me, I couldn’t really complain. Jared had gone above and beyond to make sure that I was safe, so I simply nodded and said, “Okay, I understand.”
“We’ll get you another car.”
“I know. Don’t worry about it.” I eased up on my tiptoes and gave him another kiss. “Now go take care of things at the clubhouse and at work, then get back here as soon as you can so we can get a little practice in on this whole living together thing.”
“I like the sound of that.”
He winked at me, then walked out of the apartment, leaving me alone to get unpacked.
I spent the next few hours washing clothes and putting my things away.
It was just starting to get dark out when I heard a knock at the door.
When I opened it, I found Marlowe standing on my doorstep with a big smile on her face. “Welcome home, stranger.”
“Hey, girl.” My heart started racing wildly in my chest. I kept thinking it was only a matter of time before she recognized me from the news. I feigned a smile and asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I brought you these.” She held up a set of keys in one hand and a large bag of Chinese food in the other. “I thought you might be hungry.”
“I’m starving.” She didn’t seem to be acting any differently than usual, so I motioned her inside and followed her into the kitchen. “You are so sweet to bring me dinner like this.”
“Well, I had my own self-interest at heart.” She laughed as she said, “I’ve been craving Chinese for days, so I got enough for both of us. I hope you don’t mind me joining you.”
“Are you kidding?” Relief washed over me when I realized she didn’t seem to know anything about Parker Weston. If she had, she would’ve already asked me about it, so I said, “I’d love the company.”
Marlowe dropped the bag on the table and started unloading all the food she’d bought. “So, how was your trip with Menace?”
“It was good.” I didn’t know how much she knew or what I was allowed to tell her, so I tried to be as vague as possible. “It was nice to have the chance to get to know him better.”
“So, you two hit it off?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
“I’m not surprised.” She offered me a container of sweet and sour chicken, then said, “It was pretty clear he was into you from the start.”
“Oh, really?”
“Well, as I recall, you seemed pretty interested in him too.”
“I was. I am.”
“I thought so.” She was practically beaming as she started opening her box of fried rice. “I like it when I’m right.”
“Well, you definitely were. I’ve never felt like this with anyone.”
“It’s kind of crazy how that happens, huh?”
“Was it the same with you and Rafe?”
“Pretty much, but it took us a little longer to figure it out.” She went on to tell me how she worked at a bar Country’s grandmother owned and how she’d had a bit of a crush on Rafe for quite some time before she realized he felt the same about her.
When Country’s grandmother sold the bar, Rafe got Marlowe a job at the club, and then her story took a wild turn.
Apparently, her sister’s boyfriend was up to no good and was out to take down the club—something her biological father had tried to do several months before.
“It got a little crazy, but everything ended up working out.”
“I can’t believe all that happened to you.”
“Well, I’m not the only one who has a crazy story. Delilah and Hawk had an interesting start too.”
“Oh, really? Do tell.”
“I don’t know all the details. It was long before I started working at the club, but they actually met because of her brother, Danny.”
“The one who got patched in a few weeks ago?”
“Yeah, that’s him.” She took a drink of her soda, then continued, “I don’t really know what happened between Danny and the brothers, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t good, and Delilah was caught up in the crossfire.”
“So, the brothers are used to a little bit of drama where their women are concerned.”
“Oh, yeah. They certainly are.” She reached into the paper bag and started pulling out more food. “We should plan a get-together with the other ol’ ladies so you can hear some of those stories firsthand.”
“I would love that.”
“Well, there’s no time like the present. I’m off tonight. I could see if the other girls could meet us over at the club in a couple of hours.”
“I don’t know.” Just because Marlowe hadn’t recognized me, it didn’t mean the same would hold true for the others. She’d always referred to Rafe by his road name, so I figured I should do the same. “Menace is supposed to be coming over after work.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.” She grabbed her phone from her purse and started texting the others. “You’ll be home long before he gets here. Besides, he’ll see you at the club.”
“Oh...Okay, that sounds great.”
“You are in for a real treat, girlfriend.” Marlowe giggled as she went on, “Hanging with the girls is a blast.”
“I can’t wait.”