Chapter 47 Parker #2
“Yes,” I whisper. “I love all three of them. Equally. Completely. And I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to be in love with three men, raise their children, build something that makes sense when everything about it is impossible.”
“Who says it’s impossible?”
I stare at her. “Mom. This is— it’s not normal. It’s not—”
“Parker.” She reaches across the table, taking my hands. “Do you remember what I told you when you asked why I stayed with your father for so long? When you were seventeen and furious with me for not leaving sooner?”
I remember. I’d been so angry with her, couldn’t understand why she didn’t just take us and go.
“I told you that sometimes we make choices that don’t make sense to anyone else,” she continues.
“That sometimes we stay in situations that hurt us because we’re protecting something more important than our own happiness.
” Her voice softens. “I stayed with Dominic to protect you and Charles. To keep his attention on me instead of controlling you. And when you wanted to go to California for college and he tried to stop you—”
“You filed for divorce,” I finish quietly. “Timed it perfectly so he’d be too focused on punishing you to stop me from leaving.”
“Exactly.” She squeezes my hands. “I sacrificed years of my life to keep you safe. To give you freedom when the time came. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Because that’s what love is, Parker. It’s messy and complicated and sometimes it doesn’t look like what everyone else thinks it should. But it’s real.”
“This is different—”
“Is it?” She holds my gaze. “You love three men. They love you. They’re the fathers of your children. They protect you and those boys with their lives. What about that is wrong?”
“Society says—”
“Society doesn’t get a vote in your happiness.” Her voice is firm. “Parker, I’ve watched you for six years. Raising those boys alone. Building a life in California. Being strong and independent and completely miserable.”
“I wasn’t miserable—”
“You were lonely,” she corrects. “You were doing everything right—being a good mother, providing for your children, keeping them safe—but you were lonely. And now you’re back, and for the first time in six years, I see you happy.
Stressed, yes. Worried, absolutely. But happy. Because you’re with them again.”
Tears blur my vision. “What if I’m making a mistake? What if this falls apart? What if—”
“What if it doesn’t?” she interrupts. “What if this impossible thing is actually exactly what you need? What those boys need? What those three men need?”
“How do I even do this? How do I be in a relationship with three people? How do we navigate boundaries and jealousy and—”
“The same way any relationship works. Communication. Honesty. Trust.” She pauses. “And probably a lot of therapy.”
I laugh despite the tears. “Probably.”
“Have you talked to them? Really talked? About what you want, what they want, how this would work?”
“Not really. We were supposed to, the night before the attack. But then everything happened and—” I wipe my eyes. “I came here. And I know it was the right choice for Noah and Liam, but I feel like I’m hiding. Again.”
“You’re not hiding. You’re protecting your children while the men you love handle a threat.” Her voice is gentle. “That’s not weakness, Parker. That’s trust. You’re trusting them to do what needs to be done while you do what you need to do. That’s partnership.”
“That’s what Cal said.”
“Then Cal’s smarter than I gave him credit for.” She stands, moving around the table to pull me into a hug. “Those boys are lucky to have you as their mother. And those three men? They’re lucky to have you at all.”
I cling to her, this woman who’s weathered her own storms, who understands complicated love in ways I’m only beginning to grasp.
I open my mouth to say something, I don’t even know what, truthfully, but I’m cut off when my phone buzzes in my hand.
Not a text. A video call.
Cal’s name flashes on the screen.
My heart jumps into my throat. I answer immediately, bringing the phone up so fast I almost drop it.
“Cal—”
His face fills the screen, and relief floods through me so intense I almost sob. He looks exhausted—dark circles under his amber eyes, his hair disheveled, stress written across his features. But he’s alive. He’s okay.
“Hey,” he says, his voice rough. “Sorry it’s been radio silent. Things got...complicated.”
Behind him I can see what looks like a warehouse—industrial lighting, concrete walls, the kind of space we use for operations that need privacy. There’s movement in the background, shadows shifting.
“Are you okay?” I ask, drinking in the sight of him. “All of you?”
“We’re fine.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Tired as hell, but fine. Silas is handling cleanup right now, and Jace is—” He glances over his shoulder. “—micromanaging him as usual.”
I hear it then—Jace’s voice in the background, slightly muffled but unmistakable. “Silas, for fuck’s sake, we need that north corner spotless—”
“I know what I’m doing—” Silas’s voice, irritated and sharp.
The sound of them bickering makes something in my chest loosen. They’re okay. They’re all okay.
“What happened?” I ask. “Did you find them?”
“Yeah.” Cal’s expression darkens. “We found them. Ryan and Aria. They won’t be a problem anymore.”
“They’re—”
“Handled.” The single word is final, absolute. “Aria talked before—well, before Silas finished. Gave us everything. The network they built, who they recruited, where they were getting their intel. We’ve been cleaning it up for the past two days.”
“That’s why you haven’t called,” I realize.
“That’s why I haven’t called.” He looks guilty. “I’m sorry, angel. I know you wanted updates, but we’ve been neck-deep in cleanup and I didn’t want to call until we had something definitive.”
“Cal.” I lean forward slightly, lowering my voice even though Mom has moved away to give me privacy. “You’re sure? They’re really gone? This is over?”
“It’s over,” he confirms. “Ryan and Aria won’t threaten you or the boys again. Ever.”
I should probably feel something about that—guilt, maybe, or horror at what “handled” likely means. But all I feel is relief so profound it makes me dizzy.
“Hold on,” Cal says, glancing over his shoulder again. “Jace wants to say hi.”
The camera shifts—shaky, the connection glitching slightly as he turns it. I catch a brief glimpse of two figures in the background of the warehouse, both moving, working. The image is blurry, the lighting harsh, but I can make out the shapes of them.
Jace’s voice comes clearer now, closer to the phone. “Hey, angel.”
“Jace.” I smile despite everything. “You okay?”
“Tired. Covered in—” He stops. “Let’s just say Silas wasn’t exaggerating about the cleanup. But we’re okay. All of us.”
“The boys miss you,” I say. “They keep asking when you’re coming to visit.”
“Soon.” There’s warmth in his voice. “We miss you too. Miss them. This—” The connection crackles. “—taking longer than we thought.”
“Jace? You’re breaking up.”
The camera swings back to Cal, his face clearer now. “Battery’s dying,” he explains. “Let me make this quick before we lose connection entirely.”
“Okay.”
“Charles wants us in Asheville tomorrow.” Cal’s tone shifts to business. “Mountain territory quarterly check-in. It’s routine but it’s important—the families up there like to see faces, make sure they’re still valued.”
I nod. I’ve heard about these meetings—the careful political dance of maintaining alliances with the various territorial families throughout the region.
“And he wants you there,” Cal continues.
I blink. “Me?”
“Yeah. Says it’s good optics—new generation, fresh face, Parker Carter back in the fold. Shows we’re evolving, not just the same old guard.” He pauses. “Plus, honestly? We could use you there. These mountain families respect strength. They’ll respect you.”
“When?”
“Tonight. Helicopter to Asheville in the this evening, meetings during the day tomorrow, back by evening.” He glances at something off-screen. “It’s just twenty-four hours, Parker. The boys can stay with Evelyn and Maria and Sienna. They’re safe here.”
I hesitate. Twenty-four hours away from Noah and Liam. Twenty-four hours leaving them after they were just traumatized.
“Parker?” Cal’s voice pulls me back. “You don’t have to. If you’re not comfortable leaving the boys—”
“No, I—” I take a breath. “I want to. I want to be there.”
His smile is tired but genuine. “Good. We’ll send coordinates and timing to Marcus.”
“Okay.”
“Parker.” His voice softens. “We really do miss you and the boys. We’re so close to having everything.”
“Everything,” I agree quietly.
“I have to go. Jace is giving me the hurry-up look.” The camera shifts again slightly, and I hear Silas’s voice in the background saying something I can’t quite make out. “I’ll text you details. See you soon, angel.”
The call ends.
I stare at my phone for a long moment, my heart still racing, relief and anticipation warring in my chest.
They’re okay. Ryan and Aria are gone. This is over.
Mom appears beside me, settling back into her chair. “Good news?”
“They found them,” I say. “Ryan and Aria. It’s over.”
“Thank God.” She reaches over, squeezing my hand. “And?”
“And Charles is sending them to Asheville tonight for a territory meeting and he wants me there.” I look at her. “Is that—is it okay if I go? Just for a day? The boys—”
“The boys will be fine with me and Maria and Sienna,” she says firmly. “Parker, you need this. You need to see them, talk to them, figure out what comes next. We’ve got the boys. Go.”
I nod, pulling up my texts to message Sienna.
The guys said Charles is sending them to Asheville for the mountain territory thing?
Her response comes almost immediately.
Yeah, quarterly check-in. Routine but important. Sometimes they send a team for the bigger territories—shows respect. Are you going?
They asked me to come along.
Good! You should see how those meetings work. When?
This evening. We’ should be back tomorrow night.
Perfect. We’ll handle the boys. They’ll have fun with their cousins. You go do what you need to do.
I set down my phone, looking out at the ocean where I can see Noah, Liam, Jimmy, and Lottie playing in the distance. Maria and Sienna are with them, supervising, laughing at something one of the kids said.
They’re safe. Happy. Protected.
Cal’s right. We’re so close to having everything I was terrified of losing, but I’m not afraid of losing this. Us. Our weird family.
Am I smiling?
“Mom?” I turn to her. “Will you help me figure out what to say to the boys? About why I’m leaving on short notice?”
“Of course, sweetheart.” She stands, pulling me into another hug. “But Parker? They’re going to understand. Kids know more than parents give them credit for.”
I nod against her shoulder, letting myself have this moment of comfort before our lives change forever.