I shook my head. “Just be there,” I said and hung up the phone. I put the lid on the box and brought it back inside just as Patrick and Troy were heading out into the living room. The sweet scent of cookie dough wafted into my nostrils and if the nerves weren’t eating at my stomach, I’d probably be hungry. “I’m heading out again.”
“Where are you going?” Troy asked me, frowning.
I stopped in my tracks but didn’t turn around. “I got picked up by the FBI this morning. You’ll come to know an Agent Steven Cross. I’m going to meet him and bring this package to him.” I looked at Troy over my shoulder, meeting his shocked gaze. “He’s not easy to get along with and he doesn’t take no for an answer.”
“Keely,” Troy whispered. “What’s going on?”
I turned back around and headed to the basement. “I’ll tell you everything in time. Right now, I don’t even know what’s going on.” What I did know was that I refused to play the victim any longer. I would be strong. For Parker. And for me. But as I made my way into the ensuite bathroom, the contents that left my stomach said differently.
AS JONES drove me back to the FBI station, my phone rang. I didn’t think it would so soon.
“Hello princess.”
My back stiffened. I glanced at Jones but he only kept his eyes locked on the road ahead of us. If he noticed my discomfort, he never said anything. “What do you want, Devin?” I mumbled, curling my feet under me.
“To talk.”
“About what?”
“Parker. Us. The usual,” he said, nonchalantly.
“Parker is dead. There is no us. I’ve moved on. You don’t need me anymore.”
Devin chuckled. “Oh, Keely. My beautiful ex-wife. You and I both know that he’s not dead and…you and I? We’ll never be over.”
“How the hell do you know if Parker is dead or not?” I asked, keeping my voice as calm as possible.
He laughed again. “Oh sweet, naïve, Keely. You really think that you can keep something like that from me?”
I sat forward. “I’ve kept everything from you. My heart. My soul. The only thing you got was my body. Everything else? It fucking belongs to Parker,” I said through gritted teeth.
There was a pause before Devin spoke again. “You don’t belong to shit now that he’s dead.”
I rolled my eyes. “I thought you said that he was alive?”
“Oh, baby. I know he is. I’m just waiting for you to admit it.”
Like hell I would.
“Did you get the package I sent you?”
“Yes, I got your package. The blood was a little dramatic though, don’t you think?” I felt Jones shift in his seat beside me but he still remained silent.
Devin chuckled. “It would be more dramatic if I used my own blood but alas, I did not.”
“Whose blood is it?” I asked, sitting up straighter.
“What would you say if I told you it was Parker’s?”
“What?” I croaked out.
“You heard me.”
I shook my head. “No. You’re lying.”
“Am I?”
“Devin, he’s dead. He—”
“Listen, you little bitch. I know that Parker is alive. Do not fucking lie to me.”
“You don’t know shit!” I screamed.
“I know that he came to see you a couple of weeks ago. I know he gave you a heart pendant. I also know that he loves you and that it will cost you both in the end.”
“What the hell do you want, Devin?” I asked softly, fingering the gold pendant on the chain around my neck.
“You’ll see.”
I let out a yell of frustration when the line was disconnected. “Jones, drive faster. Please.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He tipped his hat, his grip on the steering wheel tightening.
We drove in silence but my mind continued playing everything over and over that had happened over the past few weeks. Meeting Parker months before. Being with him in ways I never even knew existed. My body ached. For him. His touch. God, I needed him to just hold me. To tell me that everything would be okay.
“He misses you,” Jones said, breaking the nerve-wracking silence.
“I miss him,” I responded, my voice thick.
“I can’t see him staying away much longer.”
“He can’t come to me. No one knows that he’s alive, Jones.”
“Devin does,” he mumbled.
“Yeah,” I scoffed. “I don’t know how.”
“I’ve been with Parker since the beginning. He’s like a little brother to me, Keely.”
I swallowed hard and met his warm gaze.
“He’s doing this for you.”
I nodded. “I know and I’m doing this for him.”
“Both of you are strong but together?” He smirked. “You’ll fucking