Parker woketo the sound of a bullhorn. This neighborhood was always loud between the neighbors squabbling, first responder sirens, and loud coeds. But this was a first for him.
Sliding out from under Astrid, he grabbed his jeans on the way out of the bedroom. He looked out of a couple of the windows around the apartment before he finally spotted where the sound was coming from. He pulled his T-shirt over his head and stepped into his boots.
Skirting around the table and through the back door, he climbed down the stairs from the house until he reached the first floor.
The house behind hers was teaming with police, including a fully geared-up SWAT team. There were a couple of people in various stages of dress with their hands cuffed behind their backs sitting in the overgrown grass.
“Hey, buddy. Finally decided to take what was being offered?” one of the SWAT officers asked, walking over to him. Parker rolled his eyes as Max pulled his helmet off. “Astrid,” he added as the door opened.
“Max. What’s going on?” she asked, draping her arms around Parker’s neck. Max smirked at Parker before grinning at Astrid.
“Busting a crack house,” he answered.
“Really? We’ve called in a domestic complaint a couple of times when their fights wound up in the yard,” she said. “I had no idea there was more going on.”
“What?” Parker asked, turning to look at her. Why in the fuck was she still living here?
“Yeah, I guess vice has been keeping an eye on them for a while. Finally suspected there was more going on than just slapping his girlfriend around,” Max responded.
“What the fuck, Max?” Parker asked again. This time he directed the question at his friend. “You couldn’t have said something?”
“I didn’t know until this morning,” Max said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I guess patrol has been watching some pretty nasty individuals go in and out of here. The warrant to search the premises finally came in this morning. We have another one for a location a couple of blocks over. We think that’s where his distributor is. The guy will probably clear out before we can get there though. Relocate somewhere else.”
“No, we’re done,” Parker growled, swinging back around to Astrid. There was a moment of shock on her face before anger took its place.
“What do you mean we’re done?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest. Something in the back of his brain said he should probably explain this better. He was just way too pissed.
“You heard me. We’re packing your shit. You’re out of here today.” She seemed to relax just a fraction.
“Parker,” she started.
“No. This is not a discussion. You’re not staying here any longer.” He could see Max trying not to laugh. Parker ignored him.
There was no way he would sleep again knowing Astrid was in this house. She was living next to a crack den, with a rager upstairs every weekend, and the neighbors across the street beating on each other most evenings. “Go upstairs and pack your shit.”
“Fuck you, Parker,” she growled.
“If that’s what it takes,” he answered. Before she could argue any further, he tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “Hey, Karlie’s back isn’t she?” he asked Max as Astrid slapped his ass.
“Got back two nights ago,” the SWAT officer answered with a grin. It was obvious he was loving every minute of this. Asshole.
“You want to meet up for dinner? I’ve got the night off.”
“Yeah, I’ll tell Karlie. She can call Astrid later.” He looked around Parker at Astrid. “Maybe after she’s done tearing you a new asshole,” he added with a nod. Max laughed, walking over to rejoin his team.
Parker opened the door and hauled Astrid back inside. When he reached the apartment, he slowly eased her down until her feet hit the floor.
“What’s wrong with you,” she said, shoving at his chest. Fuck, she was sexy when she was all riled up. He reached for her. She danced away from him. There was a brief wrestling match until he had her pinned against him.
“Baby,” he said with his arms wrapped tightly around her. She had both hands against his chest, pushing. When she couldn’t wrestle out of his grip, she gave up with a frustrated sigh.
“I know I told you to let me know when I’m being a dick, but I’m not spending one more day worrying that you’ve been caught in a drive-by shooting. Or an explosion caused by cooking meth. Or assaulted by some drunk bro you didn’t know broke into your apartment while you were asleep.” He felt her relax a little more against him.
“We’re going to pack up this apartment and you can live with us for the rest of the summer,” he added. “I’ll help you move everything into the dorms when they reopen in August. Deal?” He waited for her to respond.
Parker didn’t know what he would do if she refused. He couldn’t just manhandle her out of here. He could, but he wouldn’t.
“You can have my bedroom and I’ll move back to the couch if you want.”
