That usually does the trick. When he can’t manipulate me to conform to whatever scheme he has up his sleeve, he backs off.
“Things are changing, Laiken.” His tone shifts and an uneasy shudder zips along my spine. “I have the means to get what I want now.” He lets the subtle threat hang before he speaks again. “I’ll be seeing you soon.”
When the line goes dead, I clench the phone, holding it up to my forehead with a deep breath. “It’s fine, Laiken. Everything is fine.”
Rhodes always had a tendency to be reckless, even when we were kids. I can’t count the times he was in detention for fighting or breaking the rules. He’s been to jail half a dozen times and his name is one people know and not for the right reasons. I turn to head back to the group, shoving all thingsRhodesaside. It’s my burden to carry. My choice. I’ve never shared why or what happened that night. Not to anymore. Because as much as I wish I could, not only would it bust open the wound Parker left, but I’d be attempting to dig for memories I don’t have. And that scares me the most.
Chapter seventeen
Parker
“What’s wrong?” I ask, catching Laiken by the wrist as she tries to brush past me.
“Nothing.” She tugs her hand away and her eyes bounce around the yard.
“You afraid someone will see me touching you?” I lift a brow.
“No.” She straightens her shoulders. “But youaremy patient. It’s not—”
“Come on, Laik. Stop with the excuses.” I gently grip her wrist again, guiding her to the side of the house. “I’ve had my mouthon every square inch of your skin. We can set aside the bullshit boundaries.”
Her eyes widen, and she jerks her arm away. “Maybe I don’t want you to touch me? You ever thought about that, you arrogant jerk?” she hisses.
My boot shifts, stepping closer as she matches me a step back. Her pulse flutters on her neck, one of my favorite indicators that she likes whatever is happening.
“You sure?” Another shift closer. “Your pulse is racing,” I murmur as I reach up, dragging a calloused thumb across the smooth skin of her neck.
Her warm breath fans across my chest, her eyes searching my face. I want nothing more than to press her sweet lips to mine. To taste her again. But things need to be said. Things that matter and I don’t want her regretting anything before she knows the truth.
So I let my thumb gently caress her pulse, watching her shoulders relax. “Tell me,” I coax. “What’s wrong?”
She holds my gaze but drifts her eyes away after a couple of tense seconds. “Everything is fine.”
Her voice is strained.
“Is it Rhodes?” I ask, the name tasting like a dangerous venom.
Her silence is my answer.
“He’s bothering you?”
She lets out a breath. “No. I mean, yes.” She slips out from between me and the wall of the house. “He calls sometimes.”
“What do you mean by sometimes?” I cock my head to the side, trying to read her body language.
She’s fidgeting.
“I handled it, okay?” She reaches back to tie her hair up in a ponytail. “I’ve been handling him for the last six years without you, so like I said, I’m fine.”
“Laiken.”
She pauses at the tone in my voice. Then, reluctantly, her expression softens. “Look, every couple of years, he gets in this ‘I want to know my son’ phase, except it’s more like he shows up unannounced, yelling, and demanding to see Trace even though he’s not even on the birth certificate. After a few days of not getting what he wants, he’s gone again and we can breathe.”
Yeah, I don’t like that.
“You let the sheriff know?”
“I’ve called, but it’s sporadic, so it’s hard to keep up. Just when I think he’ll leave us alone, he shows back up.”
