Page 111 of Pride
“No one could account for Julius’s madness.”
“But this was my madness. His plan never wavered. His goal was always his wife and daughter and stupid me—”
“Hey. Stop that. We will get them all back, safe and sound. You have my word that the Sisterhood will back you up. And you have something Julius never accounted for.”
“What’s that?”
Alice looked at Daisy. “Her.”
Parker stilled, staring at his sister. He straightened. “You’re right. Like you said, Daisy. He thinks you’re the trial run, but you’re not. You’re the strongest one of us all. You’re our secret weapon. We just need you to find your mate.”
Axel glared at them. “She’s not anything unless we get her to a hospital.”
“They’re alive,” Daisy rasped through a shuddering breath.
“How can you know?” Parker asked.
“Because I spent decades learning the ins and outs of Julius’s mind, and there was one thing he loved to toy with—hope. For years he taunted me with something he would never give”—her face twisted into disgust—“calling me his darling, as though he loved me. Believe me when I say, they’re still alive because so long as there is hope, there is suffering. And he wants us to suffer worse than he has.”
40
Two nights later,Alice sat at a booth in Heaven. Parker was playing a solemn song on the piano, and it set the mood for the night. He refused to open the restaurant or the nightclub next door until they were done with Julius and everyone was safe and back home.
“So it wasn’t you?” Liza asked from across the table. A glass of whiskey sat untouched between her hands. She was talking about the surprise death of the executive who’d leaked footage of Parker dressed as Pride. They’d only just found out a few hours ago. Tony and Sloan also sat at the table, nursing drinks. Wyatt was in the kitchen keeping busy, his baby in a sling, keeping his wrath from slipping simply because she made him happy. Evan and Griffin were still out searching the streets.They’d allbeen out, but now needed a break and some food. Griffin refused to stop, and Evan refused to leave him alone.
“Iwishit was me,” Alice answered Liza. “I mean, Iwantedto kill him, but Parker stopped me.”
They all glanced at the man as he played morosely, but beautifully. He’d reattached his arm after he and Flint had severed the weak security link and made adjustments to accommodate his regenerating limb. They’d added more layers of impenetrable technology, preventing Julius from ever gaining control again. More than that, they’d reverse engineered some sort of Wi-Fi coupling Julius had used to control the arm. Apparently, if he tried it again, they could use it as a weapon. They had to find him first.
“Who was it then?” Tony asked. His glowing complexion had taken a sallow turn. Alice didn’t think he was eating. “Because even though the murder doesn’t look good for Parker, it helps his case.”
She pushed her bowl of nuts over, but he ignored them and itched his Yin-Yang tattoo. With every single mate missing, it would be up to Parker and Alice to keep the heroes in balance.
“Eat it,” Alice insisted. “For Bailey.”
He shot her a flat look, but picked at the nuts. “So who do you think it was, then?”
“I don’t know.” She thought about who would have the power to order a hit in a high profile case like that. It didn’t look good for Parker, but he’d posted bail. His plan remained to be acquitted of all charges in order to add a layer of protection for the future. He couldn’t be charged twice for the same thing. “I keep thinking it was the remaining members of the Syndicate. The heads were in town, and the death happened before they knew their bases had been destroyed. But, I don’t know. Maybe they’re cutting their losses and eliminating anyone that can be traced back to them.”
“Could be,” Liza said. “Thanks to Axel’s and Daisy’s intel, CCPD and the Feds have raided Syndicate Tower and the basement. It all adds up with Parker’s story about being kidnapped from the local holding cell.” She then turned toward the stage and shouted, “Hey, dickhead. How about playing something that doesn’t make me want to slit my wrists?”
Parker scowled back at her, but adjusted his rhythm to something jazzy. Alice realized how much he’d changed in the past few weeks. Not only was he comfortable playing in front of his family, he was taking requests. She only wished it were under happier circumstances.
Maybe seeing his effort to open himself up was what made her do the same. She used to love singing. Then the accident happened. Then she sang for Parker. Now… she slid out of the booth and shoved Parker aside on the piano bench. When he gave her a curious look, she said softly, “Will you play Nina for me?”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I’m ready.”
Parker seamlessly switched to playingMy Baby Just Cares for Me.Alice tapped the piano lid for percussion. She started singing softly, but with each verse she increased her volume until she was belting it out at the top of her lungs and they both had grins on their faces. Tony joined in until the last note died and Parker leaned in to kiss her beneath the ear.
“When I get you alone,” he murmured. “There will be flowers.”
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too.”
Liza made a vomit sound but stood and clapped loudly.
