Page 34 of Surrender
Nate’s name coming from Parker’s mouth was seriously unexpected, and I instantly felt my heart stall for a second. “I don’t…” My brow pinched between my eyes. “I’m so confused.What does Nate have to do with anything?”
His eyes rolled slowly and deliberately, and for a second, I thought they might get stuck in the back of his head. “How do you think it looks, Darce? I’m the District Attorney, and I find out my girlfriend is connected to the damn criminals that I’m aiming to remove from our streets.” He shook his head, a look of disgust covering his face. “Are you that naïve? Do you have any idea how it makes me look? What people are going to think?”
My mouth went dry as I fought to come up with the words to answer.
But the instant Nate’s name was mentioned, I was drawn straight back to a couple of days ago when the two of us were standing in the kitchen of the house we both used to call home, and him looking at me the same way as he always had.
As if twelve years hadn’t passed.
He was older.
Gruffer.
Far more tattooed.
But he was still the boy who used to climb through my window.
And if I wanted to protect him and his friends, I couldn’t let Parker know any of it.
“Nate used to live next door to us when I was growing up,” I said with a shrug. “I ran into him when I was with Lucy. I would have mentioned it, but I didn’t know he was a criminal, or that he was someone on your radar.”
Parker’s nostrils flared, and he continued to stare me down, like I was going to cave under the weight of his glare. I could only imagine what it felt like sitting in a courtroom with him analyzing every move you made, every word you said, looking for anything he could use against you.
To get inside your head.
He was trying it right now.
Belittling me.
Berating me.
Looking for any little flaw to contradict my words.
“Right,” he drawled finally, dragging out the word. It was obvious he didn’t quite believe me, but he wasn’t ready to call me out on it.Yet. He needed more evidence. To build a case. “Just a coincidence then.”
I pushed a small smile to my lips. “Definitely. Honestly, he came from a really rough home, and you know me,” I said, smoothing out the napkin on my lap and trying to keep my voice calm. “I’m not going to be horrible to someone who’s had a tough time. No matter who they are.”
Parker scoffed and shook his head slowly. “I’ve always told you. You’re—”
“Too nice,” I said, cutting in with a sigh, as if I was almost embarrassed by the notion. “I know. I just try to see the best in people.”
“Mmm,” he hummed, the tension in his shoulders slipping away. “And they will take advantage of you, babe. They’ll use it against you. I see it time and time again. You need…” His voice floated away as his phone began to ring, and he pulled it from the inside of his suit jacket, glancing at the caller.
“I’ve gotta take this,” he said and lifted his eyes. “Are you done and ready to go?”
I flashed a smile, placing my napkin on the table and scooting my chair back. “Can I just run to the ladies’ room first?”
“Yeah, I’ll meet you at the front.” He waved me off, swiping at the answer button and putting the phone to his ear. And just like that, he was done with his interrogation and had moved on. “Yeah. What’ve you got for me?”
Getting to my feet, I made a hasty exit across the dining room, my heels clicking across the polished floors. They were almost more unbearable than usual because my feet were stillrecovering from the performance on the weekend, but Parker had these expectations about how we both looked when we were out in public.
It’d been drummed into me like a damn marching band over the past few months of dating, and I’d put them on, knowing it would be easier to appease than to have an argument about it.
Jesus Christ.
I shouldered open the restroom door and headed straight for the small sink, bracing my palms on the slick surface as I caught my breath.
How was I at this point?
