He dropped her over the edge of the bed twice before giving up, letting her fall asleep where she wanted, in the crook of his neck. He grumbled about it, but he wasn’t fooling the cat and he certainly wasn’t fooling himself. He adored her right back. Just like he did the owner of this house.
The truth was he didn’t look forward to the day it was time to leave. He was going to miss this damn hellion. He was going to miss Oreo. The house. Playing football.
And most of all, being with Zoe.
Eighteen
The next morning, Parker was again at the kitchen table with his laptop while on his cell phone, through which Sharon had been chewing out his ass for the past five minutes.
He’d used the time to text two pics of Oreo being attacked by the kittens to Amory and was working on a third.
“And now, thanks to you,” Sharon went on, “I have to go to the director and—”
“Give him the proof I sent you that Carver’s got stuff on the move?” he asked, voice even.
“That’s if this place is even the right place, and if the trucks you saw were carrying the cargo we’re looking for, and if that even matters because this is out of my hands now and on a different pay grade entirely.”
“You ever going to tell me about the deal?” Parker asked.
She was quiet so long he wasn’t sure she was still there. “Hello?” he asked.
“You always know what I know,” she finally said. “Or you’ve guessed.”
“He’s going to give up the militia,” Parker said.
“The big cheeses. All of them, and some of these guys have been wanted for years.”
“And in return?” he asked.
“He walks.”
Parker let that soak in a minute, but no matter how he looked at it, it sucked for him and his team. “Walks,” he repeated. “As in goes scot-free? Which agency is he doing this deal with?”
Nothing from Sharon.
Keeping his cool right then was just about the hardest thing he’d ever done. “What about Ned? Where’s the justice for his death? Jesus, Sharon, this isn’t fair to—”
“—Nothing about life is fair and you already know that. And there’s a lot about this deal that neither of us knows.”
He was shaking his head even though she couldn’t see him. “He can’t have died for nothing,” he said.
“He didn’t. But right now, you have no choice in this matter, Parker. If Carver catches wind of you in the area, you’ll spook him and we all lose.”
“No, the other agencies lose. Our agency is already up shit creek without a paddle since we had to give him up.”
“Don’t do anything without talking to me first,” she said. “I mean it, Parker. If you so much as—”
“Got it,” he said, and sensing the conversation was about to deteriorate even further, he disconnected.
And then he turned off his phone. She could kill him later. Much later. He tossed his phone down and realized he had three sets of eyes on him. Or more specifically on the peanut butter toast he hadn’t finished.
“Mew,” said the gray kitten.
“Mew,” said the tabby kitten.
“Woof,” said Oreo.
“Hey, I already fed all three of you beggars,” he said just as his laptop pinged an incoming e-mail from Amory:
Parker! Loved the pics, send more! And guess what? It’s next week now so what day will you be here? I want to put it on the calendar! I tried calling you but it went right to voicemail. You busy? OMG, maybe you’re already on your way here!!!!!!!!
Well, hell. Parker emailed her back, making sure to tell her that he was not on the way yet but that he’d let her know when. As he hit send, Zoe staggered into the kitchen in another skirt and blazer that made her look like a million bucks, heading directly for the coffeepot.
“Bless you,” she said when she found he’d already made the coffee.
He waited as she guzzled the caffeine, and in less than a minute the cobwebs had cleared from her pretty eyes. It was fascinating to watch. She was fascinating to watch. He’d heard her come in at three thirty in the morning and had gotten up to check on her. By the time he’d walked down the hall, she’d been facedown on her bed and out cold. He’d pulled off her shoes and covered her up.