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the lurker
for D, E and P with thanks
Secluded Road near the Centre
How could they have done it to him? He had given many years of faithful service to the company, and they let him go, with no warning, no justification. How was he supposed to take care of his daughter now? They didn’t care about things like that; not the Centre. They didn’t care at all about family. We’re having to cut down on our technical staff; that’s what he had been told. He knew a line of bullshit when he heard it.
They weren’t going to get away with it. He would see to that. He stared through his binoculars out his car window at the front entrance of the Centre. He wasn’t going to use such an obvious access; if there was one thing he had learned in working for them for so long, it was how to penetrate their security. He picked up the machine gun on the passenger seat and clicked off the safety. He smiled as he got out of his car, heading for a side door which he knew he could easily get through.
They wouldn’t know what had hit them.
*******************
Sim Lab
The click of her heels on the shiny floors echoed down the hall as she walked. She rounded the final corner of the entrance to the lab and through the glass, she caught sight of Sydney. She entered the room and he looked up from behind the computer monitor.
Her voice was tinged with annoyance, "Syd......did you get my message?"
"If you mean the one regarding Jarod, the answer is yes."
She arched an eyebrow at him, he seemed far more nonchalant than she would have thought him to be at the news of his lab rat’s latest exploits.
"And you don’t care that Jarod has been masquerading as you in one of the Centre’s psychiatric facilities?"
A small grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, "Can I help it if Centre employees are too comatose to recognize the difference between a man of my age and a man of Jarod’s?"
"It isn’t funny, Sydney. He got into all of the psychiatric Centre records...."
"And prey tell, Miss Parker, why does that worry you so?"
Parker’s eyes narrowed in anger, "It doesn’t, Dr. Doolittle, but it certainly seemed to upset Mr. Raines a great deal....so much so, that he’s wanting Jarod’s head this morning, attached or unattached to Jarod’s body. I would think that would concern you."
Sydney looked down and rubbed at his left arm, an unusually weary sigh escaping his lips, "It does, Parker."
"Then I suggest we try and beat that bald-headed suba tank to the punch and get to Jarod first. I know you can email him, Syd. Tell him we can protect him from Raines..."
Sydney shook his head, "You know he’d never accept our help, Miss Parker."
Her voice had a cutting edge to it, "Is that your way of telling me to buzz off, Sydney?"
Sydney looked away, trying to mask the tightness he was feeling in his chest, "Of course not." He looked directly into her eyes, the pallor of his skin catching her attention more than his words, "Why do you insist on being so adversarial with me? We both want the same thing."
She moved closer, her tone still holding a bite, "Do we?"
He closed his eyes in pain, rubbing his left arm again, "Yes damnit..." He looked up at her, "Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do."
A moment later he felt the gentle hand on his shoulder, her voice sweetening in its tone, "You okay, Syd? You look a little--"
"--I’m fine," he snapped. He caught the slight hurt that flashed in her eyes, and his timbre softened, "just a little tired, that’s all."
She placed a tender hand his forehead, which felt slightly warm, "You sure?"
"Uh-huh, yes."
"Okay...."
An alarm began to sound through the lab. Parker and Sydney exchanged a look, and she pulled the gun out from under her jacket.
His voice held slight admonishment, "Parker..."
"Intruder alert, Syd; hostile infiltration."
He got up and walked to her, pulling the arm holding the gun down, "Just stay here.....I’m sure the sweepers have it under control."
She yanked out of his grasp, "I don’t need your protection, Sydney; and if the situation were under control, they wouldn’t have hit the alarm." She noticed the fine sweat which had broken out on his forehead, and once again her tone held a note of concern, "Sit down, Freud, you look like hell. I’m going to go make sure that the Marx brothers get a lid on this, then I’m coming back and escorting you to the infirmary."
"I do not need to go to the infirmary, as I am not infirm." Parker shook her head and moved toward the door; Sydney called to her, "Miss Parker, be careful please..."
She smiled reassuringly at him, "Sit tight, I’ll be back."
*********************
Corridor outside Sim Lab
Sam, Willie and several other sweepers ran down the hallway, chasing the disgruntled ex-employee toting the machine gun, each firing off rounds that managed to miss the target. The man turned as he ran, clicking off several rounds in return; those in pursuit dodged behind corners and hit the floor. He opened his jacket as he neared the Sim lab, and flipped the switch on the bomb he had strapped to his chest, flicking it into life. He took ahold of the plunger in one hand, poised to press down, keeping the machine gun balanced in his other. A strange smile crept onto his face; he would have the final word with the Centre.
Miss Parker bolted out the door of the Sim Lab, just in time to run into the fleeing man. He took the opportunity of surprise to slam her into the wall, sending her gun flying away from her grasp. Willie and Sam bounded toward them, ready to shoot.
The man locked the plunger down on his chest, and grabbed Parker by the neck, pulling her in front of him, "Don’t come any closer, or I’ll blow her head off, and I’m sure that ‘Daddy’ wouldn’t like that."
Sam and Willie stopped dead, guns still pointing at the assailant, with no further advancement in his direction. They waited. One minute clicked by, then another, and another. It was Parker who ran out of patience.
"What are you, a few computer chips short of a hard drive?" Parker’s voice was filled with amazement and ire as she continued, "Please tell me you don’t actually think you’ll get away with this, much less get out of here with your life?" Parker turned her annoyance on the sweepers, "Shoot him, you morons!"
The man tightened his grip on her, "I don’t think so, Miss Parker." He showed them the bomb strapped to his chest, "I believe at the moment, I have the upper hand." He pulled her toward the Sim Lab door, "Come along, and don’t do anything stupid."
Sam and Willie watched helplessly as the madman dragged Parker into the Sim Lab, slamming the door behind him.
Willie reached for the phone on the wall, "Give me Mr. Parker, we have a huge problem...."
*******************
Sim Lab
Sydney looked up as the door to the Sim Lab slammed and he caught sight of Miss Parker’s jacket, "That was fast, what was the--" He stopped short as he saw the man with the bomb strapped to his chest escorting her. "What the hell....?"
Parker used Sydney as a distraction, and turned toward the gunman in an aggressive manner; he smashed her across the face with his gun.
Sydney moved quickly toward them, "There’s no reason to hurt her--"
The gun barrel was leveled into Sydney’s chest, "--I would advise you, doctor, to stay out of this."
He moved again toward Parker, pulling back to strike her, but Sydney threw himself between them, "Leave her alone!"
"Fine old man, have it your way...."
He started toward Sydney, intending to beat him senseless with the butt of the gun, but Parker dove toward the man.
However, Sydney once again intervened, holding her back, "Miss Parker, no!"
He felt a sudden white hot pain rip through his chest. For the briefest of moments, he thought he had been shot; but then he realized there had been no sound of gunfire, so that wasn’t it. Sydney gasped for breath and clutched at his chest as he sank to his knees.
Miss Parker knelt next to him, taking him by the shoulders, "Sydney? Syd.....what is it?"
"I don’t......oh god..."
He doubled over in pain, and Parker gently eased him to the floor. She quickly took her jacket off and rolled it, placing it under his head. Sydney’s chest felt like it was going to explode and drawing breath had become an almost impossible chore.
She leaned close to him, "Easy Syd, easy....." Parker quickly loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt stopping midway down. She glared at the gunman, "He needs a doctor, we have to get him out of here."
"Can’t do that."
"Damnit....I think he’s having a heart attack, you moron. He could die if he doesn’t get immediate medical attention."
"That’s not my problem Miss Parker."
Parker stood and walked toward him, stopping when the gun was pointed in her face, "Reese, isn’t it? You work with Broots sometimes in the tech room."
"Used to work with him, you mean." She looked puzzled so he explained, "I was fired two days ago. No pension, no benefits, no explanation."
Parker thought about comparing him to a postal worker, but decided against it.
"Your response to being let go was to come in here and blow this place apart? Isn’t that rich...."
"The Centre needs to learn it can’t walk all over its employees, Miss Parker. Someone has to take a stand."
Parker snorted in derision, "They obviously let you go because you’re a freaking headcase. End of story."
"I am not a headcase...they....they fired me....because I’m a single dad and I was late a couple of times. How am I supposed to support my little girl now?"
Parker’s eyes widened, "You have a daughter and you’re in here blowing yourself up with the Centre? Who’s going to take care of her after that, Einstein?"
"The Centre."
"What?"
"I’ll surrender if the Centre sets up a trust fund for my daughter. They can do whatever they want with me....I just want my little girl to be taken care of."
"Reese, listen to yourself, this is nuts. The Centre is not going to allow this kind of extortion, otherwise we’ll have somebody in here strapped to a bomb every week; and that just isn’t gonna sit well with the powers that be. Turn that thing off, put the gun down and help me get Sydney to the infirmary. I’ll try and help you resolve this peacefully...."
"Can’t."
"Look at him, Reese, he’s dying...."
Reese turned away, "Another casualty of the Centre, Miss Parker. Now shut up and leave me alone."
The sound of a phone ringing interrupted them. Cautiously Reese picked it up, "Hello?" There was silence as Reese listened to the voice on the other end, then, "Miss Parker knows what my demands are...I’ll send her out to explain it. I’m keeping the doctor with me, and I expect to see Miss Parker back in here in thirty minutes, alone."
Reese carefully hung up the phone and looked at Parker, who was on the floor next to Sydney, "You have to go."
"I’m not going to leave him, not like this...."
Reese walked over to Parker, and pointed the gun at her head, "Go, now."
"No."
He pointed the gun at Sydney, "Go or we won’t have to wait to see if he makes it or not...."
Parker held up a hand, "Fine." She turned to Sydney, "You hang on for me, Syd, promise?" He nodded slightly, his face distorted with distress; she ran a hand across his brow, "Pain that bad?" All he could muster was another nod, and she closed her eyes for a moment. When she looked at him, smiling, her eyes were shiny with unshed tears, "You wait for me, Sydney, I’ll be back soon."
Sydney used his remaining strength to pull her toward his lips, and he whispered in her ear, "Once you’re out, stay out..."
"And let you stay in here and have all the fun alone? I don’t think so, Syd." She placed a kiss on his cheek, "I’ll see you in awhile..."
Sydney tried to hold on to her, but the pain in his chest caused him to let go.
Parker glared at Reese on her way out, "You’d better pray he’s still alive when I get back, or you won’t be."
Reese swallowed hard; the thought of death by Miss Parker’s hands was far more unappealing than a single bomb blast.
*********************
Command Station outside the Centre
"Are you sure you’re all right, sweetheart?"
"Yes Daddy, I’m fine, it’s Sydney who’s--"
"--Never mind about Sydney....now that we’ve got you out of there, I’m just going to send in a sweeper team."
"But Daddy, you can’t--"
"--What do you mean ‘I can’t’? I told you, Sydney is not your concern."
"Daddy, the man is wearing a bomb that looks like it could blow up New York, much less the Centre."
"We cannot meet this man’s demands; surely you understand that."
"Yes, but we can at least make it look like we are...."
"What are you getting at, Angel?"
"Simple....we draw up bogus documents, sign them, and once we get him out of there, well it doesn’t matter once we get him out of there."
"The man’s a former Centre employee.....he won’t fall for fake documents. Besides, he’s obviously popped a few screws, we can’t trust him."
Parker stood up, "I’m not leaving Sydney in there, Daddy; I won’t."
"And I told you," Mr. Parker interrupted, "you’re not going back in there."
Miss Parker stood close to her father, "And I’m not leaving Sydney in there to die."
She turned on her heel, and headed away, Mr. Parker’s voice ringing in her ears, "He may be dead already....."
Parker shrugged it off and kept walking. He wasn’t, she felt sure of it. She had to hold onto that; anything else was unacceptable.
Once his daughter was out of ear shot, Mr. Parker turned to Willie, "I want to continue with our original plan, Willie."
The tall sweeper nodded and left Mr. Parker to stand there, contemplating the possibilities, and the headstrong nature of his daughter.
***********************
Sim Lab
Reese grabbed the briefcase Parker was carrying, and set it aside, "I told you on the phone not to carry anything but the papers."
He frisked her while Parker responded, "I thought it would be safer to carry them in something."
"Uh-huh." He opened the case and immediately picked up the tiny med bottles, syringe, and portable O2 tank, "And what the hell is this shit?"
"It’s for Sydney.....digitalis for his heart and morphine for the pain. I’d think the oxygen tank would be self-explanatory even for a first class moron of your caliber." Parker looked toward the man on the floor; he was as white as death, and just as still. Her voice quavered slightly, "Is he....?"
"I don’t know."
Reese handed Parker the meds and oxygen tank, "Take care of him while I look over the papers. And Miss Parker, don’t try anything. I won’t hesitate to shoot both of you, and he’ll be first while you watch."
Miss Parker glared at Reese, as she knelt next to Sydney. She felt for a pulse, it was slow and weak, but still there. He opened his eyes slightly, and she wiped away the tears that were running down his cheeks from the agony pounding in his chest. She knew the pain was going to kill him if his heart didn’t.
Parker smiled at him and stroked his head, "Didn’t trust me to come back?"
He spoke through tremendous pain, "You shouldn’t be here...."
She injected him with the digitalis first, followed by the morphine, "This will make you more comfortable, Syd." Parker put the oxygen mask on Sydney’s face and turned on the tank, "Just relax, try and breath normally. It should be a little easier now."
Sydney swallowed hard, and tried to grin at her, but the pain in his chest forced a grimace out of him. Parker watched him closely, frowning. A moment later she gently took his hand in hers, holding it tightly. His hand felt like a block of ice.
"Syd, you’re so cold....why didn’t you say something?"
He spoke through the mask, "Nothing you can do about it."
"The hell you say...."
Parker sat down on the floor, and leaned against the wall. Gently she lifted Sydney’s upper body, pulling him into her. She grabbed her jacket from the floor, where it had served as a cushion for his head, and covered his chest with it.
She held him close in her arms, "Better?"
His life was slipping away a little at a time, but it felt so much better to be held in her warmth; at least he wouldn’t be alone.
All he whispered to her was, "Much, thank you."
Parker continued to cradle him closely, as she watched Reese peruse the documents. She silently prayed that he would be duped into thinking that the Centre would actually keep its word. However, the chances of that were minimal and she knew it. Their best option was for her to try and talk him down; reason with him.
Sydney gasped in pain and his breathing grew more laboured, grabbing Parker’s attention. She took in a long, slow breath of her own in an attempt to calm her fears. He was deteriorating and she knew it. He needed a doctor, and he needed one now.
She tenderly stroked the back of his head, "Stay with me, Syd. Just hang on a little longer, please. For me."
Sydney groaned as he cuddled closer into her; Parker wrapped her arms tighter around him.
She looked up at the man who held all the cards, "Reese....you need to let Sydney go."
He didn’t look up from the papers, "No."
"What the hell is the point? He’s at death’s door, you have me, why not allow a med team to take him to a hospital?"
"I said no."
"Look, Reese, I don’t know you, but I don’t think you really want to be responsible for killing someone. Especially someone like Syd...."
He looked over at her, "You’re right, Miss Parker, you don’t know me."
"Think about your daughter. She wouldn’t want this, Reese. I’m a daughter, and I know that it would devastate me to see my father kill someone. Think."
He glared at her, "Shut up."
Parker sighed, her efforts to reason with him were going nowhere. She would have to wait for Reese to either accept the documents for what they appeared to be, or for him to go ballistic. Either way, she doubted that Sydney would last long enough. Tears formed in her eyes; the thought of losing him hurt far more than she could have anticipated.
Miss Parker softly kissed Sydney’s forehead and leaned her head on his, closing her eyes. If there was a god, maybe this time he would listen to her.
********************
The slam of his hand down on the table startled Parker. She opened her eyes and looked first at Sydney, whose pallor was a sickly grey, his breathing shallow and difficult, but he was still there; then she glanced at Reese. He had obviously decided that the Centre was yanking his chain.
He stood up and walked toward her, "How gullible do you think I am, Miss Parker?" He aimed the gun at her, then at Sydney, "You apparently don’t value the doctor’s life as much as you say...."
Miss Parker covered Sydney’s upper body with her own as much as she could, shielding him, "Reese, please don’t....."
The ringing of the phone startled both of them, and Reese lowered the weapon. Without a word he went to the desk and picked up the receiver.
"Yeah, what bullshit are you selling now?" Reese pursed his lips waited, and then, "What’s obvious, Mr. Parker, is that you underestimated both my resolve and my intelligence. A very stupid thing to do, considering I have your daughter in here; all I have to do is press the plunger......what? You....why?" Reese’s voice contorted in anguish, "You son of a bitch.....I don’t believe you....."
Parker gently lay Sydney’s body down, once again placing her jacket under his head for a pillow. She carefully stood, and silently moved toward the desk. The sound of the Sim Lab door caused Parker to turn, and Reese to drop the phone, training his gun in the direction of the noise.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Parker. The door opened, and Reese fired; only the person he dropped wasn’t a sweeper, it was Reese’s daughter. Sydney turned to look, and saw the little girl’s body fly backward from the impact of the ammunition. It was too much for his heart. Parker glanced toward him as he grabbed his chest, and his last breath of air.
"Sydney! Please god, no..."
At the same time, the realization of what he had just done hit Reese, "Oh dear god.....NO! No, you bastards....you..."
The man dropped his gun as sobs emitted from his throat. Sam, Willie and a team of sweepers stormed the room, and gunfire filled the air. Reese was hit several times, blood exploding from the areas of entry. Parker whirled just in time to see him reach for the plunger. With all her might she lunged at him, wrapping her hand around his, preventing the plunger from releasing.
There was silence in the room; Parker recognized it as the sound which followed death. She had heard it too many times in her life. After a moment, she recovered and yelled to the sweepers.
"Don’t just stand there catching flies, you oversized GI Joes, get over here and take this from me."
Sam and Willie quickly came to her side, Willie carefully taking her position on the plunger.
Parker turned to Sam, "Get some cleaners down here and get this freaking thing neutralized. And Sam, get a med team."
Sam looked toward Sydney, "But Miss Parker, I think he’s--"
She glared at him, "Just do as I say."
"Yes ma’am."
Sam exited as Miss Parker went quickly to Sydney, checking for a pulse. There was nothing. She sat back on her heels, covering her mouth, making no attempt to hide the tears which were dropping to the floor. It was wrong. It was all wrong. Sliding to her knees next to Sydney, Parker pulled her jacket out from under him, ripped his shirt open and slammed a sharp fist into his chest.
"Damnit Sydney, you’re not going to leave me....not like this."
With tears streaming down her face, Parker put her hands together and began compressions above his heart, "One, two, three, four, five....."
She pinched his nose shut with her left hand and pulled his mouth open with her right. Taking in a large mouthful of air, she placed her mouth over his and blew the air into him forcefully. There was still no respiration, so she repeated it twice more, then returned to the compressions on his chest.
"One, two, three, four, five.....come on, Sydney."
Once again she forced air into his lungs three times, then went back to pressing on his heart muscle.
"One, two, three, four, five...."
*******************
St. Vincent de Paul Hospital
She sat in a chair next to him, where she had been since he had been stabilized. He had not yet regained consciousness, and she didn’t want him to awaken alone. She knew it was silly; Sydney was old enough to be her father, and he had been taking care of himself his entire life. But still, she felt protective of him on some level, and didn’t want him to be alone.
Parker looked at the slightly grey face lying there, and she shook her head. He had been right all those years ago; she should have simply defied her father and left the Centre. A little girl was dead. She was dead because the Centre had seen fit to use her in an attempt to distract Reese. No, her father had seen fit to use the man’s daughter. Her eyes filled with tears; why was she still involved with the Centre? A moment later a rueful smile tugged at her lips. The answers were simple, and one of them was lying on the bed next to her. The other, in fact a mirror image of his surrogate father, was still out there thumbing his nose at her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the opening and closing of the door. She didn’t need to look up to identify the heavy steps of her father approaching.
"Angel?"
She did not look at him, "Sydney’s still alive...no thanks to you."
Parker closed his eyes, then looked at her, "I don’t expect you to understand what I did--"
"--Understand it? Oh, I understand it; you needed to distract the man to get the upper hand, so you sacrificed a ten year old to do it. You’re the one who’s given me the ulcer, not Jarod."
Parker grabbed his daughter by the arms and yanked her out of her chair, "You have no idea how terrified I was..."
Her voice held disbelief, "Oh, really..."
"Yes. Angel, I couldn’t risk losing you. I honestly thought that he believed me when I told him we were sending in his daughter. I had no way of knowing the man was going to shoot her. It was extremely unfortunate, and I feel very badly about it, but it couldn’t be helped."
Parker snorted in derision, "Unfortunate? That’s your choice of words when you were responsible for the death of that little girl, Daddy?"
"Sweetheart..."
"No, Daddy. There is no excuse for what happened. The girl should not have been anywhere near the Sim Lab, and you know it."
Mr. Parker looked away, ashamed under his daughter’s scrutiny. After an awkward silence, he asked, "How’s Sydney?"
Miss Parker moved toward the bed, "The doctors think he’ll be fine with some rehab."
"That’s good news."
Sydney moaned and his eyes fluttered open, his voice was scratchy, but audible, "Miss Parker?"
She took his hand, "Right here, Syd."
"The girl?"
"Don’t worry about that for now, Sydney, you need to rest."
Miss Parker glared at her father and sat down on the edge of the bed, still holding Sydney’s hand.
Mr. Parker cleared his throat, his discomfort showing, "Well Angel, I can see you have things well in hand, so, I’ll leave you to it."
He headed for the door, but stopped dead when she responded, "You know, it’s days like today that make me wish Sy--someone else was my father."
Mr. Parker’s back straightened as he felt the stab of her words, but he chose not to respond; he would win back her confidence another day. He opened the door and left without an acknowledgment.
Sydney squeezed her hand, "A little hard on him, weren’t you?"
"No. I meant it."
He looked deeply into her eyes and saw the sincerity in them, he looked away for a moment, and when he turned back to her, his eyes were shining with tears, "Stay with me?"
"If you promise to rest, yes."
He nodded, still in a lot of pain, and his eyes slowly closed. Parker gently rubbed a hand on his arm, trying to soothe him. A few minutes later his breathing evened out and Parker knew he had drifted off to sleep. She gently placed his hand on the bed, adjusted his covers and sat back down in the chair. She allowed her own eyes to close, and within minutes, was asleep as well.
*******************
The shrill ring of her cell phone jarred her from her sleep. She pulled the phone from her jacket pocket.
"This is Parker."
There was a silence on the other end, then, "What an uncharacteristic way for you to answer, Miss Parker. That sounded more like--"
She was wide awake, "--What do you want, Jarod?"
"How’s Sydney?"
Parker rolled her eyes at the fact that he knew, and chose not to go there, "He’s sleeping at the moment, and the prognosis is good."
The relief in his voice was evident, "I’m glad to hear that, I was worried."
"So was--" She stopped herself before she could say it, her timbre turned to annoyance, "Jarod, what do you want?"
"Typical of the Centre to sacrifice a child--"
"--Jarod--"
"--Maybe someday you’ll leave there, Miss Parker. Their tactics do not suit you, you know."
"I can’t leave Jarod, I think you know that."
"Yes, I know, not until you’ve caught me. Daddy won’t let you."
"This has nothing to do with my.....father."
The nickel dropped and Jarod took a stab in the dark, "It’s Sydney, isn’t it? He’s the reason you haven’t left." Parker said nothing, so he continued, "Loving someone who has protected you since you were a little girl is nothing to be ashamed of, Miss Parker."
"Don’t be ridiculous, Jarod; other than having grown slightly fond of the old goat, that’s it. You’re the one who has a ‘daddy’ complex with Sydney, not me. I have a father."
"That’s hitting below the belt, Miss Parker. Somehow, I don’t think your true protector would approve of that tact."
She sighed, "Good night, Jarod."
Parker terminated the call and put the phone away. She looked over at the man lying in the bed and smiled slightly. Jarod hadn’t admitted it yet, but Sydney was the reason he hadn’t completely left the Centre behind either. That, and perhaps something else. Parker smiled; she wondered if Freud's lab rat was as thorough in his self-analysis as he tended to be with everyone else. Somehow, she doubted it.
Her voice was a bare whisper, "I do love you, Sydney. I just can’t tell you...."
Sydney moaned in his sleep, and his breathing became heavy, as if it was difficult for him to draw air. Parker moved to sit on the edge of the bed. She checked the oxygen line, and realized that it had become pinched between the rail of the bed and Sydney’s shoulder. She released it, and his breathing calmed.
Softly she stroked his cheek, "I’m here as long as you need me, Syd. Rest easy."
As she started to move off the bed, his hand reached for hers, holding it. She looked at him, but saw that he wasn’t awake. Carefully she sat back down on the bed, allowing him to keep her hand. In his sleep, he pulled it to his chest, holding it tightly to him. A smile of contentment turned the corners of his mouth, and it was then that she knew he had heard her. A grin lit her lips, perhaps Jarod was right; maybe loving those around her was not something to hide. Maybe. Parker caressed the hand holding hers. She wasn’t ready to remove all the lights from under their bushels; she would take her revelations one at a time.
The End
