Parker (Striking Back #3) Read Free

it yet,” I reply, grinning.
    “You
should find a nice young lady and settle down,” she lectures. “Quit being such
a gigolo.”
    Laughing,
I unwrap my hands. “Gigolo’s charge, Jan. I provide a valuable free service.”
    “Until
your pecker falls off.” Nothing like hearing a sixty year old woman say pecker.
Janice looks like somebody’s sweet old granny, but you can never predict what
will come out of her mouth. She’s great.
    “I
protect the merchandise. Mason will be in to teach in an hour or so,” I tell
her, changing the subject. “Place should be quiet until then.”
    She
waves me away. “I’ll be fine. Get out of here and have some fun. Youth doesn’t
last forever.”
    “Yes,
ma’am.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Hype
is packed to the walls with couples, women wearing as little as possible, and
men looking to get them drunk and naked. I don’t particularly care for hanging
at the club, but it’s the best place to find a girl for the night. Well, not
the entire night.
    A
waitress I don’t recognize approaches our table. “What can I get you, honey?”
    “Jack
and Coke. Make it two, please,” I reply, waving to Alex as he comes through the
door.
    “You
got it.” She shuffles away in her too high heels, and I get a chance to check
out her ass. Not bad. The sight of her long dark hair makes me think of the new
woman at Striking Back. Macy. Long black hair, pale skin and coffee colored
eyes. I had to keep reminding myself she’s a resident. Completely off limits. I
may be a jerk who sleeps around, but I’d never take advantage of the women we
help.
    Alex
thanks our waitress, settling on the stool across from me. “Cooper’s on his way
to join us. Try not to be yourself.”
    “Relax,
I won’t embarrass you in front of your boyfriend.”
    “Not
my boyfriend. Yet, anyway. But I like him.”
    “You
fuck him yet?”
    Alex
shakes his head like he’s fed up with me, but his lips twitch up. He’s caught a
lot of shit in his life for being into men, so I know the fact we can talk
about his sex life just like we do mine makes him happy. I don’t know why men
are so squeamish about anal sex when most have taken a woman that way. And
really, an asshole is an asshole.
    “A
couple of times.” A light blush travels across his cheeks. We may be twins, but
Alex and I couldn’t be more different. You know how they always say to watch
out for the quiet types? They’re talking about my brother.
    Compassionate
to a fault, he comes off as shy, but has a worse temper than me and Mason
combined. “Have you heard from Mason today?” he asks, changing the subject and
signaling the waitress for two more drinks.
    “A
few hours ago. He’s pretty torn up, just wants to be left alone.” What a
weekend. Our charity waterpark day turned into a disaster when some psycho
tried to drown Everly, Mason’s girlfriend. Then Mason calls this afternoon to
tell me he had to tell her about our underground operation.
    “Well,
his girlfriend accused him of trafficking girls. That’s got to sting. We should
check on him tomorrow.” A slim man with wavy brown hair heads toward our table.
“This pretty boy has to be your guy,” I tease, nodding toward him as he makes
his way around the dance floor.
    “Say
anything inappropriate and I’ll tell every chick in this place you have crabs
and three illegitimate kids,” he mumbles under his breath while smiling at his
date. They hug and Alex gestures to me. “Cooper, meet my brother, Parker.”
    “Nice
to meet you.” Cooper grins, showing a dimple in his cheek. “You’d never know
you two are twins.”
    It’s
true Mason and I look more alike with our dark hair and blue eyes. When we were
kids, I used to tell Alex he was found in a dumpster and that’s why he has
blond hair and brown eyes. “Not his fault the handsome gene skipped him,” I
reply.
    Cooper
laughs and throws his arm around Alex. “Looks like there was plenty to go
around.”
    Alex
grins and kisses him.