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Chapter Three
"I’ht-hundred"
Parker fought down the wave of nausea threatening to e’s dinner
"Why the hell would you ever go there?" Parker asked angrily
Garrett sighed and looked down at his shoes It was bad if he wouldn’t look her in the eyes Garrett knew she could read hi
"It wasn’t an accident," Garrett said quietly, his eyes suddenly fascinated by a rock on the ground
Parker knew exactly what Garrett was talking about; there was no need to question him Part of her wasn’t shocked by what he said She wasn’t stupid She knew there were ly distant and short with her in theup to his departure to the Dominican He spentphone calls on his cell at all hours of the night He snapped at her when she questioned the change in hi froht years occurred theParker had been cleaning the house and picked up a fax that had just come in over the machine in his office Milo came up behind her, sainst the bookshelf, screa at his things
She knew all too well his job involved confidential information she wasn’t privy to They were more alike in thatinto their hoot violent with her, it beca of his flight after repeatedly apologizing to her for his earlier outburst, Parker fought the overwhelain She chalked it up to nerves about his just hadn’t been right between therew until she couldn’t stand to be in her own skin anyht, and the one and only time she talked to him on the phone after he left, he sounded scared
Parker accepted the news of Milo’s "accidental death" because she had to She had to plan a funeral, pack up his belongings, cancel wedding plans, and try to keep it together so she could function and work She didn’t have time to dwell on conspiracy theories Garrett never questioned Milo’s death, so Parker didn’t either She trusted Garrett to always be honest with her, especially after Milo’s death
"How are you holding up, Park?" Garrett had asked, inadvertently using Milo’s nickna room at the funeral home where Parker had sneaked away to for so in on her, and she couldn’t handle one y or condolence froers, the pats on the back, and the looks of pityAs soon as those feelings started to bubble up inside of her, she knew she needed to get out of that room and away from the closed casket that held her fiancé
"Why in the hell do people send flohen so it for? Milo’s never going to appreciate them, and obviously these people never had anyone close to them die before If they did, they would know that the smell of floill always make the people left behind think of death froet the chills"
Parker couldn’t stop the word vomit even if she wanted to When she was nervous or upset, she talked A lot She felt Garrett walk up behind her, and when he placed his war the stress away, she forgot what she had been co about and lost herself in his touch Her tattered heart skipped a beat when Garrett’s fingers grazed the bare skin of her collarbone in the black, scoop-necked dress she wore Garrett bit down on the inside of his cheek to stop hi at the feel of Parker’s smooth, soft skin and the way she leaned back into his touch as if trying to get as close to hiparking lot of people who came to pay their respects, and Garrett patiently waited until she was ready to talk again He had done nothing but worry about Parker since she called hione It was easier to be concerned with Parker’s well-being than to dwell on as going on inside of hi on all cylinders the past couple of days, and Garrett feared that she was going to break at anytoo much around inside that head of hers, but no matter how many times he asked her to talk to hi and she would never let hi But he kneas only a matter of ti her crazy by hovering over her night and day, but he wanted to be there when she needed hi else to think about rather thanin his own sadness
"Do you really believe it was an accident?" Parker asked, breaking the silence with her quiet question
Ever since the knock on her door the other , she’d tried not to dwell on the "accident" they said Milo had been in But thethe last severalshe’d been told Milo had been involved in soerous She knew that deep inside her soul So hiry Parker never told Garrett about all of the fights they were having and how angry Milo got when he found her in his office before he left on his final mission She felt like a fool that the one man she was supposed to trust with her life didn’t trust her in return
"The military said it was an accident, so it was an accident What wouldso up Milo’s flaws Garrett had always been Milo’s chaht time to tell Garrett that his best friend had been far froht tiht Forget I even asked," Parker replied, turning around to face Garrett
"Milo neverto me about this mission or what it entailed The last ti ry over there It was an accident These things happen all the time You know that"
Garrett wasn’t about to mention to Parker that the last tinized his best friend’s voice Milo had always been a jokester, a happy guy who never failed tostupid Garrett couldn’t re a really serious discussion with him - until that phone call Milo was scared And he had told Garrett that if so happened to him, it wouldn’t be an accident Milo had ended the cryptic phone call before Garrett could grill hi about
He had known damn well Milo’s death wasn’t an accident, but it certainly hadn’t been the ti to worry about He would handle it on his own and hopefully never have to involve her
Standing there in front of Garrett right then, it hit her that he’d been keeping things fros
The fact that she had her own secrets, her own little white lies she weaved into every day conversation to keep the truth from those she loved, didn’t matter That was different She didn’t have a choice
"What do youhave you known this ht be a possibility?" she deuish in her voice and on her face knowing that what he said next would onlyinto the , quiet minutes, Garrett finally looked at her and didn’t like what he saw She was pissed At him
"Don’t Don’t do this, Parker You know damn well there is information that as a civilian, you aren’t privy to"