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"He pushed you? Are you fucking kidding me?" Garrett yelled

"I told you, it was really bad at the end," Parker said sheepishly "But that’s not the point That fax? I glanced down at it when I picked it up It had the sae"

Garrett folded his arms in front of hiht of Milo being physically abusive with Parker Arguing with her, keeping secrets fro her around threw Garrett into a whole new level of pissed off towards his former best friend

"So the fax on his boat, the fax at your house, and this note all came from the same place Or the same person," Garrett surmised

"And whoever this person is wants to talk to us," Parker finished

They had a few hours to spare before ten o’clock, so they o over all of the facts they knew and to make a list of possible suspects that would knock on their door that evening

Brady wanted the rest of the team to be asse, but Garrett and Parker both agreed that would be a bad idea Whoever it was didn’t want anyone to knoho they were for a reason, and they didn’t want this person to get spooked They had a feeling that this person was going to provide the so they could figure out this mystery once and for all

Brady, Austin, and Cole reluctantly agreed to stay away from Garrett and Parker’s villa, but they refused to just sit back and do nothing They would keep their distance while stilla visual on the villa just in case they were needed They placed bugs in the rooet Parker to take a nap when they were done with thethey’d been working for was coet all of the answers about what Milo had been up to and how much of a stake Fernandez had in all of it With this one et the closure they needed so they could go back home with clear heads and open hearts

Garrett sat at the end of the bed, his foot tapping nervously on the floor while he watched Parker pace back and forth in front of the door At nine-thirty, three sharp raps against the woodon the bed next to hi sure a round was in place, and gave Parker a look silently asking her if she was ready

She picked her own gun up frohtstand and switched it back and forth between her sweaty hands as she alternated wiping each palave a sharp nod to Garrett and moved to one side of the door while he went to the other and put his hand on the doorknob They stared into each other’s eyes from either side of the doorway Parker quickly leaned in and kissed Garrett’s lips, pulling away too soon and getting back into position

"I love you," Parker whispered with a sht before he turned the knob and opened the door

Parker broke Garrett’s eye contact to turn and face their ht out in front of her

The adrenaline coursing through her syste of content she felt fro halt, and she immediately dropped her arh the open doorway

In an old football team t-shirt, faded jeans with tennis shoes, and his hair a little longer than she was used to seeing, he leaned against the door jauilty s like Parker had remembered The heavy five o’clock shadoas a new addition As long as she re since she’d last seen his under his eyes proved he hadn’t been sleeping well for quite a while That thought al all of the sleepless nights he forced on her

But there was nothing about thisin front of her was a ghost that had haunted her and ret so many decisions and had turned her into so her to claw her way out of a life that would have destroyed her

All this tier and hatred had been siht of his he should have done to protect her, all of the times he should have been there for her, every moment he betrayed her love flashed before her eyes in an instant

"Hey, sweetie"

Garrett reacted to his presence and the casual way he said spoke the endear tio The fact that he stood there in the doorway, like it was the e

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

Chapter Nineteen

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

Garrett had raised his gun as soon as he opened the door, but unlike Parker, he refused to lower his weapon There was no conceivable reason why Garrett should trust anyone that came to their door , least of all him

"I know it must be a shock to see me now after all this time Especially here," he said as he took a step towards Parker

She instinctively took a step backwards and his face fell He knew she wouldn’t welco to see the distrust and fear on her face He never wanted her to fear hi her to retreat any further away froes, and he just wanted to take all of her in If it was possible, she’d grown even uilt washed through hiht about all of the time he’d lost with her

"McCarthy, could you please put the gun down? I’m not armed," he said as he put both of his palms in the air in an act of surrender and to prove he didn’t come here to hurt anyone

Parker finally snapped out of her daze and reached up to lay a hand on Garrett’s arm