Playing Dirty Page 15

  The look on his face and tone of his voice said he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so I didn’t argue, even though I wasn’t dressed for riding on the back of his motorcycle.

  A few minutes later, he’d tossed on his shirt and jacket and I was hiking up my skirt to climb on behind him. I had no time to change into jeans or I’d be late. Since it was getting colder, I had on nylons and I prayed I wouldn’t get a run in them. Burying my face against the leather jacket covering Ryker’s back to shield me from the wind, I closed my eyes and hung on.

  Ryker had looked carefully around before we’d taken off, wanting to see if anyone was following us, I’d assumed. But we made it to my work without incident, pulling up right outside the door. People turned to look and I felt my face get hot. Being the center of attention wasn’t really my thing.

  The motorcycle had barely stopped, engine still running, before I was hurrying to get off so Ryker could be on his way. My skirt was so far up my thighs, I knew I was flashing people as I struggled to climb off the bike, then suddenly a hand was there to help me. Glancing up, I saw it was Parker just as Ryker turned off the engine.

  “Classy way to bring a woman to work, Ryker,” he said, his sarcasm thick. “Did you buy her the blue plate special for breakfast, too?”

  “I was going to help her, asshole,” Ryker retorted. “She didn’t wait.”

  “It’s fine,” I interrupted, righting myself and jerking down the hem of my skirt, though not before both of them had gotten an eyeful.

  “Take her inside and don’t let her go anywhere today,” Ryker said to Parker, whose eyes narrowed at the order.

  “Why?”

  I rolled my eyes. “He’s overreacting,” I said.

  Ryker ignored me. “Because Shea knows she works here, and where she lives. He sent someone last night with a message for me. I don’t want her going anywhere alone.”

  I couldn’t really disagree with that—the thought of that guy made me shudder—but neither did I want to be a burden or danger to anyone else.

  “I’ll be careful,” I said, trying to placate him.

  “I’m not into taking chances,” Ryker said. “And if there’s one thing I know you’ll do, it’s obey your boss.”

  The tension between the three of us grew tenfold with that little pronouncement and I glared at him.

  “I’ll make sure she’s okay,” Parker said.

  I glanced up at him, but his face was unreadable and his eyes hidden behind sunglasses.

  “I’m late for work,” I said to whoever cared. I was going to walk away, but remembered Ryker and his appointment with Leo today and I paused. Leaning over to where he still sat on the back of the motorcycle, I hugged him.

  “Be careful,” I said in his ear. His hand curved around the back of my neck and I felt his lips brush my cheek, then I stepped back. Parker tugged me onto the sidewalk as Ryker fired up the bike. He sent one last glance our way, then shot down the street.

  Parker took my elbow and guided me into the building. I put on the brakes in the lobby.

  “Wait, I need to go get your breakfast,” I said. “And your coffee.”

  “It’s fine,” he said. “I’ll take an early lunch. And there’s coffee upstairs.”

  Sensing that there was no point arguing, I followed him into the elevator. I knew what was coming and I was right, though he waited until we’d settled and had gotten coffee before calling me into his office.

  “What happened last night? Who accosted you? What did they do?”

  The questions were rapid-fire as Parker leaned back in his chair. His gaze was intent, his expression grim.

  I didn’t like being treated like a fragile flower to be locked inside a cabinet for safekeeping, but I didn’t see that I could not tell Parker what he wanted to know.

  “It was nothing,” I lied, walking toward the windows so I didn’t have to look at him as I told this whopper. “Just this guy being all scary and telling me that my boyfriend was wanted by the great Leo Shea. I was supposed to pass on the message.”

  “And if you didn’t? Did he threaten to hurt you?”

  I swallowed, staring out at the gray sky. “He said he’d kill me.”

  Silence.

  “Did he have a weapon?”

  “A knife.”

  More silence, even heavier than last time. Reluctantly, I turned around.

  “Ryker’s going to meet with Leo today,” I said. “He said he and his … chief … had a plan, but he didn’t tell me what it was.”

  “He’s right. You need to have someone watching over you,” he said.

  I didn’t reply, instead sinking onto a chair opposite his desk. “It made me angry,” I confessed.

  “Ryker?”

  “No. Leo. How dare he send some flunky to do that? Try and scare me? And … I couldn’t do anything about it. The helpless feeling … just made me angrier. I couldn’t fight back, didn’t know how.”

  “You shouldn’t have to,” he said.

  “In a perfect world, I guess,” I said with a shrug. “But it’s not a perfect world, is it?”

  “Far from it.”

  My gaze met his as he studied me for a moment. “Listen,” he said, “why don’t you come with me after work. I was going to go work out before I go to that fundraiser tonight. You’re still going, aren’t you?”

  Shit. I’d completely forgotten about it. “Yeah, sure. I didn’t bring a dress to change into, though.”

  “It’s okay. We’ll swing by your place so you can change. But back to my point. Come with me and I can show you some pointers. Self-defense things.”

  “Really?” I asked, surprised. “You’d show me that stuff?”

  He nodded. “It’s not something mastered overnight,” he warned. “But it’s a start, if you want to feel more capable of defending yourself.”

  That sounded good. Really good. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that.”

  Parker’s lips lifted slightly. “Good. Then it’s settled. We’ll leave at four-thirty.”

  I left his office feeling like I was actually doing something about Leo and taking control, which was way better than how I’d felt when I’d walked in.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t have workout clothes with me, so I hit up Megan. She always had some. Though she was smaller than me, her clothes would do in a pinch, though they might be a little tight.

  “You’re working out?” she asked.

  “Don’t look so shocked,” I retorted, taking the black shorts and tank top she handed me. “I work out.”

  “Only when I threaten you.”

  Okay, that might be true.

  “So Parker’s just going to let you go work out during work hours?”

  “Um, well … I’m kind of working out … with him,” I said.

  Megan choked on her Red Bull. I slapped her on the back a few times. “Are you serious?” she managed, once she’d stopped coughing.

  “It’s training,” I hastened to explain. “He’s going to show me some self-defense moves.”

  “Parker. Is going to show you … self-defense.”

  I nodded. “Yep.”

  She just shook her head. “You be sure to let me know how that goes.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I said. “It’s nice of him, actually. Lessons like that cost money, so if he already knows this stuff and doesn’t mind teaching me, that’s good, right?”

  Megan just looked at me. “Right,” she said at last, skepticism written on her face. “And how does Ryker feel about you learning self-defense from Parker?”

  I glanced at my watch. “Gotta go.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she called after me as I hurried away.

  I heard from Ryker around mid-afternoon. I’d had my cell sitting on my desk and had kept an eagle eye on it all day, hoping it would ring. I snatched it up before the second buzz.

  “Hey, babe,” he said when I answered.

  “I’ve been so worried,” I said. “Is everything ok
ay? What happened?”

  “I can’t talk about it over the phone,” he said. “Just wanted to call and tell you that I’m okay, but can’t see you tonight.”

  My disappointment was a lead weight in my stomach.

  “Why not?”

  “I’m looking into that video we got of your accident,” he said. “Forensics finally finished enhancing and cleaning it up so I’m going by the station. But I need to make sure I’m not followed.”

  “Okay.”

  “Have someone take you home tonight,” he said. “Don’t go alone. I would if I could—”

  “It’s fine,” I interrupted. “I have a work thing I have to go to anyway.”

  “All right. I’ll come see you as soon as I can. Gotta go.”

  I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Be careful.”

  “Ditto.”

  He ended the call.

  I tried not to worry, but it stuck in the back of my mind for the rest of the day. Relief that he was okay, but worry over what he hadn’t been able to tell me.

  The workout place was literally just around the block, so Parker and I walked there. He kept me close with a hand around my arm while he walked on the outside of the sidewalk. I noticed his eyes were moving constantly, watching everyone around us.

  I changed into Megan’s workout clothes, wincing a little as I looked myself over in the mirror. The shorts were crawl-up-my-ass short and the tank top was a size too small for my breasts. Some other women had on less, but I usually wore workout leggings, so felt a little uncomfortable. Shrugging it off, I pulled my hair up into a high ponytail and went to meet Parker.

  CHAPTER TEN

  He was waiting on one of the mats, talking to another guy who was just as big as he was. Parker had changed into a black T-shirt that had to have some spandex in it, the way it clung to him—not that I was complaining. He’d put on workout shorts, too, but they weren’t tight like the shirt was. Dammit.

  Parker caught sight of me and waved me over. His gaze ran from my head down to my bare toes still adorned in A Good Man-darin is Hard to Find, and I watched his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed. The other guy was talking and I saw Parker’s lips moved as he replied.

  “Hey,” I said once I was close enough. It felt strange to be with Parker in this setting, but he slid his hand around to the small of my back like it was no big deal.

  “Sage, this is Mac,” he said. “He’s my sparring partner.”

  “Nice to meet you, Sage,” Mac said with a smile as he shook my hand. He had an accent I couldn’t place, with brown hair and gray eyes.

  “Same here,” I said, feeling a little intimidated with these two huge guys flanking me.

  “I’m going to show Sage a few self-defense moves,” Parker explained.

  “A little Krav Maga for the lady?” Mac asked.

  “Hey, if you’re going to teach self-defense, might as well do it right,” Parker said with a shrug.

  “What’s Krav Maga?” I asked.

  “It’s a form of self-defense created by the Israeli Defense Force,” Parker explained. “Its premise is not only defense, but counterattack to disarm and disable your opponent and come out the survivor of any physical confrontation.”

  “It looks like she could’ve used a lesson a few days ago,” Mac said, eyeing the bruises and scrapes on my legs before his gaze landed on my stitched shoulder.

  “Tell me about it,” Parker replied grimly.

  “You want to show her a demo?” Mac asked.

  “Sure.” Parker motioned for me to stand aside so I moved off the mat to lean against the wall.

  Mac got behind Parker and wrapped an arm around his neck like he was putting him in a choke hold. Parker moved so fast I couldn’t even track what he’d done, but he was out of the choke hold and Mac was down on the ground.

  Parker held out a hand and helped Mac up. They faced off, then Mac attacked Parker. I sucked in a breath at the vicious jab, but Parker sidestepped it, then moved in close. They both moved fast, with their arms and fists and feet and every part of their bodies it seemed. I watched in wide-eyed amazement. I’d never realized Parker could do … all the stuff he was doing.

  They finally hit a point where Mac tapped Parker’s leg. They were on the floor and Parker was doing something to his arm. When they stood up, they were both breathing hard.

  “Nice,” Mac said with a grin. “I let you win, you know. Didn’t want to make you look bad in front of your lady.”

  Parker laughed. “That’s mighty thoughtful of you.”

  Your lady. Hmm.

  They did this man-grip handshake thing, then Mac nodded at me before heading off toward the men’s locker rooms. Parker turned toward me.

  “Ready?”

  I gave a nervous huff of laughter. “I’m not sure I’m able to do anything like that.” Talk about intimidating. Plus, I hated learning something new. I always felt like an idiot until I’d mastered it.

  “That’s what I’m here for,” he said. “I’ll teach you. Come on.”

  He took my hand and pulled me to stand on the mat. “Okay, the first thing you need to learn is that part of it is energy and will. You have to throw everything you have into your moves. Be decisive and intend to harm.”

  “Intend to harm?”

  “Absolutely. If someone starts something with you, you want to be the one to end it. Not just defend yourself, but attack and disable them so they’re out of commission.”

  That made sense. “Okay.”

  “So, last night, the guy pulled your hair, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Okay, well if someone grabs your hair, it’s going to hurt no matter what. You might as well resign yourself to that. But here, let me show you how to get out of it.”

  Reaching out, he grabbed a handful of my ponytail. “The first thing you want to do is grab my wrist with both your hands.” He showed me where to circle his wrist. “Then you want to create some distance between us, though it’s going to hurt because I still have your hair. When there’s distance, you use your feet. Vulnerable parts of the body. The knee, the groin.”

  “I’m not kicking my boss in the groin,” I said.

  His wide grin flashing perfectly white teeth made me lose my train of thought for a moment.

  “I’d prefer you not either,” he said. “This is practice. We’ll go slow so you can get used to how it feels. When you get better, I’ll put on gear and you can move faster and do real hits.”

  So we practiced. Using my hair, he’d pull me close, then I’d go through the moves he taught me, with him making corrections and suggestions. He was careful of my shoulder, which I appreciated. The stitches were healing, but I babied it since I was a complete wuss when it came to pain.

  “Okay, now what if he does this?” Parker asked, using my hair to spin me around so my back was against his front. He put an arm across the front of my shoulders above my breasts and the other across my hips.

  And I could feel every inch of his body against mine.

  Sweet Jesus.

  He was still warm from his sparring with Mac, his skin slightly damp with sweat, and I could smell his scent mixed with his cologne. A powerful aphrodisiac that made my bones want to melt.

  “Now what?” he asked, his mouth at my ear.

  Oh yeah. Self-defense. My mind was blank, unable to think of a single thing he’d taught me.

  “Um, I-I’m not sure,” I stammered.

  “Move into the attack,” he reiterated. “Remember? Put your hands here and you want to jerk your head back into mine.”

  I couldn’t even concentrate on what he was saying, just let him put my hands where I was supposed to, then went through the motions as he talked me through it. If he noticed my sudden quiet, he didn’t mention it, repeating the hold and moves until I wanted to yell at him to stop touching me. But it seemed I was the only one the close proximity was affecting, because he carried on as if nothing were amiss.

  “And it’s not,”
I muttered to myself. “Get a grip.”

  “What did you say?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” I said brightly. “Just … memorizing the moves.”

  I didn’t think it could get worse. I was wrong.

  “Okay, so let’s go over how to escape the classic rape scenario,” he said.

  “Wh-what?” I squeaked.

  He looked at me funny. “Most women want to know this move first,” he said. “It’s usually their biggest fear. Trust me, you want to learn it.”

  “Um, yeah, sure, okay.”

  Parker pulled me down onto the mat, urging me to lie on my back, feet on the floor and knees bent and spread as he crouched between my legs. Hooking his arms behind my knees, he pulled me closer so our lower bodies fit snugly together.

  Holy Mary Mother of God.

  Get a grip. Get a grip. Get a grip.

  The mantra repeated inside my head. This was just Parker being helpful. This was not sexual. Just like painting the toes. Not sexual.

  I only wished I could tell my body that because wow, was it ever throwing a party at being in this position. My heart was racing and heat curled low in my belly as Parker braced himself above me, leaning down until our chests were almost touching.

  “If someone is going to rape you,” he said, “this is how they’ll be. Close and in your face. There won’t be much space between you.”

  I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. It was all I could do not to wrap my legs around his waist, for crying out loud. Which would be bad bad bad.

  “So here’s what you’ll do,” he began. “Twist your hips to the side and leave the opposite foot on the floor. The other foot is going to go on my hip.” He put his hands on my hips and legs, twisting me to show me what I should do. I forced my mind to concentrate. “Once you have some space, kick with your feet. Aim for the chin. It doesn’t matter how big the guy is, you nail him under the chin, he’s going down. Trust me.”

  He moved my hands. “If you can, lock your elbows and put your hands on my shoulders. Not my chest, but my shoulders.”

  Parker’s shoulders were wide and hard underneath my palms. His body was wedged between my thighs and I could feel parts of him I shouldn’t nestled against parts of me that were barely covered by my too-small shorts.