ALVARA

xiv

I whip around, heart racing. When was the last time someone had snuck up on me without my knowing?

Parker leans against the door frame, an eyebrow raised at me. "I thought you were supposed to be some top-assassin. How is a wannabe cop sneaking up on you?"

I sigh, turning my back on her pointedly. "What are you doing here?"

"I had nowhere to go, boyfriend," she replies innocently.

I glare at her. "You know, if I was changing and the roles were reversed, you would be in court for sexual assault."

"I nearly was just a week ago," Parker mutters.

I exhale. "Get out."

She pauses, thinks about something, then hesitates again.

"Just spit it out," I snap, annoyed.

"Tell me what the note said and I'll leave," Parker says bluntly.

I turn on my heels slowly to give her an are-you-kidding-me look. When I see she's not joking, I throw my hands up. "That's none of your business."

"Well, it wasn't yours, either! It was just lying there till you unfolded it and read it like you found out the Krabby Patty recipe," Parker retorts.

"The what?"

"The Krabby Pa - you've never watched Spongebob?" she asks disbelievingly.

"You mean the TV show about the ADHD sponge, the depressed squid, and the narcissistic lobster?" I ask sarcastically. "I had them for dinner."

She gasps, clapping a hand over her mouth dramatically. "You take that back!"

"No."

"Take it back now!"

"No!"

"Tell me what was in the note," she threatens.

"I threw it away," I lie. I keep my eyes locked on hers, refusing to look behind her at the balled up piece of paper lying on the floor. "You know, for an FBI agent, you have zero tact," I goad, just to distract her.

Parker narrows her eyes. "I prefer to use brute force." She cracks her knuckles threateningly, advancing. I put the clothes back on their hanger, narrowing my gaze at her. Was she seriously going to throw punches in my walk-in closet?

"Make a single wrong move and you'll tear all the stitches in your back," Parker warns.

"I'll have them resewn," I retort, secretly dreading the prospect of having a needle and thread come anywhere near my skin.

"You wanna die of infection, bozo?" she snorts. Without warning, she lungs at me. I dart to the side to dodge whatever punch she tries to throw at me, but instead, Parker begins tickling me.

"What - are - you - doing?" I wheeze in between hysterical laughs as she uses her left hand to tickle me and her right hand to pat down my pockets. I shove her off me, gasping for breath. "You - you -"

Parker narrows her eyes at me. "There's no way you threw that note away. Knowing you, you kept it to mope about it at a la -" She stops, before recommencing hastily, "Where you headin' out to at such a late hour? Grocery shopping, dare I say?" She glances at the bulletproof gear. "Because, you know, there's enemies around every corner, even the canned goods isle."

I close my eyes and massage my temples, praying for patience.

"I'm surprised you haven't lost it and killed me yet," Parker observes, watching me trying to calm myself. "As a matter of fact, I don't know why I'm still breathing."

"You're important," I reply cryptically. Predictably, Parker's eyes widen before she controls her expression. "Oh?"

I make a show of sighing and leaning against a drawer, the picture of defeat. "Since you aren't going to leave me alone, tell me what Hugo promised you in order for you to go to that gathering last night and I'll tell you where I'm heading off to."

Parker glares at me suspiciously.

I put my hands up. "I'm an honest man if I want to be, Parker."

"And hedgehogs can shit out Starbursts," Parker sneers. "Fine. Ya wanna know? Because he told me he knew about my parents' death and who was behind it. But given that he's in a coma, he can't really keep up the end of his bargain, can he?" Her offhand attitude can't hide the feverish glow in her eyes. I imagine it's how I looked when I vowed to hunt down my mother, blaming her for my father's death. All of that seems like a distant memory now. Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die, as Carrie Fisher said.

I stare at her, dread pooling in my stomach as I remember Hugo's words. Does Alvara know that you have denied her the pleasure of strangling the man who killed her parents?

I tilt my head condescendingly to cover up my reaction. "Yeah, 'cause you trust the mafia boss who kills people in his sleep."

"What was the alternative?" she asks sarcastically. "Get killed? You know, I'm surprised you're still sticking around." Parker makes a point of staring at my back and I flinch at the attention.

I laugh humorlessly. "Sure, I escape. Then what, I spend the rest of my life hiding? Changing identities, flying around the world to escape him?" Besides, I have a plan that you, out of all people, will never learn about.

Parker chews on her lip. "So? Where you heading out to?"

"Clubbing," I reply succinctly.

She glares at me. "I'm being serious."

"So am I." I hold up the Prada shirt and the bulletproof gear. "Which one will make me attract more female attention?"

"Alone?" A spark lights in her dark eyes. She smirks at me. "Can I tag along?"

The smug smile on my face falls. "What?"

"Can I come along? I mean, are you really going clubbing without your girlfriend? Wanting to attract female attention while you're in a monogamous relationship? For shame, Kaiser, for shame. Or, as you Frenchies say, pour la honte!"

"We are not in a - who said the relationship was monogamous?" I splutter.

"I did just now, old man. First you move like one, now you've got the hearing of one." Parker shakes her head before smiling at me brightly. "Anyway, I've got the outfit ready. I was just waiting for the day you'd take me clubbing!" To rub salt on the wound, she attempts to kiss my cheek but only ends up reaching my jaw. It feels more like a punch than a peck.

She skips out my closet gleefully like the little gremlin she is. I sigh, rubbing a hand over my face. I'm starting to think that's the only sound I'm going to make around her.

How did you get yourself into this mess, Kaiser?

I look at the gear and the Prada shirt glumly. I still don't know what to wear.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

This entire chapter was so fun to write, hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did