Desert Angel (Family Justice Book 2) (44 page)

She was still grumbling as she pulled it together so when they walked inside it didn’t look like a bear had just mauled her. He let her have all the time she needed, not out of any inflated sense of chivalry but because he needed the opportunity to coax the out-of-control hard-on he was sporting back to a resting state. Wouldn’t be a good idea to find himself staring down the thundering anger of her brother should he catch a glimpse of the obvious.

Good luck with that his head snickered. Especially now that you actually HAD mauled her to the extent that her taste is in your mouth and her scent invading your senses. Sucker!

In time, he helped swing her down from the vehicle, not that she was incapable of doing so herself, and nodded approvingly when she hesitated and checked out the placement of her clothing one last time.

“You look fine,” he assured her.

Halfway down the walk to the house, she started laughing.

“Oh, my god,” she wheezed in a building giggle. “This is worse than when Mom would threaten us,
wait till your father gets home!
I’ll take my father any day over Alex with his military bark and that disgusted scowl he does so well.”

Parker laughed, too. It truly was funny because he also felt like a bad kid about to get an ass-whupping from an angry parent.

Grinning broadly he scolded her. “Behave yourself.”

She jerked to attention and said, “Yes, master,” then fell apart in an attack of squealing giggles.

What the hell was he supposed to do with her? Heaven help them if Alex overheard her say that even as a joke. He’d rip his balls off first and ask questions later. Maybe.

With a hearty thwack, he swatted her playfully on the butt before leaning in to nip her earlobe.

“Now I understand why Alex keeps score . . .” he muttered which only made Angie’s hysterical laugh get bigger.

“Seriously woman,” he drawled as they came to the door. “Pull it together before we go in or my balls may end up being on permanent display in the family archive.”

“What is it with this fascination over your balls?” she hooted. “First Meghan threatened and I had to plead for ball-mercy. And now Alex, too? Sheesh. How ‘bout I get you a cup to wear?”

The imp. She was openly taunting him.

He grabbed her hand and pressed it firmly against his crotch. Finally, a reason to be glad he was free-ballin.’

“Feel that?” he drawled with a leer. “Better make that a custom cup, baby girl. Don’t want to restrict the family equipment.”

She was saved from coming up with an answer when the door was suddenly jerked open and a stone-faced Alex was standing on the other side.

Quickly snatching her hand away, she flounced past her brother like he was the doorman at the Ritz and hip-swayed into the house.

“Be nice, Alexander,” she scolded on her way in. “He told me all your filthy secrets so you better watch yourself, brother dear.”

He caught Alex’s instant scowl at the same time she winked at Parker and turned away laughing. Score one for the baby sister.

Ass. Blistered.
Yep, yep. Looking like a definite possibility.

Meghan appeared at the top of the stairs wearing an expression that told him she’d be in his face in a heartbeat if Angie were unhappy because of him.

“Alex,” Meghan said softly. “Come to bed. Angie can lock up after Parker.”

Again—the look she speared him with was full of heavy meaning. If it was anyone other than Irish, he might have smirked.

“Where did you go?” Alex asked Angie, ignoring Parker completely. “What did you do? Was that asshole a gentleman?”

Meghan shook her head and rolled her eyes. Parker hoped she was taking notes ‘cause this was exactly how Alex would be with a daughter or two to protect. Growl, bark questions, be a huge dick, and make dark looks.

Angie smiled so sweetly it almost made his teeth ache.

“Oh! We went to Jim’s and I had a steak the size of your face. Then Parker forced me to eat this death by chocolate dessert that I swear came with a health warning.” She rubbed her stomach and grinned. “And now I’m stuffed and need to get out of these clothes and put on some stretchy pants before I explode.”

Meghan purred again, “Alex.
Enough.
”

For a second, Alex looked back and forth between him and Angie then back at his love who smiled and put out her hand. “Come on, Major. Angie’s a big girl now. Let her handle this.”

Angie went to her brother and threw her arms around him in a massive hug. His arms immediately came around her and he lifted her off the sexy heels for a brotherly squeeze. Parker saw her whisper into his ear a second before Alex looked him straight in the eye.

He held his breath hoping she wasn’t saying anything stupid.

Putting her down, she thumped him good-naturedly on the chest and said, “Run along now, Alexander. I’ve got this.”

Alex walked to the stairs then turned around for one more meaningful look in Parker’s direction. When his best friend in the whole world used two fingers to indicate that he had his eyes on him, his balls shrank.

He loved Alex Marquez like a brother. No. Fuck that. They
were
brothers. But he loved Angelina even more. Keeping the respect of her brother and all the members of her family was vitally important to all their futures.

He politely took his leave of Angie not long after with a short, sweet kiss by the front door—just like they were kids at the end of a date.

“Don’t forget,” he chuckled on exit, “dinner with Wendy and Matt tomorrow. My mom is really looking forward to it and, be prepared . . . my dad has some crazy PowerPoint he wants to show you. Something to do with your dad and that’s all I know.”

Angie giggled. “I love Uncle Matt! And tell your mom that I pried two bottles of a rioja out of the Villa’s wine cellar that will knock her booties off.”

“S
O, WE’RE GOOD TO GO
then for the seventeenth? I want this to be memorable, guys. The whole enchilada.”

“Don’t you mean the whole corned beef?” Drae snickered.

Cam crushed an empty soda can and tossed it through the air in a perfect arc that dropped dead center into the recycling bin, then swung his arms up and hooted, “Score!”

Alex petted Zeus’s head when she looked up at him in that way that dogs had that felt conspiratorial. It was like she agreed with him that these two shmoes were an endless source of head shaking and eye rolls.

He leaned down and let her lick his face. “I know, right?”

“Did you give Sully his outfit? Motherfucker left me holding the phone on this one. Showed up for one fitting and then pulled a fuck-it.”

“
Hehehe.
Not thinking straight, that one. He’s blue balling,” Cam sniggered.

“Shut the fuck up,” Alex grunted. Goddammit. Why did his little sister have to be such a pain in his ass. The very last thing he wanted to think about was the state of Parker’s balls.

“Hey man,” Cam quickly interjected. “It’s a fucking compliment. Show me a single time in that dude’s whole life when one woman, and a small one at that, stopped him in his tracks. We all know he’s got an ass-ton of available pussy waiting for his unique, uh . . . charms. My hat’s off to Angie. She’s one badass little lady for not taking his shit.”

Drae chuckled. “It’s not like each of us hasn’t been exactly where he is right now. These women,” he smirked with mock scorn. “They’ll be our undoing.”

“Hell, yeah,” Cam joined in.

“Fuck that asshole. We have other things to handle, and no, I haven’t given him his outfit yet. I’ll take it tomorrow night when the girls do their thing. Pete wants the band to close out the night with a quick set so he has to be there.”

Cam snickered mockingly. “Yeah—like he’d miss Angie’s moment in the spotlight. Get fucking real.”

“What-fucking-ever,” he grumbled. “Back to the planning. Cam? You’ve got the playback thing figured out, right?”

“On it, Major. And I’ve got the best digital version of that movie you asked for. Consider the entertainment covered and my wife, along with Tori, is busy making all sorts of decorating plans. They’re going to the party store warehouse in Sedona and I shudder to think what that means for Casa Cameron.”

“Check this out,” Drae said. “It’s almost finished. It’s for you guys from the rest of Family Justice.

Cam whistled approvingly while all he could do was mutter, “Holy shit,” when he saw what Drae was working on.

Hanging out in the wood shop together was becoming a thing. With the compound shut down till after he returned from his honeymoon, Alex had less and less reason to putter in the tech cave . . . especially since Tori absolutely insisted she continue to work as his assistant three days a week. So most days he and Cam had taken to wandering to Drae’s place after breakfast. Shoot the shit. Hang out.

Betty dealt with the office end of things and had the experience to handle the smaller Justice commitments that their B Team were working. Besides checking in on the construction and making sure things were moving ahead as swiftly as possible—something all three of them were anxious for—there wasn’t a whole hell of a lot for them to do. It was completely weird to have so much free time.

Taking a long look at Drae’s project, he was momentarily stunned. “Fucking, eh, Draegyn,” Alex muttered. “I don’t know what to say. Does Meghan know about this? I mean, wow. It’s beautiful,” he murmured.

Running his hand appreciatively over the heavy chest with the carved Celtic knots, he appreciated his friend’s amazing talents and craftsmanship.

“I’m gonna make one for each of the girls,” Drae murmured. “My sister calls these things a hope chest. Someplace to keep memories. I figure they all need one.”

“For the keepsake booties,” Cam quipped, nodding his approval.

“Exactly. Got a couple more coats of wax to apply but it’ll be ready for the get-together. We can either place it in your bedroom without Meghan knowing or just haul it to Cam’s and show it off that night then move it later.”

“Drae, you have a gift, man. I want everyone to see this and know what you’re doing for the girls. It’s amazingly thoughtful.”

“Did you just call me an insensitive jerk-off? Isn’t that what amazingly thoughtful really means?”

They all cracked up laughing cause, yep. Pretty much what he said was absolutely true.

“Oh and listen up, men. Got an undercover mission. Highly secret. For our eyes and ears only, okay?”

“Jesus,” Cam drawled. “What the fuck? Secretive? Need to know? We guarding the Commander-in-Chief or something?”

Alex half-smirked. “No, but once I explain, all will become clear.”

“Oh, joy.” Ha! He could always count on Drae for the dry wit.

“Team Justice to the rescue,” Alex quipped.

He had to fill all this free time with something, so he’d been working overtime on a secret project of his own and it was time to execute.

“Buckle up your ball sacks, gentlemen, ‘cause what we have to pull off will require skill and luck. And under no circumstances can your women know anything.”

“Mom, seriously. Relax. It’s fine. Really. Please!”

Ugh.
Angie was beyond stressed. Pacing back and forth in the privacy of her room, she struggled to catch up with a conversation that had taken her by surprise. Knowing she had to tell her folks about her involvement with Parker before they heard it through the grapevine, she’d been gearing up to make the call when her mom rang her up. Before the hello was fully finished, she’d demanded that Angie explain herself.

Fuck. My. Life.

She wasn’t surprised that Aunt Wendy couldn’t wait to tell her BFF that Parker was bringing Angie home for dinner and how excited she was that at long last, her favorite niece, with apologies to Soph, was back home in Arizona.

While she’d never know what the two truly talked about—and she had her suspicions—the way her mom was telling the story, Parker’s parents were treating her presence in the Southwest like the return of the baby Jesus and would be breaking out the good china for their dinner.

“Daughter of mine,” her mother cooed in that way she had that always made Angie sit up and take notice, “kindly remember who you’re speaking to and cut the horseshit young lady.”