Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51131 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51131 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 205(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
I open my mouth to speak, but before I can, Landon calls out from across the room. “Bullshit. If I wanted to break down your fucking door, I would have. I was only trying to scare you.”
Parker lifts her eyebrows and gestures to Landon. “See? He’s not sorry. And I’m not taking back my statement. I have put up with a lot from your son over the years. If this is how it finally ends, so be it.”
Wow. Parker is not what I was expecting after having met her mother, but it’s hard to argue any of her points—at least, when she’s the one I’m arguing with. Sure, I could dig around her life and find grounds to discredit her in the court of public opinion if I had to, but I don’t want to. I like Parker, and I like her mother, and none of this is their fault.
My gaze shifts to Gemma, holding her daughter like a protective mama bear.
Even though Parker is the one who has been through a trauma tonight, her hand rests over her mother’s kneecap like she’s providing her stability and comfort, too.
And I’ll bet she is.
Gemma is an absolute sweetheart, but her protective—and more assertive—instincts come out when she needs to protect her daughter.
I bet the daughter is just as protective of the mother.
I’m a bastard to use personal information Gemma has given me when we’ve spent time together, but she said herself that Parker is mature for her age, that it has always been just the two of them.
Ordinarily, I’d want to speak with a parent over their child, but I have a feeling Parker can handle herself.
“May I speak with you alone for a moment?”
Parker’s eyebrows rise in surprise.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Gemma says.
Parker’s eyes narrow but never leave my face. She’s debating, and she must decide she’s not afraid to go toe-to-toe with me because she moves her hand off her mom’s knee, gently moves out of her embrace, and stands. “No, I’ll talk to him.”
I offer her a mild smile. Not that she seems to need the reassurance, but I don’t want her to think of me as the bad guy here.
Ridiculous that I’m still trying to salvage things when I know the chances of Gemma ever looking past this are fucking minuscule.
Since this area is so open that anyone can overhear, I find an empty interrogation room I can use to converse with Parker. Gemma does not like that at all, but Parker assures her mom she’s fine and follows me in.
I close the door and gesture for her to take a seat.
She shakes her head knowingly, crossing her arms. “I’m okay to stand.”
I nod slowly, trying to get my bearings. I’m at a disadvantage not knowing this girl. I’ve had minor interactions with females Landon has brought around, but none of them have been as capable as I take Parker to be.
“Your mother tells me that you and my son have had run-ins for quite some time.”
“My mother?” she echoes, her eyebrows rising.
I know Gemma hasn’t told her she’s been spending time with me, so I say, “She came to my office the other day about your neighbor. We ended up discussing your relationship with my son.”
Parker nods, her lips pressed together. “Ah. Well, I don’t have a relationship with your son any more than the mole and the mallet have a relationship in a game of Whack-A-Mole.”
“I understand that you probably hate him and want to see him punished,” I begin.
“I don’t hate him. I mean, I don’t like him, but that’s not the problem. He hates me. That’s the problem. I don’t have to do anything to provoke his bullshit. In fact, in the past, I have been really nice to him. Now I try to stay in my lane and mind my own business, but it doesn’t get him off my back. He’s the one who won’t stop harassing me. It is not a mutual problem we have. I never did anything to cross Landon. He just zeroed in on me like a psycho because I tried to be nice to him one time, and no amount of demanding or begging him to leave me alone since has worked. Your son has issues, and I don’t think jail is the place for him to get the help he needs, but you know what? Maybe it is.”
I bow my head, reevaluating my approach based on this new information. I expected a scared, belligerent teenage girl hell-bent on vengeance.
This girl is not angry.
She is calm and reasonable, and again, I cannot help liking her.
Sighing, I meet her gaze. “I’m going to be very honest with you, Parker, because I respect you. I’m going to talk to you like an adult because I think you deserve that, and I think you can handle it.”