front of Parker. “What do youwant?” Parker asked.
“I need to talk to you about Sam.”
“What about?” he asked.
“How do you really feel about her?”
“I love her. I fell in love with her and I just want to be with her.” “You do know everything that she’s been through, don’t you?” “She shared a lot of her past with me, but what do you mean?” “Did she tell you about Ed?”
“Yeah, I know they were together a while before he was killed.” “Yes, that’s true, but before there was Ed, there was Tyler. I
think there was someone between Tyler and Ed, but she denied it. She’s very good at keeping things to herself, if they’re private. She doesn’t like broadcasting her private life. As for Tyler, she dated him throughout high school. On her twenty-first birthday, they were walking home from a party that he had set up for her. It was also the night that he proposed. On the way back to her house, a drunk driver’s car jumped the curb and hit Tyler. He had seen the car coming and pushed her out of the way. She loved him for a long time and hedied on her. She wore that engagement ring for years after that. She never dated. The only person she had in her life was me. We’ve been best friends since we were ten.”
“She told me about your friendship. So, you two sleep together a lot?”
“She’s the only woman that I’ve ever been with. I love her with all my heart, but she’ll never love me more than she does now.”
“If she did, would you love her?”
“Yes, of course. She’s theonlywoman I ever loved. My whole point is the two men in her life that she truly loveddiedon her. After Ed died, she shut down. She focused on the job. I think what made her accept your job offer so easily is that it was adventurous and exciting. She probably was also attracted to you at first. I heard you two did a lot of training together.”
“Yes, and she taught me more than Ievertaught her,” he smiled.
“I figured as much,” Luke laughed. “Parker, if you do love her, let her do things her way. Somehow, prove to her that you really do love her. You don’t have to protect her, because she can do that herself, but she may try to protect you.”
“She did really freak out the other night when I got shot. She took care of me and fixed up my shoulder.”
“I’m not surprised. She’s like that. She always wants to fix things for other. She takes care of others. She can be very controlling, but it’s just her way. You’lllearnto do what she says. I’m not saying that in a relationship, she’s the boss, but she likes to take control.”
“Ineverything?” he asked.
“Yes, but she’s willing to give up some control if it makes the other person happy. Parker, she grew up with a well-off family. She joined the Marines and stayed with them until she was twenty-two. She was a sniper and a medic. She then joined the police academy. She will take care of you and those around her. Don’t try to stop her. When she gets things in her head, she has to play it out or you’ll be in her way. Don’tget in her way.”
“I’ll try not to. She was really close to her mom, wasn’t she?”
“Yeah, they were like sisters, rather than mother and daughter. She lost everyone except for you, Dylan, and me. Have you seen Dylan yet?”
“No. I took her to see him, but I didn’t go in. She told me what happened to him.”
“He was a great athlete in college. He had a football scholarship and scouts were trying to line him up for theirNFLteams, but then, he came home. He wanted to take his little sister out for dinner to celebrate her promotion to Detective. He’s ten years older than she is. He loves her very much. He was always so protective of us.”
“Us?”
“Yes, Samantha, Kyle, and I. Her parents practically raised me.”
Parker shook his head. “I knew stuff, but I guess I didn’t know everything. I do so care about her. I feel like she’s been in my heart my entire life. I don’t want her to lose her life and I don’t want her out of my life.”
“If you want to hold on to her …don’tlie. Don’t keep secrets. Don’teverbetray her. Also, don’t hold me and her sleeping together against her. It was something that we both agreed to, but it was more of how we are together. Yeah, we’ve had sex three times in the past few days, but that’s it. If she and you work things out, it will stop between us.”
“I guess I understand. I’m glad that she has a friend like you. I know it’s weird, considering you’resleepingwith the woman I love,” he laughed slightly.
“So, will you stay here?” Luke asked.
“Yeah, she has me set up pretty good. I think she’s bringing real food over later.”
“Yeah, shecan’tcook.”
“I know, I tried her eggs.”
“Oh,yuck.”
“I know, they were pretty disgusting, looked like…”
“Spaghetti?” Luke asked.
“Yeah,” he shuddered.
“No matter how hard Anna tried, Samantha never learned how to cook,” Luke said, as he stood up. “If you’re here when she gets back, she’ll know that she can trust you. Let her learn it all over again if she has to.”
“I will. I’m not leaving. She did say that if I left, she’d hunt me down.”
“Oh, shewill,” he said. “I’ll see you later. I just thought that you and I should talk. Oh, and, Parker?”
“Yeah?”
“If you do hurt her, she won’t be the only one to hunt you down.”
“I understand. You won’t have to. I promise.”
“Good,” Luke left out the apartment door.