Page 46 of Protected

“I will. Chelsey is my heart. So you don’t have to worry about that.”

They pulled each other in for a handshake-hug, pounding each other on the back in the process.

“Good,” Kenton said. “As for the situation with your father, let me know what I can do to help.”

“Will do. Thanks, man.”

Now that Parker had his guys onboard, all he needed to do was talk Rock into lending a hand. Hopefully, that meeting would go as easy as this one, but Parker kind of doubted it would.

Still, he had to try.

Chapter Nineteen

“If I help you, what’s in it for me?”

And there it was.

Parker stood between Chelsey and Angelo as they faced Rock, who was standing behind his huge oak desk. It was Friday evening, and they’d arrived in Miami a short while ago and were now in Rock’s home office.

Parker had known it was only a matter of time before Rock posed that question. Heck, he grew up with a gangster, and they rarely did anything for anyone unless it benefited them in some way. But in all honesty, it was a fair question. He was asking Rock to use his knowledge, resources, and possibly his influence to help him destroy Wolf. There were risks involved. Why shouldn’t he get something out of the deal?

“What do you want?” Parker asked.

He folded his arms across his chest and braced himself for whatever was coming next. The thought of selling his soul to a devil to take down another devil didn’t appeal to him, but he had to get rid of Wolf.

Slow to respond, Rock readjusted his long dreadlocks that were bound at the nape of his neck. Mixed-race, African American and Latino, the man was around six feet four andsolidly built with two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle. Yet, it wasn’t his size that made him look intimidating. No, it was the hardness of his eyes that would keep a lesser man from approaching him.

Casually dressed in white linen pants and a royal-blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up over his tatted forearms, Rock looked like just another wealthy guy in Miami. Except he was no ordinary guy. This man had built a multimillion-dollar empire despite the DEA and other government agencies unsuccessfully trying to take him down. Parker had mad respect for him for that alone.

Still, approaching him for help might not be the best decision, but he didn’t have any other viable ideas.

“I always liked you, Parker,” Rock said, and a slow grin spread across his mouth as he sat in the leather chair behind his desk. “You remind me a lot of Gavin.”

Parker had no clue what that meant as he glanced at Gavin who was standing to the right of the desk like some edgy royal guard. At six feet tall and slim, he might’ve looked harmless in a navy sports jacket, white T-shirt, and jeans, but like Rock, his eyes told a different story. Gavin wasn’t harmless at all. He had seen some shit and had indulged in his share of criminal activity. Otherwise, there was no way he’d still be hooked up with Rock after so many years.

“But now that I know a little more about you,” Rock continued, “I have a whole new respect for you.”

They didn’t really know each other. Parker had only met the guy a couple of times when the man visited Atlanta. So he wasn’t sure what Rock was talking about unless Angelo had shared some details about Parker’s past with him. Which would make sense. No way would Rock agree to meet with him on this subject otherwise.

But the fact that Rock was comparing him to Gavin should’ve been a compliment. According to Angelo, his brother-in-law often referred to Gavin as his brother and there was nothing they wouldn’t do for each other.

Yet, Parker didn’t trust easily and compliment or not, he needed to know up front what Rock’s help would cost him.

“What do you want?” Parker asked again. “What’s it going to take for you to help us? Or should I say help me?”

Silence fell between them as Rock regarded him. He was impossible to read, and for the first time since Angelo mentioned calling him, Parker was having second thoughts.

“I want you to come work for me.”

“What?” Parker, Chelsey, and Angelo said in unison.

“You do realize I work for Supreme, right?” Parker asked, though the question was rhetorical. “I’m not leaving them. If that’s what you’re suggesting, this conversation is over.” He owed Mason too much and had too much respect for him to walk away from him for the likes of Rock.

Parker reached for Chelsey’s hand and headed for the door. He didn’t like games, and clearly that’s what this guy was playing.

“Wait.” Rock’s one word crackled through the quietness of the room. “I’m not done talking to you.”

Parker glanced over his shoulder. “You are if you think I’m leaving Supreme.”