A Beautiful Lie (Playing with Fire #1)(67)

Parker sat there staring at Garrett with a complete look of shock on her face. She knew from the first moment he said he was doing this mission it was going to be a strain on him. She lived with Milo; she had to deal with his ever changing attitude and emotions day in and day out. It was gradual and didn’t happen all at once. This was the first time Garrett was witness to the fact that Milo might not have been everything they thought he was. Parker knew it was a hard pill to swallow, but she’d had time to get used to the idea. Everything was being thrown at Garrett all at once, so she tried to keep her frustration with him to a minimum.

“I really hope you aren’t serious right now,” Parker said, standing up from the table and walking towards him. “I am not trying to turn Milo into the enemy. You don’t know me very well if you think any of this is making me feel better.”

Garrett knew he should shut up before things got worse, but once he started, he couldn’t stop. He watched Parker walk across the room to him and all the years of lies and regret were suddenly too much to bear. The doubt that was eating away at the friendship he’d had for almost sixteen years was crushing him, and the confusion over what was happening between Parker and him was breaking Garrett in two.

"Oh, I know you plenty, sweetheart. Is making Milo out to be the bad guy a way to ease your guilty conscience about what you did in the pool today?" he said icily.

The sound of the slap across his face echoed in the room before he actually felt the blow of Parker’s hand connecting with his cheek. He reached up to rub the sting from his face, knowing he deserved the pain and more but unable to take back anything he said. He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth, but he needed to get it all out, and Parker was the only one there to listen.

"About whatI did?” Parker repeated with an angry whisper as she stood a foot away from Garrett with her hands clenched angrily at her sides. She was shaking with fury and her throat was closing up with the burn of unshed tears.

“I get that you’re angry, and you’re confused, but don’t youdare put the blame for what happened today at the pool all on me. You were just as much of an equal participant as I was. I am not about to feel guilty for what happened today, even if you are.”

Garrett kept his head down, refusing to look at Parker. He could hear the hurt and anguish in her voice, and it tore his heart to shreds knowing he was the one who put it there. She was right. Hewas feeling guilty for betraying his friend and for thinking just for a moment that Milo was this totally different person who had secrets and lies that Garrett knew nothing about. He was taking it out on Parker and he had no right to do that.

“I am here for one reason and for one reason only,” Parker continued angrily. “And that is to find out the truth. Good or bad. You want to pretend like nothing happened today at the pool or last night in bed, fine. You want to look me in the eye and tell me that touching me, kissing me…” Parker faltered, “That it meant nothing to you and it was all part of the show we were putting on for the President, go for it. But if that’s how you want to play it, then when we’re finished with this mission, you stay the f*ck away from me,” Parker told him with a sob in her voice.

Garrett closed his eyes as Parker bumped her shoulder into his while she hurriedly walked past him. He jumped when he heard the door to their suite slam behind her when she left.

The ringing of Garrett’s secure cell phone several minutes later pulled him out of his stupor as he quickly pulled it to his ear to answer it.

“McCarthy,” he barked.

There was silence on the other end of the line, save for the soft sound of someone breathing.

“Hello?” Garrett said.

Whoever it was hadn’t hung up yet, so Garrett kept the connection open.

“Listen, I can hear you breathing. Who is this?”

After several more seconds of silence, Garrett was getting ready to hang up when the person on the other end finally spoke.

“Is-is dis policía man?” a quiet female voice asked him in broken English.

“Ah, not really. Who is this?” Garrett asked. His phone had a private phone number and strangers shouldn’t have access to it.

“Excusa, I am Maria. My amiga was Catalina Olvera. I live next to her padre.”

Garrett cursed himself for not remembering that he had given that * father his phone number when he and Parker questioned him the other day.

“Gotcha. So Catalina’s father gave you my number?” Garrett asked.

“Oh! No, no, seńor. If he knew I call you, would be very bad. I was on my front steps and saw you give him your number. He threw it to the ground, and I took it when he went in house,” she explained nervously.

Garrett realized that Mr. Olvera had probably been an * to everyone he came in contact with if this girl was afraid of him. She sounded young; he figured she couldn’t have been over sixteen. The same age as Catalina.

“Okay, I promise I won’t tell him you contacted me. Can you tell me why you called?”

There was a long pause as Maria contemplated what she should tell him. He seemed nice when she watched him talk to Cat’s father. She hated that man. He was so mean to her best friend. He treated her like dirt and threw her out of his house leaving her with nowhere to go. Maria felt like she could trust this man on the phone. He didn’t make fun of her attempt at speaking English and he didn’t treat her like a child, even though she was.