Read Online Fight for Her#3 by JJ Knight - Free Book Online Page A

his eyes on me. “You’re even lovelier than your mother.”
    “She is,” Parker said. He pulled out his wallet and emptied it, handing it over to my dad. “I’m sure you could stand to pick up a few things.”
    Dad hesitated a second, then accepted the money. “You hang on to this one,” he said to me. “He’s one of the good ones.” He pulled out one of the three bottles tucked under his arm and swigged the contents. When it was empty, he tossed it into the dumpster with a tinkle of broken glass. “Nice seeing you.”
    And he wandered off into the dark.
    I seriously thought I would faint. “How are you going to pay rent now?” I asked Parker.
    But he laughed and stuck my arm through his. “I got a lot of fight in me. I’ll just book another one.”
    And he had. He’d gotten the job done. He’d always gotten the job done. Until I didn’t let him do it anymore. I left and let my Aunt Delores take care of me for a while.
    “Maddie?” Parker asks. His hand bumps my head, feeling along the lump where I sit under the pile of covers.
    I pull them off. He’s wrapped in a towel, his face full of concern.
    “What about my dad?”
    “That night he said —”
    “I know. That you were one of the good ones.”
    “Not that. He had nothing, you know. But he was proud. He had his own little spot, he said.”
    “Probably under a bridge.”
    “But he was still proud. And strong, in his way. You’re like that too. No matter what life throws at you, you’re going to make the best of it.”
    Water droplets roll down his neck and slide across the tattoos on his arms. He’s totally earnest about this.
    The thing is, I don’t know if he’s right. I don’t know how to recover from this.

Chapter 15: Parker

    I pull on a pair of jeans and wait on Maddie. She’s in the bathroom, trying to comb her long hair. I’m relieved I got her out from under the covers. I don’t know what all happened to her last night. Maybe it’s more involved than I know.
    I picture Striker’s hands on her and I want to kill him.
    My phone has been buzzing for a half hour, but I ignored it while Maddie was so upset. Now that I’m dressed, I pick it up.
    It’s a link from Jax, then some running commentary from Colt.
    I click on it.
    A grainy image of the black van moves onto an on-ramp to the highway. The camera’s behind it, looking at the rear tail lights and the back doors. One of the tail lights is out where Sam removed it when we placed the explosives. I see why Sam did that. It makes it easier to know which car is theirs in the dark. Plus it’s cop bait.
    There’s a sudden flash of white light from the rear passenger wheel.
    Hey, that’s my handiwork!
    The brake lights come on, then another flash from the front.
    The van sits there for a moment.
    Then all the doors fly open. The interior lights come on.
    The voice from the box must have told them about the self-destruct.
    The fuzzy forms of several people dash out of the van. They are freaking out, running up to the highway, then back down to the ramp. The explosives begin popping inside the interior and they start jumping off the ramp and out of view.
    The camera backs away and turns. We see a couple figures limping at the base of the ramp as the car with the camera drives by.
    I scroll down to the comments. Colt has said, “That was killer. Do it again.”
    Sam responded, “Any time. Just say the word.”
    Colt said, “I’ll make a list of top choices.”
    Maddie comes out of the bathroom. I decide watching it won’t make her feel better, so I set the phone down. “You ready to get connected back to the world?” I say. “There’s a brand-new iPhone ready with your name on it.”
    She looks beautiful and haunted in jeans and a simple brown tank top. Her hair is braided down the back. “Lily is probably writing me,” she says.
    “I told her you broke your phone,” I say. “She decided not to ground you.”
    Maddie gives a small smile. “Are you worried?” She