Page 62 of Moody as a Minotaur

Would it bother me to listen to that every night? Nope. I didn’t think it would. I pulled the covers higher and smiled as I imagined what I might do if we shared a bed. I might wrap my arms around him. Hold him close. Nuzzle his neck. Would he wake long enough to snuggle closer?

What would?—?

My musings cut off abruptly at the sound of the hinges on my front door squealing.

Someone was here.

My first thought wasfuck.

My second thought wasParker is in danger.

Son of a fucking fuck.

I threw off my blankets. I wanted to jump out of bed, charge over to Parker, throw him over my shoulder, and haul ass out of here. But that would warn the invaders that I was awake. Fuck only knew what they’d do if they knew that.

Then again, fuck only knew what they’d do if they caught us both sleeping too.

Why didn’t I have cameras installed already? They weren’t going to do much good next week if we were dead by then.

I sucked in a deep breath. Okay. That was just panic talking. At least I hoped that was all it was. My family wasn’t known for being clairvoyant, so I doubted I was having a premonition.

With a shaky hand, I reached for my phone, then I eased my feet over the side of the bed. As soon as my toes touched the floor, I pushed out of bed. I slowly moved across the floor, transferring my weight from one foot to the other as smoothly as I could, never letting my heels drop to the floor. But I wasn’t a small man. The floor creaked under me.

Damn it. I should have fixed that years ago.

Finally, I arrived at Parker’s side.

He looked so damn peaceful. I hated to wake him. But it was better that than…

I swallowed hard. Nope. I couldn’t think about the alternative.

I kneeled beside the couch.

“Parker,” I whispered. “Wake up.”

“Huh? What?” He flailed. His hand reached out over the edge of the sofa and patted at the air. “Huh? Where’s my?—”

“Shh… Don’t say anything.”

He lifted his head off the pillow and blinked in my direction. His hair was a mess. There were creases in his cheek from the pillow. I desperately wanted to kiss him. But no. We had a problem.

“Levi?”

Of course he had to say something right after I told him not to. “Hush. Don’t speak. Someone is in the house. Downstairs.”

“Oh crap.” Parker’s words were barely audible. He sat up, instantly alert.

“We can either stay up here and try to fight them off if they find the stairs, or we can go out the back way. There’s a risk either way.”

“They could be trying to flush us out.” Parker nodded. “What have you got for weapons? Anything?”

My heart clenched. Why the fuck hadn’t I thought about weapons?

“It’s okay,” Parker said, reaching for his bag. “I’ve got a gun. Why don’t you text Van? Let him know what’s going on.”

Did he just say he had a gun?

I stared as he pulled out a pistol of some kind. Or was it a handgun? A revolver? Were all those things the same thing? I didn’t know.