A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews and please continue letting me know how you like it so far!
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own the Pretender, because if I did, things wouldn't have ended with an almost kiss! The point is, no profit is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.
The Evolution of Things
Chapter 2
By M. Rose
She snuggled deeper into the goose-down pillow, knowing her slumber would be interrupted at some point in the night, either by the Centre or by him. The latter was preferred. At least that wouldn't lead to her leaving the comfort of her bed.
Waking up at the familiar sound of her cell phone, she answered still half asleep. "What?"
"I heard you had a tough day." He sounded genuinely concerned and even though she would never admit it to anyone, it comforted her that he cared how her day went.
She picked up the clock by the nightstand, it was 3 AM and even though she went to bed at an unusually early time, she felt as if she hadn't gotten any sleep at all. "Nothing I can't handle." She put the clock back in its original spot and sighed. Raines was on her ass about showing proof of her loyalty to him and the Center. Truth is, as thin as her loyalty had been, it completely dissolved the moment Daddy took a swan dive off the plane.
She told him exactly what she thought of the new twist in the game.
He didn't appreciate it of course.
"You're exhausted." She hated that he could read her like a book, but as usual, he was right. She was tired.
Tired of that walking-corpse constantly referring her as his daughter.
Tired of always being on her guard for when the other shoe inevitably dropped.
Tired of too many questions and not enough answers.
"Just another day at the Centre."
And she wanted to know WHO she was.
She used to know exactly who she was. Miss Parker, the Chairman's daughter. A woman to be feared not loved like her mother was. Love was a weakness that got you killed. Parker knew that fact all too well and no one could convince her otherwise. However, as time wore on, Jarod continued feeding her bits of truths making her question her devotion to the only place she knew and the only person she had left to love, Daddy. And even though biologically he wasn't her father and was rather deceitful to her, she still loved him and mourned his death despite the fact that a body was never found.
Now, she was in a waking nightmare where she was biologically linked to a man she always feared as a child and despised as an adult, a man who sold his soul to the devil and was dragging her along with him.
"That could change, if you want it to."
Then after one night in an island off Scotland, something changed between hunter and prey. She found herself looking forward to their late night chats. She knew it was dangerous to fraternize with the enemy, but that wheezing-bag-of-bones changed the rules of the game and as much as she should be terrified at the significance, she was more pissed off than anything else.
If only he knew how much she wanted to change her life, but she would never tell him. What was the point? The Centre would rather she die than let her go. Instead she sighed and told him, "Jarod, we've been through this."
Even through the phone, she could feel his anger simmering to the surface, "How much longer before they realize you're not playing by the same rules they are, Parker?"
She changed the rules to the game … or rather the players. Oh, she still kept up the pretense of chasing their prized Pretender, but with a twist, now they exchanged information rather than seething threats.
She wasn't the only one who could keep secrets.
"I'm a big girl, Jarod."
Daddy taught her well.
"This is a dangerous game you're playing. Don't you get it? If they find out, THEY WILL KILL YOU, PARKER!" She could hear the panic in his voice. He was trying to scare her in to leaving, but her life was more complicated than that.
It was always so complicated.
"I will NOT be a pawn in their game," she stated with as much venom as she could muster.
In an unexpectedly soft yet cautious tone, he stated, "You already are."
She recovered quickly from the harsh truth Jarod had inflicted upon her, "I'm well aware of the risk involved," she paused and then countered, "Don't you want answers? Don't you want to find your mother? Find out WHO you are and why the Centre wants you back so damn bad?"
She expected Jarod to agree with her wholeheartedly; instead she was greeted with silence.
In all the years of chasing the Pretender, she had never known Jarod to be ambivalent when it came to his quest at finding the truth.
What was wrong with him?
Her question was answered as he whispered the words that would change everything, "Not if it means losing you."
There it was.
The truth that had been lurking behind every phone call and every clue he had left her since Carthis.
The truth she had pulled away from in the limo.
And the truth that faced her right at that moment.
But she couldn't deal with that right now, there were bigger problems at hand. If the Centre got wind of just how much the Pretender cared about her, they'd use her in a heartbeat to catch him.
So she did what she did best and pushed him away.
"You never had me, Jarod."
