Love Match, page 18
the finals."
"Are you going to buy us a new bed?" asked Emily.
"Not just that but a couple of chairs so I can put my socks on in the
morning." The siren outside signaled Logan's return along with another couple
of units to dust the apartment and interview the neighbors who might have seen
something.
The two women left as soon as the police were through with their questions
getting a promise from Logan to lock up when he was done.
Gray, Kimmie and Gary
were waiting for them at the Plaza when their cab arrived wanting to see in
person they were all right. When they were finally alone, Parker held onto to
Emily as the shock of what happened leaked out in a jag of hysterical crying.
The stalker had gotten so close that Parker made no more promises. Keeping
Emily safe had been paramount in her mind from the moment she had heard that
rattle, and now would be no different. She was going to accept the police
protection that Logan had offered initially, if only to keep the blonde in her
arms whole.
*************************************************************
***********
"Good morning, do you need help finding your seats?" The usher at the
Open looked eager to escort Emily and her companions to the box near the court.
He had recognized her from the picture in the paper a week before along with
the two other brunettes that were with her.
"Thanks, we can find it. Any of you seen Bobbie?" asked Emily. The
finals were set to begin in an hour and their friend was nowhere to be seen.
The one that did make an out of place picture was Logan, who was wearing a
jacket to conceal his weapon. He was supposed to be guarding Parker, but the
tennis pro had told him if he wouldn't sit in the stands with Emily he couldn't
come. Emily's only concern now was that he'd be so engrossed in the match, a
rapid gorilla could join them and he wouldn't notice.
"She's parking the car. The sweetheart dropped us off at the gate saying
she didn't want us out in the open too long," answered Kimmie. Behind her
Gray and Natasha sat holding hands and sharing a bagel.
Downstairs, Parker thought about all the games it had taken to get her to this
point. A position she had found herself in on numerous occasions only to fall
short of the goal. On the other side of the locker room sat Lee Darnell, the
underdog that had fought her way through the ranks to become the hero of the
tournament. All the seeded players that had underestimated the up and comer
from Texas had gone home scratching their heads at her level of play.
In a change of pace, Parker let her mind wander to other things besides the up
coming match trying to get her stomach to settle down. It never failed and pre
play jitters had scared Emily that morning. Finding Parker puking in the
bathroom was not on her list of things to expect and it had taken a while for
the pilot to believe her it happened before every final she played in.
Their friend the snake charmer had been quiet since their scare at the
apartment and Parker hoped it stayed that way until play was over. Having a
police officer watching over Emily was one less thing to worry about so she
turned her attention to Lee Darnell to see what she was doing.
The young woman was sitting with her head back and her eyes closed like she was
bored and waiting for a bus. It wasn't until they were called out for practice
that she stirred at all. The sound of cameras going off started as soon as the
two emerged from the tunnel. Parker took time to look up into the stands and
smile at Emily. She felt warm inside as she unzipped her bag and got out a
racket. The tension melted away and Parker was ready to play.
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***********
"I do this to please you, Lord."
"I'm sorry did you say something?" asked the older woman sitting a
row up from the court. The gentleman sitting next to her had been mumbling to
himself since the time she had sat down.
"I said, may the Lord be with you."
"Thank you." She smiled at him before going back to talking with her
husband about the condition Parker was in and her chances at winning this year.
On the court Parker had walked back to her chair and fished out a towel to wipe
her eyes. Something in the wind had irritated them enough that she was blinking
furiously.
It was the old lady's cry that made her turn around and see what had upset her.
The voice was the same from the night in front of the restaurant. "Death
to those who go against God." The pain and blooming red stain on her
tennis whites happened almost simultaneously.
Parker wasted no time and used the towel to keep the end of the knife away from
her when the guy pulled back for another swipe until she could pick up her
racket. She swung and the sharp blade cut right through the gut. "What is
it with you people and my rackets?" Parker was so intent on looking at
where he was swinging the knife she never got the chance to look up at his
face.
Ignoring the pain she swung again and connected with his jaw sending him back a
few paces shaking his head as if to clear the blow away. The man staggered
forward again not wanting to fail in his mission to kill Parker.
She was ready
though, bouncing on the balls of her feet like she was waiting for a serve to
come over the net. The racket flew forward again and knocked the knife out of
his hand making him turn around.
From the stands, Logan flew down the stairs before the attacker had another
chance to cut into Parker. All four of the women that had been sitting with him
weren't too far behind the policeman.
"All right, asshole, here's for having to make me go out and buy my girl a
new bed." The blow made the man's head snap backward sending him toward
the net. "And this one's for the worry you caused my girlfriend. That's
right girlfriend, you son of a bitch." With a great deal of satisfaction
Parker watched him fall into a non-moving heap. Logan had no problem cuffing
him when he jumped down to the court. Parker's last hit had knocked the guy
unconscious.
Security personnel arrived to help the detective remove the stalker from the
court, and when they rolled him over it was Parker who felt like someone had
hit her. He had aged since the last time she had seen him, but the woozy man
that was starting to come to didn't resemble the man that had made her hot
chocolate all those mornings ago. But that's who it was, Daniel King, her
father.
Everyone sat in silence as Parker dropped her racket and walked off the court.
An official announcement came over the loudspeakers that there would be a delay
in play until everything was sorted out.
The women that had been sitting in Parker's box watched her walk out without
looking back at the man the police were now carting away.
Kimmie and Gray had
recognized him the minute he fell into the net but were paralyzed with
disbelief that the man that was their father would want to murder one of his
own children. Gary and Nick had gone down to the locker room to see about
Parker's injuries and now that the show was over, they all walked up the stairs
to join them. Parker's sisters had come close to breaking their promise to keep
Emily safe no matter the costs when they saw the blood on the stark white
shirt. Now they were more worried about their little sister's mind than the
cut.
The medic sprayed a deadening agent on Parker's side so he could stitch the cut
that was still bleeding. Parker looked at her coach and his partner with a look
that could only be described as sorrowful. "It was him, guys, my father
was the person that sent all those letters." She remembered then why the
handwriting looked so familiar. Every Christmas Parker would watch him pull out
that special pen and methodically dip it into the inkwell on his desk and
address the card envelopes.
"Parker, you have to believe that he's sick and didn't know what he was
doing," said Nick.
"He used that same scrolling fancy writing to fill out cards at the
holidays. It was the only time he took the time to make sure every letter in
every name was perfect. I guess it was useful to send death notices as
well."
"Try and not think about it now, Park. We can just walk out of here and
try to put this behind us, grateful for the fact we know he can't hurt you
anymore." Gary kneeled next to her and wanted nothing more than to get her
on a plane back home. The one place he knew she would heal.
"I've got a match to play, coach, and I have every intention of playing.
That righteous bigot will not take this away too. He put that damn snake in
Emily's bed yesterday and I will not forgive him for what could've happened to
her. He and mother can rot for all I care, there's no going back from
this."
"Parker, are you ok?" Emily stood back not sure if Parker was ready
to see anyone including a new girlfriend. She didn't hesitate to take the hand
Parker held up in invitation.
"I'm just fine, baby. Want to sit with me while I get patched up?"
"Is your life always this action packed?" It was Emily's turn to try
and lighten Parker's mood.
"Only in big cities. At home Abby and I usually just sit and howl at the
moon for entertainment."
"That sounds oddly blissful. You ready to go home?"
"I promised you joint custody of this trophy and I try never to renege on
my promises. Look over there and tell me if the Texas Tarantula's looking
confident of victory."
Emily looked over Parker's shoulder and saw the blonde sitting with her eyes
closed with a smile on her face. "She looks like you don't even have to
play since she has it all sewn up."
"All done, Miss King." The medic tied off five neat stitches and put
a pressure bandage to keep them from popping if she chose to play.
"Are you sure about this? I don't want you getting hurt anymore than you
already are," said Emily looking at Parker's side.
"Em, those people out there paid to see good tennis, not the acting out of
my family problems, so that's what I plan to give them. Or at least I'll
deliver a full match. It might not be my usual finesse game."
"Finesse game?" asked Emily almost laughing out loud. "Not that
you don't possess finesse in other aspects of your life, honey, but playing
tennis wouldn't fall into that arena."
"All right I'm the WWF smash mouth player of women's tennis, sue me."
"I'd much rather," Emily finished the rest of her statement in a
whisper into Parker's ear. The dark tan couldn't hide the blush that ran up her
face and she shot a glare toward Lee.
"Come on, Darnell, it's time to kick some ass."
"I'm glad you're willing to go along so graciously, sugar, cause that's
exactly what I'm planning on doing to ya." When Lee was finished talking
it took Kimmie, Gray and Natasha to carry Emily out of the locker room.
*************************************************************
***********
"Well, sports fans, barring any other crazies running out of the stands
wielding sharp implements I think we're ready to play tennis," said the
announcer as the camera panned to Parker sitting on the sideline sipping from a
bottle of water. What the camera didn't show was the turmoil happening inside
her head.
Gray King stood up and glared into the booth cutting off any other smart
comments the guy had in mind. She turned to Emily next and offered her some
peanuts. "Try these, they taste a lot better than nails."
"I can't help it, I'm nervous for her."
"Trust me on this one, kiddo, she's nervous enough for the both of you.
This is Park's year, Em, I can just feel it."
"Service, Miss King." Parker walked to the base line and waited for
the balls to be thrown to her. She took a deep breath and let it out with a
slump in her shoulders in an effort to relax.
Gary and Nick held their breath as she threw it into the air in preparation in
sending it over the net. This serve would be an indication of the power Parker
still had left considering she now had two healing cuts on her torso. She must
have used every meditative tool she had learned in her short life because both
men swore they saw pieces of fuzz come off the ball when it made contact with
her racket.
"Fifteen, love." The chair pointed toward Parker's side of the net
and waited for the next serve to come over the net. The players had to wait for
a couple of minutes until the crowd calmed down. As much as they appreciated
Lee for her struggle to get to the final, now that the match was being played
their loyalties were firmly ensconced on Parker's side of the net.
The third game of the first set was being battled out when Logan returned to
his seat. He had removed his jacket and looked like every other fan there to
enjoy the tennis. After loading Mr. King up into a police cruiser, he had
placed uniformed officers around the stands to keep on eye on any other problem
fan.
"How's she doing?" he asked.
"She won the fist game and came close to breaking in the second, but Lee
hung on." Emily stopped talking as soon as Parker put the ball back in
play. She stood on the baseline and sent Lee for quick sprints around the court
with her ball placement.
"Forty, love." Again the chair pointed toward Parker's side of the
net. That service was followed by an ace winning the game.
The first set was
finished in less than fifty minutes and Parker looked good to the people
watching that loved her. Gary studied her face for any signs of weakness or
pain but had been surprised to just see Parker's usual game face.
It happened in the third game of the second set. Parker had won the first two
and Lee was starting to get fatigued from the running and from the heat. In a
desperate chase to get a ball Parker had sent in a direction she wasn't
expecting, Lee hit back a high lob. When Parker reached up to smash it over the
net she almost could hear the stitches popping and the pain was instant. The
ball fell inside the baseline as a point for Lee followed by Parker's racket.
"Miss Parker?" The sideline judge asked when she grimaced when
bending to pick up her racket.
"I'm ok."
"Thirty, fifteen," was the score announced giving Parker the advantage but now Lee had found her weakness.
The lobs began with more frequency and Parker was having more and more
difficulty getting the ball to go over the net no matter what angle she hit
them from losing her the second set quicker than Lee had lost the first.
They were tied at six games apiece in the third when Parker finally had to call
time. The constant stretches had taken their toll and the bandage could no
longer hold back the blood. The only good thing about the whole situation was
the medic who had put the stitches in was waiting for her just inside the
tunnel like she had asked. Parker stripped her shirt off and grimaced from just
that movement.
"Fix it so it'll last through at least ten more serves."
"Miss King.."
"Call me Parker, and I don't want to hear about how bad it looks, fix it.
You have thirteen minutes before I have to forfeit the game."
The man got to work, admiring how Parker just sat in the tunnel not flinching
no matter what he did. Before putting another pressure bandage he sprayed the
area with a massive amount of deadening agent. It wouldn't last long but it
might give just enough relief for Parker to go after some of the cheap shots
Lee had sent her way. The medic figured one more lob and the Texan should fear
for her life from the crowd.
"Miss King, are you ready to resume play?"
"Yes, sir." The man in the chair adjusted the microphone back into
place and signaled the time out period was over.
"Tie break for the match, Miss King will serve first."
Parker looked up into the stands and looked for Emily before she made any move
to serve. The blonde stood up making herself easier to find and smiled when
their eyes met. Emily put her hands over her heart and nodded her head getting
Parker to smile as well. Parker tapped over her own heart with her fingertips
and swore she heard a collective sigh come out of the crowd.
The first serve went over the net and Parker was surprised how pain free her
side was all of a sudden. Lee hit a backhand and the volley began. It was
hard-hitting and fairly straightforward back and forth without a lot of flare
for about twelve strokes. At her first opportunity, Lee sent a high lob over
