Page 119 of Parrish

Chapter Thirty-seven

Reina Parrish

“Home sweet home,” Nico singsongs next to me as he kills the engine on the SUV.

Peering out the window, I take in the two-story brick home. It’s nothing like I expected and yet everything I ever wanted in a home. On a tree-lined street, with one house too close to the other it was a typical Brooklyn detached house complete with a stoop and all. A perfect place to make memories and raise a family.

The roar of Jack and Wolf's bikes startles me for a second and I tear my attention away from the house. I watch them both sharply turn into the driveway, but my gaze lingers on my husband as he drops the kickstand on his Harley and expertly throws his leg over the seat.

After informing my doctors I wanted to sign myself out of the hospital against their better judgment, they brought me a stack of papers to sign. They gave me my personal belongings, i.e. my shoes and the clothes I had on my back when I was brought into the ER and they sent me on my way. With the discharge papers in one hand and a bag containing my journal and a stack of photographs in the other, I walked out of the hospital and followed Jack to his bike.

I didn’t know where we were going or what would happen next, I just knew I’d follow Jack anywhere and not because I had no choice but because it felt right. He didn’t let me ride with him and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t mildly disappointed. For someone who couldn’t fathom getting on the back of a bike, I suddenly yearned to be, but with my head injury and my collarbone still healing channeling my inner badass was probably a bad idea. Hence the reason I’m sitting next to Nico when I should be wrapped around Jack.

Sliding out of the SUV, I close the door as Nico rounds the front and we make our way to Jack and Wolf.

“I don’t like this,” Wolf growls. “Everyone is at Kate’s.”

“Man, I just pulled her out of the hospital. I can’t throw her in the middle of this. The best place for her is home with me. I got two of the Charon guys and Bas here if something should go down.”

“Once they get those fucking books, they’re going to be at Kate’s going through them with Riggs.”

“Alright, so if it makes you feel better send a few of the guys here. Until we gotta make a move, I’m staying here with her.”

“What about Danny?”

“He stays with you,” Jack says.

I didn’t know what was going on and at the mention of my son, I needed to remind myself that Jack was making decisions on his behalf. I had to trust him to keep our boy out of harm’s way and if that meant him staying with Wolf, well, then I needed to shut my mouth and let him do what needed to be done.

Pulling off his gloves, he shoves them into his pockets and lifts his head. His eyes scan the length of me before they finally settle on my face. “You good?”

Wrapping my arms around my upper body, I nod. His eyes linger for a moment before turning back to Wolf.

“We clear what’s happening here?”

“Yeah, we’re fucking clear,” Wolf growls, eyeing his son. “Stay close.”

“You’re putting me on Parrish duty again?” Nico exasperates.

“You look quite at home here in the land of fucking crazy,” his father replies, walking towards his bike. “Eyes open, Nico. You so much as see a fucking kid delivering a newspaper you call me.” He slices his gaze back to Jack. “I’m going to go to Kate’s and make sure everyone is good, then I’m going to get on the horn with Scout. We’re going to need to reach out to Schwartz too.”

Rocking back on his heels, Jack shoves one hand into his pocket and roughly combs his fingers through his hair with the other.

“Best not to do that until we know what exactly we want from him,” he says.

Wolf nods in agreement before fixing me with a look.

“Welcome home, darlin’. It’s good to see you back where you belong.”

Before I can reply, Jack’s hand encases mine, and he drags me away from Wolf. Leading me up the stairs, he pulls out the keys to our home from his pocket. As I watch him fiddle around with the key a memory of him carrying me over the threshold hits me. My breath catches as he kicks open the door and I watch as he enters the house.

I don’t move.

I can’t.

I’m paralyzed by the memory.

I just close my eyes and savor the moment, relishing in how safe and loved I felt when he lifted me in his arms and carried me inside.

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