Page 131 of Parrish

“I’ll slow down when I’m dead, Reina. Until then, I gotta do what I gotta do to make sure no one fucks with me and mine. Blackie’s in fucking jail with these cocksuckers. He has no idea that he’s at risk. They fucking got to Bas’ mother, and she’s in some bullshit female pen. Sliced her up real good. Imagine what they’ll do to him. Then think about Lacey. You want to knock on her door and tell her they sliced his throat because I sure as fuck don’t. Now, I swear to you. This is it. I do this, I make this move and it’s all over. I’m out, Reina. My relationship with Satan ends here. That reaper never goes on my back again.”

“It’s never over, Jack, that’s what you don’t get,” she rasps. “There will always be something, some threat, some enemy pulling you back into the depths of Hell.”

“Reina, I got no rank anymore,” I shout angrily. “You think any of my brothers want to go into this with me? Like you, they think this is a suicide mission. They’re only appeasing me because this shit is personal and these no good cunts touched my family. I can promise you when this is over, none of them are going to look to me for shit. They’re done taking orders from a washed-up lunatic.”

“Don’t say that,” she whispers. “That’s not what you are.”

“It is,” I reply. “I’m making peace with it though because I can see the bigger picture. I can see a world free of sin. I can see you, me and Danny finally living in peace.”

“Jack, baby, I don’t like this.”

“You don’t have to like it Reina, you just have to trust me.”

“You know I do,” she murmurs.

“Then put your fucking clothes on because it’s time for this old fuck to take his final ride.”

Angling her head, she raises her hand to my cheek and lets out a heavy sigh as she shakes her head. True to her core, she doesn’t go against me. She does what she does best. She puts her faith in her man and tells him to be safe.

Then she gets the fuck dressed.

As she does, I make my way downstairs.

“You’re killing me, boss,” Bas says. “Wolf is going to blow his fucking top, man. Can we get the fuck out of here?”

“Reina will be down in a minute,” I tell him, shrugging on my leathers. “She remembers the fucking Cadillac,” I reveal. “Confirmed it intentionally slammed into her and pushed her into that truck,” I add, diverting my eyes to Nico.

Straightening his posture, he crosses his arms and raises a single eyebrow.

“What’d you fuck that out of her?”

“You know, if I wasn’t so sure your father would have my balls in a knot, I’d fucking shoot you,” I tell him.

“Oh, come on. I heard you two from outside,” he scoffs. “That was quite the performance, man. You’re my fucking idol.”

“Someone shut him the fuck up.”

“Nico, go start up the truck,” Bas orders.

“When am I going to be allowed to ride?” he whines. “I’m sick of playing Uber.”

“Then maybe you should inquire about becoming a Lyft driver,” Bas retorts. “Get the fuck out of here before I give him the gun to shoot you.”

The kid mutters something unintelligible as I reach into my vest and pull out Schwartz’s business card. Moving to the coffee table, I grab my cell phone and punch in his number. The call goes to voicemail and I leave the overpriced dick a message, ordering him to call me back just as Reina makes her way down the stairs.

Pocketing my phone and the business card, I grab her hand and we follow Bas and the Charon boys out of the house. I walk her to the truck and open the door for her. Once she’s settled in the passenger seat, I start for my Harley. The Charon guys ride with Nico and Reina and me and Bas follow behind.

It takes us a good forty minutes before we pull up to Kate’s and Wolf is waiting outside when we arrive. The vein in his forehead seems to have grown double in size and I make a mental note to tell him to get that fucking thing checked.

“You better have a damn good reason for not answering the phone,” he growls as I dismount. Hanging my helmet on the handlebars, I give him a look.

“Call church,” I tell him as I brush past him. Heading for the truck, I meet Reina at the curb. Draping my arm around her shoulders, I lead her up the front steps of Kate’s. As soon as we enter the bar, Danny spots us and comes rushing towards us. Instantly, Reina pulls away from me and lifts our boy into her arms. I watch him throw his arms around her neck and reach out to tousle his hair.

Leaving them to it, I scan the room for the other person I’m doing this shit for. I find her sitting at a table surrounded by Gina, Celeste, and Ally. Her eyes meet mine and my fucking chest tightens at the look of despair that covers her entire face. There used to be a time when I’d walk into a room and she’d run to me just like her brother. A time when she trusted me. When it was easy to put a smile on her face.

Now, all I get are her sad eyes and a bleeding heart.

Silently vowing to change that, I wink at her before drawing in a deep breath and making my way towards the back of the bar where the chapel resides and the club waits. Arrow and Tiny walk in after me, along with Bas and Wolf. He closes the door and sits at the head of the table, ordering us all to pull up a chair. Then he slams the mallet on top of the wood and glares at me.

---