Page 52 of Parrish

“Well, if he’s sure it was a Cadillac, then he might be right.”

“Was there a fucking car at the house last night or not?” Pipe roars.

“I didn’t see the car last night,” Nico says. “However, this morning, before Reina left the house to take Danny to school, an El Dorado was parked out front and the guy in the passenger seat was covered in ink.”

“You were close enough to see his tattoos?”

“I went to the curb to bring the garbage pails in and the passenger had his arm out the window, smoking a cigarette.”

“What about the driver?” I growl. “Did you see the driver?”

“No, they took off when they noticed me staring. I figured it was just a couple of guys who partied too hard. Been there, done that, didn’t think anything of it.”

“Even after I fucking put you in a chokehold and told you a car was staking out my house?” I roar.

Before Nico can defend himself, Cobra steps in front of him and turns to Needles. “Before Jack fucking kills Wolf’s son, lets humor the poor bastard. If this guy in the El Dorado was part of the cartel, he’d likely have their ink.”

“What does that mean?” Nico asks.

“Someone fucking get this kid a handbook on how to be fucking outlaw before he gets himself killed,” Riggs suggests, looking at Wolf. “Are you sure he’s yours? I mean it’s never too late for a DNA test.”

“Is that any way to talk about your little brother?” Linc quips.

“He’s not my brother! He’s my stepbrother or my brother-in-law…fuck, I don’t know what he is. Actually, he’s an idiot, that’s what he is.”

“I’m standing right here.”

“How good of a look did you get on the guy?” Needles interjects, breaking up the toddlers. “If I show you pictures of ink do you think you can identify whether the guy in the car was sporting any of it or not?”

“I guess,” Nico replies with a shrug. “I mean I can tell the difference between a cross and a rosary.”

“This kid is fucked,” Deuce mutters.

Needles grabs Nico by the back of his kutte and turns to Wolf.

“I’m taking him down to the shop,” he says. “Gonna show him some pictures and we’ll take it from there.”

Wolf crosses his arms against his chest and glances at me.

“That good with you?”

“It’s a fucking start,” I tell him.

He sighs and turns his attention back to Needles, giving him a curt nod. The two of them start to walk away and Lacey grabs my hand, pulling my focus to her.

“What about the district attorney?” she whispers.

“Don’t you worry about that,” Blackie replies, meeting my gaze.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she questions, looking back and forth between me and her husband.

“It means, your father ain’t going anywhere,” he says, peeling his eyes away from mine.

If only it were that simple.

“Mr. Parrish?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the team of doctors walking towards us and immediately rise from my chair. The surgeon from earlier pulls the paper mask from his face as he comes to a halt in front of me.

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