Page 29 of Dirty Deeds

“They’re tools.”

Jesus Christ these two could go on forever. I’m glad to see they’re getting along, though. I’m just not sure that’s good for anyone. It looks like they can get into heaps of trouble together.

“Oh, look, they’re getting up,” Ro announces, tipping her chin toward Wolf and the man he was fighting. I follow her line of sight, squinting to read the name on the other guy’s patch.

Ah, so this is the infamous Jack Parrish.

I don’t get a chance to size up the man New York has deemed a legend because Wolf abruptly turns to Enzo and pins him against the counter. Quickly I move away from Ro and Carrie’s shenanigans, but I freeze when I clear the table, unsure if I should intervene. It’s not like I have a frying pan handy and apparently, that’s the only way a woman can get a word in around here. It’s like an honorable talking stick. Whoever holds the frying pan, holds the power to speak.

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” Wolf roars.

“Whoa, hold on,” Enzo fires back. “The same could be said about you! Where the fuck do you get off threatening an innocent woman?”

A man around the same age as Wolf and Parrish pulls on the back of Wolf’s vest.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, what are you going to smack around your son too? I liked it better when I was responsible for only keeping Parrish sane. I become your VP and suddenly you lose your fucking marbles too.”

Wolf doesn’t budge as he levels Enzo with a glare.

“You know where the door is, Pipe. You can see yourself out of it anytime. Lord knows it won’t be a first for you.”

The man I assume is Pipe releases Wolf and turns to Maria.

“I don’t envy you,” he grunts, then makes his way to the kitchen table. Hunkering down on one of the chairs, he pushes his plate toward Carrie. “Be a doll and load that up for Uncle Pipe, will ya?”

“What’s this talk about you threatening a woman?” Maria shouts.

“Nothing,” Wolf growls.

“The fuck it is,” Enzo fires back. He pushes his father off him and steps around the big brute, making his way to stand next to me. Wolf’s eyes track Enzo’s movement before they land on me.

“What the fuck is she doing here?”

Yeah, that’s not the greeting I was hoping for, but it’s pretty on the mark for what I was expecting.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay far away from my son? You’re the reason he’s in this mess.”

I knew he’d see it that way. I open my mouth to defend myself, but Parrish suddenly claps his hands together. “Alright, well, I guess we’re done here. I’ll just see myself out, maybe stop by Davey’s office and see how he’s handling the uptick in cases brought to him by yours truly.”

Tearing his gaze away from my, Wolf points a finger at Parrish.

“Don’t you fucking move,” Wolf bellows. “We’re not done here. Not by a long shot.”

“You seem to have your hands full, pal, and you just said yourself, she’s to blame for this mess, not me—”

Wolf cuts him off.

“She’s the reason why Brent Matthews is in our lives. If it weren’t for her, that motherfucker would not have gotten his hands on the money meant for Frankie’s House. She’s also the reason Enzo got locked up. You, on the other hand, hold the blame on everything else. When are you going to stop making moves behind my back?”

Parrish shrugs his shoulders, a bored expression filling his face.

“When you start making the right moves.”

“The right moves? You hired a guy no one has heard of to do a job no one asked you to do. He fucks up the job and you proceed to send our fucking lawyer to clear him, making him unavailable to work Enzo’s case.”

“Al, you need to calm down. You’re going to blow an artery or give yourself another heart attack,” Maria warns.

“I don’t see the problem. Enzo is out on bail,” Parrish defends. “Schwartz sent his best and it all worked out.”

---