“I don’t know, Parrish,” Pipe starts. “Could’ve just been a young kid driving his father’s car or whatever. He could’ve gotten scared when he hit Reina’s car and took off.”
I’m about to pull Jack aside to discuss his theory in private when I lift my head and spot the D.A. striding towards us with a pair of blue and whites at his side and a dozen or so ATF agents at his back.
“Fuck,” I grind out, reaching behind me to cup the back of my neck. My eyes instantly slice to Lacey and I watch as fear pours from her irises. Instinctively, she grabs her father’s hand.
“Mr. Parrish,” Ritzer greets.
“Man, you got shit timing,” Riggs says, buying time as he steps in front of the suit and his army. “His wife and son—”
“I’m very aware of the situation,” he interjects, staring at Jack. “I’m sorry about your wife, but a deal is a deal.”
“Fuck your deal,” Pipe growls.
Ignoring Pipe, Ritzer steps around Riggs and makes his way toward Jack. As Jack jumps to his feet, I kick myself for not letting someone other than Bianci in on my plan. If this motherfucker carts me away before I can secure Schwartz, I’m fucked.
“You were supposed to surrender hours ago, Jack.”
“Been a little tied up. You know, with a wife who’s fighting for her life and a son that’s terrified he’s going to lose his mother.”
“Again, I’m very sorry. It’s an unfortunate situation, but we had an agreement. Now, it’s my understanding that there might be an issue with finding care for your son. Keeping that in mind, my office has agreed to extend your time. We are giving you twenty-four hours to get your affairs in order. If you need assistance getting your son a social worker—”
“A social worker?” Lacey shrieks.
Snapping out of my fucking daze, I move to her side and drape my arm around her shoulders as I try to read Ritzer. I don’t know if he’s here to fuck with Jack or take me down. If it’s the latter, this might be the last time I feel Lacey next to me. The last time I breathe in her scent or hear her voice.
The realization is daunting, and my eyes move over her shoulder to her flat stomach.
The baby.
Jesus Christ, the baby.
“Unless of course, you have a guardian you would like to appoint to him. We could draw up the paperwork for you. Perhaps Mr. Holden has something already in motion,” Ritzer, taunts.
“Is he saying what I think he’s saying?” Lacey questions, snapping her eyes to me.
Peeling my gaze away from her stomach, I look deep into her eyes. There’s so much pain there. So much fucking fright.
“Calm down, girl,” I whisper. “Danny ain’t going anywhere.”
“Blackie’s right,” Jack declares, keeping his eyes on the D.A. “He’s staying with his father while his mother recovers.”
“Mr. Parrish—”
“Fuck you,” Jack bellows. “I don’t owe you shit. I didn’t sign nothing.”
“I don’t think you know what you’re doing,” Ritzer comments.
“Maybe not, I am crazy after all. Make sure you put that in your fucking paperwork. Now, get the fuck out of my face. You got something else to say, you can call my lawyer,” Jack sneers.
“If you don’t surrender as we agreed, you’ll be forcing me to take another route.”
“Why don’t you bend over and let me show you what route you can fucking take?” Jack fires back, spitting in Ritzer’s face for extra emphasis. Lowering my arm from Lacey’s shoulder, I move to grab Jack before he fucking throws his fist into this cocksucker’s face. Pipe is quicker than me, though, and pulls Jack away.
“Nobody is bending over and fucking anyone, right now,” Pipe hisses, clenching his teeth. “You need to take it easy before you fuck this all up,” he warns, glancing over at Lacey. “Lace, take your father to the cafeteria and get him a cup of coffee.”
Reaching for her father’s hand, Lacey goes to pull him away, but Jack digs his heels in and continues to glare at Ritzer.
“This doesn’t end well for you, Parrish. You better pray that wife of yours makes it. It would be a shame if you couldn’t attend her funeral because you were in prison.”
Before Jack can choke the motherfucker and tack assault as another charge on the growing list, I step between him and the district attorney. Lacey couldn’t move him, but I damn sure can. I push him out of the waiting room. In the hallway, out of everyone’s sight, I let him loose.
Bending he touches his palms to his knees and lets out an anguished scream that vibrates off the hospital walls. Startled, Lacey slinks away. Her back collides with my chest and I wrap an arm around her middle, keeping her close. Jack lifts his head and his bloodshot eyes meet mine.
“I can’t leave her,” he rasps, sounding every bit as broken as he looks, and I note there is desperation. Not just in his tone but also in those dark irises of his.
It’s a message.
A fucking plea.
From him to me.
Jack may not have surrendered to the law, but he still handed over his life and he handed it right to me.
I’ll never be the leader of the Satan’s Knights, but Jack made me the leader of the Parrish family—a role I’m not conditioned to accept and yet, as I stare at my predecessor, I know I have no choice.
I also know my new role begins and ends with me making the ultimate sacrifice.
My throat dries and my chest tightens as I look down at the beautiful woman, I’m holding against me. Part of me wishes she’d look at me and the other is relieved when she doesn’t.
I’m about to break her fucking heart.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Blackie
Lacey took Jack to the cafeteria like Pipe had suggested and once they were out of my sight, it was my turn to drop to my knees. Only instead of turning to another person for help, I was forced to rely on a higher power. Tearing my hands away from my face, I lifted my red-rimmed eyes to the heavens and summoned God. An odd occurrence for a man who always turned to hell when things got rough. I guess different times call for different measures.
The scene from the other night played vividly in my mind and all I heard was Lacey’s voice, begging me to choose her and the baby. I wanted to be that guy—God as my witness, there is nothing I wanted more than to be exactly what they both needed. But I wasn’t lying when I told her I don’t know how to erase everything I know and become something else.
I waited for God to guide me, to fucking send me some sort of sign—but the man upstairs left me hanging. I suppose I deserved that. After all, there’s gotta come a time in a man’s life when he stops looking for a way out or someone to hold his hand. A time when he figures shit out for himself.
Pulling myself together, I made my way to the cafeteria along with the rest of the club. There, Jack continued to rant, swearing on everything holy that Javier was the one behind Reina’s accident. In not so many words he declared war on the cartel—something Wolf didn’t support. Without the support of his club, Jack would be committing suicide and I’m not sure anyone else realized that.