Page 33 of Ours to Keep

Lily’s brow raises. “He cooks?”

I nod. “Yeah, he does, and he’s actually not too bad at it either.”

Her stomach grumbles, and I let out a soft chuckle. “Hungry?”

“It does smell good,”she replies. “I’m not sure if I could manage much, but I am a little hungry,”she admits.

I let go of her hand and stand. “I’ll go get him to dish you up a plate. I’ll bring you a tray.”

She shakes her head slightly and slowly moves to sit up. “No, I’ll come out. Is everyone else still here?”

I nod. “Yeah, we wanted to be where you are.”

Her lips form a shy smile as she clears her throat and averts her eyes. “I just need to use the bathroom,”she says, lowering her feet to the plush carpet before standing. I wait just in case she needs me, but she seems steady enough.

“I’ll give you a minute. Just come out when you’re ready.”

I lean down and kiss the top of her head before turning and leaving, pulling the door closed behind me.

“She asleep?”Elliot asks, continuing to set the table.

I shake my head. “No.”

Jax whips me with the end of a tea towel. “Are you surprised? The noise of your awful singing probably woke her.”

“Ha fucking ha. Says the man who literally can’t carry a note. She’s going to come have dinner with us,”I state.

“You sayuslike you were invited,”he throws back at me.

I flip him the bird and grab some more cutlery from the drawer to set another place at the table for Lily.

“How does she seem?”Tommy asks, coming over with a stack of glasses.

I shrug. “Honestly, I’m not sure... she’s scared...jittery.”Her reaction when I reached out to touch her was clearly a trauma response. “I think the safe house will be good for her.” Or I hope it will at least until we can get to the bottom of this and get Mia back to her safe and sound.

Before I could lose myself in my darker thoughts, the sound of the bedroom door opening, followed by soft footsteps, hits my ears. Lily steps into the living area, her face pale but determined. The room falls silent for a moment, everyone’s eyes on her.

“Hey,”she says softly, looking more fragile than ever. Her gaze darts around the open space, still on edge.

“Hey yourself,”I reply, trying to keep my voice light, attempting to break the obvious tension. “Ready for some of Jax’s infamous cooking?”

She nods, taking a deep breath. “Yeah, I think I am.”

Everyone breaks into action, and Tommy pulls out a chair and signals her to sit. Elliot pulls out a stack of plates for Jax while I pour us all a glass of juice each.

It feels oddly domesticated, a sense of normalcy, however brief, settling over us—a small moment of reprieve amidst the chaos.

Lily is subdued and quiet as we try to keep the conversation light, maybe so we don’t have to deal with all the unknowns of what’s to come. Or because we’re all bearing the weight of our failures. Every time we look at her, we’re reminded of what weallowed to happen, what we could have lost. Unsurprisingly, Lily doesn’t say much, barely managing to eat. The exertion is almost too much, and she soon excuses herself from the table and returns to the confines of Jax’s guest room, we all fall silent at her retreating back.

Jax sighs, setting down his fork. “We need to figure this shit out, and fast.”

Elliot nods, his expression serious. “I’m still running diagnostics on Richard’s modem, but I’m closer to tracking his location.”

Jax leans back, rubbing his temples. “As soon as Tommy and Lily are secure at the safe house, we’ll do some more recon before the rest of us head to France. I want to get the jump on him. The closer we are to the source, the better.”

I clench my fists, my desire for vengeance bubbling up once more.

Jax pushes to his feet and begins clearing the table, his body tense. “I’ll talk to Lily. The last thing I want is her sitting in a car for hours, but her safety is our priority.”

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