Page 23 of Liv Parrish

Mike introduces Liv to Kate, and you can practically hear the click of a bond being formed. I’m not even surprised; Kate is an amazing woman, caring and outgoing, and Liv is … everything. You can stick a fork in me, I’m done. Done with the single life, done looking for that one person I always knew was out there and I just had to find her. Just done, and I couldn’t be happier. I was always a little jealous of what Mike and Kate had, because I know it’s rare, and precious, and some people never find it.

Riley introduces us to his flavor of the week, Natasha. She’s pretty with a sorority girl vibe and energy for days, and I can see her keeping him on his toes. They seem like a good fit, both living in the moment, neither thinking of the future nor settling down. Wyatt watches our interactions with keen interest but doesn’t engage. I’m a little surprised he showed up. He’s always been a bit of a loner, preferring to stay in the background, even when he isn’t neck deep in some undercover assignment. I couldn’t help but notice the awkward greeting he and Liv exchanged and make a mental note to ask her about it later. And last but certainly not least is Aaron. He doesn’t date. Period. Instead, he devotes all his time to his son who happens to be here with him tonight. Jacob’s a cool kid, but I think he misses not having a maternal figure in his life, not that he would admit it. He’s as serious and withdrawn as his father, which is kind of sad for an eleven-year-old. My mind wanders to what Liv’s childhood must have been like with a single parent, but I don’t get far as the sound of her laughter brings me back to the present. Mike is busy telling her how he and Kate met and she’s taking it all in with avid interest.

"She walked into the room and BAM!"

"Love at first sight?" Liv’s eyes sparkle, thoroughly engrossed in the story.

"No, BAM, she shot me," Mike emphasizes with relish and I smirk, because we’ve all heard this story before, numerous times, but it’s always fun watching someone new hear it for the first time. And Liv’s expression doesn’t disappoint.

"Wait, what?!"

"Well, you see, we weren't technically supposed to be there, and we might have had our weapons drawn at the time, so it was perfectly justified." And of course, Kate is a police officer, so there’s that.

"Wow, that's not a meet cute you hear every day."

"I guess not, but it works for us."Mike takes Kate in his arms and kisses her, earning him a look of such adoration from his wife, you can practically see the little hearts in her eyes and bluebirds flying above their heads.

Dinner is delicious and Liv’s brownies are phenomenal! Once we’ve all chipped in to clear the table and get the kitchen sorted, us guys move to the living room while the women sit chatting around the dining room table. Our conversation inevitably turns to work where progress on our joint investigation has been slow and frustrating, particularly for Wyatt who has not been able to make any headway since his attack. His need to lay low and not attract any attention from the Irish, is impeding his movements even though the Irish and Russian mafia hardly ever mix. People still talk.

“It’s as if they’ve dropped off the face of the earth. If it weren’t for Liv and those fucking Russians targeting her youth center, we might never …” I know Wyatt’s still talking because I can see his lips moving, but the rushing sound in my ears is doing an excellent job of drowning out his words.

“What do you mean Liv and the Russians?” Don’t lose your shit now, Hayes. Don’t do it. This is too important. I thought I did a decent job keeping my voice steady, but then again maybe not.

“Ah fuck, she didn’t mention that to you, did she?” His chin drops to his chest, and he shakes his head.

“Tell me what happened, Wyatt.” It comes out as a growl, in a voice I hardly recognize, and he must sense I’m on the edge, because he looks me square in the eye before he starts talking.

“It started a few months ago. A couple of guys who we assumed and are now confirmed as part of the Reznikov crew were harassing some of the older boys at Stopgap. Liv saw an opportunity to follow them and see where they’re operating from, but she landed up in an old warehouse near the harbor.”

“Jesus Christ! Why would she go there on her own? Please tell me you got her out of there before they saw her?” Wyatt drops his head again, letting out an audible fuck. “Wyatt, what the fuck happened?” Mike turns his head towards the door that leads to their dining room, before turning back and giving me a warning glare, but I’m past caring who hears me. Wyatt, however, drops his voice before answering.

“They found her, tied her up and beat her. Then they waterboarded her. It only lasted a couple of minutes–”

“A couple of minutes! Are you fucking kidding me?” A red haze threatens to take over my vision and my hands start to shake, the one holding my beer almost white from the pressure being placed on the bottle. Preferable to being wrapped around Wyatt’s neck.

“Heath, I swear I got her out as fast as I could. Took her straight to the hospital. They checked her out, kept her overnight, and then sent her home. She’s fine.”

“Don’t. You have no right to make that assessment. Do you know she has trouble sleeping? You think something like that happens and she’s just going to magically get over it and be okay?” I’m pacing now, unable to contain the rage flooding my system and I know there’s only one thing that’s going to calm me down. I need to see her, hold her in my arms and reassure myself that she’s safe and well. “I want you to stay away from her, you hear me?”

“Come on, man. I’ve been looking out for her. Making sure–”

“No! Stay. Away.” And with that, I storm out the room to go and find my girl.

My panic spikes when I find she’s not in the dining room with Kate and Natasha. Did she hear us talking and decide to leave? I can’t imagine her doing that but then I was about to rip one of my closest friends’ head off a moment ago. My search leads me to the den where she’s perched on the edge of her seat on an old sofa next to Jacob, playing a video game. They’re chatting quietly while they play and I instantly feel the storm that was raging inside me, blow itself out. I just watch them for a few minutes, see how comfortable she is with the kid who doesn’t really talk to anyone besides his dad and him seeming a little more relaxed in her company too. Jacob is the first to notice me in the doorway.

“Hey, Uncle Heath.” I give him a smile before turning my attention to the woman sitting next to him. She peers over her shoulder at me and smiles.

“Hey, Uncle Heath.” She smirks at me and then winks. I cross my arms over my chest while giving her a mock glare.

“Are you implying I’m old by any chance? I’m pretty sure we covered this already.” Her face turns all innocent, the smile gone from her lips but her eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Only compared to some.” Jacob coughs out a laugh before averting his eyes just as Liv hops up off the sofa. “You guys hang out for a bit. I’m going to grab us some sodas.” She places her hand on my bicep for the briefest moment as she passes me, as if she knows I crave her touch or need reassurance, but doesn’t want to appear too affectionate in front of the kid. I take a seat on the sofa and glance over at him.

“You doing okay?”

“Sure.” He fiddles with his game controller for a few seconds before asking, “Is Liv your girlfriend?”

“Yeah, she is.” As juvenile as it sounds, I like the sound of that.

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