The loud groan from inside the kitchen is all Jacob needs to hear to gently push past me—without touching me—to find his brother. Reid plops his hands on his hips and glares at me.
“You look rumpled,” Reid notes.
I hurriedly run my fingers through my hair. “I was helping Parker get settled since he’s injured.”
“Settled,” Reid says with lots of forced air quotes.
I narrow my eyes. “Are you implying something, Reid?”
Reid deflates as if he’s been properly reprimanded. “Just wanted to make sure you were okay. And that my archnemesis is fine.”
“Parker is not remotely your archnemesis, and he’s fine. You can come in and check if you’d like.”
I step aside so Reid can come in, smiling when he immediately takes off his shoes. We walk into the kitchen to find Jacob kneeling by Parker with a worried frown. They stop their murmuring when we walk in but Parker looks a little calmer now, which is probably a good sign of him being willing to accept care.
“Hayden was going to come but he’s awful when one of us is injured, so he stayed behind. Parker says he’ll stay here and you’ll make sure he gets rest?” Jacob asks with a knowing little smile.
“Yes.”
“Reid?” Jacob says with a lift of his eyebrow.
“Right.” Reid jogs back toward the door and returns with an insulated bag. “Jacob and I made Italian penicillin. It wasthis soup our mom always made when we were sick, so I mentioned it once and Jacob wanted to learn. Anyway.” Reid holds the bag out to me like it costs him millions of dollars to be kind. “Mason knows how to reheat it.”
“Thank you, Reid,” I say with real emotion. “Mom’s pastina fixes everything.”
“Well, it’s probably not as good as hers was,” Reid argues, looking severely uncomfortable.
“I’m sure it’s better,” I say.
Jacob stands and shoots me a wink. “Definitely since I helped. If Parker stops listening, let me know and I’ll come back to put him in his place.”
Parker grumbles something that makes Jacob snort, then let out a deep belly laugh. I get the feeling Parker is a notoriously bad patient. There are so many questions I want to ask them, like how they got involved in this murder-for-good business. I want to ask how many men Jacob has killed to see if it’s as high as Parker’s kill count. For some strange reason, I like the idea of Parker having killed the most men because in an odd way, it makes me feel even that much safer with him.
“Where’s Dante?” I ask Reid as I walk them back toward the front door.
“Working with Hayden.”
I lift an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Reid waves a hand. “Internal stuff, I guess. They only bring me into the loop when it’s time for a mission, and those are paused until caveman back there is healed up. No missions without him, I guess.”
“’Cause we’re all walking grenades without Parker,” Jacob says out of the corner of his mouth. He skewers me with a look as he stands halfway out of the front door. “Seriously, ifhe refuses to rest, call me and I’ll come back. But I think he will, considering his incentive.”
Huh? “What incentive?”
Jacob snorts. “Amazing, there’s two of you.”
I watch as Jacob jogs down the steps, then pauses at the bottom for Reid. This tentative friendship between both men is endearing and cute. It’s obvious to see how much Jacob cares for Reid even in the small moments like this, just waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. Reid does that painful little half smile he makes when he’s attempting to have an emotion. I bite back a grin at the sight of it.
“You’re okay?” Reid asks, sounding a little unsure.
I nod. “Yeah, I’m all right.” I glance behind me toward the kitchen, finding Parker leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. “Better than all right, I think.”
“Well, I made the soup with love, so you better eat it.”
“Promise.”
Reid’s smile turns genuine, even a little shy, before he lifts his hand to tap his nose. I’m not sure what comes over me, what powers have blessed me for the day, but instead of copying the movement, I lean forward to wrap him in a hug. He doesn’t smell like cigarettes anymore; instead, he smells fresh and clean, and his hair that’s auburn at the roots is a little damp from a shower. Oh, Reid. His breath hitches a little as I clutch him tight for a brief moment, then let go once it starts to feel like too much for me.
