Raven was snuggled up against Bash on one end of the couch, a bowl of popcorn on her lap that they were sharing. Colt sat beside his sister with Hawk on his other side and a sleepy-looking Gracie Morgan tucked against his chest. Raider was sitting on the floor in front of them, his own bowl of popcorn beside him and a beer in one hand.
Jet cleared his throat, catching everyone’s attention for the first time. Four blond heads snapped up quickly followed by the darker head of Bash Reid and Gracie’s red one. My gaze went straight to Raven, whose eyes—that were so much like her brother’s—were bright with what could only be relief.
“You’re home,” she cried as she jumped off of Bash’s lap and threw her arms around me.
She landed against me with so much force that it nearly knocked the air out of me. My arms went around her of their own volition and held on to her as hard as she was holding on to me. The hug surprised me. This was not the girl I remembered, the one who had hated this kind of affection. Raven had hugged me a total of ten times in our entire lives, and that included the hug I was getting right then.
Pulling back, Raven grinned down at me. “I’m so glad you’re here, Flick. Things have been crazy without you.” Her eyes traveled over my face and then down my body, as if she were looking for injuries or something. “Are you okay? That crazy bitch didn’t hurt you too, did she?”
I quickly shook my head. “No. It was just Gabriella.”
Blond brows lifted. “The rocker chick?” I nodded. “How is she?”
“I’m not sure how she is right now. Last I heard she was in stable but critical condition.” I hadn’t heard much about how she was doing since Emmie had came back to the bus and promptly gone straight to sleep with Mia in her arms.
My heart ached thinking about Emmie and Mia and I wondered if she’d woken up and found my note yet.
“Stop hogging the girl, Rave.” Colt was standing beside us now, his eyes full of warm welcome as he pushed his sister aside and wrapped his arms around me. “It’s good to see you, Flick.
I’m glad you’re home.”
I clenched my eyes shut as stupid tears burned them and threatened to spill over. Not for the first time I wondered why I hadn’t been able to fall for the youngest Hannigan brother rather than the eldest.
Colt pulled back, his eyes assessing me. “How are you?”
“She’s fine,” Jet bit out at his brother.
Colt muttered something in the older Hannigan’s direction but my attention was pulled in another direction and I missed what was said. The scratching of nails on the stairs had my head snapping up and I turned to find Toby bouncing down the stairs, his ears flopping and his big head looking in all directions as he hurried toward me.
My heart stopped at the sight of my precious dog. I dropped to my knees as Toby grew closer and let his slobbery tongue kiss my cheek. He whined happily and I wrapped my arms around his huge body. “Hey there, big guy,” I breathed into his shiny coat. “I’ve missed you.”
“Bro, you should be worried that she seems happier to see the dog than you,” Raider muttered and I lifted my head from Toby’s neck to glare at him, but Raider’s laughing eyes were on Jet.
“Shut the fuck up, Raider,” I heard Jet snarl.
“Just sayin’, brother. Just sayin’.”
Giving Toby a scratch behind the ears and a firm pat on his back, I stood and finally let my gaze go to the couple still sitting on the couch. Gracie offered me a small smile but it was the hardness in Hawk’s eyes that had my jaw clenching. I wasn’t going to let him intimidate me, though.
I wasn’t sorry I’d done what I had, and if given the chance I’d do it all over again. I’d done it to offer reassurance to someone I cared about. Not just for Emmie, but Lucy Thornton as well. She hadn’t had that haunted look in her eyes in months now, ever since her parents had set her down and told her that her biological father had been killed in a prison fight. Layla had confided in me that her daughter was sleeping better at night now. It was that reason alone that I would never be sorry about asking Jet to kill Vince Grady.
“No welcome home?” I asked with a sassy bite to my tone.
“Welcome home, Flick.” His tone was bored, his eyes full of loathing, but there was something else in there as well. Something I couldn’t put my finger on. Surely it wasn’t relief?
Hawk relieved that I was home? Yeah, I doubted it.
“Gee, thanks. If I’d known I was going to be welcomed so warmly I would have done it months ago,” I snapped at him.
His jaw clenched and he started to say something but Gracie slapped him firmly on the chest. “Be nice,” she murmured softly.
“I’m nice, baby. She’s just a bitch.”
I couldn’t keep from flinching and I gritted my teeth. Having Hawk call me names was something I figured I’d have to get used to.
“Don’t,” Jet commanded in a tone that everyone seemed to take heed of. “Flick’s home and you’re going to respect her. Call her that again and I’ll make sure that you don’t use your mouth again for a few weeks.”
Hawk stood with Gracie still in his arms and slowly set her on her feet. I heard the other woman telling him to ‘play nice’ before she stepped away from him. Hawk turned to face me. “I’m sorry, Flick. Welcome home. Will you be staying long or do you plan on leaving in the middle of the night without a trace again?”