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I’m supposed to be dead.
It explains so much.
Mom and I fled from our home with nothing but a rundown car and the clothes on our backs. It’d taken a while to find a shelter that cared more about us than they feared my ex-military father and his cop friends.
I touch the scar on my neck. It’s one of the lasting wounds from my childhood. The physical ones were the easiest to overcome. The emotional ones lurk, waiting to rear their ugly heads.
It was why I’d broken Sean’s heart.
I loved him as much as my broken heart could love anyone, but when he and Brian joined up, I knew I had to let him go.
The Marines had destroyed my father. I couldn’t risk following in my mom’s footsteps. My love hadn’t been strong enough to trump my fear.
“We’ll figure it out.” Sean’s words cut through my mental rant. “Also, call me Ink. That’s what I go by now. Bear and I run a tattoo shop in town.”
A tattoo shop. It makes me smile. My badass brother had always loved to draw. He had a talent for it. I’m glad he was able to make money at something he enjoyed.
“Ink.” I try it out, but it feels weird. He’s been Sean to me for twenty-some years, but it suits him. He is miles away from the wide-eyed kid that had left to serve. He’s every bit the hardened marine—complete with a body of tattoos and hardened muscles.
Sean—Ink—was also hot, but this version of him is edible.
We’d fought for Brian to accept our relationship, only for me to throw it away. I close my eyes, my heart filled with regret. I’d been a scared kid, given him my V-card, then freaked out and abandoned him the second he’d signed up for the Corp.
Some girlfriend I’d turned out to be. I wasn’t much better at being a sister.
“I should go,” I glance at Harley. He feels like my only friend. “I don’t want to cause problems,” I say.
“You’re not going anywhere.” Ink grabs my arm and pulls me out of the truck, shutting the door behind me. His body presses me against the metal frame, electricity sparking between us. Leaning down, his breath hot on my lips, he murmurs, “I’m glad you’re alive. I missed you.”
I can’t help the tears, but I hate them. I’ve missed him too—so much.
“Let’s get you out of here.” He steps back, motioning me to the spot of dirt behind the truck. “Get your pup and your things. We’ll come back for your truck later.”
I don’t have things. When you spend your life running, you learn to do without.
“All I have is Harley.”
Ink’s eyes widen. “Nice name.”
I shrug. “Not sure he can fit on your bike.”
Laughing, Ink grins. “I’ve got a dog. I made a custom seat so he could ride bitch. Hank’s bigger, but Harley should fit just fine.”
My heart melts. Maybe he isn’t that much different than the boy I fell in love with. Only time will tell.
Ink
Same old Grace.
She saved a dog—a mangy mutt most people would have driven right past. Her heart is as big as the ocean. She loved hard—until she was afraid.
It’s taken me years to realize that she’d lied to get rid of me, not because she didn’t love me.
Because she’d loved me too much.
She’d seen a future with me, which had scared her once I’d enlisted. I can’t blame her for that, not after how her father treated her.
But I do blame her for thinking I’d be like her father. I never raised my voice with her, much less raised a hand in anger, but she’d been too afraid to see the truth.
