Tattoo (Take It Off #7)(12)
Author: Cambria Hebert

I turned back. “What?”

“I said leave her,” he said. “Think of it as a proof of trust,” he explained when I only stared at him. “We’ll know we can trust you to come back without pulling a fast one and you’ll know you can trust us when you see we’ve kept your girl safe.”

He wanted me to leave her. Here. Alone.

She needed those meds. Without them she might die.

If I didn’t agree to this “proof of trust,” they’d probably kill us both right now.

I gave a swift nod and all the guns disappeared. Tommy and Snake went back to drinking beer and Leo and his buddy, whose name still remained a mystery, went back to their phones. I leaned over Taylor, speaking so hopefully only she could hear.

“I’m going to go get you something to make you feel better.”

Her eyes widened and she reached for my arm. “Don’t leave me here.”

“I got to, Taylor. They won’t hurt you while I’m gone.” That was probably the worst lie I’d ever told.

“I have a bullet hole in my arm from one of them.”

“Which is exactly why I gotta go out.”

She looked at me intently for long moments. Her feverish eyes grew moist with tears. “You’re going to come back, aren’t you?”

“I swear on all that’s holy on this planet I’m coming back.” I cupped her cheek in my palm. “I promise.”

She nodded, her hand sliding off my arm. It seemed like something someone who was entirely defeated would do.

“Hey,” I said, stroking her cheek with my thumb. Her green eyes looked up once more. “Don’t give up.”

“I won’t.”

I smirked. “Do me a favor, huh? Don’t try to run while I’m gone. Those assholes will let you fall down the stairs.”

Her lips cracked into a small smile. It felt like a major victory.

“Bring me a Gatorade.”

I smiled.

“And a really big Tylenol.”

My chest swelled a little with her spoken words. Most women would be screaming and crying. Hell, most men would be whimpering like babies. I knew she was scared. She was wounded and confused. Yet she was keeping it together.

I liked her. She was tough.

“I’ll see ya soon.”

She nodded.

I pulled away. Walking out of that ghetto, rundown building was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. But I didn’t have a choice. As soon as I cleared the empty parking lot, I upped my pace into a run.

I had antibiotics and Gatorade to find.

And I also had a phone call to make.

6

Taylor

Time slowed to a crawl.

I felt every single second, every single breath I drew, and every single lump on this craptastic cot.

I even counted the cracks in the wall. I lost interest at twenty.

Chills racked my body and it hurt to shake. Every little jolt my body forced upon itself sent ripples of pain scattering across my body.

Where was he? How long had he been gone?

Lying here and waiting for a man to come back and save the day wasn’t really my idea of a good time. In fact, it made my already foul and emotional state worse.

I attempted to blink away the dizziness in my eyes and swallow back the dryness of my throat. Maybe I could get ahold of a gun. It would likely be the only way I’d get out of here without being tackled to the ground.

I definitely wasn’t a helpless damsel in distress, but being injured and sick took away a lot of my strength and power.

As I was lying there hatching ideas for the best way to get a gun, a cell phone rang. Oohh, I could get ahold of a cell phone! I thought excitedly.

I could pretend I was passing out or something, turn into one of those whiny, demanding females, and get one of them over here. Maybe they would drop their cell phone and I could use it to dial 9-1-1.

I sure as hell hoped I didn’t get the same operator as before.

She had been sooo not helpful.

“Yeah,” Snake said, interrupting my very brilliant planning. I glanced his way, watching him hold the phone up to his ear. A second passed while he listened. “So what did you find out about Slater?”

My ears perked up at the mention of Brody (aka Slater) and my stomach knotted with nerves. What if he found out Brody was really a cop? They would kill him when he came back… and worse…

They would kill me.

I was a hopeful person. I always had faith that my death would come when I was in my nineties, after I lived a full life, and I would pass quietly in my sleep in my own bed. I never imagined I might die by the hand of a gang member at the age of twenty-four.

“Yeah,” Snake said, listening. “That long?” he muttered.

Oh, how I wished I could hear what was being said on the other end of the line.

“Okay, tight,” he said into the line. “Uh-huh.” As he talked, he paced around the room and I watched his movements carefully, trying to read his body language.

So far he didn’t seem like someone told him there was a cop involved. He didn’t seem like anything he was learning was going to result in a gunfight.

That was good.

Just as my nerves started to settle, Snake came to a halt. “You don’t say?” he muttered and then pivoted around.

I didn’t bother to look away, to hide the fact I was looking at him.

Our eyes met.

“Yo, thanks for the info, man. You hear anything else, dial me.” He spoke into the phone, but his eyes were still on me.

I didn’t like the way he was looking over here. I was hoping he’d forget about me.

He pulled the phone away from his ear, slipping it into the pocket of the black pants he wore. True to his name, he practically slithered across the floor toward me. The look in his eyes was calculating and a little mean.

I felt my fingers curl into my palm, gripping at the fabric covering my legs.

Oh my God, he knew about Brody.

He knew he was a cop and now he was going to kill me.

7

Brody

I needed a shirt. Walking around without one would just draw unwanted attention. Not to mention, I wanted to keep the gang symbol on my back covered.

The air was still hot as hell even though the sun was lowering in the sky. Raleigh had two temperatures throughout the year: hot and Hades. The van was right where Snake said it would be, and I jumped in, turning the AC on high and pointing it toward the closet town, Garner.

I thought about driving back into Raleigh to get my cell phone and weapon out of my truck, but it had likely been impounded because it was sitting outside the bank at the time of the robbery and I was nowhere to be found.