Tattoo (Take It Off #7)(37)
Author: Cambria Hebert

At least she had the luxury to pass judgment on me. She wouldn’t if I didn’t act the way I did.

“You got this?” I asked Officer Newman, motioning to the body with my chin.

“Yeah.”

I went back into the lake, swimming out to where Taylor stood barely moving as she watched me draw closer.

When my feet hit the bank of the shallow section, I stood up, looking down into her jade eyes. “Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“How’s the arm?”

“Wet.”

I felt my lips twitch but forced them not to smile.

“Come on.” I offered her my hand. “We can’t row the boat back, but I’ll help you to shore.”

She gazed down at my hand stretched out between us and then looked up. She recognized the test I was giving her. She knew her reaction to my offer would likely tell me everything I needed to know.

Did I still have a chance with her?

Or…

Would watching me shoot a man, then beat him make her shrink away from my touch?

She looked at my hand for long moments before reaching up and pushing it aside. I won’t lie; something inside me sank a little. Her rejection (even though suspected) stung like hell.

Before I could turn away, she moved, not away, but closer. Instead of taking my offered hand, she leaned up and wrapped her arm around my middle and pressed in close against my chest. It took me a minute to react, a minute for my brain to catch up to what my body was already feeling. I brought up my arms; they kind of hovered behind her. I was almost afraid to hug her, to hold her close. What if she changed her mind?

“I’m sorry you had to do that,” she said, her voice muffled against my wet T-shirt.

“You saw?” I asked, wanting to make certain she saw it all.

“Yes, I saw.”

I lowered my arms back to my sides. “It isn’t the first time I’ve done something like that. I’ve done worse.” My heart was thumping slowly in my chest, almost like it was hesitating the same way my arms had.

I hadn’t realized how important her opinion of me had become in such a short amount of time. I realized I wanted to be worthy of her. I wanted her to see past the man I was paid to be, to somehow look inside me and see the man I’d forgotten.

“I know,” she whispered. “It’s okay.”

My heart stuttered. “What?”

Her head tipped back. “I don’t care, Brody. I know that’s not who you are.”

I didn’t hesitate a second time. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close. “It’s part of me.” I cautioned, not knowing why I bothered. I shouldn’t try to push her away, not now, not after something inside me already claimed her. Whatever part was holding me back was broken and now lay shattered at my feet.

She pulled back. “You’re a lot like an uncut diamond.”

Was this one of those moments when her complete girliness was going to come out? Why the hell was she talking about diamonds?

“An uncut diamond has a rough exterior and maybe even a couple flaws, but underneath are brilliant qualities.”

“You think I’m brilliant?” I asked, feeling a grin split my face.

“I might not go that far.” She scoffed.

A weight I didn’t even know I bore lifted off me, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like maybe I wasn’t as lost to myself as I thought.

It was a good feeling.

“Does this mean you believe you’re more than a job to me?” I asked, stepping up close and invading her personal space. I liked invading her space. I wanted to get all up in her space.

“I believe you.”

It was like someone gave my dick a green light because the minute the words left her mouth, blood began flowing down into my pants, like an insane adrenaline rush that only happened in my lower body.

Another patrol car and an ambulance pulled up to the scene, and I was reminded that this wasn’t a good time for my other brain to take control. I ducked down in the water and offered Taylor my back. “Come on. I’ll do the swimming.”

Once her arm and legs were fastened around me, I swam the short distance to shore, where everyone was waiting to take our statements.

The first thing I did was set Taylor down in the back of the ambulance and tell them to check her stitches. “Don’t give them a hard time this go around, ‘kay?” I told her after draping a blanket around her body. Then I pressed a kiss to her damp hairline and left her in the capable hands of the EMTs.

Officer Newman was standing beside the body, along with two other officers I knew from the RPD. “Before he died, he told me where Snake was hiding.”

They all looked up, interested.

“I want a patrol car out there now to pick up his weasely ass before word of what happened here gets to him.” That reminded me of the two men who ran off before the police arrived.

“What about the runaway black SUV?” I asked.

“All in custody,” Newman answered.

I nodded. Then we still had time to get to Snake before someone else did. He might have been able to get away and hide in practically plain sight for the last couple days, but he made a mistake.

He came after me… after Taylor.

“Let’s go. We need to go make the arrest.”

“Uh, West?” said the officer beside Newman, looking at me.

“What?”

“You might wanna go get looked at by a medic.” He pointed to my side where the torn stitches were bleeding anew and a red stain was spreading across my drenched shirt.

I sighed. I was getting sick of bleeding.

“Let us handle the arrest,” Newman said, slapping me on the back. “You have enough to deal with.”

Refusal was on the tip of my tongue. I wanted to be there to see the look on Snake’s face when they slapped some cuffs on his wrists. I wanted the satisfaction of being there when he went down.

I glanced over my shoulder at Taylor, who was huddled in the back of the ambulance, frowning at the EMT who was cutting away the drenched bandages on her wound. If I left now, then no one would be here with her but strangers.

I couldn’t leave her here alone.

“Yeah, okay.” I relented. “I should probably get this sewn back up.” I pointed to my side. “Some dry clothes might be nice too.”

Newman nodded briskly and then looked at the man next to him. “Let’s go make the arrest.”

The pair started off toward a cruiser, and I called out behind them. “Call me the minute he’s in custody.”