Tattoo (Take It Off #7)(46)
Author: Cambria Hebert

I tossed the kid on the floor and he lay there gasping for air, his cheeks bright red. “Where is he?” I asked.

“I can’t tell you,” he cried. “Please. If I tell you, he’ll kill me.”

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll kill you.”

He seemed to recover some of his earlier bravado. “You won’t. You wouldn’t dare kill me in the middle of a police station.”

I pulled the gun I was carrying out of the waistband of my jeans. It wasn’t my waterlogged .45, but a pistol.

I pressed the barrel up against his forehead, hard enough to leave a mark. “Are you sure about that?”

He whimpered. “It doesn’t matter where he’s staying because he’s not there.”

Warning skittered across the back of my neck. I wasn’t asking the right questions right now. I should be asking why he sent a lookalike to be arrested in his place. A lookalike who was instructed to ask for me and only me.

What exactly would he gain from that?

“What is he planning?” I yelled, lifting him off the ground while still pressing the gun to his head.

“I don’t know!”

I threw him up against the wall. I heard something inside him crack and he slid to the floor, calling out in pain. I pounced on him.

“Tell me!” I roared, cocking the gun.

The door to the room banged open and three officers rushed in.

“I told you to keep your hands off him!” Mac yelled from the doorway.

I was beyond listening. My finger was getting twitchy on the trigger. The kid must have seen the look in my eyes because he said, “He’s going after your weakness. He’s going after her.”

Taylor.

I jumped to my feet, my insides wild with adrenaline.

“That’s not Snake,” I spat, pushing my way toward the door. “It’s a decoy.”

I shoved my way out into the hall and took off running.

“West!” Mac called from behind.

“He’s going after Taylor!” I yelled and kept on running.

I shouldn’t have let my guard down so fast. I should have followed up when they first brought Snake in here. I’d been set up.

And now Taylor was going to pay the price.

22

Taylor

Dad was only home about thirty minutes when his phone started ringing with something down at the bank demanding attention immediately.

I heard him on the line, trying to work it out so someone else could take care of the matter, as he didn’t want to leave me here alone (like I was ten or something). I’d had about enough of his hovering in the past few days to last me a lifetime, and I promptly walked into the room and glared at him until he lowered the phone.

“Do you need something, Taylor?”

“No, Dad, I’m fine. If you’re needed at work, just go.”

Doubt crept into his eyes, and I sighed. “Snake is in custody. There’s no reason why you can’t go into work. I’m going to lie down anyway. I’m tired.” It wasn’t a lie. The pain meds were making my limbs feel heavy, and after everything that happened this morning and then later on (in bed), I really did just want to rest.

“I’ll be there shortly,” he said into the phone and then cut the line.

I smiled at him.

“Are you sure about this, honey?” he said. “I don’t mind staying home. I’ve been at work all day.”

I felt a little guilty because I didn’t want him to think I was trying to get rid of him. “If you want to use me as an excuse to stay in, I’ll totally support that,” I told him mischievously. “You must be tired.”

“Well, this robbery definitely has me putting in a lot of hours lately,” he said. “I will be glad when the mess is behind us and I can get back to my regular schedule.”

“Maybe I could come in and help?” I offered. It was, after all, the business that I would be running someday.

“Absolutely not,” he said, his tone final. “You’ve been through enough. You need to rest that arm. The bank will be there when you’re feeling better.”

“How about a coffee to go?” I asked.

He nodded. “That would be great.”

I went into the kitchen and pulled down another travel mug, remembering the last time I was doing this. Brody had pressed in so close I could feel the hard contours of his body and his comforting heat. I didn’t think he could ever get close enough to me. The way he seemed to always disregard my personal space like there were no boundaries between us made my heart race. I smiled secretly to myself. I loved the way he made me feel, like I was the only woman he wanted in his arms.

“Taylor?” my father asked from behind me. I jumped, startled back into reality.

“Sorry,” I said, hurrying to pour the still-hot coffee from before. After securing the lid, I handed over the mug.

“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Dad.” I sighed. “You know, I’m well into my twenties. I’m old enough to have a relationship with someone.”

“I know.” He sounded sad. “But you’ll always be my little girl.”

“I will. But maybe you could try to be nice to Brody? Maybe try not to scare him off?”

“Well, at least he would be able to protect you,” he muttered.

“Nothing is going to happen to me, Dad.” I assured him, feeling guilty for not telling him what happened today at the lake. I hated to make him worry any more than he already did. It seemed that ever since we lost Mom, all he did was worry that something would happen to me and he would be left all alone.

I gave him a one-armed hug and he wrapped his arms around me. “I love you, kid.”

“I love you too.”

“I’ll be home as soon as this latest mess is cleaned up,” he said, moving toward the door that led into the garage.

“I’ll be here.”

Even though Snake was in custody, I would probably stay here a few more days, if only to make my father feel better.

Once I was alone, I went into the kitchen and looked around in the cupboards to see if we had the makings for another pumpkin French toast bake. Brody ate the entire thing, and I thought it would be a good idea to have another one ready to go into the oven for tomorrow.

Holding the end of a long loaf of French bread with the hand in the sling and using the other to tear, I got busy throwing bite-sized pieces of bread into a large glass baking dish. My mind wandered to earlier and the time I spent in his arms. He definitely put every other lover I had to shame.