Read Protective Ink (Urban Fantasy) Online
Authors: Misty Simon
“Not going to happen.”
“No chance,” Garrett agreed as he emerged from the hallway with a sword in each hand and a noose hanging from his belt.
“You’re cornered and with no one on your side.” Lissa yanked on her wrist but to no avail. He increased his grip, making her feel weak even as she struggled to hold back a scream.
“I have men outside waiting for my call.”
“So make it and let’s see how this cookie crumbles.” Jackson blinked out of sight.
The only way Lissa could follow his movements was by watching the way Cameron’s body bent forward and back. His knee was kicked from behind, causing him to collapse, and then his nose started to gush blood. His head flew to the side as an imprint of a fist bloomed on his jaw. His chest heaved as the unseen force that was Jackson nailed him in the stomach, probably with a boot.
When Jackson materialized again, he had Cameron in a headlock that was cutting off his air supply. He continued to pull his arm tighter and tighter against Cameron’s neck, like he was winding a vice. Cameron fell unconscious in his arms, but Jackson didn’t let up.
“Jackson, that’s enough.”
“Man, you really can just blink out,” Garrett said at the same time. “That is so cool. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
Jackson ignored his remark and turned to look at Lissa, his eyes darker than she’d ever seen them before. Gone was his easy smile. In its place was the look of a killer who was determined to end a life without mercy. She didn’t want him to be that person.
“Jackson, I do not want you to go to jail. Let him go. The police will take care of him for us.”
“I’m handling him just fine,” he said conversationally, cranking his arm harder against Cameron’s Adam’s apple.
“I know and I appreciate it, but seriously, let him go. We’ll get the authorities involved. There’s more than enough evidence for us to get him locked away for his entire life.”
“It’s a good thing I hightailed it back here from the hospital when they told me you’d left with Garrett.” Jackson finally smiled—his teeth looking predatory, like a shark’s—and dropped Cameron to the floor. He pulled two zip ties from his side pocket and secured the man’s arms and ankles before shoving him across the floor and into the supply closet. “We’re going to leave him in there with his little friend Bryson for the moment. He’s still alive, in case you were wondering. But your closet is filling up with some serious crap.”
Garrett stood in front of the door with his arms crossed. “You didn’t believe any of that bullshit he was spewing about me was true, did you?” he said to her.
“Of course not.” But what if it was? These two men would have saved her even if they didn’t know her. It didn’t mean she was special to them.
“You’d better not. You’re important to me, to all of us. And we’re happy to have you back in town,” Garrett said. “I’m going to go call the police, Jackson. I’ll do the cleanup this time. You talk some sense into her.” He pulled out his cell phone and disappeared into the hallway.
A few minutes later, Dory appeared in the room. As if sensing Lissa’s disquiet, she went straight to Lissa and gave her a tight hug. “He’s on the phone with the cops, Lissa. But he just told me what happened. I wanted to thank you. Thank you for making him all that he is.”
With the adrenaline of the situation gone, she started shaking like a leaf. “I almost got him killed again.”
“No, you didn’t.” Jackson put an arm around her shoulders and it felt so good to be held by him. “That was all Cameron. Dory’s right. Garrett has saved hundreds of lives thanks to you. Don’t beat yourself up. We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of, but what you did for him shouldn’t be one of them.”
She pushed her hair back over her shoulder. She knew he was right. Garrett had done wonderful things for the past twenty years, and now he didn’t even have to hurt himself with electricity to do it. It had all worked out better than she could have hoped when Garrett’s mom had first commissioned her to tattoo her son.
Jackson had become an intricate part of her life as Garrett’s protector, and she was grateful for that, too. But pining for a future with him was pure folly. She needed to accept things as they were.
Jackson appeared to have other ideas.
He took her wrist in his hand and gently massaged it as he drew her into his warmth. He used his fingertip to trace a trail only he could see—along her hairline, over her cheek and down to her neck. He cupped her there, his strong fingers resting against her pulse as he lowered his lips to hers.
“To hell with not changing the dynamic. I want you,” he whispered through his teeth before claiming her.
She let him take her to places she’d never been before. He nibbled at her lower lip, teasing her into opening her mouth for him to invade. And invade he did, taking her to a plane where their souls touched.
“Why didn’t you mask us from Dory?” Lissa asked.
“I have nothing to hide. Especially not from you. Not anymore. We’ll make this work. I’m never going to lose you.”
“What the hell is going on here?” Garrett demanded, joining Dory.
“It’s lovely. Shut up.”
“It is not. This isn’t right.”
Jackson looked into her eyes, and it felt like he was peering directly into her soul. “I won’t be easy.”
“I won’t either,” Lissa responded.
“I’m looking forward to it.” He kissed the end of her nose.
She felt a sizzle in her blood as he blinked them out of sight.
“Where the hell did they go?” Garrett demanded.
“Oh, hush, Garrett, and kiss me. Maybe we could talk them into a double wedding. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Lissa laughed as Jackson pulled her into the stairwell leading to her apartment, letting the door slam shut behind them.
“Race you,” she dared.
“How about we both get there at the same time?” He swung her up into his arms.
“Who knew you were a die-hard romantic under that tough exterior?”
He grunted. “Yeah, don’t get used to this.”
She was laughing when the shocks of the day caught up to her and her eyes filled with tears. Burying her face in Jackson’s shoulder, she tried to stem the flow. “I could have killed Garrett. I made a monster who has turned into a good—no,
great
—man and I almost killed him.”
He set her on her feet right outside her apartment door and tugged her close. “You’re everything that’s good in this world, Lissa. Don’t beat yourself up for what happened. You had no way of knowing. And if you hadn’t inked Garrett that first time, think of how wrong things would be around here. You made him into a freaking superhero.” He tipped her chin up. “And you did something for me, too, something I can never repay. The war tore me apart, but you gave me a chance to turn myself around with Garrett and help him find his path. I can never thank you enough for that. And now I have the ability to help him even more.”
“Oh…Jackson.” Her heart was breaking for him.
“Don’t pity me, Lissa. I have you, and no matter how much I’ve fought this electricity between us these last few days, I didn’t ever want to win.” He did that thing with his fingertip again and cupped her neck, making her pulse pound harder against his palm.
Then he kissed her with such intensity that everything else fell away. The road ahead of them wouldn’t be smooth, she knew, and they would fight and clash at every opportunity. But in the end they had a base that was unshakable.
He pulled away and looked into her eyes, his gaze intense. “You don’t know how my heart seized when I saw you in the clutches of that jerk. I realized I don’t want anyone else to be with you. I don’t want to watch your life from the sidelines anymore, spending days and days looking forward to our phone calls. I want to be right there with you, by your side.” His hand went to her right hip to pull her in closer.
Her mom had given her a tattoo of the tree of life right there on her hip when she was fifteen and just starting to develop her talent.
Despite feeling like a shaking leaf earlier, she’d always been the tree. Solid, willing to bend in a strong wind, but deeply rooted in the ground of her beliefs. Why hadn’t she remembered that strength until now, until she’d been pushed to her breaking point?
Fitting her head under his chin, she held on tight with one arm while she lifted his hand to her mouth and kissed his palm. Every decision, every choice, every step she’d taken had brought her to this very moment. She couldn’t change a single instant and still be the same person she was today. And she wouldn’t want to.
Maybe they’d had to go the long road to each other but they were here now. And she couldn’t find a single thing to regret.
Misty Simon loves a good story and decided one day that she would try her hand at it. Eventually she got it right. She lives with her husband, daughter and two insane dogs in central Pennsylvania, where she is hard at work on her next novel or three. She loves to hear from readers, so drop her a line at
[email protected]
.
Also by Misty Simon
Wicked Ink
eISBN: 9781460337783
PROTECTIVE INK
Copyright © 2014 by Misty Simon
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.