Sophie Oak - Two to Love

Zane gently disentangled himself. Nate looked over at the two naked females who were approaching now. Callie didn’t seem bothered by her friend throwing herself at Zane. She was smiling.

“You know Nate helped, too,” Callie pointed out.

Finally, someone acknowledged his contributions. He braced himself for Jen’s impact. The brunette simply gave him a distant smile. “Thank you, too, Sheriff.” She went back to looking at Zane like he was a conquering hero.

The group crowded around Zane. In one morning, Zane had managed to make himself a part of this weird little place. Nate had no doubt that Zane would be invited to the monthly poker game, behind Nate’s back of course, since Nate had pointed out that gambling was illegal. Zane would spend family dinners at the Harper ranch. Zane would become a part of Bliss.

Zane would be happy here in a way he’d never been anywhere they had lived. This place was already ingrained on Callie’s soul. Nate realized with a sudden ache that he was the one who didn’t fit. After a lifetime of being on the inside, being outside the circle hurt like hell. Was this how Zane had always felt? Was this how Zane and Callie would feel if they followed him?

A warm hand slipped into his. Callie. Her brown eyes were luminous in the late afternoon light. The very air around her seemed soft. “You okay?”

He knew that she would go with him if he pushed hard enough. Despite her earlier protestations that she wouldn’t have anything further to do with them, the minute she thought he was hurting, she was there. He could use that if he wanted to. She would go because she loved him. Zane would go, too. Zane would go because Zane loved him. They would leave behind the only place where they belonged because he wanted them to.

“Yeah,” he lied. “I’m fine, baby.” He wasn’t anywhere close to fine, but the feel of her hand in his was helping.

Rachel slapped at Rye’s hands. He was trying to wrap a towel around her. “Stop it.”

Max was grinning like a loon watching them fight.

“Wow, I just love this tattoo,” Jen was saying as she stared at Zane’s chest. She glanced back at Callie. “Have you really looked at this? It’s so intricate. It must have taken forever.”

“Days,” Zane conceded. He nodded at Nate. “Nate got off easy. His only took a couple of hours.”

Nate remembered the day they had first sat on the chair and gotten inked for the Barbarians. It was a statement of intent for the MC. It proved a man was in for life. Ellis took those tats seriously. Each one had the snake logo, but the art surrounding it was slightly different. Nate’s had been relatively simple, Zane’s insanely complex. There were at least four bikers with the same level of intricacy as Zane. Two of them were dead.

“What do the numbers mean?” Jen asked.

Nate dropped Callie’s hands as the world fell into place.

* * *

Zane looked down at the artist. “What numbers?”

He turned his head down, trying to get a good look at his chest. He could see the tat that marked him as a Barbarian, but all he could discern was a mass of curly-cue-looking things around a big, mean-looking snake. He tended to not pay attention to the mass of ink on his chest. Of course, he tried not to look at the other side of his chest, too. It reminded him too much of that day when he was strapped down and tortured. Ellis had branded his right side with superheated metal, and he’d cut his face all to hell. The one part Ellis insisted on leaving alone was his Barbarian tat. That had been off limits when making the pig squeal.

Zane shook off the dark thoughts. He would never figure out how his cover had been blown. Someone had known and told, and then his life had gone to hell. Now things were looking up. His eyes moved around the small crowd of people on the lawn. They were smiling and teasing each other. He was a part of it. Max Harper elbowed him in a friendly way. Jen had hugged him and thanked him. Rachel Harper was apparently ready to accept him as an uncle to her baby. Damn, he was getting misty-eyed just thinking about raising a family in this little place. The last thing he wanted to do was think about his tat. He would get it lasered off as soon as he had the cash.

“These numbers,” Jen was saying. She had called Callie over and ran her index finger over the ink. “See? They’re kind of woven into the design. Did you do that?”

A cold knowledge rushed in, seeping into his bones. He might not have wanted a career in law enforcement, but he’d been a cop long enough to have instincts. “Ellis designed it.”

He turned quickly to Nate, who was pale, his eyes locked on the tat.

“Damn it, that would explain everything,” Nate muttered.

Zane swallowed as the full reality hit him. No wonder there was a bounty on his head. Hell, they didn’t give a damn about his head—his chest was another story.

“What’s wrong?” Callie’s eyes were moving between them.

Nate’s face had already taken on that hard-as-granite look he got when he went into full-on lawman mode. Nate’s eyes got cold, and his mouth became a flat line. Everything about him became still, like a rattler waiting to strike. Nate was a true cop, and that was a good thing because it looked like they would need one.

“Nothing’s wrong, baby. At least nothing we can’t handle.” Nate stood beside Jen, who also seemed to understand that something was wrong. “Jen, I’m going to need you to write down the numbers you see. If you can discern a particular pattern off of them, I would greatly appreciate it.”

“Oh, it’s there.” Jen’s hand ran across the tat lightly, tracing the ink. “See how it flows. It starts here and winds around all the way back in a counterclockwise pattern. It’s very subtle and very distinct. This man was a true artist.”

“Yeah, well, he’s also a drug dealer and a sadist.”

“Oh my god, the account number is on Zane’s chest!” Callie finally caught up. Her eyes filled with fear.

“We need to get you to El Paso first thing in the morning.” Nate was already reaching into his pants, pulling out his cell phone. “At least we have something to talk about tonight. All the town needs to do is keep a watch out for a day or two. Once we get that account and prove to Ellis we’ve found his cash, he’ll leave Zane alone. This was never about revenge, thank god. It’s always been about money.” He turned away. “Yeah, Worthington, I think I have a solution to our problems…”

Nate’s voice faded as he walked away.

Zane reached out and grabbed Callie’s hand. The Harpers were now quiet and watching him with solemn eyes.

“You going to be okay, Zane?” Max asked.

Not Hollister. Zane. This group wouldn’t use his last name. It wasn’t intimate enough. His heart seized a little. Damn, if he played his cards right, this would be his family. He would even forgo beating the crap out of Talbot if it meant belonging in this close-knit group. He pulled Callie into his chest, needing to feel her close to him. “It’s going to be fine. I’ll give the agency the info they need, and then I’ll be out of it. Once Ellis knows the game is up, he’ll call off the dogs.”

Callie wrapped her arms around his waist and held on like she would never let go. He kissed the top her head. If he had his way, she would never have to.

Callie turned the shower to hot, as hot as she thought she could stand. It was only moments before steam started to fill the room. Callie watched in the mirror as her image faded in favor of a coating of moisture. She was an opaque ghost in the glass. She brushed the steam away, but it came back immediately. In a way, she was glad she couldn’t see her reflection. It would only show the truth—that she had aged more in the past couple of weeks than in the years before.

Tomorrow, Zane would leave, and there would be nothing here to bring him back. Sure he’d said a lot of stuff about wanting her, but he’d left her behind once. There was nothing to stop him this time. If Zane was safe and happy, then there was no reason for Nate to return, either. He would, of course. Duty would bring him back until they could find someone to take his place, but he would be marking time.

How had she run out of time so fast?

With shaking hands, she placed a towel within reach and stepped into the shower. They were leaving in the morning. She had one last night with them and only two hours before they had to be at the town meeting she herself had called. She’d thought about cancelling it so she would have more time with Nate and Zane, but these people were her friends and family. They had the right to know what was going on. The people coming after Zane were dangerous and would be until everything was sorted out. Bliss needed to be vigilant.

She felt sick at the thought of not being with them. For the first time, she really thought about going with Nate. Nate seemed to really want her to leave with him. Of course, he would probably regret it once she screwed up his career path by being a complete hick, hippy weirdo. Tears swelled in her eyes as she realized she couldn’t risk him coming to hate her when she didn’t fit into his world.

She was going to lose them both. This time it just might break her.

“Babe?” Zane’s deep voice cut through her misery. She turned away to hide her face as he pulled back the shower curtain. “Babe, are you crying?”

“How did you get in here? I locked the door.” The cooler air from outside her little shower stroked her skin, causing her to shiver. In an instant, the curtain closed, and she was warm again.

Unfortunately, Zane was on the wrong side of the curtain. She felt his hands cup her shoulders. “I spent years posing as a criminal. I can get through any door you put between us. If I can’t pick the lock, I assure you I can kick the door down.” He forcibly turned her around. “Now tell me why you’re crying.”