Beneath This Ink (Beneath #2)(76)

I opened my mouth to speak, but shut it again. I wasn’t good with fancy words and didn’t know how to ask what I needed to know.

Her heels clicked across the floor as she came closer. Almost close enough to touch. My hands tensed with the need to drag her against me and muss up her perfect hair and tear down the wall between us. But I didn’t reach for her because she was holding out a folder.

“This belongs to you.”

I found my voice. “What is it?”

“The deed you gave me. I never took it to the parish clerk to make the transfer official. It didn’t seem right for the foundation to take more from you than it already has.”

I stared at the folder but didn’t touch it. That deed had started this whole thing, and she was giving it back. Fuck. Disappointment, swift and sharp, rushed through me.

My eyes snapped up to hers. “You trying to say you’re done with me, princess?”

Vanessa’s fingers dug into the folder and the edges bent, but she didn’t answer my question. She continued, “I also came to tell you that the foundation is going to be investigated by the Attorney General’s Office, at the board of directors’ request. It’s likely going to be dissolved, and all the funds dispersed to other organizations. There’s a chance you might even get your parents’ money back, although I really can’t say for sure.” She paused. “Everyone will know what Archer did. I know it’s not the justice you wanted, but it’s something anyway.”

“I don’t give a f*ck about the money or even the foundation—except I’m sorry as hell you’re not getting your shot at running it.”

She blinked, head jerking back at my response, but I didn’t let her speak. I grabbed the folder out of her hands and tossed it on the ground.

“You didn’t answer my question, Vanessa.”

Her teeth sank into her lower lip for a beat before answering. “I think the question is whether you’re done with me. I mean… what Archer did…”

I shook my head. “Didn’t have shit to do with you. So don’t take that on. You’ve got nothing to apologize for. I, on the other hand…” I let my words trail off, not wanting to highlight once again why I was a total f*cking prick. But I manned up and finished, “I killed him. Doesn’t matter that I didn’t put a bullet in him. It was my doing.”

Vanessa took a step forward, closing the space between us. Laying a hand on my chest, she said, “You’ve carried guilt for something that wasn’t your fault for too long. Don’t make that mistake again here. This wasn’t the first heart attack Archer’s had. He’s been in congestive heart failure for almost a decade. After Titan confronted him, he knew this was all going to come toppling down. He baited you. The things he said… I think he wanted you to pull that trigger so he didn’t have to face up to what he did. If you ask me, he’d already given up on living, and his body reacted accordingly.” She paused. “It’s not a medically sound opinion, by any means, but that’s how I see it.”

Her brilliant blue eyes shined up at me, and in them I saw absolution.

If she had it in her to offer me forgiveness for what I’d done, then I’d be a stupid man not to grab it—and her—with both hands and never look back. And for the record, today, at least, I wasn’t a stupid man.

We stood in silence for several seconds while I gathered my words. They might not be fancy, but they were the truth.

“I haven’t loved many people in my life, because there’s always been a constant: I’ve never been able to hold on to any of them. Lord and I were ripped apart when we were just little kids. Joy and Andre were gone too soon. I walked into this expecting that I’d never be able to hold on to you. I didn’t want to love you, because not only would it be a certainty that I’d lose you, but when I did, it’d wreck me. But it was f*cking impossible not to fall in love with you.” I hesitated for only a moment, taking in the tears shimmering in her eyes, and framed her face with my hands. “So if you’re waiting for my answer: I ain’t done with you. I’ll never be done with you. If you’d hated me for what I’d done, I would’ve found a way to change your mind. Because you’re mine, and I’m yours—and I’m never letting you go.”

Her tears spilled over, and I caught them on my thumbs. “Don’t cry, princess. You know that shit kills me.”

The smile that spread across her face clued me in to the fact that these were happy tears.

“It’s a good thing you’re not done with me, because it would’ve been really awkward when I handcuffed myself to your bed and told you I wasn’t going anywhere.”

My chest shook with laughter, and I dropped my hands from her face to her ass and hauled her up against me. Vanessa clutched my shoulders as I lowered my mouth to her lips.





The initial rush of relief I felt at Con’s words was burned away by the white-hot need streaking through my veins. He devoured me with his kiss, but I wanted more. Needed more. I pulled my head away.

“I want you. Here. Now.” My words were desperate, hungry.

I needed to feel his claim all the way to my bones. I needed him inside me to reinforce the fact that he wasn’t going anywhere. That what we had was real. Solid. Forever.