Leo (A Sign of Love Novel)(51)

My eyes lift and I let out a gasp. For stretched across the entirety of the top half of his back is a tattoo and as I study it, a strangled cry comes to my lips and I stumble backwards.

The artwork is done in shades of black, with beautiful scrolls around the edges. It is the inside of a circus arena. In the middle background is the master of ceremonies, his face turned sideways, lost in shadow. There is a little pale haired girl walking a tightrope in the far right corner and several clowns, male and female, in the far right background. But when I look closely, their faces are not silly or funny, but ghastly, evil, sharp teeth dripping blood and eyes bloodshot and crazed.

And in the middle of the arena, the central art, there is a creature, half man and half lion with the man side facing slightly away so that his features are unclear and the lion side fully exposed, vicious and roaring, up on his hind paws, lunging towards a girl holding a fiery ring.

My eyes move slowly, as if in a trance to the girl and my breath hitches in my throat. Her face is serene, calm, a slight smile on her lips and she is looking directly at the man-lion, no fear in her expression at all. She is young but I recognize her immediately. She is me.

And she is a lion tamer.

Oh my God. Oh God, Oh God.

The moment slams into sharp focus, and I let out a quiet, strangled cry.

At the sound, Jake jolts, but he remains standing with his head hung, facing away from me. I walk around him and take his chin in my hand, lifting it so his tortured eyes meet mine. My hand is shaking, my heart is beating wildly but I don't hear any expression in my voice as I look into his eyes and ask, "Why are you looking at me?"

His eyes search mine for several long seconds before he holds contact and whispers, "Because I like your face."

I stumble backwards, crying out, and then turn and run. I fling his front door open and run to the elevator, pushing the button desperately. The elevator opens immediately. It never left his floor. I fling myself inside and push the lobby button. As the doors close, Jake appears in his doorway, a look of desperation on his face. "Evie," he chokes out just as the doors close.

I stumble out the front door of his building and I run.





CHAPTER 26


I run until my lungs are burning and the tears running down my face have stopped falling. And then I walk, but I don't stop moving.

My mind is a jumbled mess and all I keep coming back to is that tattoo. At first I want to sob and scream, I want to beat my hands against something, but strangely, the farther I move from Jake, the more numb I become until I am walking dry eyed and lethargic down the street.

I stop when I see a small park and wander over to a bench. I sit down and pull my cell phone out of my purse. There are 17 missed calls from Jake. I erase them and dial Nicole.

"Hey babe," she says cheerily.

"Nicole," I start but my voice breaks.

"Evie, what's wrong, honey?" She says, concern spilling from her voice.

"He's been lying to me, Nicole."

"Who? Jake? Honey, about what? Where are you?"

"I ran. I don't know. I'm in a park… I don't know. Hold on, there's a sign…" I read her the name of the park and she says quickly, "I'll be there in 15. Hold tight, honey."

I sit on the bench, staring into space until Nicole's small car pulls up next to the curb. I climb in and when she sees my face, she opens her arms and I do a head plant into her shoulder and she holds me as I cry more tears I didn't think I had.

"What's going on, hon? Tell me." She says, wiping wetness off my cheeks with her thumbs.

"He's Leo, Nic. That story he told me about Leo dying in a car accident isn't true. Because he's Leo." I frown. "But he's Jake, too. I don't understand it."

Nicole looks stunned. "He's Leo? Your Leo? The Leo? But why didn't he tell you? How did you find out?"

"Nicole, can we go to your house? I want to wash my face and… is that okay?"

"Of course, let's go." She pulls out and I lay my head back on the seat and close my eyes. Nicole must know I need to rest for a few minutes because she doesn't ask me any more questions on the drive.

We go into her house and it's quiet. "Where's Kaylee?" I ask.

"She's with Mike's mom today and tonight. I thought it might be nice to have an adult night since we were going to meet Jake," she shoots me a look and bites her lip.

I sigh. "Can I clean myself up a little bit? I'm a freakin' mess."

"Yeah, go do that and I'll make some tea… or do you want something stronger?" She smiles.

I laugh for the first time since I left the spa. "Later. For now tea is good."

I clean myself up in the bathroom, smoothing my hair back down which is all blown to heck and holding a cold, wet washcloth on my eyes for a few minutes each. When I come out, I feel better.

I find Nicole curled up on one side of her sofa with a steaming cup of tea in her hand. She gestures to mine on the table next to the big, upholstered chair to her right.

I curl up and pull the afghan draped across the arm, over my lap. I pick up my tea and take a sip as Nicole says, "Tell me what happened today."

I recount my run in with Gwen at the spa and then when I tell her about confronting Jake and about his tattoo, Nicole sucks in breath and says, "What? YOU are the girl on his back? Okay, wow, this is blowing my mind. But, wait, I don't get it… what does it mean?"