Freeing Tuesday (31 page)

Tuesday

I answer question after question until I’m so tired that my eyes are drooping shut. Agent Frey walks me back to the break room where Evan has fallen asleep waiting for me. He tells me to rest for a bit while he gets some paperwork together so I can go home.

I ease myself down onto the couch next to a sleeping Evan. My head settles into his lap, my face pressing into his abs. I feel him stir under me and I know he’s awake.

“How much longer until I can take you home where you belong?”

I close my eyes when he starts to drag his fingers through my hair. Every movement he makes calms me more than I ever have been.

“Frey said something about getting some paperwork together for me, but I’m not sure if they are done with me yet.”

Evan pulls my hand to his lips and gently kisses my wrist.

“Close your eyes for a bit. I’ll wake you up when he comes back for you.”

As my eyes drift shut I can’t help but realize that this is the first time I’m not scared that something is going to happen while I’m asleep.

A little while later, someone knocks on the door, jolting me from my sleep. Evan’s hand settles on my hip and squeezes, letting me know that everything is ok.

I throw my legs over the edge of the couch and slide closer to Evan as Agent Frey swings the door open and shut as fast as he can. The noise and commotion on the other side makes me nauseous. They tell me it’s a side effect of whatever Anthony’s men drugged me up with. Pulling a chair over in front of us, Frey hands me a folder. I pull it into my lap but don’t open it.

“These are you immunity papers and a few other things. Those papers have a few stipulations though.” I meet his eyes and he smiles sadly at me. “You have to testify at both trials.”

My heart plummets into my stomach. “Both?” I squeak out.

“We just picked up Robert Austin and his whole crew and Internal Affairs is filtering through the local P.D. So yes, two. They are two separate cases, both of which you are involved in. We are letting go of all your illegal acts from when you were involved with both. So…”

“So I have to be involved in both,” I huff out, “I get it.”

“You also understand that if you don’t comply with everything we discussed already, charges will be brought against you for your crimes.” I nod slowly, my fingers curling around the file in my lap. “Good, then I don’t see any harm in giving you this.”

He slides another file my way and tells me to open it. When I do, my breath hitches. Evan leans over, telling me he loves me and kisses the top of my head as I trail my fingers over the raised lettering on the paper.

Tuesday Adrianna Weston.

“Tuesday, your name is legally yours now. That file contains everything you will need for anything. So please,
please
, destroy the fake ones you have at home. Oh and Tuesday, your divorce papers are in there as well. They just need you to sign them.”

Evan’s phone starts to ring just as I am about to try and speak and I am thankful for that because I can’t seem to find my voice. He kisses me quickly and excuses himself from the room.

I watch him walk out the door. Realizing that no matter what happens from here on out. As long as I have Evan and my family, I’ll come out better on the other side.

Evan

The door behind me closes just as I hang up the phone. Turning, I come face to face with the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and pull her into me. Tuesday’s face settles against my chest and she sighs.

“Can we leave?” I whisper against the top of her head.

“Mmmhmmm. I’ll have to come back for trial prep and shit but I’m good to go now. So, take me home.”

Tangling my fingers into her hair, I tug her back so I can see her face. “We have to make a stop before we head to the airport.”

***

The bell over the door jingles when we walk in, drawing the attention of some of the people to us. The familiar buzz of the tattoo gun settles in with my pulse, making me feel at home in this new city.

“Hey, can I help you?”

My attention is drawn away from the artwork hanging from the walls and towards a tall blonde guy who’s about as covered in tattoos as I am. Tuesday’s hand squeezes mine and she shifts her step so she’s partially behind me.

“Hi, I’m actually looking for Luke.”

“Found him. You must be Evan.” He reaches out and shakes my hand before signaling for us to follow him. “So, when we talked earlier I rearranged a bit for the day. We moved one of the chairs into the piercing room and everything you need is in there. It’s all yours for however long you need it.”

“Thanks man. You have no clue how much this means to me.”

He smiles slightly, “Cam called and pretty much said to give you whatever you needed and well, I can’t say no to Cam so here you are.”

I laugh and thank him as he leave. Walking backward until the back of my legs hits the stool, I sit and pull Tuesday in between my legs.

“Sooo…” she starts, her hands settling on my shoulders, “why are we alone in a tattoo shop?”

“Well, I figured what better way to start you freedom than embracing your past.”

Tuesday looks down at me nervously, “What are you getting at?”

I pat my hand on the chair and tell her to climb up. She hesitates slightly but climbs up and lies back. Standing, I lean over her and run my lips up her arm, to her lip and down the center of her chest until I reach the numbers on her hip. I push her shirt out of my way so I can see the skin on her abdomen.

“I want to do something. If you don’t like it after I draw it on, we’ll walk out the door and I’ll never say anything. Trust me?”

“Evan,” she whispers, pulling me up to her face, “I couldn’t trust you more so shut up and tattoo me. I know I will love whatever you do.”

I groan when her tongue dives into my mouth, sweeping against mine. The pressure behind my zipper reminds me that I haven’t been inside her in days. I pull back and rest my forehead against hers.

“If we don’t stop, we’re going to get kicked out and I don’t want that.”

I push her back and lay the chair out before peeling her jeans down to reveal her hip. All the effort I put into not climbing onto the chair and burying myself into her almost goes out the window.

Tuesday quirks her eyebrow at me and smiles, “Problem?”

I grunt, turn away and adjust my painful erection after I’m finished drawing the outline on her skin. Taking my seat, I lean over and run my lips around the marker lines, telling her just how much I love her.

My foot hits the pedal after I get the gun together and Tuesday squeezes her eyes shut. After a few minutes she relaxes into the chair while I continue working, running the needle over the wording I’ve added.

I don’t want her to be ashamed of what she’s been through to get here so I leave the numbers, sprucing them up so they are more than just lines. Making them beautiful, just like the girl they are part of.

I finish up, wiping the left over ink and traces of blood from Tuesday’s skin and pull her up. My hand rests at the base of her neck while I steer her toward the mirror but keep her back to it so she can’t see yet.

“I love you,” I whisper against her lips.

She groans, “I love you too. Now let me see.”

Pushing away from me, she spins and gasps the second her eyes land on the new ink. Tears threaten to spill from her eyes. I pull her back to me, resting my head on her shoulder and I catch her eyes in the mirror.

“I know this isn’t over with court and shit looming over you and you still have a long way to go until you’re one hundred percent free but don’t ever be ashamed. You’re a fighter, you’re
my
fighter.”

Nodding as her eyes drop back to her hip and she says the words I’ve placed there with a slight smile gracing her perfect lips.

“Never a victim; forever a fighter.”

Acknowledgments

First and foremost I need to thank
every single person
who ever cracks the pages of something I write. It is truly an honor that you choose to take time out of your life and sit down with something I have created. I honestly hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it. Thank you for reading and thank you for reviewing. It means so much to me.

Bloggers and authors
- without your constant support, pimping, encouraging words and internet bitch slapping, I would never get anywhere or get anything done.

Ok, breaking it down to the nitty gritty without taking up a million pages is going to be hard but I’m going to try like hell.

My absolutely amazing BETA ladies, Jamie, Mary and Myra.
Nothing, and I mean
nothing
would happen without you. Finding you three ladies to help rip my pages apart last year is one of the best things that have happened to me. I hope you will be with me for the long run.

Cat Mason
- I can’t express how much it means to me that you were willing to share your
Shaft
boys with me. I also can’t even begin to tell you how much all your help means to me. Oh, and for Henry… Sigh… Henry, thank you for all that, for writing such an amazing character. Oh, and thank you for GUNGASM. This book wouldn’t be the same without that word.

Wendi
-YOU ARE AMAZING! Everything you have done for me is beyond anything a simple thank you can cover. Ever. I can say it over and over again but it will
never
be enough, but THANK YOU for taking on the task of fixing my words and making them amazing.

Jillian and Amy
-My lovelies. Thank you for allowing me to write weird scenes about naughty things with tattoo guns and ratchet straps. My mind is a weird place to be sometimes, so the fact that you allow me to associate that stuff with your names is pretty awesome.

My Dirty Family
- Sometimes I need to let my wild side out and I am so glad I have you girls right there with me. I love that I can be myself with you guys.

Rachel Orman/ Dreams Come True Promotions
- Thank you for formatting and making my babies look beautiful. Also for my tour stuff. There aren’t enough words for what you do for me without hesitation.

My WLB and STJ-ANON
chat group ladies. Day in and day out, you’re always there for me. Thank you for allowing me to laugh, love, cry like an idiot, rant and rave, listen to how amazing or how shitty your day is going. For allowing me into your life and for becoming part of my family. Also, Rene, thank you for teaching me I don’t always know what I want until someone comes along and shows me...

Karen Marks/ Jennifer Wilder/ Just One More Page blog-
First Karen, thank you for CONSTANTLY being on my rear and never letting up. I promise NOTHING would get done without you. Secondly- Thank you amazing ladies for picking up a very large dropped ball last minute. You took an immensely stressful situation and made it so much easier on me so I could get everything I needed done without pulling my hair out too bad.

Dawn P. and Magan V.
-  Thank you for saving my skin, telling me what was going to work and what probably wouldn’t and for sprinting with me. This book probably wouldn’t have gotten done without those sprints.

Chelsea C. and Tracey M.
- Thank you for working through the ideas in my head and helping me get them straight. Chelsea, I’m sorry for the cars. I’m waiting on the beating.

My momma
- I know that we don’t get along 100% of the time, but you are still my mother. Thank you for being obligated to love me. ;) It’s such a tough job. I do love you though.

My dad
- I know you probably won’t ever see this, mainly because I won’t let you crack open my books but thank you for being there and allowing me to call you all my fun little names and not hating me for it. Thank you for taking care of me when I’m too busy writing and forget. I love you.

Noah and Dominick
- I am so proud of the people you are becoming. Thank you for being as close with me as we are. I realize that not everyone has a relationship with their brothers like I do with you but I wouldn’t change anything for the world. Never
EVER
change. I love you.

Ty
- I realize that we’ve had rough patches but I honestly couldn’t ask for a better best friend who might as well be my sister. Through everything we’ve been through and everything we’re currently going through, you’ve always been there for me. Thank you for being the person that bought me the book that got me started on all this.