Revelations (Tattoos & Tears Book 2) Read online

  He nods and leaves. I am so glad and relieved that I can finally go home so I can begin to put this situation behind me and move on.

  2

  Peyton

  Sam and Skip have packed up all my stuff in preparation for me to go home. Skip nods, and I smile warmly. He takes my stuff down the corridor.

  “Are you ready, angel?”

  We collect my medication from the pharmacy on the way out, and Sam wraps his arm around me and helps me down to the car, where hordes of paparazzi photographers are at the kerb. I am almost blinded by the flashbulbs and feel myself start to panic. Sam must sense it and puts his large hand protectively at the small of my back—I am instantly reassured. He opens the car door.

  “Sam, over here.”

  There are shouts from different directions, and I am suddenly overwhelmed.

  “Peyton, is it true that the crash wasn’t an accident?”

  My stomach somersaults at those words. I climb into the car, and he crowds in behind me slamming the door behind me.

  “Fuckers,” he curses. “I’m so sorry about that, angel, one of the drawbacks of being a rock star, constantly hounded by scumbag photographers.”

  “Please stop apologising, babe, none of this is your fault.”

  I have stayed away from the internet for a while, but I can imagine what crap they have been saying. I try to push that thought down into the pit of my brain, and I look up to find him regarding me intently.

  “How are you feeling?”

  I smile and put on my best fake smile. “Yeah, I’m good.”

  He narrows his eyes, but he doesn’t say anything else. He just wraps his arm around me and pulls me close to him while I rest my head on his shoulder.

  “I thought you could stay at my place for a while, baby. Your parents, Dexter, and Eden have all gone back to Brighton when they found out you were coming home today. So I was thinking I could take care of you while you recover.”

  He cocks his head waiting for my response. I couldn’t think of anything better than letting the man I love take care of me.

  “I need to grab some stuff from the flat, if that’s OK?”

  He nods and smiles. “Yeah, of course, we’ll swing by yours first then onto mine. I want you all to myself tonight, just you and me.” I smile warmly. He chuckles softly. “We can get takeaway, and I’ll even stretch to a girly film, your choice!”

  “That sounds like heaven, baby.”

  He plants a kiss on the top of my head. I am unusually quiet on the journey back to our flat. The thought that someone would want to hurt me deliberately makes my blood run cold. My thoughts are interrupted, as we pull up at the kerb and I climb out, promising Sam I will be as quick as I can. He kisses me gently on the lips, and I make my way up to the flat. I open the door, and the place is unusually tidy. Ruby is usually such a messy cow! I hear metal clinking as I step into the flat, my heartbeat starts quickening and I panic that someone is in the flat.

  “Ruby! Is that you? Have you finally come to your senses, you kinky bitch!”

  I hear Jax’s familiar voice shout. “I’m sorry, OK, you’ve made your fucking point, please just undo the cuffs, babe.”

  I look positively perplexed and walk to Ruby’s bedroom. The door is ajar; I push it open further and find Jax in the middle of Ruby’s bed, completely naked, handcuffed and blindfolded.

  “Ruby? Come on, it’s not funny anymore, stop teasing me, honey, please.”

  His voice is soft and pleading, I clear my throat. “Jax?”

  He jumps.

  “Peyton! Fuck! Shit! I’m sorry!” he curses, and I burst out into hysterical laughter.

  “What the hell happened here, Jax?”

  I try to avert my eyes from his naked form sprawled out on Ruby’s bed, his impressive length resting on his pelvis. His dirty blonde hair is mussed; his body is toned, tattooed and bronzed. He has a body to die for, even though he is smaller than Sam, but is very muscular. His legs are long and lean; I can’t see an inch of fat on him, or an inch of skin that isn’t covered in tattoos.

  “Erm, Ruby handcuffed me. I stayed over, and she said she was teaching me a lesson. I didn’t for one minute think she’d go to work and fucking leave me here.”

  I stifle my laughter, and he clinks the handcuffs against the bed frame.

  “Please, Peyton, babe. You need to un-cuff me.”

  I put my hand to my mouth to stop myself from laughing. I take a breath to compose myself.

  “Honey, where are the keys? And how long have you been here?”

  He squirms on the bed before answering through clenched teeth, “Erm, I don’t know. She left my phone where I couldn’t fucking reach it.”

  I avert my eyes away from his length to throw a cover over him.

  “Hang tight, sweetie, I’ll call her, just give me a sec.”

  I go out into the living room and the door swings open.

  “Angel, is everything OK?”

  Sam’s tall frame walks into the flat and stands with his hands casually in his pockets. I look at him and smile.

  “Yeah, everything’s fine, babe.”

  He lets out a relieved breath.

  “I was so worried; you said you’d only be ten minutes. I’ve literally had you murdered in fifty different ways.”

  I shake my head and roll my eyes, exasperated. My possessive mercurial rocker is back. He walks over to the kitchen.

  “We’ve … got a situation. I’m handling it, please don’t go in Ruby’s room.”

  He looks at me and cocks his pierced eyebrow.

  “You can’t say something like that and not expect me to go in there, babe!”

  He leans in the doorway and bursts out into hysterical laughter.

  “Jax! What the fuck, man!”

  The handcuffs clink against Ruby’s bed frame, and he thrashes against the cuffs.

  “Sam! Get the fuck out!”

  Sam gets his phone out. “The boys have got to see this!”

  He starts photographing Jax on his phone.

  “Sam! You fucking dare send that to the boys they’ll never let me forget it!”

  Sam throws his head back and laughs hysterically, I roll my eyes. I take my phone out of my bag and dial Ruby’s number, and she answers on the third ring.

  “Hey, Rubes.”

  “Hey, babe, how are you feeling today?” she says in her familiar singsong voice and I clear my throat.

  “Yeah, I’m good thanks, babe, how are you? I’ve just got back from the hospital.”

  She giggles mischievously. “I take it you found Jax then?”

  I smirk. “Yep, sprawled out stark bollock naked, blindfolded, and handcuffed to your bed. What the fuck did he do?”

  She laughs and says, “Let’s just say he promised me that we were exclusive. We agreed we wouldn’t see other people and I needed to teach him a lesson.”

  Poor Ruby, falling for yet another unfaithful man.

  “I think you proved your point, babe, I need to un-cuff him. Where are the keys?”

  I hear Sam laughing hysterically in the background and him typing on his phone.

  “Sam! You fucking prick!” Jax shouts.

  “You need to tell me where the keys are, babe, or I’m going to have a world war on my hands.”

  She is laughing hysterically down the phone. “All right keep your knickers on, babe! They’re in my drawer next to my bed; I was going to come back at lunch to let him loose,” she says innocently. I shake my head and walk back to her room. I sit on the edge of the bed and open the drawer, rooting around until I finally find the keys.

  “Found them. I’m staying at Sam’s for a few days. I’ll call you.”

  “OK, babe, love ya.”

  “Right back at ya, Rubes, bye.”

  She hangs up, and I unlock the handcuffs. I release Jax’s arms, and he struggles free of the blindfold, his eyes adjusting to the bright daylight streaming through the window.

  “Christ, I need to take a
piss.”

  He jumps off the bed still naked and bolts to the bathroom, cupping his manhood with both hands. Sam shakes his head and laughs. We go into my room, and Sam helps me pack some of my stuff together. I grab my hair straighteners and zip up my bag. Sam takes it out into the living room where Jax is now fully dressed. We both smirk as we see the look on his face. His face is flaming red from blushing, and he can’t meet my eyes. Poor Jax!

  “Do you need a lift home, mate?”

  Jax nods. We leave the flat, and Skip drives us all to Sam’s place. He pulls up at the kerb and Sam ushers me out of the car. I’ve never paid much attention before, but his building is actually impressive. Even though it is one of the smallest buildings in the area, it is all chrome and black glass from the outside with a plaque on the wall reading Vengeance Towers. How apt! Jax takes the stairs, still unusually quiet, leaving Sam and me to get into the waiting lift. He snakes his arms around my waist and pulls me close to him.

  “I’m so glad you’re all right, baby, I don’t know what I would have done if…” He stops himself from carrying on his sentence and closes his eyes. I bury my head in his chest, relishing the closeness and desperately trying to reassure him. This side of him is a completely new side that I haven’t seen before, and I’m not sure that I like it. I am vaguely aware that we don’t go up to Sam’s floor. We get off on another floor.

  “I just need to check on something, babe.” Sam’s voice is soft, and he takes my hand, leading me down a light grey corridor with grey slate flooring all the way down. He taps the door, and I hear Cole’s deep rumbling voice.

  “Come in.”

  Sam swings the door open. Sam doesn’t say anything but gestures me in before himself. I step into the room closely followed by Sam, and I am faced with some sort of surveillance room which I haven’t seen before. There is a bank of small flat screen TVs mounted on the wall, and Cole is sitting in front of them with his feet up on the desk, his hands casually behind his head. He's wearing black dress trousers, a white shirt with two buttons undone, and is studying the footage closely.

  “How are you getting on, mate?”

  Cole takes a deep breath. “Nothing to report so far, mate, I’m still checking the footage from the night in question. I made a copy and handed one to the police, but I’m hoping to find something they might have missed. It’s looking less and less likely if I’m honest.”

  He looks at me and nods. I smile, but I know it doesn’t reach my eyes.

  “I’ve forwarded the footage to Diego Sanchez; the guy’s a genius, best at what he does, he might be able to come up with something.”

  He watches the screens carefully and rewinds the footage back.

  “The person who did this… I want them fucking caught, Cole.” Sam’s voice is harsh and cold. He turns from Cole to me. “Do you think I’m letting you out of my sight knowing that there’s still some fucking psycho out there who wants to hurt you?.”

  There’s that possessive streak again. I don’t know whether to be alarmed or grateful at his protectiveness, so I brush his arm.

  “You can’t keep me locked up in your castle in the sky, babe. I need to work.”

  His muscles tense and his nostrils flare.

  “Then quit. I’m more than happy to take care of you, angel, I’m a very rich man.”

  I shake my head. “No. I’m not quitting; I happen to like my job. It’s who I am, it’s what I love, it’s my passion. I’m not giving it up for you or some jealous psycho who’s gunning for my blood.”

  Sam looks up to the ceiling and takes a deep breath.

  “Stubborn woman, fine. If you need to work, I’ll drive you myself every morning. I’ll meet you for lunch and pick you up after work if that’s what it takes. I have spoken to Seb and someone will be watching the shop twenty-four seven. If I can’t drive you myself, then I’ll send Cole. You’re all right with that, aren’t you, mate?”

  Sam’s tone of voice tells me it isn’t a request—more of an order. Cole just smiles and nods, giving me a knowing look as if to say, ‘just humour him’.

  “Yeah, sure, Sam, all part of the job description, mate.”

  Cole suddenly sits up straight in his seat and pushes himself closer to the screen. He backs up the footage; Sam leans on the back of Cole’s chair and looks closer.

  “Can you push in on that please, mate?”

  I am daunted and unnerved by the amount of security Sam has in his building. It is all very hi-tech and very big brother is watching. I look at what has caught their eyes.

  “Are you seeing what I’m seeing, mate?”

  Cole backs it up again and zooms in further. I can’t take my eyes away from the screen. A tall figure moves with precision and grace in front of the camera. It all happens so quickly, but slowed down, it looks like a tall, slender, young girl wearing black jogging bottoms and a pink Rancid Vengeance hoodie. She has long, straight, bleached-blonde hair, black-rimmed glasses, and a black baseball cap. The same girl is picked up again in the parking garage but disappears into a blind spot, which was near to where my car was parked. She’s gone for approximately ten minutes, according to the timer on the screen, and then reappears outside the front of the building. I stand there opened-mouthed, and Sam leans down on the desk.

  “Mother fucker,” he growls. “How the fucking fuck did we miss this?” He bangs his fist down on the desk.

  “Sam, calm down, mate. Not in front of your lady, it won’t help things.”

  Cole’s voice is calm and soothing; it is the most I have heard him speak since I met him. I am still in shock at what I have seen on the screen. I was right; maybe it was a scorned woman or just a jealous fan that’s responsible for this. Sam gets his phone out of his pocket and starts frantically tapping at the screen. He holds it up to his ear.

  “Yeah. It’s Sam. We’ve got something. You need to get down here right now. I’ll make it worth your while. No, the longer you leave it, the longer my girl is in danger. You of all people should understand that. I don’t give a fuck. Good, I’ll see you in ten. Yeah, make sure you do. OK, bye.”

  Even agitated, he still looks gorgeous; he hangs up the phone and plants a kiss on top of my head.

  “Everything’s going to be all right, baby, I promise.”

  He smiles, and it feels like ages since I saw that beautiful smile on his handsome face.

  “I need to make some more calls, angel. I’ll be right back.” He winks and kisses my cheek. “Look after my girl, Cole.”

  Cole smirks and salutes. “Yes, boss!”

  Sam smiles and leaves the room, leaving me in the company of Cole.

  “Is he like this with all the women he has been with?” My curiosity gets the better of me. Cole takes a sip of his coffee and laughs.

  “Nope, just you, sugar. No other women have come close to the way he is with you. He is a good guy; he quite clearly worships the ground you walk on. I’ve never seen him this way with anyone before. He actually wakes up with a purpose, and it’s refreshing to see.” Cole’s voice is warm, and I relish the information he is giving me.

  “What was he like before? You know, the drugs?”

  Cole hangs his head. “He told you about that, huh?”

  I nod and regard him intently.

  “He was a complete mess. I thought he was going to kill himself before he hit twenty-five. He and Brody are not good together, they’re a bad influence on each other. Sam knows it, and everyone else knows it. J.D and the band won’t fire him because they all have some twisted loyalty to him. All except for Jax. Jax sees what effect he has on Sam, and he resents Brody for it. I know the whole rehab thing was hard on you, Peyton, but you have to understand he was trying to protect you and he was a completely different person back then. He cared for no one, he shagged around with countless groupies, no feelings, no emotions, nothing. It was like he was dead behind the eyes. Since you came along, he has changed, he has a purpose, and he is hopelessly in love with you.”

  He smiles
a genuine wide straight smile and continues, “I know it’s none of my business, but you need to be a little more understanding. I like you, you’re a genuine girl, and you make him happy. When he found out you were in that accident, it was as if his whole world was crumbling around him. When stuff like that happens, it triggers off something inside his head, something just clicks, and he hits the self-destruct button. He was devastated, I had never seen him that broken before. Not over a woman, anyway. He would give his life to protect you, but he doesn’t like stuff happening that he can’t control. The whole driving you to work? Please just humour him, it will make my job so much easier and more bearable.”