Authors: Laurie Roma
His jaw dropped as it came back to him.
“Shit.”
“You’re telling me,” Nikita said wryly. “It’s
a small-fucking-world.”
Dare agreed. He had indeed been sent to
Russia on one of his first assignments with the taskforce, and Nikita had been
one of the agents in charge. He hadn’t interacted with her much since he’d been
at their temporary command center while she’d been out in the field, but he did
remember her. “What the hell are you doing in Breakers?”
“Running my shop, living my life. I’m retired
now, or as retired as I can be.”
“I’m done. Out.”
“Sure you are,” she said, her voice all but
dripping with sarcasm. “You’re never really done with that group of misfits. Get
used to that right now. But they mostly leave me alone now. It’s probably
because they know I might shoot them if they keep bothering me.”
Dare wasn’t sure if she was kidding or not.
“I told them I wanted out.”
“That doesn’t mean shit.” She waved a hand in
the air absently as she leaned against the counter. “Just keep saying it if it
makes you feel better, though. So, you’re Dr. Hottie.”
“What the hell?”
Nikita snickered as watched him. “That’s what
they’re calling you at the rescue center, didn’t you know?”
Dare scowled at her. Damn it. No, he hadn’t
known that. It irritated him that people were talking about him as
though...wait a minute. Was Evie calling him that, too?
Nikita laughed as she punched him on the
shoulder, making him wince. Damn it, the woman packed a punch, even if it was
supposed to be playful. “I don’t even want to know where your mind just went.
Come on, Doc. My station is over here.”
He followed her over to the chair closest to
the back, fighting the urge to rub his arm. She sat on a stool and crossed her
arms over her chest as she studied him, but he didn’t sit. “Do you know what
you want or are you one of those annoying people who doesn’t know and needs
help picking something?”
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea...”
She groaned, rolling her eyes at him. “You
are
one of those annoying people.”
“I know what I want,” he snapped before he
could help himself, staring at her with incredulity. “Is this how you talk to
all your clients? Because I have to say, I’m surprised you’re still in
business.”
Chuckling, she shook her head. “Naw, this is just
how I treat my friends. Since Hammer is marrying one of my best friends, that
practically makes us family, so get used to it.”
“Gee, aren’t I lucky.” Huffing out a breath,
he sat down on the black leather chair in front of her. He’d been putting off
getting the addition to his tattoo for far too long now, and he’d damn well do
it now. Even if he had to put up with this woman to see it done. He briefly
thought about waiting until Hunter was working to do this, but he considered it
might be easier dealing with a virtual stranger for this particular venture.
She waited patiently for him to speak, and he finally gave in with a frustrated
sigh.
“I need five barbs added to my arm tat,” he
bit out as he pushed up his short sleeve to expose his arm.
Her body seemed to tense. “That’s a very
specific number.”
“It is,” he said softly.
The grief was clear in her voice when she
asked, “Did we lose so many?”
Dare closed his eyes for a moment as he
struggled to control his emotions. Because she knew. She knew without him
having to say a word about what his tattoo stood for and what he’d been
through. He could see it in her knowing gaze.
And there was a kind of brutal comfort in
that.
He shook his head. “They were victims of the
bombings in Spain. Patients that I couldn’t save. Kind of stupid, huh?”
Nikita sat silently for a long minute, then
turned slowly on the stool until her back was facing him. “Do you see this?”
She pulled her hair to the side, exposing her
back. Dare stared at the tattoo design of a large tree that covered her back. The
bark of the tree was done in various shades of brown, and it continued below the
material of her tank top. He could see the majority of the branches were bare
on the top of the tree, creating a stark, ominous image. At first he thought it
was depressing, even grim looking, but as he looked closer he could see that
there were a dozen or more lush, green leaves blooming on some of the branches.
The leaves were vibrant with color, and had a sort of gleam to them as if they
were kissed by the sun’s rays and covered in morning dew.
“Doing what we do, we lose a lot of people.
Everyone deals with it differently. They may be gone, but I choose to keep them
with me this way.” She turned back around, and her violet eyes held a fierce
light in them now. “You’re creating a personal tribute. However you need to
remember isn’t stupid.”
Dare nodded his head, grateful for her
acceptance of something he’d never tried to explain to anyone before. “Thanks.”
She grunted in response. “Take off your shirt
or roll up the sleeve. I need a better look at your arm.”
He pulled off his t-shit, exposing his upper
body and turned so she could look at his right arm. The barbwire tattoo that
wound around his bicep was simply done in black and grays. It had been
something private he had done long ago to deal with his grief at losing a few
of his first patients, and he’d been adding to it ever since.
Nikita leaned closer, studying the design on
his arm. All business now, she said, “I’m going to have to add to the length of
the wire to add the barbs if you want them to be evenly spaced.”
“That’s fine.”
She turned away from him and began to set up
the things she needed, leaving Dare to sit and think as he watched her draw out
the addition on his arm freehand. As someone who had her own, Dare realized Nikita
had been right when she called it a personal tribute. But while she had decided
to give life to those she had lost, Dare had chosen to use the image of sharp,
jagged edges to represent the pain of each loss he felt.
Still, the meaning was the same.
When she was done, she asked, “What do you
think?”
Dare got up and looked in the mirror, then
down at his arm. “Perfect.”
“Great. Have a seat again. We’ll get started
in a minute.” The sound of buzzing filled the air as Nikita tested the
mechanical needle she would use to tattoo him. Once again, he looked around the
room and admired the comfortable atmosphere she had created in her space.
“You work in here alone?” Dare asked, unable
to keep the censure from his tone.
She shot him a smirk, clearly amused. “You
worried about me, Doc? Save your concern for anyone who comes in here wanting
to fuck me.”
Dare didn’t doubt she could handle herself,
but whatever remained of the southern gentlemen inside him still didn’t like
the thought of a woman working alone in such a secluded place. “So, people have
come in here and bothered you?”
Nikita let out a loud, aggrieved sigh. “You
just can’t help it can you? Just because I don’t have a penis doesn’t mean I
can’t take care of myself.”
“Christ, shoot a guy for caring,” he said
with a scowl. Damn, she was an obstinate woman. Smiling, she patted his arm.
What was with people doing that today?
“I
know Hunter works with you part-time...”
“He does. And I have two more guys that work
here at night. The security in this place is better than you can see, and I
have a sort of reputation around the area. People know better than to fuck with
me or mine. Trust me when I say I can take care of myself.” She lifted an armrest,
and locked it into place. “Put your arm up here.”
He did as she asked, and waiting as she put
new rubber gloves on. “How did you do it?”
She stopped what she was doing and looked up.
“Do what?”
“This,” he said, gesturing around the room.
“Get back to normal.”
She cocked her head to the side and raised a
brow as she sanitized the area on his arm where she would place the ink. “You
call this normal?”
Feeling like he’d found someone who
understood what he was going through, Dare glared at her impatiently. “You know
what I mean.”
“You don’t get it yet, do you, Doc? Normal is
relative. People like us can never go back to what we were. This
is
our new normal. You need to accept
that so you can learn how to deal with the now.”
“That’s...pretty fucking depressing.”
“It is what it is,” she said with a shrug. “You’re
a doctor. What would you tell someone who has lost an arm or a leg?”
He blew out a breath as he considered what
she said. “Logically, I know what you’re saying. It’s a different story getting
myself to believe it at this point. And frankly, it fucking sucks.”
“Buddy, you need to learn to embrace the
suck. If not, you’ll never be able to move on with your life. It’s good you
came here. To Breakers, I mean. It’s hard enough dealing with this shit, but at
least here there are other people who know what you’re going through. I can
tell you from personal experience that it makes it easier.” Nikita picked up
the mechanical needle, then dipped the tip into the black ink. “I’m going to
start now. Let me know if you need a break. I’ll give it to you, but I can’t
promise I won’t tell your friends you cried like a baby.”
Scowling again, he said, “You’re all heart.”
“Aren’t I just?”
Dare let his mind drift as he listened to the
mechanical buzzing as she worked on him. He forced himself to relax despite the
pain of getting the tattoo, and used the time to reflect on what they had
talked about. Dare didn’t know if Nikita was right or not, but he did feel
better being able to speak to her about it. It wasn’t easy for him to talk
about this shit, but perhaps he had been avoiding dealing with everything by
keeping to himself.
The tattoo didn’t take long and he was
pleased when he saw the finished product. Despite Nikita’s somewhat abrasive
manner, he felt easy around her. Talking to her had been like talking to one of
the guys, not that he was stupid enough to say that out loud. She was a beautiful
woman, but he had a feeling she was just as deadly. Like a viper waiting to
strike, and Dare felt sorry for whatever man took her on. Regardless, he knew
without being told that he was lucky a woman like her considered him a friend.
Feeling slightly foolish with a paper towel
taped around his arm, Dare decided against going to the gym for a workout like
he’d originally planned. Instead, he got back on his bike and went for a drive.
There was only so much he could take, and he’d had enough self-torture of
socializing today.
Being a doctor, he knew he should wear a
helmet when riding. He had one, but he enjoyed feeling the wind on his face at
the moment too much to wear it. He opted to go slower and just enjoy the drive.
He drove for about an hour before he began to head back to Breakers. It was a
good area, and he could see why Hammer had chosen to come back to the area when
given the choice.
A man could find peace here, Dare thought. He
hadn’t had a home since he’d left his family when he joined the Army, and it
hadn’t even been a real home back then. Considering settling down somewhere made
him feel a good amount of anxiety, but he also felt a little bit of longing,
which surprised him. It left him feeling conflicted about whether or not to put
down roots just yet.
Hell, there was a lot he wasn’t sure of
still.
And that meant he had a lot of thinking to
do.
Chapter Five
There
she is...
Dare saw Evie walking with her four dogs down
by the pond as soon as he pulled into the drive heading toward the boarding
house. Without thinking, he bypassed his turn off and continued on until he
found himself parking near the pond. It was late in the evening and the stars
were beginning to fill the sky overhead as the sun sank into the horizon. He
turned off his bike, getting off of it to walk toward her. All four dogs ran
forward and he bent down to greet them even though he couldn’t seem to take his
gaze of Evie’s face.
Twilight seemed to suit her.
She joined them at a more sedate pace, almost
as if she were hesitating, but he couldn’t really blame her for that. He’d been
an ass yesterday. Hell, he’d been an ass every time he was around her. It was
as if he just couldn’t help himself, but he’d try.
Damn it, he’d try to act normal around her
now...even if it killed him.
That was one thing he’d come to terms with on
his ride. Since the moment he first saw Evie, his desire for her had been
sparked, and those flames just seemed to grow each time he was with her. There
was something about her that drew him. It wasn’t just her appearance. No, it
was more than that. Not only was she beautiful, she was also dedicated, hard
working and cared deeply for others. His respect for her grew with each bit of
information he learned about her, and it made him want to understand her
better.