Page 118 of Music City Diaries

Maddox grinned, his eyes slanting with the motion. Something told me I might regret asking him, but I couldn’t deny it would be nice to feel stronger and more prepared.

“We’ll start when we stop next. Now, let’s grab those two before we’re late for our appointment. Bubba will ground us all then, and we’d get nowhere.”

Chuckling, I walked over with Maddox to Grayson and Darcie as they kissed against his bike. I already felt lighter and knew I owed Maddox for talking me off the ledge.

“Hey, lovebirds, we have an appointment to keep,” Maddox shouted, breaking them apart.

Darcie frowned at being stopped until Maddox’s words registered. Her eyes lit up, and she gave a little happy dance as she looked at us.

“It’s time?” she asked.

Nodding, I reached out to her. Little moments like this made me realize how much I missed her. I’d been unnecessarily holding myself back as a form of punishment.

She easily took my hand, falling into my arms as she grinned at me. This was what I needed to focus on. Not what I couldn’t give her, but what I did.

All four of us climbed into the truck with Grayson driving. The drive to the shop was quiet as we fell into silence. The parking lot was empty since it was Sunday afternoon, and most businesses were closed. Waylon had come in earlier to prepare for his departure. He’d talked with Slade, and they’d hired a temporary assistant to cover the shop while he was gone.

I knew it had to be hard for him to step away when he felt Slade was counting on him to man the store. But when Darcie needed him, Waylon didn’t blink when it came to a decision for us all to go with her.

Stepping into the tattoo shop, I swallowed some nerves, focusing on what this next step would represent.

“Waylon!” Darcie shouted, practically skipping as she entered. “I want to go first.”

He stepped out from the back office, a grin peeking out between his beard. “You sure about that, baby?”

“Yep. I’m ready.” She flopped down into the chair, turning her forearm over. Waylon sat down, pulling on his gloves as he got ready to work. The rest of us stood back to watch, and I wondered if they were as nervous as I was for my turn. I didn’t do well with needles, but for Darcie and them, I would suck it up and deal with it. This was an important step, after all.

When Darcie had told us about the bounty on her head and her decision to return home to face her father and the man that had sent her running, we knew we couldn’t let her go alone. She told us her plan to claim her legacy instead of hiding from it, tired of running from the past.

It wasn’t a question of joining her, but more of what it meant for us as a whole. It didn’t feel right to join the Mavericks, a club that had let Darcie down when she needed them the most. But the Brotherhood no longer fit either. We’d become more than that.

“Done,” Waylon said, wiping it before he put on some cream and gently wrapped her forearm.

Grayson went next, turning over the same wrist, not even caring that he was marring his skin and ruining potential modeling jobs. Darcie was more important than that.

Soon, Grayson was done, and Maddox went, leaving me standing as I watched. Even Waylon already had the mark; another artist had given it to him earlier today. I bit my lip as my foot bounced, my nerves coming to the forefront.

Darcie walked over, placing her hand on my knee. “If you don’t want to do it, it’s okay. I know you don’t like needles.”

I shook my head. “I’m doing it. It’s important.”

She kissed my cheek, stepping back so I could take my place in the seat. Sucking in a deep breath, I hurried over, focusing on everything else but what Waylon was doing.

I barely remembered breathing as the needle pierced my skin, my hand gripping the other side of the chair. It wasn’t until Darcie unfolded my fingers, taking my hand in hers, that I calmed. When it was over, I let out a huge breath, my lungs filling with oxygen as I remembered to breathe.

I glanced down at the tattoo that now resembled our group—a black outline of a crown with an R in the middle.

We were more than just the Brotherhood and the Mavericks; we were a family. A beautiful unity centered around one woman—our queen—merging to bring a new group into existence.

The Royals—united in blood, bonded in love.

With a sole focus of protecting our woman. Together, we were unstoppable, and that was a beautifully dangerous thing.

It was time for the Agonizer to pay for his sins and bow down to the Queen.

There was no escaping. The Royals were coming.

Beautiful Unity

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