Page 41 of Tess, Property of Blaze

He shakes his head. “Nope, all done. I have an hour before the next client comes through.” He steps closer. “What are you doing?”

“I’m….” I look back down at the desk, grab the card when I spot it tucked into a corner of the drawer, and then take the final steps to reach him. “Here, take this.”

Jeff accepts the card and takes a minute to read it. He flashes me a confused look a few seconds later. “What the hell do I need this for?”

I drop my bag and lean in and hug him. “I want you to know that you’ve been a great friend to me, and I will miss you.”

“What the fuck!” he growls, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to look at him. “Tell me right now, Tess, what’s going on?”

“I’m leaving,” I confess in a whisper. “I’m going back to Viper.”

“You’re what?” he shouts, shock and confusion warring on his face. “You can’t go back. Are you fuckin’ crazy, he’s a maniac!”

I swallow around the lump lodged in my throat. “I have no choice, Jeff. He wants me there, and if I don’t…. If I don’t go, he’ll hurt Blaze and the Blood Brothers. I can’t do that to them. They’re my family.”

Jeff’s jaw goes impossibly tight. “Are you hearing yourself right now? He beat you, raped you, and treated you like a whore. You can’t go back to him, Tess.” He pulls away and begins to pace, running his hand down the back of his neck. “You can’t go, Tess, I won’t let you.”

I stare over at him, trying hard to hold my emotions in check. “You have to let me go, he will hurt the ones I care about—including you.”

He stills, his hands now on his hips. “You need to run. I’ll help you, Tess. Blaze will too. Surely he can’t agree with you going back. Does he know?”

“Blaze doesn’t love me anymore,” I say, the utter defeat I feel at the whole situation coming through in my voice. “He knows.”

Jeff looks at me, his eyes wide. “He knows? He knows everything?”

I nod. “Yep, everything. I went back to the clubhouse, only to find that Blaze had a file on me. It had everything in there—everything, Jeff—and he hates me.”

Jeff shakes his head. “He doesn’t hate you, he’s just angry right now. Fuck! What do you expect after he finds out that the woman he loves is already married, and to another biker.”

“I get it, Jeff, I do. I don’t blame him for hating me—for God’s sake, I hate myself. I have nothing if I don’t have Blaze,” I say softly as I lean against the desk. “I’m ready, Jeff. I’m ready to face the music and go back to Viper. It’s what I have to do to protect everyone.”

Jeff shakes his head angrily. “I won’t let you go, Tess. I won’t let you go back to that asshole.”

Tears spring to my eyes. “Jeff, you’ve been a good friend. A loyal one. And I want you to have Ink Me.” It’s something I’ve thought about all day. I can’t see myself ever coming back to New York after I leave—I most likely won’t be allowed to go anywhere—so it makes no sense to hold on to the business. I came to New York with nothing, I’ll be leaving the same way, it seems. With just my duffel and some memories, but at least this time they’ll be good ones.

His eyes widen and he takes a step forward. “No fuckin’ way….”

“Please, Jeff, it’s all I have to give you, and you deserve it. Please, it will mean so much to me if you keep it going.” There’ll be times I’ll need to escape my mind, and knowing I’ll have Ink Me to focus on, be able to imagine Jeff wielding his needle and chatting away to our diverse range of clients, will keep me going through the dark times ahead.

He looks at me, his eyes filled with dread. “Tess, you don’t have to do this, there must be a way.”

My laugh drips with sarcasm. “A way? Did you know that right now as we speak, Snake, a Forseekers member, is out the front watching my every move, to ensure I do go back to Viper? Do you realize that, Jeff?”

Tears are now running freely down my face, and Jeff pulls me in for a hug and I sob into his chest. “Oh, Tess, won’t you please let me help you?”

I sniffle and look up at him. “I wish you could, but there’s nothing anyone can do to save me from Viper.” I wipe away my tears then step out of his embrace. “I have to go,” I say, leaning down and picking up my bag.

“Fuck!” he grunts, but I continue to walk to the door, not able to turn around and face him.

“Tess!”

I hold still in the doorway. “Yes,” I whisper, still not able to turn around.

“Take care of yourself. I’m here if you need me, remember that.”

I lean my forehead on the edge of the door and nod. “Thanks, Jeff, you’re a good friend.”

And then I’m running headlong out of the shop, ready to face whatever life has in store for me next.

---