Page 112 of The Devil's Scars

“The end, you stubborn jerk. That means, this conversation is over.”

“But Keira –”

“Will come with me, and you’ll live with us when you’re between treatments and physio sessions and can leave,” she said calmly. “Any other objections?”

“Ummmm.” He blinked rapidly. “About a hundred.”

“I don’t care. Shelve them. Forget them. Write them on a piece of paper and eat them. This is happening.”

“The parlor –”

“Is burned to the ground. It’s also a crime scene. A man died there, after an attempted kidnapping, and a serious injury. The cops have made it clear that it’s going to take a couple of months to investigate and clear everything, and we can’t touch the parlor until they declare it not a crime scene. And then Wolf needs to get it inspected and assessed, then start planning and building, and he needs to hire an accountant to help with budgeting and expenses, then he has to insure everything. Nothing will happen in terms of actual building for at least two months, probably more, and I won’t even have a parlor to manage for another two after that, and frankly, Saint can take over if he has to. So – I’d say I’m pretty free for the foreseeable future, huh?”

“Uh.” He scrambled to find another objection. “Where would you and Keira live?”

“Jesus,” she said, disbelieving at how badly he was grasping at straws. “Good point, Scars! I mean, it’s not like California has apartments for rent or anything… Christ, thanks for pointing out this insurmountable problem to me. I’d better call the whole thing off.”

“Zoe –”

“Anything else weighing on your mind? Anything legitimate?”

“Yeah – I mean – just – well – I –”

“Yes?” She put her hands on her hips, tossed her blonde hair, glared down at him. “Yes?”

“I love you, Zoe.”

“I love you too,” she snapped back. “And that’s not an answer.”

“It’ll be hard,” he said slowly, finally stopping the ridiculous tap-dancing and telling her the truth. “Hard watching me like that. I’ll be angry sometimes, say that what happened was unfair. I won’t want to talk to you, see you… I won’t want Keira to be there some days, much as I adore her. I’ll – I’ll be a royal prick sometimes, as I go through things and work them out. I’ll need time alone. Days on end, maybe. I’ll take things out on you, even though I know that’s not right. I’ll feel sorry for myself once in a while. I’ll be resentful of having to go through all of that shit – again. I’ll want things to be different. I’ll want to run away. I’ll rage and vent and say awful things, then I’ll apologize and just have to hope that you accept and forgive and move on with me. I’m going to hurt you –the woman that I love – and I know that I will. You hearing me, baby? I won’t be the man that you remember, not for a long time. Maybe not ever again.”

“Oh, babe.” She spoke softly, amazed yet again at the absolute, stunning beauty of this man’s heart. “I don’t care who you become through this. However you remain the same, or however you change, whoever you are at the end of all of this, whoever you become… don’t you know that you’ll be incredible?”

“You really think so?”

“I know so.” Zoe sat down again, reached for him tentatively, was overjoyed when he held her fingers tightly. “You waited for me, Scars. You stuck by me, and kept showing up, and kept faith in me, even when I pushed you away or was a full-throttle bitch or defensive as hell. You kept telling me that you weren’t going to take anything less than my best, and then you let me find my way there. My way to you. You’ve shown me how to be strong and patient, how to believe in someone who hasn’t yet come to believe in themselves. You did it for me, and now… now I’m going to do it for you.”

She smiled, even as those sky-blue eyes shone up at her with tears. Happy tears, she knew.

“You take your time, babe,” she said. “Do what you have to, say what you need to, feel however you have to. And I promise you – none of it will drive me away, because damned if I’m going anywhere. I’m here now, I’ll be there through it all, I’m going to be there at the end of it. That’s a promise, a guarantee, a blood oath.”

“An oath forged in fire?” he asked, and she loved his light, joking tone.

“Forged in fire,” she repeated, dropping the smallest, softest kiss humanly possible on his lips. “You walked through fire for me and my daughter, Scars… I can sure as hell wait for you to walk back to me, in your own way, in your own time. And when you do that, we’ll be there with open arms. On my life, my heart, babe. I love you. We’re waiting.”

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