Page 20 of The Devil's Pair

“We’re done, Elle. It’s done.”

Viking helped Elle to her feet and Zoe handed her a mirror, then positioned her so she could see the reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror on the wall behind her.

“Go on, baby,” Viking said quietly. “Look at yourself.”

Elle took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a few seconds to remember the woman who had inspired this tattoo. As always, her first memory of Lily – one of Elle’s fellow woman-servants, back when she’d been Iris in Gideon’s Garden – was of Lily’s naked, twisted body. Her blue, twisted face. Swinging and fighting and dying in the noose, then still and grey and dead on the freezing basement floor.

But now Elle remembered Lily alive – all pink and blonde and blue, small and bright. She’d been truly beautiful, and although Elle had never known Lily’s real name, she’d decided on a tattoo to honour her sister-in-arms. Lily was the only thing from her time in the Garden that Elle was willing to bring into her new life, and she’d carry her with pride, with reverence.

Elle opened her eyes now, lifted the mirror, took a deep breath. And looked.

The pink lily across her back was lush and vibrant; she could almost catch the scent of its delicate petals as they unfurled. The leaves were a cool, dark green, the pollen was a warm gold. She looked hard, shereallysearched, but that ugly word that Gideon had inked into her back was hidden, it was gone, replaced by something breathtakingly lovely. Zoe had so cleverly used the lines and curves of those awful four letters to draw the petals and the leaves, and somehow she had completely covered over, erased, destroyed the word.

“Oh, God.” Elle’s eyes prickled with tears. “Zoe… it’s gorgeous. It’sperfect. Thank you. Thank yousomuch.”

Scars and Viking nodded silently as their women embraced, then watched as Zoe covered the tattoo witha thinlayer of antibiotic ointment andplastic wrap. She smiled at Viking.

“OK, star employee of mine,” she said to him. “I’m charging you with all the aftercare, as usual. You know the drill, and there’s been zero reaction to infection so far, so I’ll trust you to carry this over the finish line.”

“You got it, boss.” Viking saluted smartly. “Now get over here, baby. Let’s get you dressed and home for a quiet night on the sofa.”

“With bad reality TV?” Elle said with a wince as Viking gently helped her into her oversized, button-down denim shirt. “And with Pringles?”

“C’monnow, Elle,” Viking said. “You think I don’t have a few tubes of Pringles stashed around the house for you?”

“I love you,” she said. “I love you so much.”

“Because I feed your Pringles addiction?”

“Among other reasons. Many,manyother reasons.”

They smiled at each other, a thousand words passing between them, then said goodbye to Scars and Zoe. Off they went, Elle held protectively against Viking’s massive frame.

Scars and Zoe looked at each other now.

“So,” Zoe said. She plunked back down in her chair, grabbed her water bottle again. “I think that we were supposed to talk about something… what was it… whatwasit?”

“Smart-ass,” Scars growled, sorry that she was sitting on the amazing ass so he couldn’t give it another smack. “Our wedding date, Zoe. I was thinking about it.”

“OK. Shoot, handsome.”

“I really want it in November, and I want to be married out at Open Skies Ranch. I’ve already called and they still have a weekend free. The owner Julie said that she’ll hold it for us, if we want it. She knows Cowboy, and he put in a good word for us.”

“Uh, OK.” She blinked at him, a bit taken aback at his vehemence. “I’m totally open to that, no problem for me. November, Halloween, next Christmas, at a ranch or in Vegas or standing on my head and wearing spangles in a circus ring… I’m going to show up whenever, wherever, for whatever, so long as you’re waiting for me when I get there. Is there some reason why you want it in November specifically?”

“Yeah.” He took a deep breath. “That’s the month that my parents got married.”

“Oh.” Right away, she got to her feet, came over and embraced him. His arms snaked around her waist and held tight, and shefelthow much this meant to him. “Say no more, babe. November it is. We’ll make this happen.”

“Thank you. I just – I know they can’t be there, but they had such a great marriage, baby. So much love and laughter, so muchjoy, you know? Losing them at the same time was so goddamnhard, but a part of me has always been kind of grateful that they died together. If one of them had lost the other and had to go on without them – I don’t know, Zoe. I know the survivor would have carried on for me and Sam, but they’d have been mostly dead.” He sighed. “I just feel like – like it’s a lucky month for marriage, and it’s always meant the best kind of love to me, and this feels like a – like a way to have them there in spirit. Maybe it’s a bit of a way to honor them, too.”

“I get it, Scars, and I am totally on-board. Call Julie back, like rightnow. Tell her we’ll be there in November.” She kissed him on the top of his head, amazed that it was somehow possible to love this tough, tender man more with every single passing day. “I’ll be the one in the white dress.”

Chapter Five

Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

The next day

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