Falling Into Place (25 page)

“I drank myself into a stupor last night.
Robert was in the room, and I panicked, running to the bathroom to
lock myself in. They heard me retching, and next thing I know,
we’re all three in the shower, and things were getting heated.
Everything sort of fell into place and we wound up in bed. It’s
more than just fucking. We’re all connected.”

“Good. I can’t see you without Robert, and I
can’t see you without Tremaine. So, if you three are all happy,
then that’s what counts.”

“Really? You aren’t disgusted by me with the
two of them when they…,” Liz couldn’t even finish that sentence. A
vampire had mindfucked them into raping Fallon. Liz refused to
imagine that scene because it wasn’t the same, but fuck, it messed
with her head if she stopped to think about it.

“Look, Liz, what happened at Malachi’s hands
had nothing to do with Tremaine or Robert. Neither of them would
have ever done that. I know that, they know that. It only gets
awkward when someone else brings it up. You work well with Robert,
you work well with Tremaine, and they work well together even if I
assumed it was in a purely platonic way. In some strange way, the
three of you make sense. That’s the only part that matters.”

Liz let out a breath and smiled weakly.
“Thank you. I feel a little better knowing it doesn’t cause any bad
feelings.”

“Don’t worry about that. Now, if I do this
spell, there is something you should know. It will prevent you from
seeing any illusion or glamour. Once it’s done, it’s done. You
might not always like seeing a fae’s true form, or even a demon’s,
but in this case, I doubt you’ll mind.”

“Please, I don’t care about that. I can
handle anything’s true form. Especially if I can never mistake
either Robert or James again. Or anyone James might try to
impersonate.” Liz bit her lip and stared into Fallon’s eyes. “I’ll
pay whatever, but please, tell me you have time to do it now.”

“Where do you want it?” Fallon asked
thoughtfully as she inspected her abdomen, probably staring at the
scars.

“I honestly don’t care. I need to have this
done though.”

“You might want to let your men know you
will be gone a few hours. That is, if you want me to camouflage the
scars. No one will know unless they know about them and are
searching for them.”

“Really? You can do that?” Liz whispered as
her hands drifted over her flat tummy. “I mean, Tremaine knows
about the scars, and last night Robert found them, and sort of made
me feel okay about them when he….” She clamped her hands over her
mouth with wide eyes. “Shit, sorry, I need a drink, and I need to
shut up.”

“For the record, I’m over what happened. If
you need to share, I’m all ears. Robert was always yours, and after
the last twenty years I always wondered why you weren’t with
Tremaine. Besides, it’s good to see a genuine smile on your
face.”

“Yeah, well you’re smiling a whole lot more
now than you used to. All thanks to Brody.” Liz grinned.

Fallon laughed. “So, a drink? I won’t let
you get shitfaced, but you can have a shot or two.”

“I don’t need to be drunk. Just need the
edge off,” Liz shrugged. “If not, I’ll deal.”

“We don’t have your rum, but I believe Adam
has a bottle of Jamison and Hennessey. I’m sure he’d give you a
shot or two.”

Liz yanked her t-shirt back on and stepped
into the hall. The guys were all sitting at the front tables. They
looked up.

“So,” Liz said before anyone could open
their mouths, “I need a shot or two before we get started. I’m
getting a bigger piece than I thought, and if Fallon’s right, I’ll
even let you all see it.” She pulled her phone out.

Adam glanced at Fallon, who nodded. He
hopped up. “I’ll be right back. Oh, one more thing, Hennessey or
Jamison?”

“Hennessey, please,” Liz said before
speed-dialing Tremaine.

He answered before the first ring ended.
“Hey doll, you okay?”

“Yeah, maybe better than okay. Fallon says
it might be a few hours. I don’t want you two to worry.”

“Mind if we come to you when you’re done?”
he murmured.

She couldn’t help smiling. “Sure. You’ll be
seeing it sooner or later anyway. I’ll call, all right.”

“No problem, but Robert wants to say
something to you.”

With a sigh, she agreed. “Sure.” She dreaded
what would come out of his mouth.

“Baby, don’t do anything you aren’t
comfortable with. I trust you completely.”

“I’m doing what I want. Please, I need to do
this. I’ll call when I’m done. Okay?”

“All right. I love you, Liz.”

“Me too,” Tremaine called before she hung
up.

Thank God she was right by the table,
because she plopped down on it with a stunned look on her face.

“Here you are, Liz.” Adam handed her a
double and she gulped it down.

“Thank you.” She knew she wore a stupid
grin, but they both said they loved her. She knew they meant it.
“One more please. I need to not think too much.”

“You have other tattoos. It won’t hurt that
bad,” Adam teased.

“It’s not that. I’m happy, really happy. I’m
terrified of it all falling apart and it will be my fault. I’m a
serious pain in the ass, and Robert’s going to remember that sooner
or later. Tremaine won’t care, but Robert….” Liz took a deep breath
and closed her eyes. “Anyway, he swears he won’t leave, so I need
to simply accept it, but that’s a lot harder than it sounds.”

She felt a big, warm hand squeeze her
shoulder and looked over to find Brody smiling back at her.

“Stop questioning it. It was pretty obvious
last night that they both love you. I can’t see either of them
leaving you.”

“They keep saying that.” She managed a smile
and tried to let go of the doubt. She set her glass down and stood
up. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Boys,” Fallon interrupted, “leave her
alone. Liz will be fine in a few. We’re just going to lock the door
and seal in the sound so you can’t snoop.” She winked. “We need a
little girl talk.” Fallon turned and Liz followed her back.

Once the door was shut and the sound spell
in place, Fallon handed over a piece of paper. There was a
beautiful phoenix drawn on the sheet, and Liz knew that was the
sketch, what would be tattooed across her skin would be
phenomenal.

“Really? Where?” Liz whispered as she
stared.

Fallon grinned, “If it’s too much, tell me,
but here’s what I’m thinking.” She put her fingers on Liz’s hip.
“The tail would start here, and the bird would sort of drape across
to here.” Her fingers touched higher on the other side of her
waist. “To about here. Considering everything you’ve overcome, I
thought a phoenix was sort of perfect for you.”

Liz nodded slowly. “It is. I love it. And
you know I trust you to do whatever and make it stunning. So tell
me how naked I need to be.”

Fallon laughed out loud. “Well, you can pull
your shirt up, but considering it’s your hips, your pants have to
go. Sorry.”

Liz didn’t mind Fallon seeing her. Fallon
had her own share of shitty past to deal with so Liz stripped down
and hopped onto the chair. “I leave the rest up to you.”

* * * *

“What’s taking her so long?” Robert demanded
as he rounded the corner, pushing his hands through his hair. He
came face to face with Tremaine who stepped into his path. “Do you
think she’s okay?” Robert asked, a little too desperately.

Tremaine took him by the shoulders, moving
into his space. “Seriously, Robert, chill the fuck out. She’s fine.
She’s at Inktastic. Fallon is probably giving her some hot tattoo
for us to explore.”

Robert did grin a little at that, but he
couldn’t get a million horrible thoughts out of his head. “It’s
been two hours. We haven’t heard from her.” Robert shook his head.
“What if James made it here?”

Tremaine sighed heavily, one brow arching.
“Then take us to the shop if it will calm your ass down. You’re
giving me a headache with all of your worrying.”

“Twenty-one years and I finally have her
back. Of course I’m going to worry, especially after what she went
through.” Robert turned away, pulling out of Tremaine’s grasp.

Tremaine pulled him right back and caught
his chin in a rough grasp. “Don’t do that. I took care of her.
She’s tougher than anyone I know. Liz pulled through, and she is
stronger for it.”

“I should never have let her go.” Roberts’s
chest heaved as he fought back a wave of emotion so strong it
wanted to bring him to his knees. “Why didn’t I listen?”

“Fuck if I know,” Tremaine whispered as he
brushed his thumb over Robert’s cheek, his warm brown eyes delving
into his own. “She has us. She’ll be fine. So stop stressing.”

“Maybe we should go there now.”

Tremaine’s mouth quirked and he nodded
slightly. “Sure. I want to see what new ink Liz has.”

Robert’s chin dipped and they were standing
in the lobby of Inktastic.

“Shit, I hate it when you do that,” Brody
griped.

Amethyst giggled, her eyes sparkling. “I
don’t know. I’m sort of jealous. I can think of plenty of times
popping out of one place and to another would be so very
handy.”

Robert naturally relaxed in her presence.
She had a calming effect on most people. He took a deep breath and
smiled back at her. “If I could teach you, I would.”

Tremaine stepped back and tried to hide a
smirk. “Hey, Brody. Think Fallon will take much longer?”

Brody shook his head. “Doubt it. She works
fast, and Liz strikes me as the type who won’t cry at a little
pain.”

Robert’s breath caught, but he shook his
head.

Tremaine laughed. “Yeah, she’s tough all
right.”

Tomahawk walked out. “I don’t understand why
Liz insisted on locking us out. She’s insecure about something,
probably some silly girl thing that makes no sense to us guys.”

Tremaine shot a dirty look Tom’s way. “She’s
worried about her scars. They don’t detract from her, but she
doesn’t see it that way.”

“Scars?” Brody frowned. “Hell, I’ve seen
your scars. What could she possibly be worried about?”

And Tremaine did have scars on his hands and
up his forearms. Robert had his own set of scars. It made sense
that Liz had her own. She was beautifully flawed, but she was a
part of Robert, and a part of Tremaine.

The door opened and Robert and Tremaine’s
heads snapped in the direction of the hall. Liz came out with her
bottom lip caught between her teeth. And then lit up when she saw
them there. “I was getting ready to call in a second.”

“Doofus over there got impatient and
couldn’t wait,” Tremaine cast Robert a sideways glance. “And
really, I was getting there too.”

Robert’s brow arched. “How is it?”

“Perfect,” Liz grinned and lifted up her
t-shirt and pushed her pants lower.

Tremaine dropped to his knees in front of
her and ran his fingers over the vibrant phoenix that hid her
scars, but he still knew just where they were.

“Now that is sexy, doll,” Trem murmured.

Robert came over and picked her up. She
squealed until he sat her down on the table to take a closer look.
“That’s beautiful, but shouldn’t it still be raw?”

Fallon shook her head. “Nope. Dakota helped
me tweak the ointment. I figured you all would appreciate that.”
She winked.

Robert ducked his head.

Tremaine laughed. “Damned right about that.
I don’t want to hurt her when we get carried away.”

Liz pushed Robert back, and stood. She
turned to Fallon. “Thank you. I love it. Now that I’ve taken up
half your day, I think we’ll take off.

“It looks good,” Brody said.

Amethyst and Tom both nodded.

“Thanks, and Fallon, really, thank you.
We’ll see you later,” Liz said before she hurried to the door. Her
guys followed her.

* * * *

Liz was a little nervous. Robert seemed to
like the ink, but there was something in his expression she
couldn’t figure out. Guilt maybe, but why?

She climbed into her Land Cruiser and Robert
popped in beside her. Tremaine let out a chuckle and climbed into
the back. She looked over at Robert and took his hand.

“Were you really worried, baby?” She asked
tenderly.

He stared at her for a moment before his
eyes slid shut and he nodded. “Even when Tremaine dragged me out to
do some shopping for dinner, I was worried. I kept wondering if
maybe James would show up early.”

She nodded slowly. “Well, you need to
remember that I’m not going to change my plans or alter my schedule
just because you worry. You always worry.” She fired up her vehicle
and tossed him a smile. “Besides, I can take care of myself.”

His eyes grew stormy and his jaw tightened,
but he kept his mouth shut.

She sighed. “If you’re thinking about the
night your brother attacked me, then yeah, you’re right. I let him
have my back and I’ll regret that for the rest of my life, but that
wasn’t going to happen in a shop full of people. So stop.”

He sat back in his seat and stared out the
windshield. “I realize that. It’s why I kept it to myself.”

Tremaine leaned over the seat, and quietly
spoke into her ear. “Just remember, he held his tongue for you. He
drove me nuts for a couple hours, but he’s not bitching now. Give
him a break.”

She snorted. “Fine.”

“Oh,” Robert sat up, “I invited Christian
and Delilah to dinner. With James heading this way, it’s probably
best to tell him where he came from. It might help to keep him
safe. I just hope he doesn’t question himself because of his
father.”

Liz nodded. “I doubt he will. I mean he
doesn’t seem to care who his parents are. He knows he has his Uncle
Bobby.” She winked at Robert. “He has me, Old Lady Murdock still
comes around, and Tremaine has been like an uncle to him. So
really, the kid knows he’s loved.”