Permanent (Indelibly Marked) (Volume 1) (34 page)

“I should have gone right there,” Lindsay whispered. “I sabotaged myself.” Everything since leaving the hotel was nonsense. Going to the apartment and the shop, was all an excuse. She was terrified of facing him. “I ruined us.”

“Lindsay.” Emily rubbed her back. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head and opened the door. “I need to get out of the car.”

“We’ll make it.” Carson honked his horn.

“I ruined us.” Not sure what to do next, she got out of the car just as Ivan’s motorcycle rumbled toward her.

He pulled up beside her and held a helmet out. “Get on.”

She hesitated.

“Shane’s my best friend.” He set his jaw.

“I know.”

“He deserves to have you there.”

She took the helmet.

“You deserve to have him, too.”

“I ruined everything.” She let the tears go and looked into his eyes, knowing he would give her an honest answer.

“Maybe you can’t fix it, but I think it’s real important you get there.”

She bit her lip. Her gut told her the same thing.

“Come on, you have to make an entrance.” He stopped her before she got on the bike. “You don’t look like an accountant.”

She frowned. “I always look like an accountant.”

Ivan took a necklace from around his neck and handed it to her. “That should do it.”

She kissed his cheek. “Wait, Rachel!”

“We got her.” Emily called from the car. “Good luck!”

She got on the bike and fastened the helmet. “I’m not supposed to go on your bike or downtown.”

“Yeah, that sucks.” He laughed. “Hold on tight and close your eyes.”

“Why?” She wrapped her arms around Ivan’s waist.

“I’ll get you there, but it will be my way.” Ivan rode off down the sidewalk.

She closed her eyes.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Shane glanced at his watch and pulled his sleeve down over his tattoos. For over an hour he’d waited in a plain office for the IRS agents to join him. The only items he brought with him were the box of papers and Lindsay’s ring. He didn’t know why.

In the back of his mind he thought somehow Lindsay would end up with him here. He couldn’t shake the feeling, but after hours of waiting, he finally gave up.

Maybe she could walk away, pack everything in a box and forget about it, but not him. If he had any money left after the audit, he’d buy a ticket to Ohio and confront her. He’d let her know he would have been the one man who wouldn’t have left her.

After fighting so hard to be with her, after hearing that she’d told her parents what he did for a living, and after she walked out, he couldn’t beg her again. He was the one who fought for them, but she wouldn’t and he had to accept that.

He glanced at his watch again and played a game. If she showed up before the IRS agents, everything would be all right.
Just walk through the door.
He closed his eyes and envisioned her coming in dressed in a beautiful suit, blonde hair straight down her back. She would have that take control attitude and bring the agents to their knees. Then he would get down on his knee and …

“Mr. Shane Elliott.”

He opened his eyes as two men entered. “Yes.”

They nodded and closed the door on his dream. It was over.

*~*~*

Lindsay weaved through the halls of the IRS building with Ivan following.

“Where is this office?” Ivan panted as he kept up with her.

She pointed straight ahead, her chest burning and her throat dry from the exertion.

“Careful.” Ivan yelled when she stumbled on her heels.

At last she spotted the non-descript door at the end of the corridor and as she sped up, the reality that Shane was on the other side of the door hit her. She panicked and glanced back at Ivan, but miscalculated her speed and tripped, colliding with the door.

As well as miscalculating her speed, she also miscalculated that the door would be latched shut. Rather than banging into it, the door flung open, and she slid into the room, skidding face first across the rough brown carpet. For a grand finale, her purse took flight, landing several feet away and spraying its contents across the room.

“Lindsay?”

Mortified, she closed her eyes and remained still, hoping somehow, even though Shane called her name, he hadn’t seen her. The sound of his voice brought tears to her eyes and suddenly he stood in front of her. She froze.

“What are you doing here?”

His tone told her she made the wrong decision. He’d snapped, and how could she blame him? First she walked out on him and now barged in, a grandiose gesture, expecting Shane to take her back.

“I didn’t want to miss your audit.” She said into the musty rug.

“I can manage.”

“I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She pushed up and purposely didn’t look in his direction, otherwise she’d lose it. “I was part of this audit.”

“Then thank you for keeping your word.”

She tried to get up, but her arms wouldn’t hold her.

“Mr. Elliott, who is this?” a male voice asked.

The room fell silent and she tilted her head, catching sight of Shane’s dress shoes and suit pants.

“My accountant.” Defeat floated on his voice.

She shut her eyes trying not to envision the title she lost.

“Then bring her to the table and let’s get started,” the man stated.

She owed the first person she met in California a favor. No matter what, she wouldn’t leave without repaying that debt. “I’m his accountant.” With the words out, she collected her purse and went to the table.

She would leave California as she arrived, a simple accountant.

But she wanted her California life.

*~*~*

“We need to see the receipts for disposables going back for the other two years.” The IRS guy tapped away on his computer.

Shane squirmed in the hard plastic chair. For two hours he listened to the monotone drivel where the two men in the non-descript brown suits asked cryptic questions while Lindsay conjured the appropriate papers. The men calculated then moved on to another question. Neither man nor Lindsay gave any hint of progress. They sat expressionless though each notation and paper possessed the potential to change his life.

The appearance of Lindsay only served to tighten the twist in his stomach. Again, she’d fallen into his life. Her hair returned to its natural splendor, her outfit strange, even by Hollywood standards. He wanted her, needed her, but she needed to say the word. Everything burned worse than a fresh tattoo on his spine. In an attempt to relieve the pressure and the pain, he arched his back.

Up to that point every question centered on the year Lindsay worked on.

Without a glance in his direction she bent down to the box of papers he prepared on the two years he neglected to tell her about.

She lifted the box lid.

He gripped the sides of the stupid chair and turned toward the one plain window. No doubt he screwed up.

“Oh my God.”

For the first time since she skidded across the carpet, she showed some emotion, and he turned.

Her appearance gave him no clue, it could go either way with her complexion pale in contrast to her dark brown hair, her lips pressed together.

“What?” He clenched his fist along with his jaw.

“What did you do?” She stared at him.

He tried to speak but a horrible scraping of his teeth vibrated through his skull. With a swallow he got the words out. “You ditched me.”

“You lied.” Her eyes glazed over.

He shrugged. “I was going to say something.”

“Ms. Stevens do you have the receipts in question?” The man interrupted.

She turned to her lap. “You used file folders.” One tear fell on the manila square.

“Lindsay.”

“You even labeled them.” She ran her trembling fingers across the writing on the tab. Two more tears fell.

“I figured out what disposables were.” Damn it. He couldn’t resist and scooted his chair over. “I tried to follow your system.”

“I tried to follow my own system.” She hung her head.

He lifted his hand, but stopped short of touching her.

“I couldn’t do it on my own. I couldn’t change.”

One of the men tapped his pencil on the table.

“Just give us a second.” Shane shot a glare their way. Her admission that she wasn’t an island meant everything.

Both men leaned back.

“Why did you come here today?”

The wet file folder crumpled in her grasp. “I quit my job.”

Inside he cheered, but did she quit to return to Ohio? “Why?”

“I wanted to be the accountant to the tattoo industry.” She put her hand to her forehead and all the items in the folder fell to the floor. Nothing but sad confetti littered the area. “I love you.”

The entire room stood silent.

For the first time since she ran out of her apartment, he inhaled a full breath. His heartbeat calmed and the anvil on his head lightened. “Well, that’s a good thing.” He took hold of her chin, making her look at him.

“It is?” Her tears continued.

“The pawn shop next door is for sale and I thought if we made it out of this audit with more than two dimes, maybe we could buy it and open our accounting business.” He touched her hair. “You need to run both our businesses. I never want to see another envelope.”

“Our businesses?” With a shaking hand, she pressed her palm to his cheek.

He nodded. “You have beautiful hair.”

“Not really.” She shook her head.

“You’re so beautiful.” He ran his hand down her hair to her cheek. “No matter what, you’re beautiful.”

“No matter what, I just want to be with you.” She reached down to his sleeve snaking her fingers under the cuff as if trying to reach his tattoos. “With you like you are. I’m proud of you.”

“I’m proud of you.” He dipped his head down. “Say you love me again.”

“I love you, Shane.” Her breath brushed against his lips.

“I love you.” Too many days were spent not kissing her, but as he prepared himself to seal the deal, an IRS man cleared his throat.

Both men stood. The first one closed his laptop.

“Sir?” Shane needed to be the man and fix this.

The second one held his hand up. “We have found all your papers are in order. Pay last year’s tax and we will consider the matter closed … until next year, Mr. Elliott.”

“Thank you.” Lindsay hid her face in his chest. “I’ll need that in writing.”

“Thank you.” He gave the men a thumbs up.

“With all your businesses make sure you file quarterly returns.” The first man sort of cracked a smile before both men exited the room.

“Lindsay.” His life had somehow returned. Things simply came to him, and he couldn’t stop the smile.

She raised her head. “Yes, I think we should get in the car right away and drive to Vegas.”

“Then it’s a good thing I brought a ring.” Yes, good things seemed to land in his lap. After all, he was Shane Elliott. He retrieved the ring from his pocket. “With the same last name, our accounting should be much easier.”

“It will save a lot of paperwork.” She held her hand out.

He slipped the antique diamond ring on her finger and kissed her hand. “This is permanent.”

Lindsay lifted her hand and whispered. “Permanent.”

###

Bonus Sneak Peek

Temporary

Book Two  -
The Indelibly Marked Series

Chapter One

“I’m breaking up with you.” Emily Elliott rushed into the storage room of Permanent Tattoo.

The crash of the door slamming jolted Ivan Harlow, but he continued to put away the last three bottles of red ink before joining her. “You can’t.”

“Oh, Ivan.” Her eyes glossed over and she approached, pressing her palm to his face. “I know it’s hard, but in the end I think we’ll both realize we can’t be together.”

He took her all in. The seven-year-old girl with crooked teeth and combat boots who wanted to be a boy, had changed into a sexy, sultry woman anyone would want. Now she owned her feminine side like other women owned handbags, boasting endless curves, petite features, a perfect set of teeth and huge baby doll green eyes.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Her cheeks turned as pink as her hair and she yanked her hand away from him. “We’re breaking up and all you have to say is okay?”

He bent down, his nose less than an inch from hers. “Since we weren’t a couple, it will have to be okay.” How they ended up in the conversation was beyond him.

Her jaw tightened and she stepped back. “Well then, this will make it all the easier.”

Since they started sleeping together he’d carefully kept their relationship where it needed to be, behind closed doors. His best friend wouldn’t take kindly to him sleeping with his baby sister. Any formal arrangement would end in disaster with him as the bad guy and losing everything he fought for, including his makeshift family made up of Elliotts. They were simply there for each other when needed.

“What’s going on?”

She closed her eyes.

“Em?” He forced his arms to his side, refusing to reach for her.

“I need a change. I want more.”

More as in a date? A relationship? He narrowed his eyes. Of course she did, all girls wanted the relationship. The image of big-brother Shane finding out flashed through his mind as he rubbed his jaw. No doubt divulging their secret would end up with him in the hospital, losing the benefits of all the satisfying friend sex.

“Emily?”

“Not more with you … just more.” She held up her hand, stopping him from speaking.

The sting of her words hit him like a slap. “Then I say you should go ahead and get whatever you think is more.”

She glanced up at him through her eyelashes. “We’ve been doing this for over a year.” Her tone softened.

“Then I guess we’ve reached our limit.” He inched toward the exit. “I would say let’s remain friends.”

“You said that was all we were anyway.” Her voice sounded different, breathy and far away.