The Devil's Tattoo (27 page)

"
Will
."

"
Shh
," he whispered, capturing
my lips with his thumb. "I'm never letting you go again."

CHAPTER
THIRTY-SEVEN

ZOE

Three months
later...

The day after our last gig, Will took me down to the police
station and we both lodged our statements. I told them everything from the
beginning. The day Jason had come home and told me about his cheating, his
assault,
the
slander that had followed. Even Dee came
and gave his statement, though he hadn't been a direct witness. They said
without substantial evidence, there wasn't much they could do to peruse a
charge for the earlier assault, but they could seek a conviction for the
previous night. With the statements from Will and the bouncer from the bar and
some CCTV footage, they were able to pin a charge. It went to court a few weeks
later, but he got off with a caution and a mild good
behaviour
bond.

It wasn't ideal, but hopefully it would serve as a deterrent. He
had a record of sorts, so next time he wouldn't get off so easily. To top it
all off, I now had a fresh stamped and sealed retraining order. Unfortunately,
reality didn't always see the bad guys going to jail.

It took a week before the bruise went down on my hand before I
could play guitar again, but the one on my face took a little more time to
heal. In the two weeks before The Stabs went off to Europe, Will spent every
moment with me outside of rehearsals. He was true to his word and stuck by me.
He made everything better.

He didn't hear from Mish again and I hoped it was for good. And to
date, there hadn't been a peep out of Jason, either.

For the two and a half months he was away, Will sent me messages
and emails, updating me on everything that was going on and all the things he
wanted to do with me when he got back. It was lonely without him, but the time
apart had done us a world of good like I had hoped. It gave us both
time
to readjust and get our heads on straight. And when the
skies cleared, both our worlds were still full of each other. I still hadn't
told him that I was in love with him, too. That I was saving for a
face to face
encounter.

And tomorrow he was coming home.

But right now, Dee was hovering inside the front door of my
apartment, jumping from foot to foot like an impatient child.

"Zoe, if you don't hurry up, I'm going to drag you out to the
taxi over my shoulder caveman style," he exclaimed. "The
metre's
running."

"Bloody hell," I cried, scooping up my keys and
sunnies
. "You're such a tight ass, Scrooge."

We were off to the radio station, Absolute for an interview.
They'd picked up our record as album of the week, which meant they were playing
all the songs from it at least five times a day. Massive exposure. We'd even
been in the week before and recorded little sound bites explaining the meaning
behind each track that they played before each went to air.

The station was located just outside the CBD in Melbourne, so we
decided to get a taxi straight there and that way we didn't have to worry about
parking the rusted heap of junk Dee liked to call a car.

Hurrying me along, he bundled me into the taxi and he was way too
amped for a little radio interview.

"What's going on?" I asked as the driver puled out into
traffic.

"We're
gunna
be late," he
said.

"Since when do you care about being on time?"

"I've always cared about being on time."

"Dylan, I've known you since you were twelve and you've never
cared about punctuality."

"Damn it Zoe," he laughed. "Don't call me that. Now
you've ruined my mystique with the taxi driver."

"I don't think he cares," I said, catching the driver's
eye in the mirror and he only shook his head with a small chuckle.
"See?"

"You're going to the airport tomorrow?" he asked,
blatantly changing the subject.

"Yes, of course," I scoffed. "I can't wait another
day."

"
Blergh
," Dee pretended to
throw up. "I was
gunna
offer to come with, but
if you're
gunna
be all
Suckey
McSuck
Face, then I'll stay home."

"Don't be such a child," I laughed at his reaction,
knowing he was just being dramatic.

"I love you,
Zo
," he said with
a wicked grin.

Scowling playfully at him I said, "I know you're playing
games with me, Dee and I'll let it slide this time. But, if you're playing some
kind of prank, know that I have a mean right hook."

"Oh man," he groaned, throwing his head against the seat
back. "I really don't think my mystique can take a black eye from a
girl."

I burst out laughing and even the taxi driver stifled one
of his own
.

We were dropped outside the front door of the building where
Absolute had its offices and studios and when we exited the elevator,
we were greeted by a representative, who guided us through the
security entrance into the office space
.

When we walked past the reception area, Frank was waiting along
with Simone and Chris, who had become inseparable since they'd gotten together
on the tour. They looked perfect together and were beyond happy. Everything had
worked out in the end and I hoped it would stay that way. I couldn't think of
two more deserving people than those guys.

Dee guided me through the office, trailing behind the lady who'd
greeted us at the door. I hadn't been on this side of the radio station
before, and it was all very laid back with bright graffiti art spray painted on
the walls, posters everywhere and all the staff were in casual
clothes. Towards the back of the floor were the studios, wall to celling
soundproof glass pimped out with all kinds of sound equipment and street art
plastered all over the walls. It really was an awesome place and I thought it
would be great to work here.

When we approached the studio right at the back, the red light was
on over the door, signaling that they were currently on air, but when I saw who
was sitting behind the
mic
, headphones on his head,
guitar in hand, I almost had a heart attack.

"What the hell, Dee!" I slapped him on the arm and he
jumped back with a laugh.

"You know me,
Zo
. Always
meddling."

"Always devising little stratagems," I rolled my eyes.

Turning back to the studio I shook my head in disbelief as the one
and only Will Strickland winked and made a kissy face at me. Pete sat next to
him and with a sly smile, gave me a small wave. They weren't meant to be back
until tomorrow.

"They got back last night," Dee said.

"And what's going on?" I asked, gesturing to the studio.
"I thought…"

"
Shoosh
, Hot Legs. They're back
on."

We couldn't hear them through the glass, but a speaker was
positioned outside, amplifying to the entire office what was currently being
broadcast. The announcer, I
realised
, was Hugo, the
guy who'd interviewed
me and Frank
all that time ago
on the day we found out that we were touring with The Stabs.

"You're listening to Absolute and that track you heard right
there was
 Luck Now 
from a band
out of Melbourne called Big Scary. Hey. I'm Hugo taking you right through to
five. We've got a special surprise for you right now. I know you were all
expecting the guys from The Devil's Tattoo in for a chat, but we've
been hijacked by a couple of guys you might know from a band called The
Stabs. Will and Pete, how are you guys going?"

"
Great, thanks Hugo,
" Will
said
, eyeing me through the glass.

"
So you guys have come in this
arvo
and just wormed your way into the studio. But I understand you've got
something special lined up for our listeners? Care to explain?
"

"
Well, we just got back from our tour in Europe. Last
night, in fact and we have this song we'd like to play
," Pete said,
amusement in his voice.

"
A new song?
"

"
This one is actually a collaboration
," Will
replied. "
I helped a beautiful, tattooed, rock goddess write this one
night on our last Australian tour
."

"
You're not talking about Zoe from The Devil's Tattoo are
you?
" Hugo asked with a laugh. "
Because she's standing right
outside this studio looking at you like you're mad.
"

"
The one and only
."

"
Well, I'm dying to hear it now. What's the story behind
it?
"

"
Well, we didn't get off to the greatest start. So, one
night I managed to corner her and convince her to let me help with a
song she was writing. And it was the first time I knew I wanted her forever. I
mean
,
I knew I wanted her the first moment I laid eyes
on her, but that was the first time I wanted it to be forever. I hope she
doesn't mind, but I made up a couple of words
."

"
Ohhh
, a love story in
the making
," Hugo laughed, looking out at me with a wink.

Grimacing, I shrugged.

"
We'd like to play it for you today and I'd especially
like to play it for Zoe
."

I
recognised
the song immediately, after
all it had been rolling around my head for days before we wrote it out that
night. With the two acoustic guitars, it was more haunting that I remembered.
At some point he must have worked further on it. As they played through the
intro, I picked out a few progressions that weren't there before. But, when
Will started singing, my breath caught in my throat and I swear my heart
stopped beating.

See the
colour
in your
eyes,
I'm strung out no place to go now

Light bared on a grey soul

Soul lights of night,
A
spectre
came stole my breath

Don't worry, I'll find you, I've never been gone

See that I'm losing my
heart,
It's never
seen the likes of you

My soul struck confession

Bright lights of night,
That
burn into my
soul

Don't worry, I'll find you, I've never been gone

Just a ghost in a crowd

Look and see her eyes, they glow

It's a hard mountain to climb

But the view from here is Undeniable

See me and you'll feel the same,
And
we'll stay here forever

No matter where I've been

Dim lights of life,
that burn
a length of
years

Don't worry, I'll find you, I've never been gone

Just a ghost in a crowd

Look and see her eyes, they glow

It's a hard mountain to climb

But the view from here is Undeniable

Don't worry, I'll find you, I've never been gone

The view from here is Undeniable

Undeniable

As soon as the song finished, Will ripped off his headphones and
pushed his guitar into Pete's surprised grasp. I was too stunned to move as he
pushed through the studio door and swept me up into his arms, spinning me
around, planting a kiss right on my lips in front of everyone.

"I love you Will Strickland."

His face split into a wide grin. "I was hoping you'd say
that."

I smiled in return and couldn't help it in the slightest when I
said breathlessly, "It's
undeniable
."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

N
icole
R. Taylor is a paranormal, urban
fantasy and contemporary fiction author from
Ballarat
,
in Victoria, Australia.

Nicole is a graduate of the University
of
Ballarat
Professional Writing and Editing program
and is a former music memorabilia sales person and grocery merchandiser.
Previously, she has written for
Fasterlouder.com.au
and various small street press music and entertainment publications
as a gig and album reviewer before publishing her first Urban Fantasy novel in
early 2013.

When she isn't writing, Nicole likes to
spend time curled up with a good book and her
3 year old
rescue cat, Burger. She gets itchy feet more often than not and has lived in
three countries and travelled to three times as many.

Her new paranormal fantasy
series, 
The Witch Hunter Saga
 is available in print and eBook
(from March 2013). 

Learn more about her writing at:

www.nicolertaylorwrites.com

She may be contacted by email at:

[email protected]