Six months later
Jenna
“I have to go,” I whisper into this chest. He smells like gasoline and fresh dirt. God, do I love Rev’s smile after a night of sex. I smile thinking of his legs tangled in mine with the blankets being thrown off the bed onto a pile on the floor. I can still feel the moist press of his lips on my naked skin.
He pulls me up to him so that I sit straight up in his lap. After going in for another long, deep kiss with his hands tangled up in my hair, he pulls away and tempts me with, “You don’t have to. You could stay here and be a kept woman. I could provide.”
Kept. I would have hated that word nearly a year ago. The idea of being owned by anyone seemed so barbaric, so cold. And with the guys I was dating then, I would’ve rather taken a bullet to my brain than commit to assholes like them. But with Rev, being kept meant something completely different. It means he owes me his loyalty and devotion. It means that nothing can break our bond. What we have here, in our home, is forever.
I turn back to him, still smiling at me as he awaits the “no” I always give him when he begs me to skip out on work and stay with him in bed. I touch his cheeks and nose gently as I reply, “I know you could do a lot for me. You already have...”
I scan the room of our new condo. It’s been six months since we’ve moved in, and I still can’t believe how amazing this place is. Rev’s job of managing the Blazers sub-group has been anything but normal, but it sure has been profitable. I’d do anything to just lay here in the fresh linen sheets, against his warm, naked body, but today is a big day for me—the day I become head of the recovery center.
“But,” I continue, “I really have to get going. Can I get a raincheck on the offer to be ‘kept’ a little longer?”
“Tonight,” he growls. “If not sooner.” He scoops a chunk of my ass into his hands and squeezes until I squeal out in pleasure. How his hands can do this is beyond me. Every one of his touches feels like it’s the first—dangerous, forbidden, wild.
I force myself up and into the shower. I’m surprised he doesn’t follow me—he usually does. But today’s special. The only one in my bathroom is Barkley who insists on following me everywhere since the day we picked him up. I smile thinking of how he ran to me from across Rev’s old motel’s parking lot. The woman who kept him, a friend of Rev’s cousin Tommy, did a pretty good job keeping him fed and happy, but you could tell that he was waiting for me, and me alone.
It was a big surprise knowing that even then, when he could’ve just abandoned the dog, Rev did something so selfless. But the more I learn about him, the more I realize that it’s who he is. While he knows so much pain and darkness, there was a person in there that believes in honesty, loyalty, and most of all, love.
When I’m out of the shower and finally dressed, he’s in the kitchen making breakfast for me. Even with all the money we have now, he still insists on wearing that skin-tight black T-shirt and a pair of jeans with old boots. Through the fabric, I can see the outline of his scar from the surgery. I really wish he would’ve seen real doctors for the work, but that was club life—you don’t risk the outside world knowing what goes on, even if it means giving up your life.
Rev doesn’t worry about it. At one point, he told me he’d just get another tattoo to cover it up. But it already, oddly, fits in with the rest of the artwork he’s got up and down his body. For me, it’s a reminder of all that we’ve been through and all that he’s willing to do to make sure I’m safe. I hate to admit how much I love that damn scar.
“Do I need to dress up for this?” he asks as he places a plate down in front of me.
“No. They know you. Plus, it’s just a small ceremony, and then we can go out and get a drink at Tommy’s bar.”
“Yeah, maybe,” he mutters, avoiding eye contact. I push it aside as I change the subject to what’s on his agenda tonight. Fridays are reserved for club meetings with Vic and business with the Blazers. I try not to ask many questions about it. Early on, he made me make a deal that I wouldn’t get involved any more than I had to be. It was for my protection in case anything happened to him, and as much as I hate not knowing the details, I trust him. After all, he’s never steered me wrong.
***
The day passes quickly as I get used to my new office at the front of the wing. The entire staff has rallied around me since I returned. They had so many questions for me that I eventually had to use Rev’s connections with the local hospitals to get a fake doctor’s note to excuse my unannounced absence. To make it up, I worked my ass off, became a better therapist, and applied myself towards this promotion. It’s all paying off today.
About an hour before the ceremony, there’s a knock at my door. My new secretary walks in, holding Barkley’s leash. Getting him certified to be a therapy dog was the best decision ever. I love that I get to bring him into work, and he loves that he gets to cuddle other patients and still sneak off to see me. He follows my secretary in as she hands the leash over to me.
“Oh wow!” I say as I go to head out the door. “I can’t believe it’s that time already.” I turn to Barkley as I ask, “Are you ready for your walk?” He wags his tail and pants heavily in reply. I’ll take it as a yes.
We pass the parking lot, the gazebos full of patients, and the picnic tables where I usually take my lunch. Finally, we make it around towards the intake side of the hospital where new patients are admitted. We’re not expecting any entries today, but I’m surprised to see a man walking straight toward the door. He looks around nervously, itching the back of his neck. As he sees me, he stops dead in his tracks. With the sun glaring in my eyes, I place my hand above my eyes to see what he’s up to.
“Jenna?” he shouts across the yard. “Is that you?”
That voice is completely unmistakable. I drop Barkley’s leash as I run to my brother’s side. “Mark! Oh my God! Mark! What are you... how are you...” He engulfs me in a hug so that I’m smothered against his old, worn down T-shirt.
“I didn’t know... Jenna...” He chokes back. “I’m so sorry. I really am.” He looks down at me, taking my hands. After a few seconds to compose himself, he explains, “I heard about what had happened to you, what you went through for me. I would’ve come, I swear it, but I was in the hospital getting help and detoxing. It wasn’t until a few months ago when I guy came to see me.”
“A guy?” I ask.
“Yeah, this guy I didn’t know walked into my hospital room. He said he knew you and told me the full story—how you risked your life for me and tried to get out of my debt. God, I’m so fucking sorry, Jenna...”
“Please, no. Don’t.” I try to hold back the sob in my throat. I’ve been working on trying to forgive him for months now. Rev would talk to me for hours about my anger towards him, and how I thought I’d lost him forever. No one could find him, at least, I thought they couldn’t.
“The guy, well, he convinced me to come get help here. He said that I should be close to you and that maybe ... maybe you could forgive me if I showed you how serious I was.”
“Mark, who was the guy? Did you get his name?”
“No, but he was wearing a Blazer jacket. That’s why it surprised me. I didn’t have anything to do with the Blazers...”
“Rev,” I murmur to myself. It had to be him. He’s the only guy with enough heart and balls to track my brother down for me and bring him here for some redemption. My chest feels as if it could burst wide with something more than joy. He found my brother—the brother I thought was dead. And not only that, he brought him back to me.
With the widest smile I can possibly carve, I take Mark’s arm and lead him into the intake area. He leans his head onto mine, the same way he did when we were kids huddled up on the couch watching TV while our parents were out doing who knows what. As we take a step inside, Mark’s first real step to recovery, I whisper to him, “It’s going to be okay, Mark. I love you, and I’m here for you—no matter what.”
We hug one last time while the nurses get his paperwork ready and make the necessary phone calls with the inpatient housing directors. In the background, I watch the clock tick down to the time of my little party.
With a few minutes to go, I hear the sound of Rev’s motorcycle pulling into the parking lot. I pull myself away from Mark, promising to visit him in the next few days when he was done settling in, and run out towards the lot with Barkley following slowly behind.
Rev’s still sitting on the bike. He takes off his helmet. The sun shines down on his golden-brown hair and tanned skin.
“Am I late or something,” he asks as he studies my face. “Did something happen?”
“No, I mean, yes...” I reply, shaking my head, “I just—” Before I can finish my sentence, I leap at him, throwing myself into his arms. He pulls me up into his lap, pressing my body into his.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, clearly not quite sure how to take me suddenly jumping on him like this. “Was it your promotion? Those bastards can’t take that from you. I swear to God that if they did, I’ll make sure they regret it—”
“No, Rev!” I laugh-cry. “It’s that I love you so much. You gave me the best gift I could’ve ever asked for.”
He pulls my chin up to stare directly into my eyes. After a pause, he asks, “Mark? Is he here?”
“Yes, but it’s not just that. It’s... it’s this. It’s everything. You’ve given me so much, and I have... I’ve got nothing to give to you. How did I get so—”
Rev stops me. “Don’t ever say that. You’re not lucky. You were the girl I met one night while I was trying to kidnap your brother. Everything that’s happened to us, everything we’ve been through, has been because of me. I could never say sorry for that enough. A girl like you deserves so much more than the asshole that I am.”
“Stop Rev,” I blubber. “Please, don’t say that. If it hadn’t been for your job going after Mark, we would have never met. And who knows if I would’ve ever seen him again. It doesn’t matter why you were there. All that matters is that you were there and I was there. And now...”
Rev interrupts again, “I’m the lucky one here, Jenna.” He runs his hands through his hair as he looks nervously at me. “You’ve given me my life back and saved me when I needed you the most, Jenna. I owe you everything. I guess this is the best time to...”
The breath is lost in my chest as I watch him fish out the black velvet box from his pocket. His hands tremble a little as he asks the one thing I never thought he would. For all that he is and for all that I am, we have found each other, and when I say yes, I promise him that from this day on, we will never be apart again.
THE END
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