The Ink That Brands Us: A Colorado Ink Novel

by Terra Deason

  “Freya!” I stopped struggling because I had made it. The person holding was Jensen.

  I made it.

  “Jensen.” I tried to say, but it came out a jumbled mess.

  “Freya, what happened to you?” He demanded. I could hear the worry in his voice and I wanted to tell him it was okay and that I wasn’t in pain anymore but I couldn’t find my voice.

  The darkness was taking me under and I wanted to tell him one last thing. It was important that he heard it. “Alex.” Was all I managed to get out before the darkness claimed me.

  That steady beeping noise was annoying and I wished someone would shut that crap off.

  I peeked my eye open and noticed the source of the annoying sound. It was coming from a machine that was monitoring my vital signs. My eyes popped open and I took in the room.

  Clearly, I was in the hospital.

  When I tried to set up, a gentle hand landed on my shoulder stopping me.

  “Don’t luv,” Jensen murmured. His eyes were guarded, and it made my stomach drop. I must be really bad if he was hiding from me.

  “Jensen.” The single work felt like it was being ripped out of my throat.

  “Don’t speak,” he murmured, taking my hand. I didn't try again and whatever pain meds they were pumping in me were making my eyelids heavy. They drooped a little, but I snapped them back open, my eyes going to Jensen. “It's okay, luv. I’ll be right here.”

  My eyes closed and this time I didn’t struggle. When I opened them again, some time must have passed because Jensen was still there but he was wearing something different. He wasn’t looking at me, so it gave me a chance to examine his mood before I talked to him. He seemed okay, so I gave talking a go again.

  “Hey.” At least this time it didn’t feel like knives were scraping my vocal cords. There was only minor pain and I could manage. Jensen’s head snapped around and when he noticed I was awake a smile lit his face.

  “Hello, luv.” He turned toward me and picked up my hand, giving it a kiss. “How do you feel?”

  “A little doped up,” I said, trying to smile, but it caused pain in my face. “Ow.”

  “You have a fractured cheekbone,” he informed me. The cautious eyes were back.

  “Is that all?” I asked, and he shook his head.

  “Busted eyebrow and lip. Your arm was pulled out of socket. You’ll have to do a few rounds of physical therapy, but you’ll recover nicely.” He said, then a smile pulled at his lips. “Can’t same the same for Alex. I’m not sure his nose will ever set straight again. It’s the least he deserved.”

  My eyebrows raised. “They caught him, then?”

  Jensen snorted. “Bloody idiot came to this hospital to be treated for a broken nose. You did a bang up job, luv. Good work.” He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. His gaze searched mine, and I knew what he was going to say next would not be pleasant. “Without your consent, they wouldn’t do a rape kit.”

  I could see the worry in his eyes and I knew he would never ask, but I knew he wanted to know, so I put him out of his misery. “There’s no need. It didn’t get that far.”

  He let out a breath and his shoulders relaxed. “Thank Christ. When we brought you in and I realized you didn’t have any knickers on....” He broke off unable to finish his sentence. “I would have killed him for it. I was here when he came in and I reached him before the police. Derek stopped me before I could do any real damage. Said I should let the police handle it.”

  The thought of waking up here without Jensen because of something so horrible would have caused me worse pain than what I was already in. If I was to get through this I was going to need him by my side not behind bars.

  Tears slide down my cheeks and Jensen reached up to catch them.

  “Are you in pain, luv? I’ll call the nurse.” He reached for the button but I shook me head.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered and his eyes snapped to mine.

  “Don’t you dare apologize for this. This was not your fault.” His gaze burned into mine and I shook my head.

  “I’m not apologizing for that. I’m apologizing because I should have listened to you. I should never stopped by the apartment. Because of my carelessness I could’ve of lost everything.” It was definitely not worth the risk.

  “Yes, well, it’s a bit late for that,” he smiled, then squeezed my hand. “We’ll get through this, luv.”

  “It was you, you know,” I said, softly. The drugs were clouding my head again and I could feel them taking effect again.

  “What’s that?” He asked.

  “Getting to you was the only thing that kept me on my feet. I knew if I could get to you then I would be okay.”

  “Oh, luv,” he murmured. “I’m so very glad you were okay. The sight of you when you fell into the shop, then when you fainted. I thought I had lost you too. I wouldn’t have been able to bare it, luv.” The rawness in his voice broke me. I couldn’t imagine what he went through seeing me like that.

  I wanted to say something. To assure him that I wasn’t going anywhere but I was too far gone to say anymore. I fumbled for his hand and squeezed with all I had left in me. It must’ve been enough because he returned the squeeze and right before I drifted off I heard him tell me he loved me.

  Epilogue

  One month later

  Jensen reached out and took my hand as we exited the courtroom. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I could finally breathe again. The trail went pretty quickly with all the evidence I had against Alex. It only took a few hours for them to find him guilty and the judge to sentence him eight years in prison.

  Jensen turned to me and wrapped me into a rib breaking hug. I returned it and was happy that I could hug him like this again. All my bumps and bruises were finally healed minus my cheek, but it was getting there. The doctors said that in a few more weeks it would be completely healed. It didn’t hurt so much anymore, just tender.

  Jensen took fantastic care of me while I was down. The first few weeks were hard on the both of us. I was a little skittish, and I knew it hurt his feelings. He had to take care not to take me by surprise or catch me off guard. The nightmares were the worse part. After the first week, Jensen insisted that I see someone professional.

  He had been right of course. It had helped tremendously and I after a few weeks the nightmares tapered off. It took another week for Jensen to stop hoovering. His heart was in the right place but there was only so much a girl could handle.

  Jensen finally got the memo, but Saw picked up where he left off.

  On the rare occasion that Jensen had to go somewhere, Saw babysat me. She explained to me what it was like when I entered the shop that day. She said that Jensen had been on his way out the door to check on me because I wasn’t answering his calls. I always answered.

  She said that she had never seen Jensen in the state that he was in. He had lost it when I collapsed and became unresponsive. Then as suddenly as he lost it, he reigned it in, scooping me up gently and took me to the hospital.

  He had held me in his arms as Derek drove. He had to be reasoned with to let me go when the doctors insisted that I be put on a gurney. When the police showed up, Derek had to stay by Jensen’s side reminding him to keep it together because he kept slipping up.

  When things settled, Jensen had called my parents himself and told them what happened. They took the first flight out and Saw picked them up at the airport, bringing them straight to the hospital. I was happy to see them, but told them they shouldn’t have come.

  They loved Jensen just like he said they would. They were grateful for how well he was taking care of me and were pleased that I had found someone so amazing. Jensen insisted that they stay for a few days at least and they could take our guest room. I think that won him more points with them.

  Before they left, they insisted that we had better still be coming for Easter and we assured they that we were. It was only a few weeks away, and I was looking forward to Jensen
seeing where I had grown up.

  I pulled back from Jensen and smiled up at him. There weren’t enough words to describe how much this man meant to me. I was so thankful for him and the happiness he brought me. It was the luckiest day of my life when I walked into that shop and met him for the first time.

  Something must have shown on my face because he grinned down at me, then scooped me up into his arms, planting a kiss on my forehead.

  “I love you,” I told him.

  “Not as much as I love you,” he smiled.

  I rolled my eyes and smiled back. “Take me home, big guy.”