Inked Expressions

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  She frowned, not turning to look at her store. She couldn’t. Not yet. “I don’t know. We just had an inspection last week. Everything should be fine.” She repeated the latter twice more, knowing it was all a lie.

  Storm took her bag from her hand and stuffed her mail, cash bag, and whatever else she’d grabbed from inside before putting the purse over his shoulder. He should have looked ridiculous, yet all she could do was try not to cry.

  Sirens sounded in the distance, echoing off the tall buildings of downtown Denver. She knew they were for her, and that just made it more real. Storm gripped her chin and, somehow, she found the strength to pull away and turn.

  Flames poured out of her windows, her door. Smoke billowed, and people shouted as they tried to protect their own businesses and vehicles. The storm that had been coming in wouldn’t make it in time. Any rain it would bring would be far too late to douse the flames and save anything of hers.

  She’d lost it all.

  Storm wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned into him, her head resting on his chest as she watched her hopes and dreams literally burst into flames.

  Once again, she was witnessing her life altering forever on its course. And once again, she was with Storm.

  She wasn’t alone.

  But she wasn’t whole.

  Chapter Six

  Storm tightened his arms around Everly’s small body and tried to control his erratic pulse. He figured she’d be able to feel the rapid staccato of his heartbeat beneath her ear, but he couldn’t put much thought into that, not when he could barely think at all. Holy hell, when he’d seen the smoke billowing from Beneath the Cover’s windows, he’d thought part of him had died.

  He didn’t know what to do with that reaction or why he’d felt so strongly, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. No, he had to keep Everly close and make sure she was still there.

  He’d almost lost her.

  Letting out a shaky breath, he slid his hands through her disheveled hair and hugged her tightly again before pulling her back so he could look into her eyes.

  “You’re okay? Was anyone else in there with you?”

  “I was alone.” Everly shook her head and started to speak again before coughing. He cursed. She needed medical attention, and he’d been standing there like a selfish idiot, needing to touch her to ensure that she was real. Before he could think about his back and the consequences of what he was about to do, he bent down and scooped her up, searching for a paramedic or someone to help.

  Everly wrapped her arms around his neck and let out a coughing squeal. “Storm! What are you doing?”

  “Finding you a doctor,” he growled out, a sharp pain shooting up his spine, shocking him.

  Austin, Jax, Storm, and Derek—who had been at the shop with him when they’d seen the smoke—rallied around him. They’d dropped everything to run toward Beneath the Cover to see if they could help, but it looked as if they’d be too late to save the building.

  But he’d be damned if he’d be too late to save Everly. He wouldn’t lose anyone else. Not if he could help it.

  “What’s going on? She hurt?” Austin asked, his voice gruff.

  “Let me find someone,” Jax said quickly before hurrying off. Jax was Montgomery Ink’s newest artist, and Storm didn’t really know the man, so he looked over at Derek, another artist from the shop, and gave the man a nod. Derek ran after Jax to help him find someone, but Storm couldn’t focus on anything but the woman in his arms. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jax, it was that he needed someone he knew looking, too. Storm knew Derek would have understood that even without words, knowing the other man’s past.

  “You’re going to hurt yourself,” Everly said before coughing again. “I’m too heavy for you.”

  Storm tightened his grip. “I’m not going to drop you. Stop fidgeting so we can get you help.” His back gave a twinge, but he ignored the pain. He’d deal with it later like he always did. What worried him more were all the sounds and shouts around them. If he weren’t careful, he’d have another damn panic attack because of the sirens. He just had to keep breathing and keep Everly safe. That was all that mattered.

  The paramedics arrived moments later, Jax and Derek by their sides, and Storm set Everly on her feet. She leaned into him, her back to his front, and he knew if she’d been in her right mind and not clearly in shock, she wouldn’t have done it. Since Jackson’s death, the two of them had done their best to not touch each other. It was as if the idea of them hugging like they used to would bring back the pain in full force. So they’d remained distant.

  But not that evening.

  The EMTs put an oxygen mask over her face as a precaution and had her sit down on one of the benches that lined their street, but Storm couldn’t sit down next to her. Instead, he stood behind her, keeping his hands on her shoulders so she wouldn’t get the crazy idea to get up and walk back to see what had happened to her store.

  A bookstore on fire would have gone up quickly, and everyone knew it.

  “You should be fine, but we’re just making sure,” one of the paramedics said. “You weren’t in there long, but we’re not taking any chances.”

  “Keep the mask on,” Storm warned.

  Everly shot him a look even as she pressed the mask to her face. He knew she didn’t like taking orders, and he rarely gave them, but he was all out of patience right then.

  The fire marshal and police showed up next to talk to Everly, and Storm was glad he and his family were there to stand by her side.

  “Mrs. Law?” the older man who had to be the fire marshal asked. “I know you told the paramedics you were the only one in the building, but can you be a hundred percent sure of that?”

  Everly nodded and lowered the mask from her face.

  “She’s supposed to keep that on,” Storm growled.

  The older man raised a brow. “Mr. Law?”

  For some reason, that punched Storm right in the gut, and he shook his head. “Just a friend.”

  Everly blew out a breath and thankfully didn’t cough. “I was alone.” Storm reached down and lifted the mask to her face again, giving her an intense look. She glared but inhaled a few times before lowering the mask once more. “I was about to close up shop because we had no customers and I was working on my own.”

  Her throat worked as she swallowed hard, and he heard the tears in her voice. Damn it, that bookstore had meant almost everything to her. The twins and her books were her life, and now part of that had gone up in flames. And there was nothing Storm could do about it.

  “Tell me exactly what happened.” The marshal had his notepad out, and the cops were staring down at her with questions in their gazes.

  Storm frowned and looked over at Austin, who came to stand on his other side, making sure Everly knew she wasn’t alone. Jax and Derek joined the circle, showing their support. The four of them weren’t small guys, and there were enough tattoos and piercings showing that they made for an intimidating force. Everly wouldn’t be alone through this, and if it looked as if there would be an issue, they’d call the Montgomery lawyers right away. It’s what they did for family.

  Once again, he put the direction of those thoughts from his brain and focused on Everly as she told everyone what had happened.

  “You didn’t see anything out of the ordinary? Smell anything?”

  Everly shook her head. “Nothing. I don’t know what happened.” This time, a tear slid down her cheek, and Storm let out a curse.

  “She already told you what happened. She needs to rest.”

  One of the cops glared at him, and Storm glared right back. He wasn’t in the mood for a pissing contest.

  “We can’t go inside yet, but from we can tell from the outside, it looks as if an accelerant was used and the fire alarms were disarmed. I need to know everything.”

  Everly let out a choked sob. “What?”

  Storm’s whole body froze. He’d assumed it had been faulty wiring or an accident. The buil
ding wasn’t that new, and he’d never been inside the walls to make sure everything was up to code. He should have, damn it. But if it looked like arson it wouldn’t have made a damn difference.

  “Do you know anyone who would do this?”

  She shook her head. “Arson? How…how can that be? The alarms?” She looked over at Storm, her eyes wide with a glassy sheen. They asked her a few more questions, and Storm knew they were just fishing at this point. No one knew what was going on, and he needed to get Everly home.

  He looked over at Austin, who gave him a nod. He had backup in case no one listened to him. It was good to have family, and right then, Everly was part of theirs because she didn’t have anyone else.

  “She needs to get warm and indoors.” As soon as he said it, lightning cracked overhead, and he held back another curse. “It’s about to pour here, and I don’t want her out in it.”

  “I can speak for myself,” Everly said softly, though there was no emotion behind the words. He knew she was in shock, and he needed to get her home.

  The fire marshal looked up before letting out a sigh. “I’ll be in contact soon.” He gave her a frown. “We’ll need to do an investigation, so you can’t enter the building until we give the go ahead. I’m sorry this happened, but I’m going to do all that I can to see why it happened.”

  Though it didn’t sound like a threat, Storm was still a little worried. “Th-thank you,” Everly said softly. “I…my store.” She whispered the last two words, and Storm wanted to punch something. He wasn’t the violent one in his family—if any of them were truly violent—but he tried to use words or pointed silence to get his point across rather than his fists. Yet right then, he wanted to punch someone. Anyone who put that look in her eyes.

  Everly was the strongest person he knew. So strong that she pushed him away every time he tried to help her. And yet she looked so small just then. Small and helpless.

  He’d be damned if he let her stay that way because someone dared to take part of her happiness.

  Eventually, the authorities got her information, and she took their cards. Since Storm still had her purse over his shoulder, he stuffed the cards inside along with whatever she’d saved from her place and zipped it closed.

  “I’m driving you home,” Storm said after a moment. “I don’t want you on the road right now.”

  She let out a long breath, and he was relieved that she didn’t cough when she did so. “But what about my car?”

  Storm looked past her to the still-smoking building even as raindrops began to fall. “You’re parked behind the building I would assume, and now you’re blocked in by all the emergency vehicles. We’ll get your car tomorrow. I promise. But it’s already raining, and you need to lie down.”

  She pressed her lips together before turning to look at Beneath the Cover. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  Storm put his hand on her shoulder, at a loss for what to say. “You won’t be alone.”

  She looked over her shoulder, sadness in her eyes that he couldn’t quite name. “I already am.” With a sigh, she looked back at the smoke as the rain began to fall in earnest.

  “We need to go,” he said as he took her hand. “Come on.”

  Everly slid her hand away from his as she turned and nodded. “Thank you for the ride.”

  She was so polite, and yet there wasn’t anything behind her words. No emotion. Once he got her home and with her boys, maybe that would change, but he was out of his depth here. He waved at the others, who all went back to Montgomery Ink, but Everly didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she quickly walked by his side as they made their way behind the tattoo shop where he’d parked. He helped her into the cab of his truck and tried to buckle her in, but she waved him off.

  “I’m okay, Storm.” She shook her head. “Well, not okay, but I’ll find a way to be. I always do.” There was such bleakness to her voice that he wanted to shake someone, but there was nothing he could do. There wasn’t ever anything he could do when things got out of hand. “Can I have my bag?” she asked.

  He slid it over his shoulder, once again ignoring the searing pain in his back. He’d screwed up something when he lifted her, but he hadn’t listened to the warning in his head telling him not to do something stupid with his body. Getting Everly safe had been more important than a few aches and pains.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “Don’t thank me,” he said gruffly. “I couldn’t do much.”

  She met his gaze. “You did everything.” She blinked away tears before looking forward, and he closed the door to the truck. He didn’t know what she’d meant exactly, and they were both too off-kilter for him to ask. So he did what he did best when it came to Everly and ignored what he was feeling. Instead, he walked around to get into the driver’s side of the truck.

  As they drove to her place, they didn’t speak to each other, but she’d pulled her phone out of her purse so she could call Jackson’s parents, who were apparently watching the twins. The windshield wipers moved back and forth quickly as the downpour came in earnest.

  At least the last of the flames would be out of the store. And what a horribly sad thought that was.

  When they pulled into her driveway, no one came out of the house—even to the awning-covered porch—to greet them. If they’d been going to his parents or any of his siblings’ homes after a fire like that, his family would have run out into the rain to greet them by their car. They wouldn’t have waited a single moment to ensure that everyone was safe and whole.

  And yet, no one came out to greet Everly.

  She’d taken her keys out of her purse before they’d gotten out of the truck so she easily unlocked the door on her own, but Storm was still right behind her as they entered the house.

  “Mommy!” James shouted as he ran to her, Nathan right behind him. Everly dropped her bag on the floor and went to her knees, holding her boys close as they hugged her. They pulled away for a moment to hug him too before going back to their mother. He loved those two boys like his own, even if most of the time he felt as if he had no idea what he was doing. He looked up to see Everly’s in-laws glaring at him.

  Storm stuffed his hands into his pockets, awkwardness settling over his shoulders as he looked up at Nancy and Peter. Jackson’s parents stood stiffly a few feet away, clear disdain on their faces. He’d never understood why Everly let the two of them get away with so much, but he figured it had to do with Jackson himself. The older couple had never approved of the match and had always been a little stiff toward Everly. Hell, they hadn’t liked Storm either since he was considered a blue-collar worker with a master’s degree rather than their academic son. But when Jackson was alive, they’d been much warmer to Ev. Storm remembered that much. When their son died, they’d put Jackson on a pedestal where no one could bring him down, completely ignoring his faults and errors. And as they did that, they needled their daughter-in-law. If their son had been perfect, then Everly should be, as well.

  And that coldness just looked starker against the contrast of what should have occurred when they heard that Everly had lost not only her shop but also almost her life.

  If she hadn’t left the building when she did…

  No, he couldn’t think about that right then and stay sane.

  Everly kissed her boys once more before standing up. “Thank you for watching them later than what we agreed on.”

  “They’re our grandsons.” That was all Nancy said. She didn’t ask if Everly was okay. Didn’t make a comment about the fact that Storm was there when he normally wasn’t. It was just so…off.

  Everly put her hands on the top of her boys’ heads, her chin high. She still had a smudge on her cheek, and her hair was out of place, and he knew she needed to sit down. Heck, he needed to sit down, or his back was going to lock up soon.

  “Thank you again.”

  Jackson’s parents gave them one last look before gathering up their things and leaving. They said goodbye to the boys,
but didn’t bother speaking to Storm at all, and didn’t say another word to Everly. He knew they had to still be hurting over the loss of their only son, but hell, he barely recognized the people who had just been in the room.

  “Grandma make sketti,” Nathan said with a grin. “It was okay.”

  Everly smiled sadly and ran a hand through his pale hair. “I’m glad you ate, baby.”

  Storm cleared his throat, and then everyone looked over at him. “How about you jump in the shower, Ev? I’ll hang out with the boys while you get cleaned up.” He gave her smoky clothes a pointed look, and she let out a sigh. They hadn’t discussed it, but since the boys hadn’t looked worried at all and he’d overheard her conversation with Nancy on the phone, he figured Everly didn’t want the kids to know about the fire yet—something he totally agreed with. But kids were observant, even as young as the twins were, and they would catch on that something was wrong soon if he and Everly weren’t careful.

  “Oh,” she said after a moment before looking down again. “I…you don’t have to stay, Storm.”

  He waited for her to lift her head and meet his gaze. “Yeah, I do.”

  “Oh, well, thank you.” She cleared her throat. “The boys need to get in their PJs and get ready for bed. We’ll do baths in the morning.”

  “I can do that. Go clean yourself up, Ev.” He said it with kindness, but he still heard the order in his voice.

  She gave him a look but still left to go shower while he dealt with the boys. The two of them were so excited about having Storm over that it took extra time to get them into their PJs since all they wanted to do was run around the room with their pants over their heads. Despite the way the evening had gone, he still laughed with them and helped them get ready for bed.

  By the time Everly came into the room in sweats, a tank, and one of those cotton wraps she owned, the boys had their teeth brushed, their pajamas on, and were gearing up for story time.

  “Thank you, Storm,” she said softly. He nodded and kissed the tops of the boys’ heads before heading back into the kitchen. He knew Everly probably wanted alone time with her kids after everything that had happened, and he didn’t blame her.