stevie’s Reviews > Mercy > Status Update

Ink and our love would last forever.

Love for him was overwhelming. This man’s soul was purely mine. And he gave forgiveness so quickly.

“You deserve good things. And devotion. And all the love. I’d like you to stop killing people—if possible. And I’ll try to keep that to a minimum too. You have to do whatever you have to so that you come home to me every day. Nothing else will do.”

“I get what you’re saying, but I’d rather die in your arms right now than live without you for a hundred years.”

He put his hands on my hips. “No, you made me a king. Never apologize. You’re an angel to me. Only his death brought me peace. And, above and beyond that, you had the faith in me to get this…” I smiled as he traced my ink again with his thumbs.

“No, Bones. I’ve been recruiting since before we met. It’s about the connections and doing a few favors. All this damn time you’ve been saving people—I’ve been getting ready to defend us because I knew a time would come. And that time was tonight. We’ll talk all about it in the morning.

He stopped kissing my lips and kissed the side of my face that was inked. “For me. That you did this for me. Why did I ever leave? I knew this. I knew you.”

I’d never be ready to replace Becca. My life, whatever was left of it, was a testament to her.

Had he been a good man, maybe I would’ve lived a whole different existence. It felt like acid was in my veins. There was hatred, but also a need to make things right for the kid I used to be. For the family Ember never got to know.

Hope could be skin deep. Or despair. I knew I was starting a spiral, and I was becoming detached from the ultimate outcome.