Chapter Three
Landry
O ne Year Later
My hands shake as I sit outside the tattoo shop, too terrified to go inside. I think I’ve been out here for an hour already, just trying to work up the nerve to walk inside. Part of me wants to crank the engine and drive away, pretend I was never here.
But…I can’t do that.
Lily lets out a soft cry in my arms as if to remind me why that isn’t an option.
I immediately glance down at her, my expression softening when I see her staring up at me. She has his eyes, the same beautiful, not-quite-hazel, not-quite-green color that’s haunted me for the last year.
“It’s okay, angel,” I whisper, patting her tiny back gently. “Mama has you, and everything is okay.”
Maybe if I say it out loud long enough, I’ll believe it, too. But things haven’t been okay in a long time, so long that I don’t even remember what okay feels like. I’ve existed in survival mode, just trying to keep myself alive ever since Garrick found me in Colorado Springs.
My life with his MC has been hell for the last year.
Lily was the only bright spot, the one thing that kept me going. And now…well, now I have to walk in there and explain to Keegan that he needs to keep her safe because I can’t.
I inhale a deep breath, fighting back tears. I can’t afford to cry right now. If I do, I might not ever stop again. I’ll get swept away in a river of grief too vast to escape.
Instead, I do the only thing I know how to do. I keep moving. I grab her bag and then climb from the car. I put one foot in front of the other, all the way to the door of the shop.
My hand shakes so badly when I reach out to open it that there’s no hiding it. I’m terrified. Nervous. A million different worries ping through me at the same time.
Does he hate me now? Will he hate me when he knows the truth? Did he think about me at all or miss me the way I’ve missed him every single day since I slipped out of his room?
I’m afraid to have those answers. I’m afraid he did. I’m afraid he didn’t. Mostly…I’m afraid he’ll turn me away now, refuse to help me protect our daughter.
After the way I left, part of me wouldn’t blame him. But regardless of how he feels about me, Lily needs him right now. She’ll never be safe with me. Not when they–
I jerk my mind away, refusing to think about that right now.
The bell over the door jangles as I step through into the shop. For a long moment, I just stand there, looking all around. The shop is upscale, with expensive furniture neatly arranged into a seating area with a snack table set up beside it. Artwork covers the walls, with photos of clients scattered between intricate drawings and even more detailed paintings. It smells like ink and leather, like him .
“Welcome to Bleaker Street!” A girl about my age waves from behind the counter, a bright smile on her face. She’s beautiful…covered in tattoos just like Keegan. I think maybe he did them. They’re delicate like the one he did for me, and just as gorgeous. So is she, with dark hair and beautiful hazel eyes.
“H-hi,” I whisper nervously.
Her gaze drifts to the baby in my arms, a question in her eyes. “Can I help you?”
“I…” My throat threatens to close up on me. “I need to see Keegan.”
“Oh.” The girl looks at me again, more attentively this time. “Do you have an appointment? If so, he can’t really tattoo you with the baby.” She grimaces like she’s sorry to be breaking that news to me. “We can see about getting you rescheduled, though.”
“N-no.” I quickly shake my head. “Can you just tell him that Landry is here?”
She stares at me for a minute, hesitating, and then she nods reluctantly. Her heels click across the floor as she walks out from behind the counter and then down a hallway.
“It’s okay,” I croon to Lily, adjusting her in my arms. “Everything is okay.”
The girl’s footsteps fade. There’s a moment of silence, and then I hear heavier footsteps thudding down the hall.
My heart leaps into my throat, pounding like a jackhammer. My knees tremble, the urge to flee rising hot and fast. But it’s already too late for that.
Keegan appears at the end of the hallway, even more beautiful than he was a year ago. I just freeze, my eyes locking on him. Eating up the sight of him. God, he’s perfect. His hair is a little longer now, and he’s even bigger than he was a year ago. There are holes in the jeans. He’s wearing another Bleaker Street T-shirt, just like the one I took when I slipped out of his room that day.
“Landry baby,” he rasps, staring at me like he’s looking at a ghost. And then his gaze falls to Lily. His entire body goes rigid. He doesn’t even breathe for a moment before his eyes snap back to my face. His expression isn’t soft this time. Anger sizzles and snaps like fire, scorching me where I stand.
He's furious, so damn mad at me…
Tears well in my eyes, my bottom lip quivering.
“Follow me,” he growls, spinning on his heel to stomp back down the hallway.
I hesitate for a split second, my feet rooted to the floor. But Lily stretches against me, and that jolts me into movement. It doesn’t matter how much he hates me. She needs him. That’s what matters now.
I hurry after him, battling back the urge to cry. I can do that later, when I’m alone. It’s not like it’ll be the first time. Probably won’t be the last, either. Not after…
I can’t even think about that right now. It hurts too much. But my grip on Lily tightens slightly, as if I can just hold onto her tightly enough to change reality.
Keegan leads me back to a private room—his booth, I think. It’s bigger than the temporary booth at the expo. A private bathroom is situated in the corner, with a tattoo table in the opposite corner and a fancy chair in the center of the room. Shelves line another wall, supplies neatly arrayed on each one.
I stand there for a long moment, staring at a gorgeous painting of a fairy curled up against a dragon, his wing curled over her as if to keep her warm. It’s stunning. I don’t even have to ask to know he’s the one who painted it.
The door clicks closed behind me, and I jump slightly.
Keegan brushes past me, my skin prickling where his arm brushes against mine. He tenses like he feels that same sensation. But I don’t think he welcomes it this time, not like he did in Colorado.
He stands with his back to me for a moment, rigid and tense. I desperately want to know what he’s thinking, but I don’t ask. I’m afraid he might tell me…and it might break me.
He turns suddenly, his eyes falling to Lily in my arms. His expression softens as he stares at her. He looks…I don’t know. Nervous? Worried?
“Is she mine?” he rasps. His voice shakes.
“I…” I swallow hard and then nod, tears welling in my eyes again, even though I promised myself not to cry.
Keegan exhales a shuddering breath, his eyes falling closed. They spring open immediately, pinning me in place. The accusation in them is unmistakable. So is the pain. “You kept her from me.”
I nod again, tears pouring down my cheeks. “Please let me explain.”
I know he hates me. He deserves to feel that. I won’t take it from him. But he needs to know why. It’s the only way he’ll be able to keep her safe.
Maybe I should have told him the truth back in Colorado. Maybe it would have changed things. I don’t know. But we can’t go back now. I can’t redo that day. All I can do now is what I came here to do and pray it’s enough for both of them.
“Can I hold her?” There’s a thread in his voice, a vulnerability I didn’t expect. It breaks my heart and mends a piece of it simultaneously.
I cradle her in my arms for a moment, a little afraid it may be the last time. Afraid that once she’s out of my arms, I’ll never hold her again. That he won’t let me say goodbye. He’ll just…take her.
But that isn’t Keegan. That’s the MC. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget what good men look like when you’ve spent so long surrounded by monsters.
“What’s her name?”
“Lily,” I whisper as he takes her from my arms, carefully cradling her against his chest. He holds her so gently, and I want to sob. I hate that this moment was stolen from him when she was born. I hate that this is the first time he’s getting to experience holding his daughter in his arms. It’s a beautiful sight…and it’s a painful one, too.
She stares up at him, blinking her little eyes. She’s so quiet in his arms, so content, as if she knows that he’s her person. Her daddy. His eyes are locked on her, so much softer than they were when he looked at me. I see the love he already has for her, the gentleness.
Has anyone ever felt that way about me? Except for that day with him, no. Never.
“Lily,” he whispers to her. “I’m your daddy, baby girl.”
I choke on a sob, and he glances up at me, his expression cooling slightly.
“I-I tried to find you,” I whisper, though I know he won’t believe me. “I w-went back to Colorado, looking for you.”
“I’ve been here the whole time. You would have known that had you not run out on me, Landry.” He mutters a curse beneath his breath, his expression hard. Bitter. “Is that even your name?”
“Yes.” I grimace. “Um, I lied to you about my last name. It’s not Drake. It’s Corbett.”
He jerks his chin in a nod. “Thought so. I looked for you.” His throat works convulsively. “Even after I realized you gave me a fake name, I kept looking.”
My eyes fly open wide, my bottom lip trembling. “Keegan, I…”
“Why’d you run?”
I stare at him holding our daughter, terrified to tell him. Terrified he’ll take her from me forever once he knows. But what other choice do I have? He can’t protect her from the MC if he doesn’t know the truth; right now, she needs protection. Desperately.
“My uncle s-sold me to an MC to settle his debts.”