Chapter 34
Chapter thirty-four
Levi
After my shift ended on Monday, I drove straight to Marked. I’d called ahead and made an appointment with Theo, but both he and Max were behind the counter when I arrived.
“Levi,” Theo said, holding out his hand to me. “Good to see you.”
Max walked around the counter and yanked me into a hug I wasn’t prepared for. I patted his back awkwardly, and he laughed.
“Sorry, man,” he said, stepping from the embrace. “Figured you could use a hug.”
“Guess you heard,” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets.
He nodded. “I’m still rooting for you. Everly is the queen of second chances.”
“Yeah,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “That’s kind of why I’m here.”
They both stared at me.
“I think maybe it’s time I believed in them too,” I said. “I have a tendency to think of things in black and white, and I want a tattoo as a reminder not to.”
“Sure,” Theo said. “What do you have in mind?”
“A memorial tattoo,” I said. The emotion that clogged my throat with the words came unexpectedly.
Theo nodded, his eyes filling with sympathy
“It’d be over scar tissue,” I added. “At least partially.”
“Can I see the scar?” Theo asked gently.
I untucked my uniform shirt and raised it enough for Theo and Max to see. Neither of them said a word for a moment. Eventually, Theo looked up at me and asked, “Who is the memorial for?”
“My partner in Richmond,” I said, lowering my shirt.
“He had my back when this happened, before either of us made detective. Probably saved my life. But last year, he overdosed on confiscated drugs he’d been stealing with half my unit and reselling.
I have a matching scar on my back. I thought maybe you could design a piece that had the same image, but with different coloring.
Like one is black and white, the other is brightly colored. ”
“Did you have something in particular in mind?” Theo asked.
My lips tugged up. “Hayden was also my partner in my darts league. I was kind of thinking you could make the scar the bullseye and design a piece around it.”
Max barked out a laugh.
“That’s—” Theo started.
“Hilarious and awful,” I said.
For the next hour, Theo worked up a sketch of the tattoo while I told stories about Hayden. It was the most I’d talked about him in a year, and I alternated between fighting tears and laughing the entire time.
“What do you think?” Theo asked, turning his sketchpad toward me. He’d created an intricate design of a dart and board that incorporated Hayden’s name and other elements of the stories I’d told him.
“Is that a pig with a monocle and a pipe?” I asked.
Max burst out laughing again, and this time I joined him.
“I’ll work up different shadings for you to choose from before we get started. Did you want to connect the two designs with elements on your side? I could transition the colors between.” He raised his eyebrows at me and waited.
An image of Everly’s tattoo flashed in my mind. My scars were below my lungs, thankfully, but I could see how a piece like hers could tie the new ink together. As perfect as it felt, I couldn’t mark my skin with a reminder of her and what could have been.
Theo studied me and cleared his throat. “Let’s leave it for now. Once we have the pieces around the scar tissue, I’ll have a better idea of what might work.” He waited a beat before adding. “Or if we should just quit.”
We weren’t talking about the tattoo anymore. Or at least not only the tattoo. I may never have a second chance with Everly, but knowing her, loving her, had made me a believer in them. And standing in front of me was the person who’d inspired her. “I don’t give up easily. Do you?”
“Not if I have a reason,” he said with a smirk, “good enough to convince my wife.”
“What am I missing here?” Max asked, looking between us.
I’d have laughed at the insanity of what I was about to say if the stakes weren’t so high. “I’ll make a deal with you,” I said, locking eyes with Theo. “If you keep fighting as long as Everly’s willing, you can ink whatever you want on my side.”
He held out his hand and we shook.
Max looked between us and huffed. “Will one of you clue me in here?”
Theo grinned at him. “I’m going to tell Everly to go ahead with the appeal. It’s up to Levi what he does with the tattoo I give him.”