Page 151 of Tattooed Love

“Nothing we can do from here,” Tyler said, annoyed, before leaving the room. He was right. There wasn’t anything we could do. I just hoped Amber wasn’t getting into anything. Anyway, how much trouble could she get into? It was England after all. It wasn’t like she knew anyone there.

Amber

I still don’t know how they knew. But they did. As soon as my plane landed, they were at the airport, waiting for me. TNS. Well, not any member of TNS. TNS stood for his name. Tae Neal Smith. An English gangster. He started his empire in the UK and then branched out.

I had met him once at home. He was in the country organizing a new head role. At the time, we got on. Because I’d met him directly, TNS trusted me. At the time, I wasn’t scared of him but that changed when I found him waiting for me at the airport.

I closed my laptop abruptly as my Aunt opened my bedroom door. “Tae is here.” She smiled. “He said it’s important.”

My aunt wasn’t batty. If I had to describe her in one word, I would say… caring. She cared about me. I didn’t understand why; we had only known each other for a month but what really got me, was that she also supported me.

England wasn’t huge so she knew Tae and his reputation. She was startled at first when he approached her at the airport, while he was waiting for me. He knew everything there was to know about her; he’d done his research, but who he’d also researched, was me.

“Thanks.” I got up and picked up my duffle bag. “I won’t be back tonight.”

Tae shouldn’t be here. If he was, it meant something was wrong and he was counting on me to fix it.

I walked down the hallway and bang, there he was, waiting in the foyer.

“Amber,” he greeted me, his normal, non-caring smile on his face. “We have a problem.”

“And here I was thinking you just came to say hi.” I moved the duffle bag on my shoulder.

“We can talk in the car,” he said as he opened the front door.

“Wait a sec; you are coming with me tonight?” I looked at him surprised. Tae didn’t get his hands dirty; he left that to the rest of us. Well, that wasn’t completely true… he left it to me.

Well, he had for over a month; as soon as I’d got here. He’d made me a proposal and I didn’t hate the idea of working for him. He wanted to train me. He wanted me to become the invisible hand back home that controlled his interests.

I still didn’t want to head home, and I was going to put it off as long as I could.

I didn’t want to see….Jax.

I cringed as I walked down the porch steps. How could just remembering his name hurt?

But it did.

Time. That was what I needed; time to pass, so my wounds would heal. That… and distance. Two things. That’s all I needed. I had the distance but the time, well, that was harder. Every day I woke up and hoped that hole in my heart would be healed.

But so far, I still woke up with a hole.

But I think what was worse was the piece of heart that was left… well, it was empty. Empty of emotion. I didn’t feel anything. I was literally bulletproof now. Heartless, as Tae had pointed out the other night.

I still didn’t know the real reason we broke up. Something to do with my brothers. I sighed as I got in the car. It really didn’t matter anymore; we were in different countries. And yet, here I was; even though I was off to threaten and kill someone, he was on my mind.

How the hell was that fair! I was throwing myself into Tae’s lifestyle, breathing his ruthlessness. Trying to follow his lead. Yet, I was still hung up on Jax!

Who wasn’t even in the country!

I was stupid.

But also when it came down it, I had been blinded.

I loved him. And he simply didn’t love me back.

Maybe that was what really hurt me? I’d told him over and over how we were perfect for each other. Yet, when it came down to it, he used my brothers as an excuse.

My brothers. Guilt washed over me. If they knew how deep I was getting in with the TNS, even though I would always be invisible, just pulling strings and taking out hits. Still, if they knew - they would be seeing red.

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