Page 53 of Tank
Her lips part slightly, her breath catching. She gestures all around, then at the fading red lights down the road, the remnants of her brother’s menace. "And why did you do that?"
I step closer, watching her carefully, measuring my words before I say them. But it doesn’t matter how I measure them. Beneath any motives I tell myself I have — about using her to get closer to Victor, about killing her brother — the measurements all come out to the same truth.
"Because I care about you."
She doesn’t move. Just looks at me. Then, in one swift motion, she grabs my shirt, yanks me down, and kisses me.
Hard.
Fierce.
Like she’s claiming me.
And, with a moan ripped from the deepest part of my chest, my tongue finds hers and I let myself claim what I really want: her.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Bianca
Breaking our kiss feels like letting go of something I should hold on to forever. I part my lips from Tank’s, an act that takes every ounce of willpower left in my worn-out body. I blink, rub my eyes, and reality hits me hard: we’re not alone in the parking lot. Ricky is standing there, shifting on his feet, glancing at me and Tank with an expression like a man bracing for impact. He looks like he expects me to shut him down, like he’s waiting for a blow that could knock him flat. I wasn’t ready for this. A confrontation was the last thing on my mind when I agreed to help him, yet here we are.
"I want to see Vanessa," he says. His voice is steadier than I expected. It’s not the pleading or the anger I’ve often heard from him. It’s something else — more solid, like he’s already decided, whether or not I go along with it. This is not the same Ricky from just a few days ago.
I arch a brow, crossing my arms to keep my own emotions in check.
"And why should I let you?"
His jaw is clenched tight, but there’s something vulnerable in his eyes—something raw, something real. "Because I need her to know I’m trying to be better. I need her to know that I love her, that I always have, and I want to prove that I can be the man she deserves." His words tumble out, messy and desperate, but there’s a fierce sincerity in each one.
I blink. I wasn’t expecting that.
Less than a week ago, this man was a drugged-out disaster with a death wish, spiraling so fast I thought nothing could pull him back. Yet here he stands, clear-eyed and clean and asking for a second chance. I’ve seen him make progress — step by painful step — but never did I expect this. Not this soon. Not like this. Something warm flutters in my chest.
I glance at Tank, searching his face for a clue about what to do. But he says nothing — just watches me with that same steady, unreadable expression. Yet now I can see it, a flicker of something warm, something teasing in his steely eyes. It says, ‘Told you.’
I exhale, letting my arms drop to my sides, surrendering to these changes. "Alright," I say. "You can see her. But it has to be supervised. Alex will be with you both. You understand?"
Ricky’s shoulders sag with relief, a visible wave of it crashing over him. "Yeah. Of course. Thank you, Bianca."
I watch him hurry off toward the shelter, calling Alex’s name and not wasting a single moment. He really is different. I shake my head, amazed at it all, at him, at the possibility of redemption. None of it is what I expected. But isn’t that the way things always go? Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, life throws you something you never saw coming. Redemptions, revelations, love, and everything in between.
Then I turn back to Tank.
Tank is watching me. Not just watching — studying me.
"What?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.
He tilts his head slightly, rubbing his beard. "Nothing. Just… didn’t expect that reaction from you."
I cross my arms again. "What reaction?"
"That you let your guard down. That, and that you didn’t knee him in the balls for even asking."
I roll my eyes. "I’m not a monster, you know."
"Didn’t say you were," he says, smirking. "Just didn’t expect you to give a guy like Ricky a second chance."
I sigh, looking toward the shelter. "Because I know what it’s like to be desperate for one."
