Page 15 of Need (Men of Inked Sinners #3)

LULU

Everything is a mess.

Oliver is facing jail time. Sure, my grandfather said he’d do what he could, but the chances of him having the ability to make everything disappear are slim to none. Even with his past, he has only so many strings he can pull.

My dad figured out Zoey was the person we were protecting.

I did my best not to spill Zoey’s secret, but one look at her and he knew.

He didn’t probe too much after she said it was indeed her that Oliver had been protecting, but that doesn’t mean he is content not to want to find out more.

Do I think he’ll let it drop? Absolutely not.

I stare out the window, standing in my living room in my favorite pair of fuzzy slippers. I curl my toes against the plush bottoms, grounding myself as I pull in a shaky breath .

A knock on the door makes me jump, and I whirl around as my heart pounds in my chest.

“Lulu, open up!” Zoey yells through the thick wood door as her knocking grows more frantic. “Lulu!”

I rush toward the door, almost tripping over my area rug that always has a corner curled up, no matter what I do to flatten it. “Shit,” I call out, catching myself on the coffee table before I have the chance to face-plant into the hardwood floor. “Coming!”

“Lulu,” Zoey groans like she didn’t hear me tell her I am on my way to let her in.

When I fling the door open, Zoey almost falls forward like she’d been using her head to pound on my door. I catch her by the shoulders, pushing her upright. “What’s wrong? What happened?” I ask, unable to keep the panic out of my voice.

“Everything’s a mess,” she whines as she places her head on my shoulder and wraps her arms around me. “It’s my fault.”

Oh no, she doesn’t. She’s not going to shoulder the blame for something a grown-ass vile man whom she trusted did to her.

I kick the door closed with my foot because my hands are trapped underneath my sister’s arms. “Let’s sit down and have a drink,” I tell her, moving us across the room toward my couch. She’s attached to me like a parasite, and it takes all my strength to walk with her extra weight .

She used to do this when we were little, but she was lighter then, and for some reason, I thought the behavior was cute. Now…not so much.

I lean over my plush couch until her hold on me loosens and she flops backward, fully detached from me. “Martini or margarita?”

“Martini,” she says, staring up at me with tears in her eyes. “A sweet one.”

My kind little sister. No one deserves what happened to her.

Am I sad Oliver is facing jail time? Yes.

Did the guy he beat the crap out of deserve it?

Absolutely. If I’d known he was going to get arrested, would I have stopped him?

I don’t think there was any stopping him that night.

He knew what the consequences of his actions could be.

I did too, and there isn’t a thing I’d do to change what happened after Zoey told me and Oliver overheard.

“I’ll make it strong and sweet,” I tell her as I rush toward the bar cart I set up in the living room for evenings when things are a little too much.

“How much do you hate me?” she whispers, and I barely hear her over the clinking of the glass bottles.

I turn around, holding a bottle of vodka and a bottle of the best chocolate liqueur in each hand. “Why would I hate you? Don’t be silly, sissy.”

She glances down, fiddling with the zipper on her jacket. “He was arrested. It’s my fault.”

“It’s Mark’s fault. Don’t get it twisted in your mind, Zo. You’re the victim here. ”

“I don’t want to be a victim.”

“No one does.” I turn back around, figuring she needs the drink sooner rather than later.

Maybe if I make it strong enough, she’ll pass out on my couch and finally get some rest. Knowing my sister, she probably has barely slept since everything happened, and if she had been able to fall asleep, nightmares woke her up.

“I’m going to tell Dad everything.”

I spin around so fast and without thinking, vodka goes flying in a stream across the wood floor. “Seriously?”

“He already has ideas of what happened.” She shrugs as she flings herself backward into the cushion and stares up at the ceiling. “And I think he’s imagining something worse. I can’t leave him wondering.”

“You sure about that?” I ask her. “I mean, you did nothing wrong and there’s no reason to hide it from him, but don’t feel like you need to because of Oliver—or me, for that matter.”

She blows out a long breath. “I need to tell him for me. I didn’t do anything wrong, and Dad deserves to know so his mind can stop spinning, thinking of all the worst things in the world.”

“Do you want me to be there when you talk to him?” I ask her.

“No. I need to do it on my own.”

I make quick work of the martini, using twice as much of the delicious chocolate liqueur as I would if I were making the same drink at the bar.

The shit is pricey, but every drop is ridiculously decadent.

“If you change your mind, I’m always here for you.

” I turn around, walking toward her with two glasses filled to the brim. “I will always have your back.”

She reaches out, wiggling her fingers as I come closer. “I made another decision too.”

“What’s that?” I ask as I hand her the drink, and somehow, neither one of us spills a single drop.

“One sec,” she says as she lifts the martini to her lips and gulps half of it down like it’s a glass of water.

I stare at her in absolute shock. Neither one of us is a big drinker, and I know that martini is hella strong, but that doesn’t seem to matter to her in this moment. I take the seat next to her on the couch, staring at her over the rim of my glass as she finally pulls the drink away from her lips.

“I’m going to go to the cops about what Mark did.”

My eyes widen. “You are?”

“Yeah,” she says as she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. “Or I’m going to confront him and make him drop the charges. I haven’t decided which one.”

“Which way are you leaning?”

“Going to him.”

“Why?”

“If I go to the cops, I’ll have to press charges and testify. I don’t know if I have the nerve to do that, but I know I can face him and threaten him into making this all go away for Oliver.”

“I’ll support you in whatever you decide, but don’t feel like you need to do anything because of what’s happening with Oliver. Grandpa and Oli’s lawyer will handle it.”

“I’d be doing it for me too.”

I place my free hand on her leg, giving it a squeeze.

“Whatever you want to do, I’ll always have your back.

But don’t do it because you think I’m mad or upset.

I’m not either of those about Oliver possibly going to jail,” I tell her, but I’m lying.

I’m upset, but not with her. I’m pissed at the fucked-up world where guys like Mark get away with assaulting women.

If I had to guess, I bet this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this either.

“I’m upset about what happened to you. Mark deserves more than one beating. ”

The corner of her mouth tips up as she blinks slowly, the alcohol already pressing against the right areas. “He deserves to rot in jail.”

“That he does. He deserves to be someone’s wife on the inside.”

Her smile widens. “I like the idea of that.”

“Me too,” I tell her and giggle. “I can hear him screaming for help.”

“Maybe I’ll go to the cops instead. I’ll talk to Dad about it and get his take. ”

“Dad will tell you to go to the cops too, Zo. You know he will. He won’t want you to see Mark under any circumstances and especially not to save Oliver.

You don’t want to put Mark in a position of power again, and I think that’s what will happen if you threaten to go to the cops if he doesn’t drop the charges.

You need to take the power, even if you have to testify in court.

The world needs to know what he did so he doesn’t do it to someone else. ”

“You know, I did look him up online before we started hanging out. I couldn’t find anything he did besides a few traffic tickets. I thought he was safe.”

I point at her with my index finger as I balance the drink in my grip. “That right there is why you should press charges. So the next woman who searches for him finds at least an arrest on his record, stopping them from becoming his next…” The end of the sentence dies on my tongue.

“Victim,” she says softly. “You can say it. I know what I am even if I hate it.”

“You don’t have to be. You can take the power back, sissy.”

She places her elbows on her legs as her shoulders slump forward. “I don’t know if I can ever trust another man. How messed up is that, Lou?”

“It’s why you should always pick the bear.”

She nods. “I’ve always understood why the bear is the better choice, but they can’t all be bad, can they? ”

“Oliver’s good,” I tell her. “I’d like to believe there are more men like him than Mark.”

“Dad’s great, and so are all our uncles,” she says, agreeing with me. “There have to be more like them out there in the world, but I don’t think I have the strength to search for one anymore. I’d rather be alone.”

My heart aches for my little sister. She deserves happiness just as much as the next person. I didn’t want this single event to derail her chance at a happily ever after and finding the man of her dreams.

“We can be spinsters together,” I tell her.

“No. You have Oliver.”

“Who says he’ll be around for very long?”

Zoey takes my hand in hers and stares up at me with soft eyes. “He’ll be around. He’s in this for the long haul, and I love him for you.”

“We’re so new,” I tell her before taking a long sip of my drink.

“That doesn’t matter. He looks at you the way Dad looks at Mom. He’s over the moon for you, sis.”

“A lot can happen in a short amount of time.”

I don’t know why I’m doubting what she’s saying. I can feel things are different with Oliver than they have been with anyone else. There’s an easiness to us that I’ve never experienced before. I feel safer with him than I have with any other man—besides those I’m related to—in my entire life.

“He’s sticking around. ”

I set my glass down on the coffee table and relax back into the couch next to my sister. “We’ll see.”

“Maybe you don’t see it, but I do. He’d burn the world down for you—and for me, for that matter. He already proved it, and he doesn’t seem the least bit worried about going to jail for something he was doing to avenge me.”

“He’d do it again too. He said it was worth it.”

“See?” she says, pushing her shoulder into me. “A keeper.”

“I don’t know if we’re even dating.”

She turns her head toward me, her eyes narrowing. “What would you call it?”

“Getting to know each other.”

“Lou,” she breathes and shakes her head. “You don’t get to know someone by doing what he did. He’s in it and in it deep.”

“Maybe. We haven’t really talked about what we are.”

“It’s been busy,” she says and giggles. “I shouldn’t laugh.”

“You laugh when you want to laugh. There’s no right or wrong when you’re around me.”

“I love you,” she says to me, resting her head on my shoulder.

“I love you too, sissy,” I tell her, wishing I could take away the last few days from her memory.

“I want to find an Oliver someday.”

“You will. ”

“Does he have a brother?” she asks and then yawns, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Yes, but he’s not a good one.”

“Damn,” she whispers.

We sit in silence, and my sister’s breathing changes, growing slower and deeper. I know she’s asleep when she snores softly, something she’s done since she was a little kid. I wait a few minutes before sliding out from her side and easing her onto the couch so she can get a good night’s rest.

I pick up my phone from the kitchen counter and open my messages.

Oliver: You okay?

He sent the text an hour ago. I heard the vibration from across the room, but I was too engrossed in the conversation with my sister to look.

Me: I’m good. Zoey’s here and passed out on my couch. You okay?

Oliver: Right as rain.

Me: Liar.

Oliver: I’m fine. Shit’ll work out.

Me: I wish I had the faith you do in that.

Oliver: The bad guy can’t always win .

I grunt as I read his response. I’ve seen the bad guy win plenty of times in real life. In movies, the good guy always comes out on top, but that is a fantasy world.

Me: I hope you’re right.

I glance over as Zoey shifts on the couch, and I realize she needs a blanket. My place has way too many drafts to sleep without something over you, even when the heat is on. It’s the price I pay for the expansive view of the city with the floor-to-ceiling windows.

I grab a blanket from the chair across from her and cover her, pulling the material up to her chin. “Sweet dreams, sissy,” I whisper as I stare down at her, knowing I’d burn the world down for her too.

Oliver: I’m heading out on a call. Catch ya later, sweetheart.

Me: I’m going to bed. Night, Oli.

Oliver: Night, beautiful.

I smile as I stare at the screen, thinking about sending him a kiss emoji back as a response. But I stop myself and send a heart instead.

Whatever this is…whatever we are becoming, I am along for the ride.