“I heard Torment offered you the shop.”

“Yeah. I turned him down. I don’t think I have what it takes to run the place.”

“But you’ve taken a business management course,” he says. “You do great work. The fighters who come here all ask for you.”

Turning, I frown. “Christos…”

“I’m not trying to get rid of you,” he says. “The place wouldn’t be the same without you. But how can you pass up this opportunity?”

“I don’t always make the best choices. What if I fail?”

“Then you come back to Rabid Ink.” He puts his arm around my shoulders and gives me a squeeze. “You’ll always have a place with us, Sia. Hell, I’ll drag in an extra chair myself if Slim fills yours.”

“To be honest, I’ve been thinking about it—”

“I hope so,” he says. “You’re a great artist, and you’ll be a great manager. Everyone in the shop sees it. You just need to believe in yourself.”

Believe in myself the way Jess believes in me, and Tag and Ray. I’ve watched Slim for years. Maybe I should take that step. Maybe I should stay.

Hands shaking, I text Jess to tell her I’m going to do it. I’m going to talk to Torment when he comes in tonight and take him up on his offer to run the shop. And then I’ll talk to Slim. Of course, she’s ecstatic. She says she always knew I could do it, but it’s been a long wait.

After work, I show up for Tag’s Grapple and Groan class, but Tag isn’t there. Rampage is subbing for him and tells me Tag never showed up. The skin on the back of my neck prickles. Tag is nothing but punctual and reliable, and if he didn’t even bother to call to say he wasn’t coming, something is seriously wrong. I call his home, his cell, my parents, the station, and his detective partner, Lou. No one has seen Tag. Rampage suggests I call Ray. He is a PI after all. So I call Ray. He says Tag is with him. They can’t talk right now, but everything is okay.

By the time I return to the class, everyone is partnered up except me. Rampage explains that no one wants Ray to tear off their limbs, so I have to use a grapple dummy. He gives me the lifelike Grapple Man who looks like Doctor Death but with his eyes closed and lacking a little something between the legs. I like Grapple Man. He is totally without pretense. Right from the start, he makes it clear he likes to bury his face between my breasts, and he does this until Rampage comes over and straightens his arms. After that, Grapple Man kisses me instead.

While I’m stretching after the class, Tag and Ray arrive. Tag goes straight to Torment’s office and closes the door. Ray stops me before I leave the mats to chase after him. In full view of everyone in the gym, he wraps his arms around me and holds me tight as if something terrible has happened and he doesn’t want to let me go.

Full contact. This is how Ray speaks when his emotions overwhelm him. I melt into his stillness. His body is hot and hard, his breath warm on my neck. He smells of leather and sweat. He smells of sex and sin. And another scent, sharp and tangy… Blood? Memories of being sweaty and panting on his table hit me in a rush. All the pent-up emotion I’ve been harboring all day tightens my chest, and after giving him his moment, I try to push away.

“What the hell is going on?”

Ray tightens his grip. “Something came up. I needed Tag’s help.”

“Great. Another cryptic explanation. You sure know how to win a girl’s trust.” I push harder, but it’s clear there’s no way he’s letting me go. So I put my lessons to good use. I use my new grapple techniques to break his hold. When he loosens his grip, I twist and whirl away.

For a moment I think it was that easy. My illusions are quickly dispelled when I find myself on my back on the mat with Ray on top of me, pinning me with the weight of his body, his forearms on either side of my head.

“What just happened?” Dazed, I stare into his eyes, now a deep azure blue.

“Leg sweep. Carried you down. Now I got you in submission.”

“This girl isn’t submitting to anything, especially not with someone who steals my brother away and doesn’t tell me what’s going on.”

A pained expression crosses his face. “I promised Tag I wouldn’t say anything. We just want to protect you.”

My chest heaves as I try to contain my emotions. “I’m tired of being cosseted and protected. I’m tired of everyone thinking I’m going to break. I know now it’s partly my fault. I liked that Dad and Tag looked out for me, but it meant I wasn’t looking out for myself. So when I did step out of line with the biker and with Luke, I wasn’t prepared for what could happen. And after that, it was easier to go back to the way things were. I let Tag protect me, and when you made me feel safe, I let you protect me too. But I don’t want to be like that anymore. The price is too high. If it concerns me, I want to be respected enough, thought strong enough, to be involved.”

“Gotta talk to Tag first.”

Not what I want to hear. I press my arms against his chest, motioning him away with my chin. Ray pushes himself to sitting, straddling my hips.

“No. I want to hear it from you,” I say. “Tag would never ever forget to call in if he couldn’t make it to work, and given our relationship, that means he’ll never tell me.”

“I gave my word.” He frowns and touches my neck. “Where’s your necklace?”

“I took it off to work out. I didn’t want it bouncing around and getting lost.”