Broken Bond by C.J. Primer

34

CALLUM

A gust of warm air whooshes into my face as I push through the door to exit the squad complex, the summer sun beating down relentlessly overhead. We’re in the middle of what feels like an endless heat wave. The grass of the practice field is crunchy underfoot as I step out onto it, dying of thirst and begging for rain, and despite the fact that I just showered off the sweat I worked up while training, my t-shirt is already clinging to my body like a second skin by the time I reach the outer gate to head for the parking lot.

“Yo Cal, wait up!” a voice calls from behind me, and I swivel to see Logan jogging my way, his clunky motorcycle boots thudding against the ground.

I pause to wait for him, idly twirling the keys to my Corvette around a finger.

He flashes me a smile as he approaches, two rows of straight white teeth gleaming and a pair of dimples sinking into his cheeks. Handsome fucker. “Think you can find some time this week to finish my chest piece?” he asks, fingers trailing over his left pec where he’s sporting my ink beneath his shirt.

“Yeah, for sure. My schedule’s wide open these days.” I rake a hand through my hair. ” Just let me know when you’re up for it.”

His eager grin widens. “Shit, I’d do it right now, but I’m headed to Westfield to see Jax and Quinn. Maybe tomorrow?”

“Sure,” I shrug, though truthfully, I’m just as eager as he is. I’ve been fucking around with my tattoo gun on myself for a while now, but the only other person I’ve ever tattooed is Nessa. That is, until Logan and I got to talking about our ink while we were away on the mission. When he found out I’d done it all myself, he asked if I’d do one for him, and I jumped at the chance. There’s

just a certain thrill that comes with seeing my art come to life on someone else’s skin.

Logan claps me on the shoulder and the two of us start toward the parking lot, falling into an easy stride with one another. “So can we count on you for the next mission?” he asks, swinging his gaze to me. “The IT unit

thinks they may have identified another

offshoot of the shadow pack, wants to send a team to investigate.”

“Nah, man,” I grumble. “Think I’m gonna stick around here for a while.”

He arches a brow in surprise, stopping short in front of his motorcycle parked at the curb. I swivel to face him as I palm my keys.

“Any particular reason?” he asks, a knowing smirk pulling at his lips.

Yeah, Logan knows about Ness. He was tasked with leading the mission, and he’s the one person on our team that I really connected with- we’ve got a lot in common.

with our mutual passion for art and ink. He noticed all my sketchbooks lying around the dingy motel rooms we holed up in while we were away, and when he thumbed through one, he happened to see a sketch or two of!!!! my muse. Or fifty. I can’t help that all my recent sketchbooks are full of her face.OTR

He doesn’t wait for me to answer because he

already knows. “You get her back yet?”

“Working on it,” I grunt.

Logan gets a mischievous glint in his eye,

his smirk deepening. “Was that what you were doing at the swimming hole yesterday?” 3

Shit, I’d actually deluded myself into thinking Nessa and I had been discreet. Then again, I can’t remember the last time I drank that much- it’s not exactly like I was firing on all cylinders when I jumped her in the water.

I reach up to rub the back of my neck, wincing. “You saw that?”

“You two all over each other?” he snorts.

Yeah, hard to miss.”

While a natural reaction would probably be to feel something akin to embarrassment, for some reason, I get a surge of smug satisfaction, my wolf preening with pride for publicly staking our claim. Not that I have any right to, not after the way I left.

“I still don’t know where we stand,” I admit, heaving a sigh. “We were both a little drunk yesterday. I have a feeling she might have woken up this morning with second thoughts.”

“Ah, you’ll figure it out,” Logan says with a cavalier grin. “Take her out to a fancy dinner or buy her something nice. Girls love that shit.”

I shake my head, chuckling wryly. If only it were that easy. “Not this girl,” I mumble.

Even if I could afford to do that, Nessa’s not the type to be impressed by flashy presents or fine dining. It’s more about the little things with her. She’d take a scenic view over a stuffy restaurant any day, or a drawing out of my sketchbook over expensive jewelry. The things that make her eyes light up are the ones you can’t put a price tag on.

Logan shrugs, stepping up to his motorcycle and kicking a leg over. “Find another way to get back on her good side, then. You’ll think of something.” He starts the engine, the deep hum vibrating through my body as he revs it a few times. “Flowers usually help, all girls like flowers. There’s a floral shop in Summervale.” I wrinkle my nose at his suggestion and Logan shrugs again.

you decide to do, do it soon, before she has a chance to sit and stew about yesterday.

my forehead, already damp with sweat after spending ten fucking minutes out in this oppressive heat. “I’ll think

kickstand with a boot, rolling away from the curb. “Good luck,” he

turning away to head for my Corvette as I hear the roar of the motorcycle engine rumbling away.

point. The longer I wait before seeking out Nessa, the longer she’ll have to overanalyze what happened yesterday; the longer she’ll have to decide that she regrets it. If I want to win

it’s time to come up with

clutching the edge of the heavy wooden front door of the Norbury packhouse like a shield as

with a confident swagger, but it’s all false bravado. I’m nervous as

like it’s about to burst from my chest and splatter into to

six months ago would slap the shit out of me right now for being such a pussy and getting all awkward and nervous around a girl. This isn’t just any girl, though. Nessa’s my girl. If

then do I remember what’s currently clutched in my hand, half hidden behind the back

as she reaches out to take them from me. “Aw, I love carnations,” she breathes, her lips pulling

it’s not like I know much about flowers or have ever bought them for someone before. I didn’t even think to ask the florist at the shop in Summervale what kind they were; I just went in there and asked for

the amount of flowers I ended up walking out with, I thought I

for me at the garage while I’m waiting for my stipend from the mission

pulling the door open wider and taking a step backwards. “Just let me put them in some water. C’mon

you, Logan. 5

while Nessa

me?” she asks over her shoulder as

“You’ll see.”

keep my expression neutral, not giving anything

front of me to grab her shoes from beside the door. She bends at the waist to slip them on her feet, giving me a nice view of her ass in the little white pair of denim shorts she’s

perfect ass, perky and round. I get the

of us head down the front walk toward the driveway, and Nessa stutters a step as we approach the Corvette, her expression twisting. It doesn’t register at first, but bile crawls up my throat when it hits

the beauty of the old, restored car that I had poured so much sweat and effort into. When she climbed in, I remember how she took in every detail of the dilapidated interior, running her

to admire this car, but now she eyes it with apprehension, all the good memories painted over by the dark, ugly stain of

lifting it and pressing my keys

as they ping between the set

to look at the Corvette, her expression slowly shifting from apprehension to excitement. “But

wheel of this car makes me a little bit queasy, but I shove that down because I’m really trying here.

you make your own choice. And I should’ve trusted myself to keep you safe rather than just bailing out on you.” I reach up to touch her face, running my thumb gently along the curve of her jaw. Her throat bobs beneath my knuckles with a hard swallow. “I know I fucked up everything when I left, but I’m trying to make it right. Figured the first step is establishing trust.” I flick my head toward

of Nessa’s mouth tip up, a smile slowly, beautifully, spreading across her face. I feel her little tremble of excitement beneath my fingertips, see

out of place on this side of the Corvette. I watch Nessa climb in behind the wheel, her long tan legs slipping inside, her lithe fingers gripping the key as she turns it in the ignition and the engine rumbles to life beneath us. I feel the deep, smooth purr of it down to my bones every time, my pulse picking up speed.

backs the car out of the driveway. It’s not that I don’t trust her with my car- I do- it’s just that this vehicle is one of the few things in this world that I give a shit about, and relinquishing control of it ha me tightly wound, my hands curling into fists in my lap and my knuckles

me, darting me a glance and clocking

little,” I admit, shooting her a wry smile. I tip my head toward the

the end of the

My lungs constrict.

she asks, braking a little too

to the left. She takes the turn, and I lean forward to hit the button for the radio, cranking up the volume

the car, which she finds fucking hilarious. Although my heart’s in my throat, her giggle soothes my nerves like music to my ears. Nessa’s laugh is one of the things I

that leads up the mountain, cautioning her to slow down since it’s a narrow one-lane road with sporadic places to pull off to let other cars through. There’s hardly ever any traffic, but the last thing I want is for her to chance it by going too fast and send the Corvette tumbling over the edge. The boys and I used to come up here to smoke sometimes, and there’s a killer

make it there in one piece.

we near the peak, barely restraining myself from reaching over

to a stop and she cuts the engine, I blow out a long breath, my muscles sore from being bunched so tensely the whole way here.

reach down to unfasten my seatbelt, throwing it off my shoulder. “C’mon,” I

follows suit, climbing out of the drivers’ side and meeting me in front of

when she shakes her head, taking her hand in mine

in a few strides, and I hop up onto the top of the stony plateau, offering her a hand to help her up. As soon as she climbs up to join me and looks out at the scene spread before her, Nessa’s eyes round in awe, her jaw going slack.

breathes, her head on a

you can see the swell of nearby mountaintops and the snow-capped peaks of those in

ask, eyes focused on her face as she drinks in the

Nessa murmurs closer to the edge.

out to grab her arm, tugging her back before she can take another step. “Careful,” I warn, nodding toward

to me with a smirk creasing her lips. “So you didn’t bring me out here to kill

I flinch.

tic of my jaw. If she blinked, she’d miss it. She doesn’t, though. The smile drops from her face, her cheeks flushing. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t