from the new tattoo to the dark, spiny branches of the meticulously detailed tattoo of a tree spanning from just below his broad shoulders all the way to the waist of his jeans. The branches were nearly bare, and there were several leaves drifting down his back. Each leaf looked so real, she had to touch them. Ribbons were strewn between and over branches, each one with a word or a name printed across it. There were dozens of ribbons, some with names she didn’t recognize and others with names she did, like Con, Ginger, Tank, Baz, and Gunner. An angel was tattooed on a branch, her bare feet dangling beneath her, so detailed and beautiful, her wings looked soft as feathers. Ashley was written on a ribbon draped from the branch beside her, below her feet, to the branch on her other side. Steph had told Chloe and their girlfriends about Justin’s cousin committing suicide when she was younger. It had made her sad then and even sadder now.
She didn’t know what Tank’s or Baz’s given names were, but she assumed those were their road names. It didn’t surprise her that he’d used their road names, given how much the Dark Knights meant to him. What did surprise her were the other names she recognized, like Gavin and Harper, who shared a ribbon, and Violet and Andre, and a few more of their closest friends. Although, now that she understood how important Violet’s friendship was to Justin, that surprise turned to admiration.
Etched into the twisted and intricately drawn trunk were several dates and words like Justice, Cuffs, Fish, Sidecar and dozens more. Were they more road names? Or did they mean something else to him?
Near the bottom of the trunk was an intricately shaded hollow. The detail was so realistic, it looked as though the cavity existed in Justin’s skin. Tucked safely inside, protected by the rest of the sturdy trunk, was his mother’s name written in a pretty yellow script. It was the only color on the whole tattoo. Chloe’s chest ached anew for his loss.
She followed the long fingerlike roots on his lower back, snaking over and around the Dark Knights’ emblem, a skull with dark eyes, sharp brows, and a mouth full of jagged fangs. The scary emblem had never made sense to her. Why would they want something so intimidating to represent a group who fought so hard for the benefit of others? But now it made more sense. They would do whatever it took to keep others safe, and sometimes that meant appearing scary.
Thick roots grew out of the mouth of the skull like serpents, forking off into dozens more, the ends angled like flukes on anchors. The ribbons woven into those roots boasted the names of Mike, Preacher, Reba, Blaine, Zeke, Zander, and Mads.
His family.
His roots.
She touched his back with both hands and closed her eyes, feeling so much for him, it should have scared her. But it felt as right as being intimate with him had. She pressed a kiss to the center of the tree, and then she took in the rest of the tattoo. Some of the roots extended below the waist of his jeans, and she was dying to know if there was more to the elaborate design.
“Chloe?” He tilted his face up, startling her from her thoughts. “You can take off the plastic film. It’s been long enough.”
As she peeled it off, she said, “What is it going to be?”
“An angel for my mother.”
“Like the one for Ashley?”
“A little different, but the same idea.”
“I like that. Your tattoos are beautiful. There are so many names and dates. You even have Gavin and Harper.”
“I told you that I don’t take anything for granted. Those are the names of my closest friends and family. Gavin is like a brother to me, which makes Harper like a sister-in-law. And the dates represent different events in my life, like the date my mother died and when I first met Preacher and Reba. The date I saw my father for the last time, the date my adoption was official, and plenty of others. I’ll probably keep adding to it forever.”
“And the words in the trunk?” she asked. “Cuffs? Sidecar?”
“Dark Knights I’m close to. Cuffs is a cop. He’s the kid I told you about last night. He was Blaine’s best friend when we were kids, the one Blaine beat up before saying all that stuff to me about family.”
Justin was a much deeper