A Long Way Back (Unfinished Business #2) - Barbara Elsborg Page 0,97
while.”
Ink made his way to his room and lay down, probably for the last time on his bed. The strange thing was that his heart had unclenched. It wasn’t beating too fast or too hard, it was just beating. He felt bad that he’d burdened Tay as he’d unburdened himself, but he owed him the truth.
Chapter Fifteen
TAY SAT MOTIONLESS ON THE COUCH while his heart thundered in his chest. What the hell had he just listened to? Dog let out a low whine, put his head on Tay’s lap and as Tay ran his hand down his back, stroking him gently, the storm inside him moved away. What Ink had… Killian… The letters I-n-k were inside Killian. He’s Ink to me. Not Killian. He didn’t believe for one moment that Ink had killed his brother. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.
Except…
Oh God. He didn’t want there to be an except, but what if Ink had done it and blanked it out? What if he’d told himself over and over that he didn’t do it, so that he’d eventually come to believe it? Even if he’d hit his brother, it wasn’t as if he’d set out to kill him. But Tay remembered the press had talked of the damage done to Ruari’s body, the details said to be too gruesome to tell the public.
I don’t believe Ink killed him.
I don’t believe Ink went back and did that to his brother.
There wasn’t an except. Tay believed Ink.
But…
Fuck it. Dog whined again and Tay resumed his stroking. How could Ink tell him that and just expect…? He took a deep breath. Ink wanted him to think about what he’d said. Tay didn’t remember the details of the case. Apart from thinking at the time, like the rest of the country, it had been a horrible crime, he’d not given it another thought. Now he had to.
Worst-case scenario. If Ink had done it, would Tay still want him around? He’d been to prison for ten years. All his teenage life gone. His past replaced by lies. It made Tay’s brief exit from the world look like nothing. But if Ink was guilty, he’d served his time. More than served it. His life was bleak. Homeless, living day to day, constantly looking over his shoulder, afraid to trust anyone, unable to even have a friend for very long.
Do I still want him? They were at the start of something here. Maybe it wouldn’t last, but Tay believed it might now there were no secrets between them. Ink had taken a risk telling him, but now he didn’t have to fear that revelation. Tay might have found out, but he might not have. Was he glad he knew? God, that was a hard question to answer. Yes, but he wished Ink had never had to tell him.
Ink had saved his life—with the codeine and at Covent Garden. He’d likely saved other lives too by tackling the terrorists. He’d been stabbed. He could have died. He was a good guy. A hero. But all that would be undone if people knew his real name.
Dog loved him. Animals knew stuff about people. Dog trusted Ink to look after him.
I trust Ink. I want to help him.
It wasn’t enough to still want Ink even if he had killed his brother. Tay needed to believe the version Ink had told. Ink hadn’t done it.
Finally, out of his muddled thinking, came certainty.
I’m on his side. I’ll always be on his side.
Dog jumped down and ran over to the patch of sunlight in front of the window. He spun round four and half times and lay down facing Tay. Up to me, is it? Tay pushed to his feet and went to Ink’s room.
Ink lay on the bed facing the wall. His eyes were closed, but Tay didn’t think he was asleep. Tay put down his crutch and climbed onto the bed next to him. He tucked himself as close to Ink as he could without pressing himself against his injured back, but his face touched Ink’s neck, and he laid his arm over Ink’s hip.
“I believe you,” Tay whispered.
Only the slight change in Ink’s breathing told Tay he’d heard what he’d said.
“Sleep now. I’ll look after you.”
Ink let out a shaky exhalation. “You don’t need me messing up your life.”
“You’re exactly what I need.”
TAY WAS WOKEN BY HIS phone vibrating in his pocket. He rolled away from Ink and pulled it out. It was his mother. Tay didn’t want to wake Ink so