Captain Steel made only one comment: “I didn’t do it to be a hero.”

 

My eyes glazed over as perspiration erupted on my palms. Damn. I closed my eyes. I didn’t do it to be a hero. I’d heard those words before, when I first met Talon. He’d been driving me from the airport to the ranch over a month ago.

 

“I think it’s really heroic what you did over there. I really respect our military.”

“I didn’t do it to be a hero.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to imply—”

“I’m no hero, blue eyes. In fact, I’m about as far from a hero as you’d get.”

“It really doesn’t matter what you think, does it? I think anyone who serves our country is a hero. That’s my personal definition, and I’m sticking with it.”

 

He’d resisted being called a hero. Wow. Just wow.

I’m no hero, blue eyes.

What a crock.

There was so much more to Talon than I knew.

Why hadn’t Marj told me any of this? The Award of Honor from the state? Why the hell not the Medal of Honor from the president? And why wasn’t this national news?

Actually, it probably was. That was where I’d start tomorrow in my research.

For now, I’d call it a day. My eyes were fatigued from staring at the computer screen for eight hours straight, but that wasn’t why I had to stop. I had to digest what I’d just read. I printed a copy of the article and slid it into my briefcase.

Time to go home. I’d have to stop at the grocery on the way home because my new fridge was bare.

I gathered everything. I didn’t even have to say good-bye to anybody in the office because they were already gone. I made my way downstairs and outside the building. As I walked toward the small grocery, a neon sign caught my eye. Toby’s Tattoo Parlor. I’d seen the tattoo place before, of course, but I’d never ventured in. Tattoos had always fascinated me, and I wanted one—a tasteful one—right on the small of my back. However, I hadn’t found an image that spoke to me…until a few nights ago.

My mother’s new boyfriend, Nico, had a beautiful phoenix tattooed on his forearm—swirls of fuchsia, red, gold, purple, with neon-blue and orange flames shooting out from its wings as it rose from a pile of gray ash. It was a symbol of strength, of rebirth, of a new beginning.

All the symbolism I needed in my life.

That was the image I wanted.

A phoenix.

A girl with spiky black hair and a lip ring sat at the front desk, and two male artists worked in the back.

“Can I help you?” the girl asked.

“Yeah, I like to get a tattoo on my lower back, and I’d like to take a look at your art books. I’m looking for a picture of a phoenix.”

“Oh, yeah, those make great tats.” She pulled a large book up onto the counter. “Take a look in here. We have lots of phoenixes in our mythological creatures section. Dragons too. You like dragons?”

“Sure. But I want a phoenix.” I took the book and sat down in one of the chairs across from her desk. I skipped straight to the phoenixes. Phoenix after phoenix after phoenix. They were all beautiful but not exactly what I was looking for—

Until there it was—a near replica of the one I’d seen on my mother’s boyfriend’s forearm. A gorgeous tattoo, and the colors were psychedelic almost to the point of mind-numbing. Perfection. I walked back up to the girl.

“I’d really love this one. Can any of you guys do it?”

“Yeah, I can do that one. You want to make an appointment?”

“Actually, could I see some of your work first?”

She nodded. “Absolutely. I wouldn’t expect you to let me decorate your skin unless you were familiar with my work. I’m Haley, by the way.”

“Jade,” I said.

Haley handed me another book, this one not quite as big. “This is my portfolio. If you want to look at the other guys’ portfolios, please do.”

I opened the book. Haley’s work was gorgeous. I wouldn’t have to look any further. “You do great work,” I said to her. “Yeah, let’s make an appointment.”

“Actually, if you have time right now, I’m available. The tat will take about two hours and run about two fifty.”

Two hundred and fifty bucks. I’d just written Sarah a check, but I had enough money in my account to cover it, and I was employed. Still, the car savings and the student loans that were coming due… But something had drawn me into the shop, and then I’d found the exact image I wanted. Seemed like kismet.

What the hell? I closed the book and smiled at Haley. “Let’s do it.”

Chapter Nine

Talon

I mounted Phoenix and rode away from the northern quadrant. It was early in the evening yet, so I decided to take a ride. Let the wind run through my hair a little more.

I rode for about an hour and then headed back to the house. Felicia would have dinner ready soon, and I was actually hungry. Riding was so good for me. I needed to remember to do it more often.

I took Phoenix back to the stables, asked a hand to groom him, and drove back to the ranch house. I walked in and inhaled—robust pork, corn, and chile. Felicia had made tamales, one of my favorite meals.

“Felicia, smells great,” I said, entering the kitchen.

“It’s ready, Mr. Talon. Could you tell Miss Marjorie and her guest to come to the table?”

“Her guest?”

“Yes, a young lady came a few minutes ago. I assume she’s staying for dinner.”

“Where are they?”

“They’re in the living room. Didn’t you see them?”

“I came in the back way.” I walked out of the kitchen through the hallway and into the living room. My stomach was fluttering. God, fluttering. What was I? Some kind of adolescent? Of course it would be Jade. Who else would Marjorie have over?

But Felicia would have said Jade, not “her guest.”

My heart sank when I saw who sat across from my sister in the living room—the cocktail waitress I had bedded on a couple occasions. Shit, I couldn’t even remember her name. Jenny? Julie?

I backed out slowly. Maybe they hadn’t seen me.

But, of course, my sister turned toward me. “Talon, there you are.” Her lips were pursed. “You have a visitor.”