by Amiee Louise
Revelations
Tattoos and Tears – Book 2
By Amiee Louise
Published by Scarlet Lantern Publishing
Copyright © 2018 by
Amiee Louise & Scarlet Lantern Publishing
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language.
All characters in this work are 18 years of age or older.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
From the Author
Revelations is the second book in my Tattoos and Tears series. If you haven’t already done so, reading book 1, Temptations, is necessary to fully enjoy Revelations. You can find Temptations on Amazon here: http://mybook.to/TT1Temptations
Thanks for reading, and enjoy Revelations!
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1
Peyton
I am aware of the noises and hear muffled voices in the background, but my brain can’t focus on what’s going on. I hear the sounds of sirens and the familiar noise of the London traffic. I desperately want to scream out, but my vocal chords do not cooperate, and all I see is perpetual darkness.
The next thing I know, I wake up in an all-too-bright room with blinding fluorescent lights above me. My vision is blurred, and I struggle to focus on my surroundings. All I am aware of is that every part of my body hurts and aches. I go to move, and my body protests. I try again to focus, and that’s when I see him—Sam, my gorgeous rock star. His familiar handsome face is spoiled with concern and sadness.
“Ruby, she is awake.”
His voice is gruff and broken. Ruby’s face comes into focus, and I turn my head.
“Thank God. Peyton, hey it’s me, Ruby.”
I open my eyes, feeling more aware of my surroundings.
“Hey, sleeping beauty,” Sam says, stroking my hand.
“Sam.” My voice is hoarse and doesn’t sound like my own.
“It’s OK. I’m here. You’re in the hospital, angel.” I frown, and he gives me some water through a straw to hydrate my dry throat. “You were in an accident.”
Sam’s jaw clenches, and I know instantly there’s something he is keeping from me.
“Sam, what happened?”
I sound anxious, though I’m not sure why. He looks from me and then to Ruby. She wipes a tear from her eye and sniffs, as if she is building up the courage to tell me.
“You were in a car accident, sweetie,” Ruby finally says. “Forensics have gone over your car with a fine-toothed comb. They reckon it was deliberate—someone cut your brakes.”
Sam’s face turns angry. His jaw is clenched, and he starts to pace around the room, running his hands through his hair.
“W-what? Why? How?”
I struggle to take in what Ruby has just said. Deliberate… someone cut my brakes on my car on purpose. Why would someone want to do that? I can’t process this information, and I go to sit up. I scrunch my face in pain, and like lightning, Sam rushes over to the bed.
“Jesus, angel, please try not to move,” he says, his voice soft with concern. A tear spills from my eye.
“Sam, it hurts.”
He strokes my hand. “I know, baby. Jesus Christ, I thought I’d lost you.”
I see the angst in his eyes; he looks as if he hasn’t slept in a few days and my heart clenches.
“Skip is outside guarding the room in case the person who did this tries to come here and Cole’s back at the apartment going through the CCTV footage from my building. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, angel, I promise. Whoever did this they’re not going to fucking get away with it,” Sam spits out angrily.
A guard outside my room—what the fuck? This is all too much for my brain to process right now, and that’s when the tears come. Tears spill from my eyes and they won’t stop. I am sobbing uncontrollably, and Sam holds me, comforting me as best as he can.
A few hours pass, and I have been drifting in and out of sleep, hearing the low humming beep of hospital machines around me. I can hear Ruby and Sam talking in hushed tones.
“She has been out for five fucking days, Sam, who would want to do this to her?” Ruby sobs softly. I can hear Sam’s footsteps pacing around the room.
“I really don’t know, but I’m going to find out, and they’re not going to fucking get away with this, Ruby, I can promise you that.”
Sam’s phone starts ringing. “I need to take this, it’s Cole. I won’t be long.”
I hear him leave the room and the chair scrapes along the floor, as Ruby takes his place next to my bed. I open my eyes to look at her.
“Hey, how are you feeling, sweetie?” she asks softly, and I clear my throat.
“Sore.”
Ruby smiles. “I know, babe. You gave us all such a scare. Thank God you’re all right.”
A tear rolls down my cheek as I choke out, “I’m so sorry.”
Ruby shakes her head. She holds my hand and strokes it reassuringly. “Shush, none of this is your fault, Peyton, I promise you. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.”
I sob softly, “How long have I been in here?”
“Five days. It was touch and go at first, the crash was really bad. Your car took the majority of the damage; it’s a complete wreck.”
My eyes widen. I know I am lucky to be alive, but my beloved car?
“Sam’s been such a rock in all this. He called your parents and made the arrangements so that you could have a private room. He even dealt with the police and the press. That boy is a saint among men, babe, I’m telling you. Hold onto him.”
I look at her and cock my eyebrow.
“You couldn’t stand him the other day,” I say, smirking; it’s good to know that I haven’t lost my sense of humour. Ruby laughs, and Sam comes back into the room. A look passes between Ruby and him.
“What’s going on? Before you even think of fucking lying to me, just tell me what the hell is happening.”
Sam clenches his fist.
“That was Cole on the phone. He has gone over the CCTV footage from the parking garage, and he found something he thinks I should see. Motherfuckers!” Sam shouts, running his fingers through his hair frantically. Ruby stands up and brushes his arm reassuringly.
“I’ll go and get us some coffee. You two should talk.”
Ruby winks, and I smile weakly. She leaves the room, and Sam takes the seat next to my bed. He links our fingers together and strokes my knuckles.
“Christ, I’ve been in hell these past few days, angel. I’ve been relentlessly questioned by the police because it happened on my property and my parking garage is now a fucking crime scene. I swear I’m going to get the person who fuckin
g did this, baby, I promise you.”
Another tear rolls down my cheek, and I feel like all I have done since I have come around is cry. I’m actually pathetic.
“I can’t remember anything, Sam.”
He looks at me. “Shhh, it’s all right. You had a traumatic brain injury, angel, and some temporary short-term memory loss is normal, apparently.”
“What happened?” My voice is hoarse with unshed tears.
“You were pulling out of my parking garage, your brakes failed, and you crashed into an oncoming bus. It could have been so much worse; it’s lucky that the traffic lights were on red, or it would have been utter carnage. I had no idea what was going on until I got the call to say you’d been rushed into hospital.” He squeezes my hand and kisses the back of it gently. “Even now, you’re still beautiful.”
He smiles that familiar smile and strokes my face. I roll my eyes.
“Flattery will get you everywhere, Newbolt!”
We both laugh, and I hear a commotion outside the door. Sam gets up and opens the door.
“I’m her friend and her boss, dickhead. Fucking let me through. I need to see her now.” I hear Seb’s frantic raised voice, and Sam goes over to Skip to diffuse the situation. Seb kicking off outside my hospital room, I do not want to see that. I have seen it with my own eyes before, and it isn’t a pretty sight. Seb, being ex-SAS, is badass and could probably knock someone on their arse by just looking at them.
“It’s all right, mate, let him through.”
Skip nods curtly and gestures to let Seb through the door. He is clutching a large bouquet of purple gerberas and a Starbucks take-out cup. He comes in and then backs up when he sees me lying in the hospital bed. Great, I must look really bad. He comes closer.
“Hey, honey, how are you feeling? I bought you your favourite Starbucks coffee, espresso macchiato. I know you must be desperate for a decent cup of coffee, and I bought you flowers,” he rushes out in a soft voice.
“Thank you so much, babe, I appreciate it.”
Sam looks over at me. “I’ll leave you two to it. I need to make a couple of calls, I’ll be back in a little while, angel. I promise.”
He kisses me on the cheek, nods to Seb, and leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. Seb is standing awkwardly next to my bed.
“Sit down, babe, for fuck’s sake. You’re making the place look untidy!”
He laughs. “Still not lost your sense of humour then, honey?”
I shake my head, and the door opens. A nurse comes in and smiles brightly at me.
“I hope your visitors aren’t wearing you out, Peyton?”
She is a short, plump woman and looks to be in her late fifties. She has skin the colour of dark mocha, friendly hazel eyes, and a warm, infectious smile. Her greying hair is tied up in a neat bun, and she takes the flowers from Seb.
“I’ll put these in some water for you, petal.”
I nod and realise she knows my name, but I don’t know hers.
“Thank you…”
She smiles. “Estelle.”
I smile back, and she leaves the room. Seb sits down on the chair next to my bed.
“I came as soon as I heard you were awake; I was so worried about you, honey. I was here when you were bought in, I called Sam straight away.”
The look of pain and anguish in his eyes is apparent, as I regard him intently. There is an awkward silence between us, and I can tell by his body language that he is holding back. We haven’t had a chance to talk about the kiss from last Friday night either.
As if reading my mind, he says, “I’m so sorry about what happened on Friday, babe, I don’t know what I was thinking.”
I lean my head back in the pillow and tell him, “It’s OK. Honestly, it was just a moment of madness, and I was really drunk.”
That old chestnut, you’re fooling no one, Harper. I shake that thought away, and he smiles.
“Great, so I took advantage of a drunken woman. Well played, Seb!”
“It’s fine, let’s say no more about it, babe, and forget it ever happened.”
He nods, and with those words, our kiss is forgotten. We are back to being just regular Peyton and Seb.
“How are things at the shop?”
He takes my hand. “Things are good, busy, but good. You don’t need to worry about a thing, honey. Parker is back temporarily from paternity leave, and I have a guest artist in from across town. You remember Harley? Harley Hernandez from Black Tiger Ink. I’ve postponed my trip to America until you’re back on your feet.”
My eyes widen, and I suddenly feel bad for letting Seb down. A tear rolls down my cheek.
“I’m so sorry, Seb.” I sob. Seb strokes my knuckles and places a gentle kiss on the back of my hand.
“Hey, honey, please don’t cry, none of this is your fault, you didn’t ask to be in here. It’s all under control. You’re a friend first and an employee second, babe. You take as long as you need. You’re my shop manager, and your job is totally one million percent safe.”
I have never felt so useless. I fucking hate hospitals. Seb stays for an hour or so, and I find out that he is an uncle. Parker and Riley had their twin boys, born prematurely on the weekend, Joshua and Zeke. He gushes and shows me pictures on his phone. I am really happy for him and the new addition to his ever-expanding family. He leaves promising that he will be back to visit soon. I am in the hospital room on my own at last, and my eyes feel heavy. Soon, I am a slave to sleep.
The next morning, I am barely awake, and I hear raised voices.
“I fucking own you, Sam, I made you what you are today, and I can crush you. I’ll make damn sure your career is ruined and in tatters. No one in the music industry will touch you with a ten-foot pole.” J.D.’s familiar cold voice fills my ears.
“I don’t give a fucking shit, J.D, because I’ve got something you’ll never have.”
J.D sighs and sounds bored. “And what might that be, Sammy?”
“Love. I’ve got a woman who loves me more than life itself and someone who I love unconditionally. Being so close to losing her has made me realise that life is short. I intend to spend the rest of my life with her proving that she is the only woman I’ll ever want.”
Sam’s words warm me inside. He wants to spend the rest of his life with me. Wow! Peyton Leigh Newbolt definitely has a ring to it! J.D.’s voice cuts through my thoughts.
“That’s not who you are, Sammy. You’re one-quarter of the biggest rock band in the world. You should be balls deep in a different groupie every night of the week, more than one, just like the old days.”
I inwardly wince at J.D.’s crass words.
“Every night was a party; now all you want to do is be with her. It’s fucking sickening. Do you think the fans want to see you with a girlfriend? No, they want to carry on fantasising about their favourite rocker sprawled naked in their beds, willing to tend to their every fantasy, not settled down with some tart that got lucky.”
Sam growls. I know that J.D knows how to get under his skin, and I can feel the anger radiating off him in waves.
“Don’t you fucking dare talk about her like that ever. She is more than that, and I love her so much it hurts. Why don’t you understand that, J.D? Is it really that hard for you comprehend?”
J.D is about to speak, but their altercation is interrupted by the door opening.
“Good morning, Sam.” Estelle’s voice fills the room.
“Morning, Estelle.” I hear the smile in Sam’s raspy voice, and she sighs. My eyes flutter open; Sam comes over to my bedside and strokes my hand. “Good morning, my beautiful girl.”
He kisses my forehead and Estelle comes to stand next to him.
“If you could give me a minute to examine her please, Sam?”
Sam nods and salutes. “I’ll be just outside, baby.”
He leaves the room with J.D. hot on his tail. I can tell that their argument is far from over.
“Our hospital has never had so many fa
mous people through the doors! You’re a very popular girl, Peyton.” I smile. “Marlowe Newbolt from the Lightning Bolts was here; even now he is still dishy!”
Her laugh is warm and infectious; I find myself laughing with her. Marlowe, Sam’s dad was here? I vow to ask Sam when he comes back.
“That rock band that your man is in Rancid something-or-other all the boys have been here. My daughter is itching to catch a glimpse; she is their biggest fan.”
