His Jaguar Tattoo

Battle Scars

The slap of the screen door woke Zuri from her nap. She sat up in her bed and wiped her eyes. Was Drew finally home? What time was it? The bedside clock was off, but she had a feeling it was around midnight. Sighing, she got out of the bed and went to the bathroom. Just as she was finishing up, washing her hands, the bedroom door opened.

"Zuri?" called the deep timbre.

"In here," she replied, opening the bathroom door.

Drew placed his briefcase on the chair in the corner of the room and raked his fingers through his hair. The pale beams of moonlight outlined his broad figure in the dark room. Zuri's heart skipped a little.

"Why were you gone so long?" Her voice was quiet with uncertainty.

Rather than respond, he gestured for her to come to him. She did so. His arms pulled her into his chest, resting her head over his heart. It felt nice to have someone hold her after the day she'd had. Her guilt refused to relent, and she'd gone to bed feeling like the worst person alive.

"We couldn't get him," he finally whispered. "Kevin. We couldn't get him. Willis is hiding him somewhere, probably out of the country."

Zuri didn't know whether to be angry or relieved. Kevin tried blowing her up. Not only that, but he'd deceived her. That hurt worse than anything. But did she really want him dead? After all, this entire situation was her fault. Not his.

"I'm leaving tomorrow for a few days. We're going to find him and end his miserable little life." Drew's words rattled with danger and menace. It scared her just a tad.

"Can we just let him go?" she asked, pulling back to meet his gaze. "He's bad, but is it really worth—"

"Yes. It is worth it."

"What if this Willis guy hurts you? Or some of your men?"

Rubbing her cheek, Drew shook his head. "This is bigger than us now, Zuri. I would kill him just for trying to hurt you, but now he's a threat to more people. To innocent people. He has to die."

He has to die. Zuri let her brain wrap itself around that for a moment. The feelings it invoked didn't sit well with her.

"Can't you send someone else to do it?" she insisted.

Drew's face softened. "Look, come here."

She let him lead her to the bed, where he sat her down. His fingers roamed her face for a silent minute.

"If I don't go, my reputation will suffer," he said. "I don't have a choice."

"Your reputation?" She pulled away from him to fall back on the bed and glare at the ceiling. "You're willing to risk your life over a stupid reputation."

A groan rumbled out his chest. He sat down on the bed and hovered over her. "My reputation has been my key to success. I can't lose that."

"If you're dead, success means nothing."

"Zuri," he growled.

"I'm just saying. Besides, it's torture being stuck here with Elle and Ajax. There's nothing to do, and they annoy me."

He stood up from the bed and began unbuttoning his shirt. The gesture would've seemed scandalous if he wasn't busy also pacing the room. Biting her lip, Zuri trained her gaze on her hands.

"I don't know what else to do with you," he admitted.

"You can let me return to my grandma's house."

"They would expect that."

"Well, I can go stay in a dorm at the college."

"Too public."

She groaned. "You can't keep me holed up on a farm forever."

"No," he countered, "but I won't put you at risk unless I can be there to protect you."

"I thought that was what Ajax was for."

"Don't even go there with me."

Throwing her hands up in the air, frustrated, Zuri finally lifted her gaze again. Her argument got stuck in her throat with her breath. There Drew stood, shirtless, as he kicked his shoes off. This was the first time she got the whole view of his body.

Muscles rippled down his torso, stretching and pulling with each move he made. A fluff of hair darkened the planes of his pecks, narrowing down into a line to his belly button. Scars marked his abdomen and chest, some as long as her hand. When he turned his back to her, still grumbling about Ajax, she saw it.

The jaguar. It was a tattoo covering the entirety of his left shoulder. He turned around to find her still gaping. A strange look crossed his face.

"What?" he demanded.

"Those scars..." Her eyes filled with sympathy. "And that tattoo. What is it?"

Drew shook his head again. "The scars are from Afghanistan. The tattoo is from after."

For awhile, they remained in silence, no one moving or speaking. Only the wind howled against the window outside. Zuri sat up onto her knees and extended a hand toward him. He came to her like a magnet drawn by her touch. Her fingertips brushed against the scars. The longest was rigid and curved as though the wound never healed quite right.

A shudder ran through her body. She could only imagine the pain behind the scars. He took her hands and lifted them to his shoulders. His eyes probed hers until a tear slipped down her face. Grimacing, he wiped it away.

"Don't cry," he pleaded. "They don't hurt anymore."

"But this...this is why you are the way you are."

She buried her head into his chest. More than anything else in the whole world, she wished she could have stopped this from happening. Wished she could have stopped him from enlisting and deploying. Wished she could preserve the old Drew so he would be more than just a shell of that person now.

"We never would have met if that had never happened," he said, kissing her head.

"You never would've wanted me if that had never happened."

"I always wanted you." His voice was low and husky with emotion as he added, "I just didn't know it."

Another tear rolled down her cheek as she peered into his dark eyes. Zuri tried to speak, but both her voice and words failed her. Leaning into his chest, she found herself listening to his strong, forceful heartbeat and asking herself how they'd come to this.