Broken & Burned Read Online Free PDF

air. He flipped something in a skillet and the way the muscle moved beneath his skin caused the heart to throb once as if it were beating. I found the image captivating and found myself moving closer to get a better look.
    “What does it mean?” I asked softly.
    “Symbol for the MC.” He said and nodded towards his jacket which hung on the back of one of the dining room chairs.
    I glanced at it, and sure enough the big patch in the center was a white background with a red bleeding heart on it. Wrapped around the blue veined heart was barbed wire and the valves morphed into gray steel, I belatedly realized, were supposed to be tail pipes. Orange, red and yellow fire hovered above the heart and I looked above it, a crescent patch arching above the heart read  ‘Sacred Hearts’ another curving below it, cradling the image bore the state we were in.
    “Oh.” I said.
    “Go put that down.” He grunted and I nodded and went into the guest room and set the bag with my soiled things next to my small pile in the center of the hardwood floor. I returned to the kitchen just as he was plating a grilled cheese sandwich.
    “What’s on your back?” he asked and I turned around and brought my shirt up, keeping my front covered , letting the ribbed cotton material ride on the back of my neck. The air in the room was cool against my naked skin. Dray gave a low whistle.
    My back bore a set of grayscale angel wings, the Irish trinity knot between my shoulder blades where the life like wings sprouted from. The ink I displayed dipped below the waistband of the boxer shorts I wore, the tips of the wings ending midway down each ass cheek.
    “Had it done after my da’ died.” I said, pulling my shirt back down.
    I heard the plate click against the table and turned around. The sandwich sat next to a steaming mug of tomato soup. I smiled and sank into a chair, tears springing to my eyes.
    “Miss him?” he asked softly.
    “Yeah but it’s not that… he used to always make me grilled cheese and tomato soup this time of year.” I sniffed and smiled up at him, Dray looked surprised.
    “Oh, it’s just what we had in the house.” He shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly.
    “You even made the soup with milk instead of water.” I observed. I raised my eyes to meet his, he arched one dark eyebrow, his full lips twisting up on one side.
    “Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be done?” he asked and I smiled.
    He brought over his plate and soup and took the seat at the head of the table where his jacket hung so we were sitting at a right angle to one another.
    “Where do you work?” he asked blowing on a spoonful of soup.
    “Quick-Stop Coffee, it’s that 24 hour coffee shack over on Allen Road.” I murmured, timidly sipping my soup from its mug so I wouldn’t burn myself. Warm, rich tomato flavor slid across my tongue and I felt some tension ease from my shoulders and back.
    Dray eyed me sideways and took a bite of his grilled cheese after dipping it into his soup.
    “What time you gotta be there?” he asked.
    “Four.” I said and he shrugged.
    “That’s not so bad.” He said and I smiled to myself.
    “In the morning… I get off work at twelve thirty and two days a week have class at the community college. Not tomorrow though.” I sighed.
    Dray was looking at me like I was some sort of fascinating alien creature.
    “What the hell time do you go to bed?” he asked.
    “Well I get up at three, so usually I’m in bed and asleep by eight if I want to get enough.” I explained.
    “Shit. You’re making me a free god damned coffee,” he muttered, then, “I can’t believe I’m going to do this.” I blinked at him.
    “Do what?” I asked.
    “Get my ass up the usual time I go to bed to take you to work.” He groused.
    “I… You don’t have to do that.” I said taken aback.
    He looked me in the eyes, his dark gaze burning and intense as it bore into my own.
    “You’re right. I don’t,” he said, he left the