Read Online Hard to Hold on To by Laura Kaye - Free Book Online Page A

leg, but its gait didn’t seem too badly impacted by the loss.
    “Hey, who are you?” came a woman’s voice.
    Jenna’s gaze flashed up and landed on a petite woman standing in the hallway near one of the doorways. Dressed all in black, she had bright red highlights in her jet hair and tattoos all the way down both arms to her hands, currently covered by rubber gloves.
    “I’m . . . J . . . Je . . .” She tried to swallow, but the panic was now gripping her throat. Get a grip, Jenna! But she couldn’t.
    “What’s going on?” said a man as he stepped out of the facing room. His gaze cut from the black-haired woman to her, and he smiled. “Hey, Jenna. How are you? Sorry, I had earbuds in. Jess, this is Jenna, Sara’s sister,” he said, walking toward her. And then his expression fell and he rushed over. “What’s the matter? Are you okay?” he said, gently grasping her upper arms.
    She flinched, not because she was scared of him—he seemed friendly enough—but because her central nervous system was on high alert. She couldn’t help herself.
    Next thing she knew, he took her by the hand and guided her to a couch. The little puppy followed and danced around their feet. They sat, the man never letting go of her hand, even as the puppy chewed one of his shoestrings. The guy fished his cell phone out of his jeans pocket. “I’ll get your sister. Don’t worry.”
    “No,” she managed though it came out more as a moan. If Sara saw her like this again, she wouldn’t be able to keep her promise not to blame herself. She wouldn’t be able to not worry. And Jenna couldn’t keep her own promise not to feel like a burden if Sara was upset over Jenna. What a mess.
    “No? Not Sara?” he asked.
    Jenna shook her head, but wasn’t sure if he’d be able to tell with how bad she trembled.
    “Hey, Jess? Can you grab that blanket from my room?” he called over his shoulder.
    The woman appeared a moment later with a black-and-purple fleece, and the man took it from her and shook it out. “I guess I can forgive that Steelers shirt. Just this once.” He winked, held up the Baltimore Ravens logo on the corner of the blanket, and wrapped it around her shoulders. Then he grasped her hand again.
    “Th-th-thank you,” she managed, as the warmth settled over her. Already, being around other people was helping take the worst edge off her panic.
    “You’re welcome. I’m Jeremy, by the way. Nick’s brother. Oh, have you met Nick yet?”
    “No,” she whispered.
    “Well, we’ll get you introduced to everyone. Don’t worry. Nick and I own this place,” he said. “Welcome to Hard Ink Tattoo.” Another wink, then he scooped the puppy into his arm. “And this little monster is Eileen.” The puppy licked Jeremy’s jaw, making him laugh.
    He was so friendly that a smile tugged at the corner of Jenna’s lips. She nodded, then she heaved a deep breath. “E-Easy?”
    Jeremy tilted his head. “Easy? You want E?”
    Jenna gave a fast nod.
    “I think he’s up in the gym. Think you can walk?” He placed the puppy on the floor and shooed her away.
    “Yeah.” But when they stood, the room went a little wobbly around her. If she could just get in a deep breath . . .
    “Whoa,” Jeremy said, catching her by the shoulders. “Maybe you should wait here, and I’ll—”
    “No,” she rushed out. “I c-can do it.” She closed her eyes, pictured Easy’s face from before, and forced a couple of not-deep-enough breaths. When she felt less shaky, she gave a nod.
    “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to keep ahold of you on the steps so you don’t lose your balance. Would that be all right?” He peered down so he could see in her eyes. And now that the panic was easing off, Jenna could take in just how cute Jeremy was. Disheveled, dark brown hair, pale green eyes, piercings on his lip and eyebrow, and lots and lots of ink.
    “ ’Kay.” As they made their way back out of Hard Ink and up the steps, Jeremy kept