by Hope Stone
Kat’s eyes widened, but before she could form a response, the curtain was opened once again. Piper had arrived. She paused as she entered, staring between the two of us.
“Am I interrupting something?”
“Nope,” Kat answered, a little too quickly.
I just smiled before pulling out an alcohol wipe from one of my drawers and deliberately wiping the phone number off my hand. I could see Kat watching me out of the corner of my eye.
“One of those coffees for me?” Piper asked, and Kat jolted.
“Oh…yeah. Here.”
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that I was distracting her. She handed over one of the coffees to Piper, and I walked over to the little half-wall that separated us.
“Thanks for the advice. But it’s not necessary. I have a type. Barbie isn’t it.”
“Really? And why would I care?” she challenged, but I could see the spark of interest in her eyes.
“Just making friendly conversation,” I said. I could tell that Piper was listening, so I didn’t say any of the filthy things that were running through my mind as I peeked down the front of her top. “Personally, I like a woman with a wild side.”
“You think you can handle that?”
I wasn’t too sure anymore as I looked into her blue eyes. It looked like I might have met my match. But I was determined to find out, one way or the other.
Kat
Jealousy was an unfamiliar and ugly emotion. I wanted nothing to do with it.
But when I walked into the shop this morning and saw Blade with a topless Ashlynn, I had felt it. I knew it was crazy since we’d just met, but all I could figure was that I wanted to sleep with him. It made sense. He was my type. Confident. Sexy. Biker. Tattooed.
He checked all the boxes, and he seemed interested in me, too.
I was sure it was going to happen sooner or later. Why not? We’d have a few rounds between the sheets, and I’d get him out of my system.
I thought about it all morning. Then, a man came in just after my lunch break, interested in a full sleeve. He wanted me to design one that would look like he had a robot arm under his flesh. We spent the better part of an hour just working on the design. I drew it out on a sketchpad that I kept on hand for just this kind of thing. Once he was happy with it, I drew the outline on his skin, until he had pen marks from shoulder to wrist.
For an intricate piece like this, I didn’t want any distractions, so I selected my punk rock playlist on my iPhone and plugged in my earbuds. One song after another played as I went over the marks I’d made with the tattoo gun, working steadily. The client was my favorite kind to have in my chair, just content to relax and let me work without chattering or needing a lot of breaks. When he took his shirt off, I spotted several other tattoos on his body, so I figured this was just another, bigger one for him.
Time flew as I worked, and by the time I finished the outline, it was closing time. I scheduled him to come back tomorrow to finish the piece, rubbing my stiff hand from holding the tattoo gun for so long. It looked great, and I was excited to complete it with shading tomorrow.
“Wow. You were in the zone today,” Blade said as we did our end of the day clean-up. It was the first time he spoke without coming across as cocky or teasing.
I smiled. “I love working on a nice piece like that.”
“You mean the guy?” he asked. The teasing tone was back in his voice, but I could see something darker flash in his eyes.
“I mean the tattoo, doofus.”
“Ouch.” He placed a hand on his chest and pouted.
“Are you ever serious?”
“I try to keep things light,” he shrugged.
I was finished with my clean-up, so I grabbed my purse out of the cabinet and walked over to the divider separating our sections.
“You know,” I leaned forward on my elbows as he finished his own cleaning, “I have a feeling that you’ve got an edgier side, just beneath the surface.”
Blade closed the distance between us and used the tip of his finger to tilt my chin up until I was looking into his eyes.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” he asked.
I felt a shiver run down my spine. Yes, I wanted to know what made him tick, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. That wouldn’t be nearly as fun.
So, I straightened and took a step back. “Good night, Blade.”
I winked at him before turning and walking over to Piper, who was waiting for me by the curtain with an amused expression on her face. She waited until we were outside to call me out on it.
“So, you want Blade, huh?”
“Maybe.” There was no point in denying it. She worked right there with us.
Now that I thought about it, she’d been quieter than usual today. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye.
“You’re not upset, are you?” I asked. “I mean, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“Girl, I’m just enjoying the show,” she laughed. “The little game you two are playing is amusing as hell.”
“Game?” I asked as we walked across the parking lot together, where our cars were parked side-by-side.
“The will-they-won’t-they thing. The sexual tension between the two of you is gonna snap like a rubber band.”
I laughed, but she was probably right.
“If that happens at work, I’m outta there,” she declared.
I put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. I wanted to tell her that I would never do that at the shop, but I had a feeling that when it came to Blade, all bets were off.
I was getting into my car when I heard the distinct rumble of a motorcycle engine coming to life. Turning with my body halfway inside of my vehicle, I saw Blade mounting his bike.
I’d love to ride on the back of it, my body pressing against his in all the right places, my thighs spread wide. The thought sent a wave of desire through my core. I figured that Piper was right about the sexual tension. I could only take so much before I snapped.
I looked up from the cards in my hand to see Veronica walk into the room with a tray in her hands loaded up with a pitcher of frozen margaritas and salt-rimmed glasses. I was more of a beer drinker myself, but I’d never say no to a free drink.
“I made margaritas!”
Not that it was really free. I’d already lost about fifty bucks at this table in the last two hours. I was a shitty poker player, even though I played with these women often.
Piper was even worse than me. Sitting to my right, she had a small little half-smile that I knew meant she had a good hand. One-by-one, the other two women at the table folded. I did the same, and Piper pouted.
“I’ve told you, you have a tell,” I said apologetically.
“Don’t worry, Piper, you’ll learn to hide it,” Veronica said as she handed over a glass full of the alcoholic drink. We were at Veronica’s house, enjoying a ladies’ night poker game. Veronica was an old friend of mine from high school. We’d kept in touch over the years and started getting together occasionally for drinks after her divorce. That had evolved into a weekly poker night with Piper and Veronica’s sister, Tammy.
It couldn’t have come at a better time. I needed the girl time.
“But will I learn to hide it before I go broke?” Piper asked.
I snickered.
There was a bowl of chips sitting between Tammy and me, and I kept snacking on it. I shouldn’t have skipped dinner, but at least Veronica always provided snacks. Every time we met at my place, I was lucky to have a six-pack on hand. I’d endured endless teasing over the years for not being a good host.
“So, what’s new in your world?” Tammy asked, shuffling to deal another hand.
“Same shit,” I shrugged, but Piper nudged my side with a teasing grin.
“Don’t lie,” she said. Then, she addressed Tammy. “We have a new co-worker, and he’s hitting it off with Kat already.”
“Is love in the air?” Veronica asked, throwin
g five dollars worth of chips into the middle of the table.
“Hardly,” I rolled my eyes. “He’s hot, but I don’t really know him yet.”
“Speaking of love,” Veronica looked at Tamy, “do you want to share your news?’’
With the biggest smile I’d ever seem, Tammy held up her left hand, where a square-cut diamond sparkled on her finger.
“Bill finally popped the question?” Piper asked, leaning forward to get a better look at the rock.
“Yep.” Tammy was glowing as she confirmed it.
“Congrats,” I said. I was happy for her, but I didn’t understand what the big deal was about getting married. These days, with divorce rates being as high as they were, it seemed like setting yourself up for failure to me.
I never wanted to do it.
As Tammy talked about her plans for the wedding, which wasn’t even going to take place until next year, I tried to look interested. I just couldn’t wrap my head around spending so much money on one party that didn’t really mean anything in the end. It was just a piece of paper that represented a promise that could easily be broken. Marriage didn’t mean forever. The only way that was going to happen was if you wanted it.
Personally, I’d rather spend that kind of big money on a new bike or a vacation, something like that.
I thought about my empty house. It would be nice to have someone there, someone to come home to every day, but I didn’t need a wedding band to know that I had that. I believed in a man showing his intentions with actions, not words and promises.
Blade
The warehouse was full of people once again. The turnout for these street fights was huge, much larger than I would have guessed before I started coming. I figured that a secret, illegal activity like this would have to have a limited number of participants to keep it under wraps. It turned out that we were all at risk of incarceration just by being here, so no one was likely to rat out the location for fear of getting busted themselves. It was kind of beautiful.
“I can’t believe you talked me into coming back here,” Alex said from my side. He was in a shitty mood tonight.
The frustrating thing was that Alex probably would have been more willing to tag along and watch my back if he knew that I was trying to gather information about a killer to avenge a man and protect that man’s wife and kid. But that was club business, and I couldn’t talk about it.
“Lighten up. The guy I’m going up against tonight isn’t nearly as big as the Beast.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“Drink your beer and stick with me,” I said, handing over a bottle with the cap already twisted off.
Alex took it without comment, and I tipped back my own drink. Usually, when I came here, I registered to fight, then stayed out of the way. I spent the time observing the fights, taking mental notes on my potential future opponents, and getting hyped up for my own round. I wasn’t interested in making friends.
But tonight, I had to work the crowd.
I could feel the weight of Alex’s gaze as I led us around the edge of the group of observers. Closer to the fighting ring, the crowd was rowdy, as the gamblers got worked up over the fight, but further back, I could have a conversation.
I spotted a man that I’d seen at Luca’s side in the past. If I remembered correctly, he went by the name Kane. Approaching, I took note of his bloodshot eyes as he polished off a bottle of Bud, tossing the empty to the side, where it broke on the concrete along with a small pile of others. If they were all his, luck was on my side. In my experience, drunk men had loose lips.
“Who do you favor in the next fight?” I asked, stopping beside him and leaning against a concrete pillar.
If he was surprised that I was talking to him, he didn’t show it.
“You planning to place another bet? It sure as hell worked out well for you last time.” Kane remarked.
I shrugged. “Not sure. It’s easy to bet on myself, but I can’t predict what others will do.”
“I’ll admit, you surprised the hell out of me last week. The Beast is...well, a beast. I’m not sure if you’re a hero around here or a villain for taking him down.”
“I’m not here to make friends either way.”
“So, why are you talking to me?”
Damn, he had me there. Maybe he wasn’t as drunk as I’d hoped.
“Looking to score some blow,” I said on a whim. In reality, I didn’t touch that shit, but it would do well to hide my real motives. I saw Alex freeze out of the corner of my eye and hoped that he wouldn’t interrupt unless I needed backup for some reason.
“Really?” Kane leveled me with a speculative gaze, which I met head-on. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but I made sure that my eyes didn’t waver.
“Yep. My friend and I are hoping to have a good time later tonight.”
“Why’d you come to me?”
“You’re Luca’s man, right? I heard he supplies.” That was a risk, but I needed to move this conversation forward.
“Where did you hear that?”
I gestured vaguely to the crowd around us. “Word on the street. But, you know what? Forget about it. I can take my business elsewhere.”
I started to turn away, but Kane spoke.
“Stop.” I did as he commanded, biting back a smile as he fell for my bluff. “I don’t deal for Luca, but you can ask him directly.”
I wasn’t sure that was wise, but I didn’t see that I had a choice.
“Where is he?”
Kane shook his head. “He’s not here tonight. He has some business to take care of elsewhere.”
“Is that so?”
Kane pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, lighting up one with a match. I watched as he inhaled before blowing out a puff of smoke.
“Luca’s a busy man. Little eccentric, too, if you ask me.”
“How’s that?” I couldn’t believe how lucky I was getting with this guy. I suspected that he liked having my full attention and would gossip about his employer as long as I didn’t make him suspicious.
“Oh, you know. Weird interests, almost obsessions. Like his damn pet snake.”
“Snake?”
“Yeah. You know, the one he wears around his neck sometimes. Big mother fucker.”
Okay. We were getting off track now.
“The snake. Right.” I had no idea what he was talking about, but it seemed like a good idea to play along. Kane took another drag off his cigarette.
“And lately, he’s been obsessed with that piece of land.”
Jackpot.
“Yeah? What land?”
Kane shrugged. “Some empty lot just outside of town. Nothing but a big empty field. Not sure what the hell his deal is with it, but all he’s talked about lately is buying the damn thing. He had a fit the other night when that real estate guy told him he wouldn’t sell it.”
My stomach clenched. I couldn’t believe that Kane was talking about the man that was murdered. It felt almost too good to be true, but I wasn’t going to question it. My gut told me that this man was a good source of information, and it was right.
“Did Luca say anything else about that guy?” I asked as Kane tossed his cigarette butt onto the ground with the ember still lit. When he looked at me again, I could have sworn that I saw a hint of suspicion in his glassy eyes.
“You know, you ask a lot of questions.” Kane looked between Alex and me. “You gotta thing for Luca, or what?”
I gave a weak smile as Kane laughed at his own inquiry. It looked like this conversation was over. Just in time, too. I was next to fight.
“Come on,” I said to Alex, gesturing with my head to a spot further from the crowd. I needed to wrap my hands and shed my shirt.
“What the hell was that?” Alex asked in a demanding tone while following along behind me.
“Friendly small talk,” I said without turning to look at him.
“Bullshit.”
I sighed as I came to a stop. Turning to face
Alex, I leaned in closer so that we wouldn’t be overheard.
“All you need to know is that Luca is bad news. I’m trying to figure out what he’s up to.”
“Does this have anything to do with that club you’re a part of?”
Sometimes I forgot how perceptive he could be.
“I’m not a member yet.”
Alex let the subject drop, but I was sure that I would have to answer his questions eventually. For now, it was time to fight.
I tried not to fidget as I sat in the stiff wooden chair, waiting for my parents to arrive. Ocean’s Edge was an upscale seafood joint, the kind of restaurant that required a jacket. It wasn’t my kind of place, but I wasn’t going to skip out on my mom’s birthday dinner.
Sitting on the table at my elbow was a pretty little box covered in blue wrapping paper and a white bow made of ribbon. My parents didn’t hurt for money, so I never knew what to buy her as a gift. She’d just tell me not to bother if I asked.
My eyes landed on my father’s rigid form at the hostess stand. He was always easy to spot, being so tall. And a man like Harold Shelton wasn’t going to slouch self-consciously either. Nope, he walked with his head high and shoulders back, like the war hero that he was.
My mom was at his side, her blonde hair pulled back in a French twist. She smiled when she saw me waiting at the table. I stood to greet her, pulling her thin body into a hug while she kissed my cheek. She’d always been a small woman, seemingly fragile. I suspected that my father saw her the same way, and she had him wrapped around her little finger.
“Happy birthday, Mom,” I said.
“I’m so glad you could make it,” she said, stepping back, but keeping a hold of my hands. She looked me over with a small grin. “And you look so handsome.”
“Here you go, Molly,” my dad said, pulling out a chair for her.
Silence settled over the three of us as we all picked up our menus. I tugged at the knot of the tie around my neck, trying to loosen it a bit. My father’s sharp eyes caught the movement, and I could see the judgment there, but I didn’t care. I felt like I was suffocating with it on. How did some men wear them every day?
