by Lindsey Hart
“I mean, because it’s late. It will be late tomorrow. And the night after, if that’s what it takes.”
“No… I want…” Luna trailed off. Twin spots of colour appeared on her cheekbones. She was blushing. It was far too late and they were both far too awkward. Jack had the feeling that Luna was as alien to trusting and emotion as he was.
“What do you want, Luna?” Fuck. Was that deep, husky voice really his own? His hand itched to reach out and caress the soft skin of her cheek. Touch that beautiful pink hair. Her lips. Hell, anywhere.
“I… nothing.” Those full lips compressed into a thin line. “Just be here at seven. Triple the pay is fine.” She turned and started cleaning up, clear that he was dismissed.
Jack needed to get out of there. He needed air. Fresh, night air. Because this room was about ten sizes too small and if he stayed in it one second more, he would grab Luna and kiss the breath out of her lungs, steal it for his own.
He fled down the hall and burst out the back door, breathing hard. It wasn’t until he was halfway down the block that he realized he’d forgotten to pay her.
CHAPTER 7
“Boss, we have a problem. That guy on the paper, from last night. He’s back.” Benny stuck his head in the door and delivered the killing blow Jack had been dreading.
Why tonight? Why now, when he had to leave in half an hour. “He stayed this time?”
“Yah. He’s having a drink in booth three.”
“Alone?”
“So far.”
“When did he get here?”
“Ten minutes ago. We’ve been watching him. Sonny and Blonde are still on him. I don’t think he knows.”
Again, Jack doubted that very much. Benny tensed, clearly awaiting instruction. He was a good guy. Not the sharpest, but one of the nicest. He was in the wrong profession though his size, big and burly, was clearly suited to the job.
“I’ll go have a beer with him then. He’s waiting for me.”
Benny frowned. “You sure boss? We could kick his ass out of here and make sure he doesn’t come back.”
That wouldn’t help. He would just find me somewhere else. “Yah. I’m sure. Better to get it done and over with.”
“We’ll be watching.”
“I’m counting on it.”
Benny disappeared, leaving the door open behind him. Jack stare at the yawning, dark opening. He knew what lay beyond. A short hall, more rooms on each side, storage, offices. Finally a heavy metal door that was always locked. Staff and ownership only kind of a deal. Then the club. Dark, too dark. Far too many corners where people could get lost in. Booths, two bars, a dance floor and the DJ set up. Pulsing music. The bathrooms.
He shuddered. God, the bathrooms. Jack knew what went on in there. Sex. Drugs. Dubious humans doing even worse. Jack knew nothing about that. He didn’t understand the attraction. He bought the club out of foreclosure because he was a businessman. Since he’d started running it he’d been even more turned off towards drinking and everything else that went along with the whole night life that he’d missed out on. It turned out not having a childhood did have some benefits.
Jack made his way out into the pulsing music and throbbing humanity. The very air was scented with misery and sex. He kept his head low and made straight for the booth. He recognized Lion’s form even through the darkness, through the throngs of drunk, giggling, nasty people he had to wade through.
Tall, broad shoulders, black hair, long, thick neck. Lion was a mean son of a bitch and he looked it. From the black eyes engrained in Jack’s memory to the scar on the right side of his face that ran from above his ear to below his jawline, people knew better than to stray near the guy. He was the kind of person that other people avoided even in the light of day in a harmless setting. Lion could make even the toughest guy cross to the other side of the street when he passed.
Jack slid into the booth and those dark eyes settled on him, exactly as he remembered. Perhaps it wasn’t the gruff persona, the huge, hulking form or the scars. It was those eyes. Soulless. Lion’s irises were so dark they were nearly black. It was as though all the evil in the entire world had settled into those eyes.
“Jack.” Lion lifted his beer, a bottle of some domestic shit that tasted worse than horse piss, in a mock salute. “Excellent timing. I just got here.”
“I know.” Don’t show fear. Lion was like a dog. He feasted on other’s insecurity. Jack schooled his features into careful neutrality. He folded his hands across the scarred, sticky table top. The club pulsed around them, completely oblivious to the deadly conversation about to take place. Jack just hoped Lion was smart enough not to pull a knife or something. His guards were watching and Lion would be dead before he lifted a finger.
“Of course you do.” Lion shrugged. Took a sip of his beer. His throat bobbed hard as he swallowed. He glanced at the bottle, as though surprised. “This is not bad. Can I buy you one?”
“No.”
“Right. What would be the point when you already own the place?”
Jack shrugged, feigning a casualness he didn’t feel. His stomach clenched hard, anticipation of a good fight doing strange things to his insides. His shoulders tensed. As his muscles bunched his back burned, a reminder of the appointment he had yet to keep. He wasn’t going to miss it. If Lion thought he could stand in the way, he was about to get a reality check, handed out by yours truly.
“That’s common knowledge. Anyone can find that out using a computer and a search engine.”
“That’s not why I came and we both know it.”
“Yah, well. Why did you come? Make it fast. I have an appointment to keep.”
Lion shook his head and made a little tsking noise. Jack was reminded of that sound, all those nights Lion made it before he suddenly exploded into violence, smashing property and faces alike. It was all the same to Lion, who acted with an utter lack of regard for any other person.
“We both know why. That little piece at the tattoo shop… you think you can keep her a secret, Jack? Or what she’s doing? Go ahead, cover that tattoo up. You won’t be able to get rid of us. We are your brothers. You swore a blood oath to us. Cut your palm and pressed your hand to ours. Swore you would be our brother for life. There is no getting out.”
Jack laughed bitterly. He leaned forward, as intimidating as Lion could be. “That’s funny. You know, that’s actually fucking hilarious because I haven’t been part of your little shit gang in oh… right. Thirteen years.”
Lion’s hand itched like he wanted a cigarette at the moment. Even after nearly a decade and a half, Jack still knew Lion’s ticks and twitches. The man hadn’t changed, but then again, Jack was very, very perceptive. Those heightened senses were what kept him alive all those rough years.
“Doesn’t change shit,” Lion spat. “You might not be running with us, but we own a part of you. You can put money in the bank, buy property and wear fancy suits, get that tattoo covered up, own nice cars, a big house. It doesn’t change who you really are and where you came from. We were your family when you had nothing else.”
Jack leaned back, pretending to consider that as he blocked that part of his heart that used to actually feel emotion, right off. “Get to the point, Lion. I have a meeting right away.”
“What that little pink haired chit again? A back-door meeting,” Lion sneered. “Clever. Very clever of you. Get her to do your work… are you fucking her as well? You never were one for it. I could never understand why.” He looked Jack up and down and Lion’s upper lip curled back in disgust.
Jack carefully didn’t react. He didn’t expect the knifing rage and sheer protectiveness to stab through his chest. He felt like exploding across that table, wrapping his hands around Lion’s throat and choking the life out of the guy. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that the guy had saved his life. Lion had been there when Jack needed him the most. Also, it was completely inappropriate to feel anything where Luna was concerned.
It was a fi
rst. The wild, frantic, vengeful, protective emotions that ate at his insides and spurred him to lose his composure.
He kept it by sheer force of will. Barely. He sighed, pretending to be bored.
“I can get that tattoo covered up, you said so yourself. So what if we’re brothers? I made my choices the same way you made yours. I didn’t want that to be my life anymore. I didn’t want to end up in prison for life. I didn’t want the street to be my home. If it’s money you need, I’ll gladly give you some. Friendship, even, if you want it.”
Lion’s thin lips pulled back into a sick parody of a smile. “Oh, Jack. Jack, Jack, Jack. You still don’t get it. I’m not here for money. Or your friendship. Time doesn’t erase memories. It doesn’t erase brotherhood or blood. No, what I want, is your soul.”
CHAPTER 8
It was a distinct possibility that Jack didn’t know real pain until he felt the bite of those needles into his raw flesh for a second night in a row.
He showed up late to his appointment, thanks to Lion, but Luna was still there waiting. He refused to acknowledge the hopeful spark that flashed in her eyes when she’d opened the back door to his quiet knock. Had she waited for him or just for his business? Because he was paying her well or because she truly wanted to?
It wasn’t worth considering, especially not after his impromptu meeting with Lion. If Jack ever doubted he was bad news before, he knew now with certainty that he had to stay away from Luna.
Her hands, gloved up, had applied something cooling to the roaring burn of his back before she even started tattooing. Numbing gel or something, Jack figured.
Luna stayed pretty quiet and the pain knocked the words right out of Jack’s lungs. Not that he wanted to talk. No, what he wanted, irrational as it was, was to put a guy on Luna. Someone to watch her, a professional. He had lots of money. Finding some kind of undercover guard wouldn’t be hard.
Jack didn’t fully understand the protective urge that surged inside his chest. He just knew that after Lion had uttered that creepy statement about wanting Jack’s soul, the guy had slid out of the booth like a puddle of grease and left as silently as he’d appeared, disappearing into shadow.
“Do you want to sit up for a bit? I mean, would that be alright? I set the chair up as well. You could lean against it. Just for some of the shading it might help me to be at a different angle.”
Jack ground his teeth so hard his jaw ached. They’d been at this for what? An hour? Two? Three? He’d lost all track of time. “Yah…” That wasn’t his voice, thick and hoarse, was it?
Luna lifted the gun away and the buzzing stopped altogether a minute later. Jack propped himself up on one elbow, pushed and with a grunt, managed to get halfway up on the table. The world titled dangerously around him as blackness closed in at the corners of his eyes. He gripped the edge, his fingers curling into the hard metal and soft cushioning. Jack tried a breath and found his lungs actually expanded. Just one more and another and another and the blackness should hopefully clear.
“You alright?”
He turned towards Luna’s voice even though he couldn’t bring her face into focus. “Yah. Just… need a second…”
The touch of cool rubber glove on his shoulder, the burn of her hand just below that thin layer, sent a shockwave zinging straight through Jack. He waited, waited for the panic to set in but whatever was going on with him at the moment must have cancelled it out because it never came.
“Did you eat today?”
“Eat?” He said, numbly. It took a lot of effort to get that one word out.
“Yes. Eat.” Luna’s face swam into view. The knot between her brows revealed just how concerned she was.
“No,” Jack muttered. Damn it. He had been going to before Lion showed his ugly mug. Their meeting had taken up too much time. He’d never had a chance to grab anything.
“That’s it. We’re done for the night then.”
“What? No. I’m good to go.” He realized his words were slurring, like he was drunk. The black spots returned and he gripped the table hard, almost afraid he would fall off.
“You’re not. You can’t go through pain like this with no calories to burn.”
“Order pizza then.”
“What?”
“Order pizza.” His words were slurred but he made an attempt at humour. “I’ve only been here, what? A couple hours? We need to keep going. Do more.”
Luna’s gloved hands rested on her hips in a rigid stance that made her look fierce. Like a warrior woman set to do battle. I am fucking ridiculous. Jack realized it and knew it full well but he couldn’t erase the image from his mind. Luna in some jungle setting, wearing leather like clothing, half clad…
He gave his head a shake because suddenly his body was doing strange things. Heating up. Heart hammering behind ribs in a chest that felt closed in. His cock was so hard it nearly drilled through his jeans. It must be pretty fucking obvious and he hoped Luna’s eyes didn’t glance in that direction.
“You’ve been here for nearly five hours. I’m calling it a night. Because you need to eat and you need to take time to heal. You’re not a machine. If I tear you up any more than this, that tattoo is not going to heal right. It’s going to scab up and maybe even scar.”
“Yah….”
Luna’s hands dropped back to her sides at his capitulation. Those gorgeous green eyes took on an uncertain sheen. The regret was already heavy there and she hadn’t even asked the impending question he could tell was on her lips.
“I’m a vegan,” she said softly. Softer than her voice had ever been. “It’s nearly two in the morning. There isn’t anything open this late that I would consider eating even if I ate junk. Which I don’t. Do you… uh… want to get something?”
Say no. Say no, you fool. You’re no good for her. Not now. Not ever. Don’t taint her life by entering it. She doesn’t need more trouble or heartbreak than she’s already probably had. “I thought you said there wasn’t anything open.” Damn it! Damn it to hell!
“I did. I mean, do you want to come over? To my house? I can make us something?”
“I…” No. No is the only correct answer here. “Yes. I would like that.”
“Okay…” A strange, awkward silence, heavy and filled with the expectation of what was to come, settled into the room. “I just have to clean up here,” Luna finally whispered. She busied herself flying around the room, making quick work of putting away and tidying. She disappeared a couple times, probably to take care of whatever sterilization her machines needed.
Jack sat on that table edge, barely holding it together. He’d really agreed. To go to her house. It was the last thing on earth he should ever have done. He was sure of only one thing at that point and it was the fact that come morning, Luna was going to have a security detail on her even if it cost him every single cent he had.
CHAPTER 9
Luna pulled open the fridge, still half in disbelief that the giant of a man, Jack with no last name, was sitting on her living room couch. Leaning away from the back to give his shredded skin a breather. Jesus, she hadn’t done tattooing this intense in a long time.
Her fridge was pathetically empty. She doubted Jack had eaten a chick pea or a bean in his life, judging from the size of him. Why was I crazy enough to ask him here? She knew the reason. Because I couldn’t help myself. I had to.
Luckily the cupboard was better stocked. It would only take a few minutes to throw together black bean burger patties. Cut some tomato and avocado, wash some lettuce and they were ready to roll.
“You lived here a long time?”
Luna started, nearly dropping the can of black beans she was cranking open with her piece of shit can opener. Liquid sloshed over the side onto the butcher block counter top. She hadn’t even heard Jack enter the kitchen.
He walked into her line of vision, crossed his arms and leaned one hip far too casually against the white farm style cupboards.
“Not really. A couple years. I had some mo
ney saved up and wanted to make an investment. I also needed a place to stay that wasn’t an apartment anymore.”
“I like it.” He didn’t glance around. Didn’t stare at her décor, her paintings, her window coverings. His face stayed devoid of emotion. He was probably the one person on earth who could lie right to someone’s face and they would have no idea. Luna sensed that he wasn’t one to easily express emotion.
His size, like it did everywhere else, seemed to take up the entire kitchen.
“Yah?”
“Yah.”
Well, good to know I can do absolutely nothing to elaborate on that. He hadn’t asked for details, but, since she was nervous, she went into them anyway. “I bought most of the furniture from antique sales. Auctions. Garage sales. Stuff like that. The art is mostly mine but I do like shopping thrift and got a few really awesome pieces there. I like to refinish stuff, when I have time. Or, I shouldn’t say refinish, repaint I guess.”
“You’re a very good artist.” Jack kept that straight-faced look, giving nothing away. His incredible blue eyes remained focused on her face. He couldn’t have missed the rush of heat that lit up her cheeks.
Luna quickly turned to hide her blush. Jesus, she was used to compliments. Almost every single client loved her work, tattoos and paintings alike. It was something about the way Jack said it, the shape his lips made when he spoke. They went from being a little too drawn down to entirely too kissable. Or perhaps it was the way his eyes locked with hers. Those soulful, rich eyes that had seen far too much of life for a man who walked around in business clothes.
He was wearing black slacks again and a black dress shirt. His shoes were a dark black version of the expensive leather he obviously preferred. Was that what he wore to the club he owned?
She recalled that she was in the middle of opening beans and she resumed cranking the can opener. Just as her hand was ready to fall off, the lid finally came free.
