Jason: Exotic Ink Series (Book Three)

by LS Anders

  It all made perfect sense. Everything she was saying and the actions of the other’s that they did need a little help, if not, there was a chance that opportunities could have been lost. Chances that might not ever present themselves again.

  Tears were streaking down her cheeks, but she didn’t utter a word, afraid Avie would stop speaking, and she was desperate to hear more. After all Kyle had sent her. Her own personal guardian angel…err, advisor.

  “Search your heart, Evana. You’ve loved Jason since high school. It’s alright that you still do. Kyle doesn’t want you to be alone forever. Set your guilt aside and open your heart to him.”

  “What else do you see in my future? Do we get married? Do we have children together?” Swallowing, unsure if she wanted to know the answer, but asked the question anyway. “Will Jason die before me? Do I have to suffer another death of a spouse?”

  “Honey, I can’t answer any of that.”

  “You can’t or you won’t? You said you knew the future.”

  “No, I didn’t. I said I help point people in the right directions. I can’t see the entire outcomes of choices people make. All I know is if a choice is right or wrong.”

  “What if you’re wrong and you point someone towards a wrong choice?” she asked.

  “I’m never wrong.”

  “But, if you can’t see the outcome, how do you know if the choice is correct?”

  “I just do. My intuition has never steered me wrong. You have that ability too,” Avie went on to explain. “All beings do, but most choose to ignore it. You know when you have a gut feeling, that inner voice, which tells you to do something or not to, as it were? Like when you know something bad will happen if you turn right rather than left. Or, when you get a good or bad vibe off a complete stranger.”

  “So, we are going with your intuition that Jason is the right man for me? I don’t know if I trust your instincts entirely.”

  “My intuition is hundreds of times stronger than yours, but if you don’t trust mine, than trust your own. All you have to do is open your mind to it. Believe in it, and it will guide you,” Avie explained.

  “If our lives are pre-determined, then tell me why Kyle was taken so early?”

  “I don’t have the insight to know why it was Kyle’s time. Life is not pre-determined. There are many paths available to us. We all get to choose the direction we wish to go. We are all gifted with free will.”

  “But, what if—”

  “No more questions. Jason is the right one for you. Go after him before it’s too late.”

  “Was it your idea to hire the fairy?” Vex demanded.

  “Excuse me?” Jason peered up into the bizarre yellowish-hazel of Vex’s eyes as he planted two meaty fists on the edge of his desk.

  His first day on the job and already he was facing off with some kind of trouble.

  “Fairies are busy bodies and bossy as hell,” Vex informed him.

  “Vex, I have no clue what you’re talking about.” If he was less of a man, he would have pissed himself over that rip-your-heart-out look Vex was drilling into his soul.

  “That little Alea…creature perched at the front desk.”

  “I haven’t met her yet. Lucian hired her.” Getting up from his spot behind the computer, he needed to fix that fast and find out what was so horrible about the new receptionist that Vex was having such a hissy over.

  A shapely set of legs from beneath a leather skirt met him as he stepped into the reception area. Pulling his eyes away from her bent over backside, as a manager, gawking at the newest employee would not be appropriate.

  Finished rearranging the items in the display case to her satisfaction, Alea turned and flinched, seemingly more surprised to find him rather than the towering nightmare standing beside him. “You startled me. I didn’t hear you come up.”

  Once he’d gotten a full look at the girl’s face, his eyes peeled wide. “Holy shit. Do you have a sister?”

  “No, I don’t. Why?”

  “There’s a girl at Exotic Ink that looks nearly identical to you.”

  “Ooooh, you mean Avie. No, she’s in my cov—” Her eyes flashed over to Vex. “I mean, she’s my cousin.”

  He saw something unspoken pass between her and Vex. Already feeling like he didn’t really fit in, he was beginning to think he was in over his head. There was something strange about the whole group of them, even the Lucian guy.

  “That explains it. The family resemblance is uncanny. You two could be twins.” He caught himself studying her hard when Alea blushed, looking down at the floor. “Sorry for staring. I’m Jason, the new manager.”

  “Alea, the new receptionist. Nice to meet you.”

  The brooding force beside him shifted his weight on his feet. “Have you already met Vex?”

  “Oh, yes. We’ve met.” Alea’s eyes greedily roamed over every square inch of Vex’s body making Jason shift uncomfortably from the amount of sexual energy she was projecting towards the guy.

  “Cease you’re eyeballing, fairy.”

  “It’s a free country, demon.”

  A staring contest commenced. Surprisingly, Vex lost.

  Grumbling some serious profanities, Vex hauled ass to the back of the shop. Amusing how this mere slip of a woman had Vex running scared.

  “The guy seems a little rough around the edges, but I think he’s alright. If you ever feel like you’re in an uncomfortable position, I’m here for you.”

  Alea’s giggle sounded like tinkling bells. “Thanks, Jason. That’s sweet of you, but Vex is fine. I know his kind. He’s basically harmless.” She leaned towards him, but kept her voice loud enough for Vex to overhear her words. “Besides, I wouldn’t mind being put in an uncomfortable position by him.”

  He was dumbfounded by her wink and sexual innuendo. She either had a serious death wish or was blinded by her own naiveté.

  Excusing himself, he made his way back to the office, glad he wasn’t the one on Vex’s shit list for hiring the cute receptionist.

  He was going to have to keep a close eye on the both of them. He didn’t want Vex to run her off with his brutal charms. If she proved to be anything like Avie, she would be an asset to their new shop, nor did he want Alea in trouble for sexually harassing Vex. Which sounded so absurd.

  The chilly night air burned inside her sinuses as Evana kept pace with the other pedestrians.

  That morning she’d awoken after having one of the most fucked up, vividly emotional dreams she had ever had in her life. Even that flowery perfume Avie favored had lingered in the air after her eyes had flipped open. The girl’s presence could still be felt as if she were watching her from where she lay in bed.

  Jesus, she had even called out Avie’s name half expecting her to answer from inside her apartment.

  That dream had left her unsettled. She’d carried the feeling around with her all day. Staving off the temptations to question her receptionist every time Avie would give her a knowing smirk.

  She had never once been relieved when Avie went home for the evening, until today. Her hands shook as she’d bid everyone goodnight and locked the door as Avie was the last to step out.

  Nearing the bank, she covertly glanced around before stepping inside the glass enclosed vestibule. No one seemed to be paying her any attention.

  The metal handle felt like a rod made of ice as she pulled open the heavy metal door to the bank’s overnight deposit box. Shoving the zipper bag into its gaping mouth, she let the lid slam shut.

  It was always a relief to rid herself of the bank deposit. There wasn’t much in the way of cash, since the studio dealt mostly in credit card sales, but knowing that she could be the potential target of a mugger always made her paranoid.

  Shivering, she pulled her heavy coat closer around her shoulders, shying away from the brisk wind. There seemed to be a sharpness to the air that wasn’t there this time last year. They were in for a bad winter. Smiling to herself over her prediction of the future, she must be ge
tting in touch with her inner voice. Avie would be so proud.

  She shouldn’t make light of what the girl had said even if it was just a dream. She had searched her feelings and found that in her dream Avie had been right, she was in love with Jason. She’d been covering up her feelings for him, afraid of what would happen if she allowed herself to love another man.

  Today had been Jason’s first day of work at the other studio. The loss of his presence had been thick as death. Everyone moping around as if they’d lost their best friend. That’s what it had felt like to her.

  She’d hoped he would change his mind and stay, but he’d finished packing and was gone before she even realized it. She wondered if he would be happier there than with her.

  A group of men cut a trail through the crowded sidewalk. People stepping aside got her attention. It was unusual for New Yorkers to collectively yield to anyone, but once she got a look of what everyone was avoiding, she could understand why, giving the men a wide berth as she passed.

  Keeping her head bowed, she spared the last man a glance. The patch on his cut caught and held her eye long enough to gain the biker’s attention.

  Looking away quickly, she cursed her inner voice for not telling her to cross the damn street and head home in another direction.

  Where was her intuition when she needed it the most?

  Maybe she hadn’t seen the patch correctly. It couldn’t be the Satan’s Disciples. She had never known them to venture this far to the east.

  Picking up her pace, she tried for a casual peek back at the patch on the back of the cuts.

  Fuck! It was them, and the oldest looking man in the group had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and was giving her the hairy eyeball. His long gray beard lifting in the stiff breeze she no longer felt.

  The next street up would be her last chance to cross before she got to Grand, and she didn’t want to lead them back to Exotic Ink.

  Jason couldn’t help but be fascinated by the cat and mouse routine that Alea and Vex played for the rest of the day. Vex, of course, was playing the part of the mouse. Leaving a room whenever Alea would walk in, steering clear of her whenever he could. It was comical to watch the colossal man run from the pixie like girl.

  Vex had called her a fairy. Slap some wings on her and give her a wand, and she could totally be a modern-day Tinkerbell. Well, except for the tattoos and the lusty looks she kept washing over Vex.

  Saving the progress he’d made today on the shop’s accounts, Jason was looking forward to the day he could get back to tattooing.

  He’d made headway over the last few days working on Mythical Ink’s accounts after finishing work at Exotic Ink, but there was still so much left to correct before he was comfortable enough to go back to tattooing full time.

  With all the ordering and sorting through the mess of paperwork Lucian had piled on his desk to correct, the day had passed by quickly.

  Keeping himself busy was the key to mending the gaping wound in his heart. He’d been through this once before, when he’d discovered Evana was engaged to be married. His daydreams of her and him reuniting in a whirlwind of hugs and kisses had been instantly pulverized.

  He missed working with Evana. Missed her meticulous record keeping. All he’d had to do at Exotic Ink was pick up where she’d left off. Mainly, it was her he missed. He needed to shore up his defenses and move on like he’d promised himself he would.

  Lucian stuck his head in the door. “Hey, Jason. Vex is done with that back piece you wanted to see finished.”

  “Oh, yeah. Here I come.” He rolled back the chair and set the computer to shut down.

  As out of place as he felt, he was beginning to grow fond of all of them, even Vex, but these guys didn’t have a thimble full of business sense between them. It was a wonder they had managed to open the tattoo shop at all. But, their tattooing skills were going to give Exotic Ink a run for its money when they got the place off the ground.

  Coming out of the office, he was still a good ten feet away, but he could make out the hellish scene inked on Vex’s client in the most amazing clarity. It was as vivid and discernible as a photograph. The closer he got to it, the more realistic the piece became. It was as if the demons dancing around the pyre were about to reach out and touch him.

  “Vex, that is fucking gorgeous,” he remarked. “Was that a photograph or did you design the entire thing?”

  “Designed the whole thing and I don’t use stencils.”

  “Are you kidding?” He studied Vex’s serious expression. “You free handed all of that?”

  “Yep.”

  “It’s absolutely incredible. We’ve got to get a website up and running so we can advertise everyone’s work,” he planned out loud. “Do you mind letting us photograph your back for our site?”

  “Not at all. I’m proud as hell of it,” Vex’s client answered, looking over his shoulder.

  “Thanks, man,” he said as his cell buzzed inside his pocket.

  Pulling his eyes away from one of the most amazing designs he’d ever laid eyes on, he did a double take at the caller ID.

  Evana.

  He hadn’t expected to hear from her this soon, or at all. Answering the call, he didn’t know what to expect.

  “Sorry, I just didn’t know who else to call.”

  The frantic tone in her voice had his complete attention.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She sounded like she was walking fast, the city noise diluting her voice, so he had to strain to hear her harsh whispers. “I went to the bank to drop the deposit and passed some guys in cuts on the way back to the studio. I recognized the patch on the front. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve never seen them in New York before now. I looked back to be sure it was them and one of the older members turned about the same time I did. I think he recognized me. It’s the Satan’s Disciples.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “I didn’t want them to follow me back to Exotic Ink, so I stayed on Broome Street.”

  “Are they following you?”

  “I don’t know. I’m afraid to look.” Evana was breathless now. “Oh fuck. Yes, I see them behind me. They’re a little ways off, but they’re definitely following me.”

  He was already making his way to the door. “Is there a store you can slip into and hide until I get there?”

  “There’s a tea shop up ahead, Cha Cha Matcha.”

  “Go in there. I’ll be there as fast as I can. Don’t you dare hang up.”

  “I won’t. Please hurry, Jason.”

  “I’m on my way. Just hang on.”

  Bumping shoulders with Lucian as he passed. “What’s going on, Jason?”

  “Evana’s in trouble. I need to get to her fast.”

  “What happened? Can we help?” Sevin asked.

  Fuck, he didn’t have time to go into the details with them, he needed to get to Evana.

  “She’s being followed, and I gotta go.”

  “Where is she?” Lucian called out to his retreating back.

  “Cha Cha Matcha over on Broome.”

  Hitting the sidewalk, he took off at a sprint. Déjà vu hit him hard as his legs ate up the distance. Oh god, if anything happened to her.

  He was only halfway there, and his lungs were already on fire, but slowing down wasn’t an option. There was nothing going to stop him from getting to her.

  Putting the cell to his ear. “You still with me?”

  “I’m alright. We snuck out through the back door into the alley. Lucian went to hail us a cab—”

  Putting on the brakes, he nearly toppled a newsstand. “Lucian!”

  “Yeah, the guy you sent to get me.”

  “Evana, I didn’t…what does he look like?”

  “Dark brown hair. Almost too perfect to be real. Why?”

  “How did he…never mind. I’m glad you’re ok. Can you put him on the phone?”

  “Sure, but you’ll have to wait, he told me to hide in the alley until he comes back.”
He could hear Lucian’s voice in the background as he and Evana spoke. “He’s got us a cab.”

  There was a shuffling sound and then Lucian’s voice. “She’s safe. We’re headed back to the shop now.”

  His legs had turned to jelly more from relief that Evana was out of danger than from the run.

  “How the fuck?” He rubbed the back of his neck, turning in a circle as if he’d find the answer behind him.

  “So, where are you? You want us to stop and get you on the way back?” Lucian asked.

  “I’m on Lafayette. I could use a ride.”

  He could have just as easily walked back, but he needed to see that Evana was safe for himself. Plus, he didn’t want her anywhere near Vex without him there. He already felt like he had to keep a set of eyes in the back of his head for Alea, even though she looked like she was about to go all spider monkey all over Vex’s tree.

  Pacing around as he waited for the cab, his mind racing over what to do about the MC. If they were following her, that wasn’t a good sign, clearly she was locked into their crosshairs.

  It pissed him off that they couldn’t just leave her the fuck alone. Evana wasn’t even involved in the death of that member. Why should she be punished for something her mother had done over twenty years ago?