Page 76 of Fighting for His Life

“That’s some great art,” Dane observes. “Who did it?”

“Sebastian Delrie did most of them. Did my first one when I was fifteen. Did them for free too. That’s important to a broke teenager.”

Tori and Dane's jaws drop. “Sebastian Delrie tattooed you? You know him?” Tori asks.

Jax shrugs. “Is Sebastian a big deal or something?” I ask.

“He’s the Jax McCabe and Zane Valen of the tattoo world,” Dane explains with reverence.

Tori and Dane nod dumbstruck. “I almost don’t want to touch you, man,” Dane declares.

“Me either,” Tori says. “I’d be too afraid of screwing up his work.”

I tilt my head. “You've already altered some of his work, Tori.”

She looks at me then realization sets in. “The angel wings? He did that?”

I nod. “And every other tattoo you haven’t done but one.”

“Wow,” is her only response.

“Let’s get started,” Jax declares stopping the conversation.

The two artist nod then set up their stations.

I sit on a comfy sofa set on the opposite side of the room with Maddox. We chit chat about nothing at all. It feels good. It’s something I regret not doing with him the last year.

The tell-tale click and then buzz of the tattoo guns announce the start of the sessions. I watch with interest as Dane and Tori work on my brother and Jax. It’s a struggle, but I manage to contain the giggle bubbling inside me each time Zane winces with pain.

“How does he handle football?” Maddox whispers into my ear.

“He’s faster than everyone so he doesn’t get hit,” I reply out the side of my mouth.

“I’ve seen Zane fight,” Maddox says drawing my full attention because I don’t know when or where he could’ve seen Zane fight. I’ve never even seen my brother throw a punch. “He’s not the pussy seems like he is right now. He’s – he’s a scary motherfucker sometimes. Every bit as intense and unpredictable as Jax.”

I stare at him in disbelief. “How do you know this? I’ve never seen my brother so much as swing at anyone.”

Maddox chuckles lowly. “I don’t know if they hide it from you or if you just bring out something different in them, but they are both volatile. When it comes to you, they’re downright dangerous.”

I scoff as his implication. “If that were true, how can they play football? How is it you never hear of a single time during high school, college or even in the last year since I’ve been gone that they’ve never once had an altercation? It would have been all over the news.”

Maddox looks at me as if I’m a naïve little girl. “First of all, I never said they just go around picking fights, but they are short-tempered. Second, they aren’t stupid. They’re not going to get caught, and if they do, Rory is always there to clean up the mess.”

I jerk back at the mention of Rory. “Why would they fight with anyone? Why would Rory clean up anything?”

“They are just targets, Zo. They’ve always had guys wanting to step up to them, try to prove they’re bigger and badder. Zane and Jax just defend themselves. At least, until they lose their cool. Then it’s bad.”

“Why would people do that?”

“It’s not because they’re big shot football players. It’s because they carry themselves with confidence and they don’t back down, Zoey.”

I become a little indignant at that statement. Why the hell should they back down? It’s not cocky arrogance they have so why do people think they shouldn’t walk with the confident swagger they do?

My contemplation comes to an end when I hear the guns have stopped. Zane looks irritated and cranky until he looks at the finished product. “Damn, girl. You’re good.”

“Glad you think so, pretty boy,” Tori replies with a slight blush I can’t help but notice. Looks like I may need to talk to Tori as well. She doesn’t deserve to get her heart broken by my brother. I love him, but he doesn’t have the best track record with girls. He's a player albeit a gentleman, but there has been only one girl to ever claim his heart.

Jax stands walking to the mirror to look at his own finished work. He runs a thumb around the edge of it. “What do you think, baby?” he asks looking toward me. “It’s your art. Your work. Tell me.”

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