Page 80 of Joey

“Will do.”

Joey ended the call, and Ethan caught his arm before he could throw the phone. “You need that,” he said gently.

They descended the stairs and entered the front of the shop, where Ani and the rest of the guys were talking. Ani glanced at them with raised eyebrows. “Problems?”

“You could say that.” Joey filled them in on what they’d found out about Grey.

“If he ever shows his face around here again, I’m going to rearrange it,” Dallas said.

Ethan barely heard them talking. He lost himself in his thoughts, going over the information they had. Something didn’t add up. Grey had been hiding his true identity from Elliott, but for what reason? What did they want with Elliott? To bring him into the business? Was Robert that obsessed with keeping it in the family? If Elliott was going to spill the dirt on Robert, it would give them a motive for his death. But the police had confirmed it was a suicide. What had happened to Elliott to make him think that ending his life was the only option? He had an idea of what might have happened, but he hoped it wasn’t true. Ethan was sure an answer to the last question would destroy Joey.

“I think I need to make a statement to the media,” Joey said, and for some reason, those words pierced Ethan’s bubble.

“What? Why?” he said.

Joey shrugged. “I haven’t spoken to them at all since I found Elliott. It might get them off our backs a bit.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Beck said. “Keeping quiet about all of this would be the best choice right now.”

“I wasn’t planning on pointing the finger at anyone, although I have every right to. I just think I need to say something. I feel like I’m doing Elliott a disservice by not acknowledging him.”

Ethan could see where he was coming from. “Maybe write it down first. We can’t take the chance that any word is taken the wrong way.”

Joey stared at him and nodded. “I can do that.”

“I’ll help.” Ethan smiled at him.

“I’m still not sure if this is the best idea,” Beck said. “Do you really want all this kicked up before the Bonser event?”

“It might make us more popular and get us more visits,” Dallas replied.

“What is this Bonser event?” Ethan asked. “I’ve heard you mention it a few times.”

Dallas grinned. “It’s our annual, two-day tattoo convention. We have a stall and some chairs, and people can get tattoos done on the day as well as find out about and talk to us. Sometimes, meeting an artist in person and talking to them is the best way to help them relax about getting one. Last year, we tattooed…” He glanced at Finn. “How many was it?”

“Fifty-two,” Finn said with a grin.

“Fifty-two people. We tattooed fifty-two people in twenty-four hours. That’s over two an hour.”

Ethan gaped. “How did you manage to do so many?” He glanced at Joey, who chuckled.

“We made sure they were smaller tattoos that didn’t need as much work.”

“Why do you do events like that, though? It’s not like you need the clients.”

Beck shrugged. “It’s not about the client list. It’s about exposure. If we keep ourselves in the light, people are more likely to keep track of us and follow us, and then our clients also benefit. It’s a two-way street.”

“When is it?”

“In two months. It takes a lot of organising, though,” Ani said.

“I can imagine.” Ethan shook his head. “I don’t know how you do it.”

Joey slid his arm around him. “You’ll find out in two months.” He winked and dropped a kiss on his lips. “Want to help me write my speech?” he whispered.

“I’m pretty sure we know he’s not going to be helping you write it,” Dallas said. “He’ll be on his knees while you pray.”

Ani slapped the back of his head. “That’s none of your business, Dallas. We don’t guess what you do when you’ve not got any appointments, do we?”

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