Page 46 of Shattered

“Here, to draw on while you’re stuck here.”

She nods a thank you before her eyes narrow on Jared and the tattoo on his arm, and her face lights up excitedly.

“Is that the same skull?”

“Yeah, it is.” I turn to Jared. “She got her first tattoo the other day, a tiger under her tits.”

Jared smiles wickedly. “I’d like to see that.”

Sunshine’s eyes flicker to mine. They’re wide, but it’s such a lie. I know that if I forced her to take her shirt off and show Jared her tattoo, her cunt would flood this shop.

“Yeah? Maybe later.”

The shop is officially open as of today. The new doors and windows were installed, brightening the place with white borders and clean glass. The walls are properly painted, though we haven’t hung anydesigns yet. The front desk is set up, just a hollow counter with chairs behind it and a laptop sitting on top with the cash. There’s a leather sofa by the door for walk-in customers to sit and wait or take breaks. In the back, our stations are set up, one in each corner, with rolling chairs for us and a stationary chair by each for a support person. We opted for one tattooing chair and one table, and we can easily switch them when needed. There’s a big wooden cabinet in the center of the back wall where all our supplies are kept, and a door on either side that leads to a bathroom and a kitchenette.

I expected Sunshine to wait at the desk, but she doesn’t. Instead, she waits in the chair beside my station, drawing on her sketchpad while I prep Jared. He’s face down on my table with his shirt off. I clean and shave the area first before applying the stencil. When he gets up to check it in the mirror, I notice Sunshine steal a glance at his chest.

Once I start the line work, Sunshine pulls her chair closer, and I notice her watching with complete focus. Usually, if a support person is getting too close, I’d tell them to back up. But the way I can see her so enthralled in my periphery makes me bite my tongue.

About two hours in, Bane shows up with the cop and another guy. This one is younger than us, maybe mid-twenties, and a bit shorter than the cop, with a decent amount of muscle and teased brown hair.

“I fucking love this guy,” Bane says, motioning to the cop. “Helped me put both systems in and even called his boy toy to help.”

I fucking called that.

“I have a name that’s not boy toy,” the younger man says gruffly.

“This is Nash and Edgar,” Sunshine says. I stop tattooing to lift my head and watch her greet them with a warm smile. The cop, Edgar, grabs her for a hug.

“You hangin’ in there? I heard you had some unwelcome visitors this morning,” Edgar says worriedly.

“Fine. The guys want to be cautious,” Sunshine says.

That grabs Jared’s attention, and he turns to side-eye me. “Whoa, who?”

“Rocco and Rooney.”

Jared smirks. “I don’t know what you did, but you thoroughly pissed them off. Seriously, what did you do?”

“Shut up and put your head down,” I growl.

Thankfully, he does.

Chapter 16

Lila

Though Edgar tries to get me away from Asher and Bane, he’s far more polite about it than Turner is. I learned from him that Turner removed me from Koa’s group chat, which I hadn’t noticed yet. It feels like a slap in the face, but I don’t think it’s what he intended. He’s trying to use Koa to get me away from Asher, which is a pretty stupid plan, considering I haven’t even walked down the stairs to Koa in months.

“Nash and I were happy to help them get these security systems in, for everyone’s sake, but I think you should stay away from them, Lila. From what Turner’s told me, they seem like bad news,” Edgar says.

“Thanks, Edgar,” I say simply.

He stares me down. “No dice?”

I shake my head. “I can handle them. Trust me.”

He’s not convinced, but there’s not much more he can say. “You need anything, you call me. I don’t care what time it is.”

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