Page 49 of Shattered

Neela’s expression drops, confusion flooding her face as she glances between me and the sketchpad. Finally, her eyes light up in disbelief.

Her eyes dart to mine. “Wait,youdid these?”

“Yeah?”

She shows me the pad as if I don’t remember what I drew. But I don’t know what I’m looking at.

“What?”

“Do you not realize how good these are? These lines are crisp and straight. The shading on the mountains. The perfect symmetry of the butterfly wings… The freaking branch pattern of the tree! I had no idea you’re an artist.”

“I’m not.”

She balks. “Uh,yes, you are… You know, these would make great tattoo designs.”

“What, me? A tattoo artist? No way.”

She shrugs. “Why not? You hate being a nurse.”

Yeah, she’s not wrong…

But me, a tattoo artist?

The rest of the day goes by smoothly after Neela leaves. I continue to watch Asher and Jared as the dragon tattoo comes to life before my eyes. The work Asher does is absolutely breathtaking.

It’s around six when Jared notes he’s nearly had enough, and Asher manages to finish the outlining of the dragon, essentially like the first layer of my tiger. He’ll go back in and add more details later.

While Asher wraps Jared, I hear the alarm beep as it’s disabled, and Bane walks in with a large brown paper bag. Asher and Jared both nod a greeting to him, but he waves me up.

“Lila, come help me with this.”

I leave the men out back and join Bane at the desk. He moves my sketchpad and pulls some takeout from the bag. He lays it out and begins opening the containers. There are servings of drumsticks, barbecue wings, fries, and Caesar salad. He passes me a bundle of paper plates and a box of wooden cutlery.

“Dish this up, will you? Three plates with everything and whatever you want for yourself.”

“Sure, thanks,” I say, grateful. My stomach’s been rumbling all day.

Bane pulls all the food out and opens it, and I begin to dish it up. While we’re alone, I’m desperate to ask him about Asher. Why is he such a stubborn asshole about his leg? How do I help him? But I can’t. Going behind his back isn’t right. It’s precisely what I’m pissed at my friends about.

Thankfully, Bane comes out with it without the need to incriminate myself.

“Do you like him? Asher?” he asks.

I hesitate. Not because I’m afraid of Bane telling Asher what I say, but because I really don’t know. He’s a stubborn, stupid asshole. He’s blackmailed me, threatened me, and forced himself on me. And as much as I cling to our backward safeword, I have no way of knowing if he’d even honor it. But the more time we spend together, the more I realize he’s fighting his demons. His leg, Rocco and Rooney, they’ve done a number on him. He’s lost.

When I lose myself in my thoughts, Bane continues. “His leg has changed him. He’s not the same guy I knew. He’s hanging off the edge of a cliff by a single finger.”

“I’ve noticed,” I say simply.

Bane nods. “Our real families aren’t in the picture anymore. They’re crap. So it’s been us against the world for years. He’s my brother, and I’d do anything for him.”

He pauses, and I wait for him to get to his point. I know whatever he’s saying isn’t for my benefit.

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on with you two, but you need to be careful.”

“I’m not afraid of him,” I say.

“I don’t care aboutyou,” he says coldly. “I’m talking about Asher.”

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