Page 96 of Kings & Carnage

It wasn’t like I could ask my mom for money after plotting to have her new husband sent to prison, or worse.

I tried not to think about theworsepart. The Kings and I hadn't gotten far enough to talk about what would happen to Roberto and the other men once we knew who they were. In my pre-Aventine brain, I told myself that they would go to prison for a very long time.

But deep down, I think I knew the Kings wouldn't let it go at that.

They were out for blood, not just for Emma and the other girls, but for what Roberto had done to Neo for all those years.

"Come on," I said to Claire, determined to set thoughts of Alexa and Roberto and the missing girls and the absolute shit show that was Aventine aside for the next couple of hours. “Let's do this.”

I reached for the door and we stepped into a large cozy room, drawings and photographs of tattoos covering the walls. There was a waiting area at the front of the shop with a couple of worn couches and a coffee table strewn with magazines, and a TV was mounted near the ceiling, playing some kind of baking show.

I approached the long counter that separated the waiting area from the tattoo area. A bearded guy in a Blades cut was leaned back on one of the chairs, a gorgeous woman with jet-black hair and several face piercings bent to his forearm, drawing something I couldn't see.

They were alone except for a blond guy in his twenties, with steel-gray eyes and a defined shadowed jaw, who was cleaning something under running water. He turned it off when he saw us and approached the counter, drying his hands on a towel.

"Can I help you?" He leaned his forearms on the counter and I saw that they were covered in ink.

I was fascinated but I didn't want to stare.

"I'm Willa," I said. "I have an appointment.”

A smile broke out over his face. "I'm Adam. You're with me.”

"Sounds good," I said. Claire had started flipping through a stack of binders with available tattoos.

"Ever had atattoobefore?" Adam asked.

"Nope, this is my first one.”

He grinned. "A virgin.”

I thought of the Kings and blushed. I was pretty sure there was some kind of law against calling me a virgin of any kind by now.

But I'd play along. "That's me.”

"Great," he said. "You mentioned that you already knew what you wanted?”

"I do.”

"Perfect." He fished around behind the counter and produced a clipboard with forms and an attached pen. "Just fill these out and then you can show me what you want. You said there would be three of them right?”

I nodded, thinking of the Kings.

My Kings.

"Yes. Three."

Chapter44

Willa

Iturned in front of the mirror, trying to get a view of my Valentine’s Day outfit from every angle. I'd been nervous when the Kings had told me to dress for a nice dinner. Everything from my old life felt too casual and the dresses the Kings had given me for the Welcome Ball — still hanging in my closet — felt too fancy.

But I shouldn't have worried, because when I got home from getting my tattoos I’d found a giant gift-wrapped box in the foyer with my name on it.

The Kings had led me into the living and room and watched me unwrap a slinky red dress with a plunging back and a high neckline, the collar in a halter style that would reveal my shoulders.

So much for a bra, which was probably why they’d included only a scrap of lace that turned out to be a tiny G-string, along with a pair of gold stilettos and a matching bag.

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