Page 87 of Verses and Blooms
“Yes,” I said. “I’m not shy about pain. How could I be, with the life I’ve lived? But I think I’d like to commemorate moments like tonight. Dancing in the rain, or even the flowers from theconservatory. Petals and violins to represent Audrey... things like that.”
Rydell’s lips curved slightly. “Actually,” he said, “let me show you what I’ve been working on.”
He led us to the desk in the corner of our wing where he kept his sketchbooks. They used to be in his room, but most of our desks were out here now.
He grabbed a sketchbook, flipping it open, and turning the page toward me.
“I was thinking the same thing,” he said. “I could make a version of this for you in a style that fits you more. I prefer my tattoos dark, but you might want a more delicate approach.”
The sketch was gorgeous. The background was dark, making the flowers pop. Vibrant teals, pinks, blues, and greens wound together in vines around a violin.
“This is amazing,” I told him, honestly. “You’re going to have clients lining up once you open up a shop.”
“I’m not exactly the customer service type,” Rydell hedged.
“Nooo,” Audrey teased. The alpha gave her a look but I forged on, too focused on the future now.
“If we can pool our funds together, maybe we can open a multipurpose building. We’ll have the payout from this nightmare to add to it. One side can be Kane’s tea shop, Audrey can have a sound studio, I can have a painting room, and you can have your tattoo parlor. We could hire someone to run the front or even do it ourselves.”
“You’d help run the front desk?” he asked, eyes narrowed just slightly. There wasn’t doubt in his tone, more like a challenge.
“I’m a professional now, thanks to Alice. Plus, with online scheduling, I doubt we’d need someone there all the time. If nothing else, one of us will always be around.”
“Plus, this way we’d all be together,” Audrey added, grinning. “Just picture it. I could record a song or two, and when I needa break, I’ll go visit Kane for tea. Swing by and grab you two for lunch, maybe.”
“Exactly. And at the end of the day, we’d all go home together,” I added.
“A quiet life, huh?” he said, looking away, his expression softening as if he could see it already. He must have liked what he saw, because he grabbed his sketchbook and pencil, giving us one last look.
“I guess I have some pack tattoos to catch up on, don’t I?”
“And we have a nest to warm,” Audrey said, pulling me back toward the blankets.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ares
I’d spent the last week looking into this trafficking ring and trying to locate the building. Thanks to Audrey’s tip, we had a lead.
Sanchez easily found the rink and we tried to look into the businesses around it. Unfortunately, nothing was standing out.
There were no abandoned buildings or sketchy businesses that it could be hiding under, which meant they were being far more careful than I’d given them credit for.
Hell, I half-expected some serial killer vans to be driving through the streets that we could hunt down. I wasn’t above kidnapping and interrogation.
The chief opened the door, his face unreadable as he ushered me in and closed it behind us. The privacy had me wondering just what this meeting was about.
“What’s this about, Chief?”
“Sanchez just directed a team to a new location,” he said as he sat down. “A local church shut down about a year ago. They’ve been running a homeless shelter in its place. Sanchez thinksthey’reactuallyrunning a shelter, because that would mean far less red flags standing out. One of our guys is going to check it out, posing like he needs a room.”
“Keep me informed. I’d love to help any way I can and bring her home, too.”
“We’re closer now than we’ve ever been,” he reassured me. “I’ll let you know if they find out more.”
“If it wasn’t to send me off with them, then why call me in?” I asked, not buying it for a second.
“Actually, I want to talk to you about something else.” He sat on the edge of his desk, crossing his legs and folding his arms. The look on his face was unreadable, but calm. His relaxed demeanor made me think whatever it was couldn’t be too bad. “I’d like to retire when I get my daughter back, which means my job will be available.”
