Page 77 of Outside the Lines
He waved my words away. “We’re people, Simon, and I have a feeling you weren’t exactly happy to see us.”
“It’s not . . . I didn’t . . .” I sighed and scrubbed my face. “Long week, that’s all.”
He nodded noncommittally.
My brain itched as I took in that damn T-shirt. Maybe . . . maybe he knew how merchandising worked. He owned the damn characters after all. “Hey . . . so how do they hire artists for T-shirts anyway?” I waved at my wife’s design on his chest. “Or the comic books? Stuff like that.”
He blew out a breath. “I’m out of the loop on the whole process.” He stepped back and pulled his T-shirt out flat. “Take this, for instance. I have no idea how they got StarVixen to agree to let them use her art. I had to beg and plead and practically promise my nonexistent first child to get her to sell me a printat cost. And here she is on a T-shirt.”
OhGod. I stared at Hunter. Ohfuck.He’dbought that print? The ground swam below my feet and I gripped the counter.
“Are you all right?”
Nope. Not in the least. “StarVixen didn’t license the art.” I barely heard my own voice over the rush of blood in my head.
Hunter stared at me.
“For the T-shirts. She didn’t license it. Wasn’t asked. Someone stole the art off Fandom Landing.”
“What thefuck?” Kevin joined us at the counter, a handful of comics in his hands. “You— Please tell me you’re fucking joking.”
I shook my head, my throat tight and dry.
Hunter’s expression turned neutral. “How are you sure the art was stolen?”
I barked a bitter laugh. “Because it’s my wife’s art. Wanna know why I’m a wreck tonight?” I gestured at Hunter’s T-shirt.
Hunter’s face lost a little color. “Yourwifeis StarVixen? Can you prove this?”
Part of me wanted to choke Hunter, but the rational side grappled for control and won. I swallowed a few breaths and nodded. Of course he’d need proof. “Yeah. I can. Her studio is in the back.”
They followed me past the counter and into the back rooms, all the way to Lydia’s computer. I nudged it awake, used her password to log in, and clicked through the folders until I got to her Wolf’s Landing fan art. Then, one by one, I started opening files—the original Photoshop ones with all the layers and shit. After about the seventh file, Kevin spoke.
“You can stop. We believe you.”
I turned. Both men were ashen. Kevin seemed worried. Hunter looked like he wanted to rip someone’s head off. A spark of hope bloomed in me. Lydia might murder me, but I had a feeling Hunter could fix this.
Kevin stared at the art. “Why didn’t shesayanything? Like, when people on the forum were congratulating her and all that.”
I winced. “She doesn’t want anyone to know who she is. In real life.”
Hunter’s furious expression softened. “Because she lives here, right?”
“Yeah.” I turned back to the computer and started closing files, mostly so I didn’t have toseethe emotions I’d been dealing with for over a week. Relief flooded through me. Lydia might kill me, but at least someone else knew what had happened. “I mean, she’s drawn Carter and Levi—naked.”
“So? I’ve written them fucking,” Kevin said. “And I live here now.”
My hand froze on the mouse.
“To be fair,” Hunter said, “visual arts are a bit different than written ones when it comes to sex.”
“Unless you’re talking porn.” Kevin’s voice was just as conversational.
I finished closing out everything, logged out, and faced the two men. “I doubt there’s a Wolf’s Landing porno.”
“There is.” They spoke in unison.
Fuck me. Part of me was horrified. The other part itched to find the damn thing.
