Page 9 of Baratta's Darkness

“Introduce me to your employees” I say when I step to the side.

“This itty bitty woman in front of you is Lilyanna; you might remember her from New Orleans. She is the second best tattoo artist in the world.” She says dramatically like this is all a game. “And the lady behind her is our apprentice Arin. Now move, we still have work to do before we open in less than an hour.”

Fiona

That man is so infuriating, I want to stomp my feet while screaming but I am not a child so instead I choose to ignore him. Grabbing Lily and Arin by the hand, I drag them to the front of the shop where my other friends are waiting.

“Ladies, please meet my employees. This is Lilyanna, I call her Lily and she is the second best tattoo artist in the world.” Then I nudge Arin forward. “This is Arin, our apprentice.”

Bella is the only one that takes my bait, “Who is the first best tattoo artist in the world?”

“Me. of course.” I answer as we all break out in laughter.

“Stepped right in that one didn’t I?” Bella says.

“O.K Ladies we have thirty minutes to finish our prep before I unlock the doors.” Lily goes to her station and Arin follows to watch as she sets out her inks, making sure all her equipment is in working order.

“Mina, no more playing I need my appointment book and notes so I know what I am doing tonight.”

“Nope.” she says. “Tonight you are tattooing Timber, Blade and Blood.” Then she slips a piece of paper out of her pocket. I look at it in shock. It is the Wolfsbane Ridge logo.

“For the next two weeks, you are doing the club members. I have a few randos scheduled for Lily and Arin but the club trusts nobody but you.”

I'm so overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude. I feel like my heart will burst. This has been such a drastic move for me and I've been hiding my anxiety. But; I know I won’t fail. I have my family around me again and nothing is going to get in the way of my success.

I step into the bathroom to fix my makeup and take a few deep breaths. This day has gone by in the blink of an eye but now this last fifteen minutes seems to have slowed to a snail's pace. I can hear all the activity happening in the shop through the thin walls.

I just stand there for a few minutes pulling myself together. Suddenly all the sounds in the shop go quiet and there is a knock at the door. “Fi” Mina’s voice calls out. “Fi, it’s time.” I take one more deep breath, as I steady my shaking hands and then open the door.

As I walk out into the shop, every eye in the room is on me. This is my moment, my dream and my reality.

“OK bitches open those doors!” I call out. Hayden is standing just inside the door. She gives me a wink then turns flipping the lock.

As the door opens, I can see there are only about ten people standing out there. I'm confused as to why there aren’t more but then I hear it. The roar of motorcycles coming into town.

We all step outside to watch as they pull in and I can see a line of cars behind them. In just a matter of minutes my parking lot is overflowing and both sides of the street are lined with vehicles.

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