Page 60 of Christmas with Four Tattoo Artists

When the door clicked shut behind her, I turned to face Kai. He ran a hand through his tousled hair, looking every bit as lost and confused as I felt.

"Julia," he began, his voice hoarse, "I swear, nothing happened. She came in, wanting to show me her new tattoo, and before I knew it—"

I pressed my fingers to my temples, trying to chase away the budding headache. "Kai, I came here to talk to you about something important. But now? I don’t even know if I have the energy."

Adele's charade had only solidified a growing suspicion in my mind. Her sudden reappearance, her seemingly innocent flirtations, her involvement in our lives… it wasn't happenstance, it was calculated. She was playing a game, and I'd be damned if I let her win. The woman's tenacity, however misdirected, was admirable. But there was a line, and she had just crossed it.

I realized in the moment there was no sidestepping what I’d just walked in on. I needed to know what really happened.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to steady my voice. "Do you still have a thing for her, Kai?"

He ran his fingers through his disheveled hair, clearly flustered. "What? No. She was just showing me a new tattoo. That’s all."

I raised an eyebrow, the disbelief evident in my voice. "In your office? Half-naked? On your lap?"

“I didn’t ask her to take off her shirt and plop down on my lap,” he said. “It all happened before I could do anything and seconds before you came in.”

“I don’t know if I believe that.”

Kai avoided my gaze, his jaw clenching. "Our studio was just trashed. We're on the edge, and you want to bicker about Adele?"

The weight of everything we were facing pressed down on me, but I wasn't going to be sidetracked.

"This isn’t just about Adele. It's about trust, Kai. It's about you letting her waltz back in to your lives, disregarding my feelings and the bond we've built."

He sighed, frustration evident. "Now’s not the time, Jules."

Defiant, I stood my ground. "When is the right time, Kai? When she's taken everything from us? Including you?"

His temper flared. "Damn it, Julia! We have bigger problems right now, this isn’t worth talking about."

Angry tears welled up. "You're right about one thing, we do have bigger problems. But if you're not willing to confront them, then what are we even doing?"

Without another word, I turned on my heel and left, the chilly air outside a stark contrast to the fiery tension I’d just left behind in Kai’s office.

Back home, I felt a mix of anger and sadness wash over me. I was on the verge of breaking down. Adele was just a symptom of a larger problem. Everything was falling apart, and I felt like I was standing at the center, desperately trying to hold it all together.

I had come to share the most intimate news of our lives, the existence of our unborn child, and his behavior cast a shadow of doubt over my decision. After what had just happened I wasn’t sure I could trust him with my revelation. Would he react with the same indifference and distance, treating our shared secret like some trivial matter?

Pulling the covers around me, I let the tears flow. My heart ached with the weight of the secrets I held, and the realization that I might have to face them alone. The soft glow of the streetlights outside provided little comfort as I drifted into a restless sleep, haunted by thoughts of the unknown future ahead.

* * *

The hum of Miami’s nightlife was a soothing backdrop to my restless dreams, the sporadic noise of traffic and the occasional shout from the street filtering through my bedroom window. The quilt wrapped around my body felt stifling, my skin slick with a thin layer of sweat from a particularly intense nightmare. I was on the brink of consciousness when an unfamiliar scraping sound made my heart race. It was soft, yet distinct against the night’s usual lullaby.

Half-asleep, my eyes struggled to adjust to the dim light filtering in from the streetlamps. But as the scraping grew louder, every instinct in me screamed danger. And then, just as the realization hit, my window burst open. Three figures, dressed in black from head to toe, flooded into my room like night itself.

Adrenaline pumping, I bolted upright, seizing the heavy lamp on my bedside table. With a guttural scream, I swung it at the first intruder, catching him square in the head. He stumbled back, cursing, his hands flailing to shield his face. The glass shattered on impact, raining shards everywhere.

Before I could react further, a second figure lunged, his hands clamping down on my wrists, pulling them behind me. I kicked, screamed, and tried to twist free, but he was too strong. I bit down hard on his hand, drawing blood, causing him to roar in pain.

The third man, while I was distracted, moved in to secure my legs, rendering me immobile. I continued to scream, but my shouts were suddenly muffled when a rough hand pressed a cloth over my face, its pungent chemical scent making my eyes water. The acrid scent of chloroform invaded my senses, and my strength began to weaken. My vision swirled as the world around me began to fade, but not before I spotted a familiar inked insignia on one of their wrists—the Crimson Devils logo.

Chapter 27

Kai

The evening's shadows draped over the studio, the faint glow from the streetlights cutting into the room through the gaps in the blinds. On the worktable lay scattered tattoo sketches, the images distorted under a fine layer of ash residue from the arson. The air was thick with tension, the darkness shrouding the room caused by more than just the evening sky that was settling outside.

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