Protective Ink (Urban Fantasy) (5 page)

The way he’d left her last night would not make this any easier. But he’d promised he would be here tonight. Even Dory had called him this morning to make sure he would show up to socialize. Well, Jackson was a loner and he made no apologies for it. Garrett was his only friend. He had plenty of acquaintances and could make small talk to seal construction deals when he needed to, but he preferred to spend his free time alone.

And now he was about to walk into a crush of people. Maybe he could go invisible. Then he could tell Lissa he’d been there without lying. He nixed the idea before it had a chance to take hold. She was going to be pissed at him for last night and there was no sense in making it worse. Things had been so much easier when he didn’t see her on a regular basis. Talking with her on the phone never made him imagine the things he’d struggled with last night as he tried to get to sleep in his big empty bed.

There was nothing to do now but bite the bullet and go in. He crossed the busy street at the light, his steps slowing as he came even with the front door. Then he made a quick dash inside before he could be seen standing out front like some outsider wishing someone would invite him in from the cold.

No one paid him any attention at first, which was fine by him. He made his way around the perimeter of the room that was jammed with people from every walk of life. Based on the number of cars out on the street, she must have invited a lot of out-of-towners—probably old clients.

He bypassed the punch bowl, wishing for something stronger. And then he spotted her in the middle of the room. The dress made her stand out. Paired with the bright red heels on her feet and those swirl-patterned stockings on her incredibly long legs, it was all he could do to keep his tongue in his mouth.

His feet were moving before he could stop them, taking him to her side. But then he realized she wasn’t alone.

“Lissa, this is magnificent. The lighting, the furniture… The atmosphere of the space is astounding.” The guy had light brown hair, overly long to Jackson’s eye, and a three-piece suit that should have looked out of place but instead made him look distinguished.

“Thank you, Cameron. I couldn’t have done it without you and your investment.” She laughed a throaty laugh Jackson had never heard before and laid a hand on the sleeve of the guy’s jacket, looking up at him as if he’d saved the world.

Cameron held a glass of champagne in one hand and covered Lissa’s hand with the other. “You and your business are worth every penny. I’ve never invested in such a fascinating venture before.”

Enough of this bullshit.
Instead of hanging back like he’d planned on doing, Jackson burst right into their little personal bubble and grabbed Lissa for a hug. “Great job, girl. You really outdid yourself,” he whispered into her ear, enjoying the feel of her hair against his lips and the way the Cameron guy narrowed his eyes at them.

He handed over the three primary-colored bottles of ink he’d bought for her over the internet. He probably should have put them in a bag or something, like a present, but he hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Congrats on the parlor.”

“Oh, wow, Jackson, thank you.” She held them to her chest like a prized puppy. He smiled over at Cameron and winked.

The suit guy smiled back, but there was an edge to his expression that Jackson didn’t like. Before he could taunt him into a pissing contest, Lissa made the introductions. “Jackson, this is Cameron DiMaggio, my investor. Cameron, meet Jackson Freeling, one of my oldest friends. He owns a construction company in town. Maybe the two of you should talk business.”

When the ninth ring of hell froze over, Jackson thought of saying but didn’t. Instead he offered his hand and thoroughly enjoyed grinding his calloused palm into Pretty Boy’s smooth-as-a-newly-polished-banister one.

“Nice to meet you, Jackson,” Cameron said from between clenched teeth, that smarmy smile still on his face.

“Yeah, back at ya.”

He turned his back to the man and addressed Lissa. “You’ve got a pretty good-sized party going on here. Have you tattooed every one of these people?”

Cameron’s hand went to the small of Lissa’s back and snaked around to the other side of her waist. “Not every one, but soon. Right, my dear?”

“You just let me know when and I’ll fit you into my schedule.” She laughed that throaty laugh and made no move to relocate his hand.

“So, Lissa, I need to talk to you if you can ditch the suit.” He tried to make it sound like a joke, though not too hard.

“It’ll have to wait, Jackson, and I think Cameron looks very dashing in his suit.” She looked him up and down with half a smile. “You could take a hint or two from him.”

“Yeah, him and an undertaker.”

She slammed one of those pretty heels into his instep right before she hooked her arm into Cameron’s and calmly walked away.

Well, shit.

* * *

Of all the ridiculous, Neanderthal, ludicrous crap… No, she would not let herself finish that thought or it would be too hard to keep the fake smile on her face. And she wanted that smile there, no matter how difficult it was. This was her opening night. She was surrounded by former clients and hopefully new ones, as well. She’d cut a ribbon with the mayor earlier, for God’s sake, and he was
not
going to ruin this for her.

She had twin urges to cry and smack him in the back of the head. The big lout.

But she was still holding Cameron’s arm, and she was determined to act like a lady. The man had made her dream come true and at only three percent interest. He deserved her undivided attention.

“I’m sorry for Jackson back there.”

“Oh, no worries at all, Lissa. I wasn’t fazed. I’ve dealt with his kind before. It’s best to shake them off like a dog who’s humping your leg and move on.”

“A dog who’s…” She laughed.

“Ah, that’s a more natural smile.” He gave her one of his own. “Don’t let him get you down. Enjoy yourself. This is the beginning of something beautiful. Now if you’ll excuse me for a moment, I see someone whom I should greet. Circulate, laugh, do what you do best.”

She watched him walk away in his suit with its tailored lines and the pants that broke perfectly over the top of his shiny black shoes. He was a charmer and suave to boot. Not her type of man, but she did enjoy being the focus of his attention.

He disappeared around the corner into the hallway with her framed art, along with three other people. The drink and snack tables were set up there, and she’d marked all her art with price tags in case anyone was interested. Nothing wrong with making an extra payment to Cameron here and there if possible.

Garrett and Dory seemed to be having fun and were laughing it up with a group of bikers she’d invited. Garrett looked happy when his arm was around Dory, and each time he looked at her, his heart was there in his eyes. Lissa’s own heart clenched a little, but then she sighed. He deserved this happiness, and maybe one day she would, too.

For now, she was going to circulate some more and get her business off to the strong start it should have had yesterday with Jackson’s tattoo. She stopped to say hello to a couple from the Chamber of Commerce and then got waylaid by a woman who had an appointment for a final session on her tattoo sleeves the following week.

Ten minutes later she made it over to the biker group where Dory was still holding court. The girl might look mousy, but she was full of sass, particularly when challenged.

“Everyone have enough to eat and drink?” Lissa said when there was a break in the conversation.

There was a chorus of yeses then Dory mentioned that Garrett was getting her another cup of punch. Lissa barely registered the words because at the same moment Garrett came staggering out of the hallway, looking green as pea soup and ready to puke.

Jackson was at his side before Lissa could even move. Dory made her apologies and ran to join them, which left her standing alone in the middle of a crowd.

Jackson broke through the gathered people and hustled Dory and Garrett up the stairs to her apartment without a single word to her.

A warm hand settled on the small of her back. “Go on up,” Cameron said softly into her ear. “I’ll take care of the crowd and usher everyone out. I can lock up and then I’ll come check on you.”

“Oh, thank you,” she said around what felt like a tennis ball in her throat. She faked the smile for the bikers and dashed up the stairs as fast as she could without breaking her neck in the four-inch heels.

She banged through the front door and found her three friends in the living room—Garrett on the couch, Dory hovering her hands over his body and Jackson standing stock still with his arms crossed over his chest and a fierce scowl on his face.

“What the hell happened?” she said to anyone who would answer.

“I don’t know. You tell me,” Jackson answered without moving anything but his lips.

“How should I know? Dory said he went to get her a glass of punch and then he came staggering down the hall. That’s all I know.” By the end her voice had risen to a shout. Dory didn’t even look up from where she was crouched next to Garrett, but Jackson was staring straight at her, his expression unaffected by her outburst.

“You done? Because we need to figure out what to do with him. He’s looking better already, but I don’t know what happened to him or who might have done this. Dory’s doing her best, but it’s not a bruise or cut that’s ailing him, and I don’t know if she’ll be able to fully heal him. Ideas?”

Lissa drew in a slow breath until she thought her lungs would burst. This calm, cool collected way was how Jackson acted when he was terrified. She’d witnessed it once before when they were video conferencing on the computer while he was in some war-torn country. A loud boom had ripped through the microphone and he’d calmly told her he had to go. She only found out later that he ended up spending twelve hours in a latrine in his boxer shorts and a T-shirt waiting for the air raid to finish and the all clear to sound so he could go assess the damage to his guys.

“I’ll go make sure everyone’s out of here. Maybe get Dory a glass of water while she helps Garrett.”

“Sure thing. Make sure Mr. Suit is gone, too. We don’t need any interference.”

She turned on her heel then thought better of it. Running to the bedroom, she grabbed her bedroom slippers, changed shoes and left the apartment. Cameron met her halfway up the interior stairs.

“Is everything okay? It looked like maybe something happened to your friend Garrett. Did he drink too much?” he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“He’s going to be fine. Just something that didn’t go down right.” She peered past him, listening for any indication of party guests who had overstayed their welcome.

“Everyone’s gone. It was about that time, anyway.” His smile was all charm, but she had no time to appreciate it.

“Thanks. I hope no one else gets sick.” She was lying through her teeth, perfectly aware this was nothing so ordinary as food poisoning. Cameron looked like he planned on ascending the stairs with her. That she could not allow.

She stepped backward and up, putting herself at eye level with him again. “I appreciate everything you’ve done, Cameron, but I think we’re going to call it a night. Get in touch when you’re ready to schedule that tattoo appointment.” Out came the fake smile again, but she could offer nothing else at the moment. A sense of urgency swept over her. Something was very wrong with Garrett and she needed to be there for him. She’d kept her distance from him long enough. It was time to become a part of his struggle instead of letting Jackson bear the weight of being his helper.

Cameron’s eyebrow shot up. “Are you trying to get rid of me, dear? Perhaps I can be of some help. Or I can at least call a doctor friend of mine to take a look at your friend. I would hate for something fatal to go undiagnosed until it’s too late.”

Her gorge rose. That was so not going to happen. She’d force Garrett to go to the hospital if need be, but she was counting on Dory to work her magic. “I’m sure he’s going to be fine.”

“I’d like to see him for myself, if you don’t mind. I have a lot invested in your shop, Lissa. I’d hate for a lawsuit to be brought against us. I’m not sure our liability insurance could handle that.”

She had to relent. She only hoped Garrett was feeling better. There was no way to signal to everyone in her apartment that Cameron was with her, so she settled for knocking on the door and calling out, “Is Garrett decent?”

She looked back over her shoulder at Cameron as she opened the door with a slightly shaking hand. He’d probably yank every last penny if he knew about her strange personal life. Dory healing him in front of Cameron would not be a good way to continue keeping that secret.

When she slowly opened the door, she was relieved to see Garrett sitting up on the couch. His color was still slightly off and his short hair stood on end, but he looked much improved.

Getting down on her knees at his feet, she took his hands in hers. “I’m so happy that you’re doing better.”

He gave a weak laugh and attempted a smile, but she knew what the fake ones looked like, and this was one of the fakest.

“I was fine until I drank a cup of the punch. They were all lined up and I took two. I drank from one and my head started swimming instantly. It was like an evil…” He looked over her head and stuttered to a halt. He picked his sentence back up after a heartbeat, “…hangover after a whole night of binge drinking. Whatever you put in there, I don’t think it agreed with me.” He made more of an attempt to laugh this time and patted her hand. “I probably just have a bug or a virus. No big deal. Sorry to have ruined your whole party for something so stupid.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, Garrett?” Cameron asked. She willed him not to mention the liability coverage again.

“Yes, I’m positive. In fact, I’d like to go home now.” He turned to Lissa and gave her a hug, the first in a long time. “I’ll see you in a few days for that tattoo we were talking about. I heard the current strain of flu that’s making the rounds only lasts twenty-four hours or so. I’ll be back in fighting condition by then.”