Tattoos and Transformations (16 page)

“Shit. What are you going to tell him?”

“I won’t be telling him anything. I’m going to speak with my lawyer and have him tell Harley. I’m thinking for the next week or two, we might only be open Monday and Wednesday when you can go.”

She really wanted to spend all her time painting, but she did love doing the tattoos. “Okay.” She knew where Harley kept everything, and the prices were quite clear.

He rubbed her arm. “I’ll find someone else to take over the management. I promise. I don’t want your business to suffer.”

“I appreciate that.” She shrugged. “It just won’t be the same without him.”

“I know, but it can’t be helped.”

Damn
. Everyone was getting the shaft today.

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Her mind reeled during the drive back to town. There was a lot she needed to take care of. Morgan pulled in front of her store and insisted he come inside with her. Travis was there, along with the window man who was finishing the installation.

She’d never met Travis before, but he was nice eye candy. His sandy-blond hair flopped over his forehead and the stubble on his face looked sexy. He wasn’t her type, but she bet he had a ton of women after him.

Travis nodded first to Morgan then her. “Let me show you what security I’ve installed.”

He pointed out the cameras mounted not only above the front door, but also above the side entrance. The outside cameras would be connected to a system in his office.

He led them inside and up the first flight of stairs. “Dakota, I’ve got a camera hidden in the ceiling.” He opened her front door and pointed to the mounted television. “You’ll be able to see who’s at your door.”

Her pulse calmed. “That’s comforting.” Even if his system had been in place, it wouldn’t have helped when her plate-glass window got broken. However, the perpetrator’s face would have been captured on camera.

“This is great, Travis. Thanks for doing this so fast.” She turned to Morgan. “I need to get back to work.”

He stood there a moment. His closed lips pressed together as if he wanted to argue with her. Eventually, he turned around and went downstairs. She followed.

She dared to go into the front where the man was finishing up the window. Someone had leaned her destroyed paintings against the wall.

When she picked up the one of the girl, her throat closed up. The slash marks went right through her eyes.
Shit
. She didn’t have the heart to call the mother just yet. Maybe when her nerves calmed, she’d tell her what happened.

Morgan gave her a hug. “I’m going over to Winston and Elkheart.

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They’re the law firm I’m using. Call if you decide to stay at our place tonight.”

Morgan was being extra nice. “Thanks.”

As soon as he left, she went upstairs. Travis told her he just had to connect a few wires, and then he’d be on his way.

The anger and frustration had built to a point where she couldn’t take it anymore. She was determined to never be a victim again.
Ever
.

She pawed through her bathroom drawers and pulled out her piercings. One by one, she put them back in. She didn’t have the energy to bleach her hair, but when she put the hair gel in, she was able to recreate the chaotic, freaky look she’d had before. The pink, blue, or green hairspray didn’t show up as well on her dark hair, but she could see an attempt was made.

Back in her bedroom, she undressed and found her favorite flowered dress she always used to wear. She pulled that on along with a jog bra, leggings, and her black combat boots. Being the old Dakota felt good and right. No one ever took advantage of that girl, and she intended never to be taken advantage of again.

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Chapter Fourteen

Morgan had given her the keys to D’Ink Coda. He’d put a sign on the door stating new hours and who to contact for an appointment.

Some man had called her cell and said he wanted a sleeve of tattoos.

She’d told him it would take four three-hour sessions to get all of it done. He was fine with that. Apparently, his sister had gotten a butterfly tattoo and really liked the experience.

When she walked into the darkened store, it was a bit creepy to be there alone. She kept reminding herself that employees got fired all the time, but not experienced pros like Harley. Travis had rekeyed the lock so that if Harley had a spare set, he couldn’t get in.

She’d just set up her gear when the young man came in. If she’d been in the market for a date, he might have fit, as he was rather cute.

Her internal fear sensor didn’t go off, probably because of his crew cut, button-down shirt, and neat jeans.

“You Dakota?”

His sister had probably described her, but that straight and careful girl no longer existed. “Yup.” His eyes narrowed a bit, but then his shoulders relaxed. “Do you have a design in mind?”

“I came in last week and picked out something. You got the tattoo book?”

“Sure.” She retrieved it from under the counter. Next time she’d remember to set it out in plain view.

He thumbed through the designs. “This is the one.” A small thrill raced through her. “I did that.” His eyes brightened. “Cool. My sister said you were really good.” The confirmation helped lift her mood. She had him sit in the
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chair so she could shave his arm and clean his skin. “You’ll need to take off your shirt.”

He didn’t seem to have a problem disrobing. In fact, when he removed the shirt, he flexed his chest muscles.
Oh, my
. He didn’t compare to her two men, but some girl would be happy to have him.

First she made the transfer of the design then placed it on his arm.

“I can only do the shoulder cap tonight.” It would take her close to three hours given the intricacy of the design.

“That’s cool. I think I’d rather do this in several sittings anyway.” She debated locking the door in case an irate Harley stumbled in, but then she’d be locking out potential clients. For Morgan’s sake, she didn’t want to do that.

Anxious to start the job, she got to work. She wasn’t much for talking as she needed to concentrate, but her client didn’t seem to care.

He was a nonstop gabber. He told her about his penchant for computer games and how he loved to program computers. If she’d been given a test about what he did for a living, she never would have guessed.

She was nearly done with the three-hour marathon when her cell rang. She would have ignored it, but from the ringtone, she knew it was Clint calling.

“Can you excuse me for a moment? I need to take this.”

“Sure. I don’t mind moving my arm a bit.”

“Hey, Clint.”

“Darlin’, we have a dilemma.”

The seriousness of his tone raised the hair on her neck. “What kind of dilemma?”

“Jackson, the owner of the Raging Bull, said that Harley is at his bar drunker than a skunk.”

Her stomach clenched. Drowning one’s sorrows never solved any problems. “And?”

“He’s been mouthing off how he’s going to pay back the bitch who ratted him out.”

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Her arm turned weak. “He knows it’s me?”

“I’m afraid so.” She glanced to the unlocked door. The kid she was tattooing was a lightweight, even if he did sport some muscle tone. Harley, especially if he were drunk, would plow this kid down.

“Okay. Let me think.”

“I’m on my way home, but it’ll take me over two hours. I’ve already called Morgan and he’s on his way to your store now.”

“You really think Harley will harm me?” She glanced at the young man who was examining the artwork.

“Jackson’s going to try to keep him at the bar even if it means he gives him free beer.”

“I’ll close up now and head home.”

“I want—”

She disconnected. He’d probably tell her to stay put, but this was where Harley would look first. She turned to her customer. “I’m so sorry.”

“I heard. It’s all right.”

She’d almost finished with the top part of the design. “Let me put a bandage on this.” She gave him oral instructions on how to take care of the tattoo until he came back on Wednesday. “You can pay two hundred today since I didn’t quite do the three hours.” The young man paid and left. As quickly as she could, she locked up and headed to her store. Even though Clint had said Harley was still at the bar, he could have slipped out and been hiding in any of these dark alleys. Heart pounding, she slowed as she passed any unlit place. Wiping her hands down her jeans, she moved cautiously, and even though her heart was racing, she wanted to get to her place as quickly as possible.

What sounded like a can being kicked came from between her store and the hotel. Her pulse raced and her stomach almost heaved.

Calm down. Get out the key. Be ready
.

She stepped toward the alley, and keeping her back to the road, looked in. Three alley cats scurried away. She blew out a breath. Her
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imagination was playing tricks on her. Harley might have said he wanted to harm her, but was an old friend of her dad’s. Until she started working her him and infringed on his livelihood, he’d been nice to her.
Damn
. She never should have taken the job.

Maybe you shouldn’t have ratted him out.

Finally, she arrived at the door. She had the key in her hand for a quick entry, but her fingers shook so much she had a hard time getting the key in the lock.

Duh. Wrong key, dummy
.

She’d forgotten to take her old key off the keychain once Logan installed the new system.
Breathe
.

She kept telling herself that the security system would emit a loud blast if anyone broke in. If she sequestered herself upstairs, she’d be fine. Morgan would come over and together they’d figure out something.

Now get inside.

The light above the door had burned out. That was strange. She swore Travis said he’d replaced it. The hairs on her neck stood up and her blood pressure skyrocketed. She glanced behind her, but saw no one.
Hurry
. She jammed the key into the lock, but because it was new, it didn’t go in right away.

“Come on, come on.” Panic ripped through her body, only adding to the problem. Finally, it tumbled into place.
Yes!
She pushed open the door and stepped inside. As she turned around to close and lock it, Harley pushed his way in.

Oh, shit
. Her heart dropped to her stomach and her muscles nearly froze. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind. She couldn’t die.

She refused to die. She held up her hands as she backed up. “Harley, you don’t want to do this.” She kept her voice as calm as she could.

She needed to stall him until Morgan got there.

Hadn’t Clint called her at least ten minutes ago?

If Jackson had been trying to keep him drinking, the moment he saw that he was gone, he’d come over. Right? While she and Jackson

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weren’t related, the fact that he was married to Jenny Callen, who was a cousin to Morgan and Clint, meant he’d want to make sure nothing happened to her.

Harley advanced and she continued to back up. Her gaze shot around the room, looking for something to use against him. When Jade lived here, there were pieces of steel everywhere. Now that she’d converted it to an art gallery, there was nothing.
Shit
.

Harley’s lip snarled. “How the hell did you know who to tell about my skimming?”

Did he really think that she would answer that? “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Her damned voice cracked. She wanted to keep her gaze focused on his eyes to show him she had nothing to fear, but when she caught his hands clench, she couldn’t help but focus on them.

He stumbled toward her. “You told that fucking lawyer that I charged too much, didn’t you?”

She held her hands out. “Harley, I would never do that.

Remember, I, too, charged more. Sometimes we do all that beautiful work and people don’t appreciate us. We need to take our tip ahead of time. Right?”

She prayed he was too addled to remember she was against this philosophy at one time.

With an agility she didn’t think he possessed, he charged toward her and grabbed her arm. His fingers dug into her skin, sending a massive amount of adrenaline to her brain. No one messed with Dakota Smith. Heart pumping faster than a butterfly’s wings could flap, she leaned back and kicked him with her steel-toed shoes.

The force should have made him fall on his ass. Only he didn’t.

The old man charged like a pissed-off bear. It was almost as if she’d taken a baseball bat to a hornets’ nest and the insects shot out, swarming.

“You cunt. You were supposed to quit after I destroyed your precious work.” He waved a fist. “I’ll get you.”
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Her mind raced as her heart slammed against her ribs. She had to escape. If she tried to go upstairs, there wouldn’t have been enough time to unlock the door. He’d get her for sure. If he grabbed her while she was on the steps, and she faltered, she’d fall down the stairs and maybe die.