Chapter 1
1
ANNIKA
“ A re you on the way to Hellbound Studio?” Rachel asked, her voice playing through my Jeep’s speaker.
My ride was adorable…and also the last present I got from my mom and dad. So even though most of my friends had gotten new cars for our high school graduation, I hadn’t been the slightest bit envious. I planned to drive this baby until the wheels fell off.
“I am,” I confirmed with a wide grin that she couldn’t see.
“I’m so bummed that I couldn’t be there with you for this. Although it’s probably for the best because I doubt I would’ve been able to walk out of the tattoo parlor without any ink of my own, and we both know how that would’ve gone down with my parents.”
I laughed, picturing the hissy fit her mom would have pitched at the sight of a tattoo on her daughter’s unblemished skin. Something she wouldn’t have been able to hide during their annual trip to the Bahamas, which was where she was this week. “Forget heading off to college in a couple of weeks. You would have been locked in your room for the next year.”
She snorted. “Let’s be real. It would be at least two years.”
“Probably,” I agreed. “Remind me not to go swimming at your house if your parents are around. She might decide I’m a bad influence and not let us hang out together anymore.”
“Like I would ever let that happen. I might not put my foot down with my parents very often, but if they went after my bestie, you best believe they’d have a fight on their hands.”
I knew she meant every word of her vow, and hearing how much I meant to her made me sniffle. “Cut it out, or I’m going to be crying before they even start the tattoo.”
“Maybe there will be a hot guy to hold your hand during the whole thing since I’m not there to do it,” she teased.
I rolled my eyes. “Not gonna happen. This isn’t one of the romcoms we love to watch on our movie nights.”
“But it could be.”
My best friend was much more optimistic than I was. Losing my parents a couple of years ago made me see the world differently. I wasn’t as carefree as I used to be.
“I’m almost there,” I told her as I turned onto the road where the tattoo parlor was located.
“Then I guess I’ll let you go.” Her laughter drifted through the line. “Which is probably for the best because my mom will come looking for me any minute. We’re going snorkeling today.”
“Sounds as though you’re going to have lots of fun. Tell your mom and dad I said hello.”
“Will do.” Knowing my bestie how I did, I wasn’t surprised when she added, “The water here is awesome, but I hope you have way more fun than me. With a sexy tattoo artist who pops your cherry so you don’t have to worry about being the only virgin on campus.”
“You're ridiculous.” I turned into the parking lot, shaking my head.
“And that’s why you love me,” she quipped.
“Only because I didn’t know better when we became best friends,” I teased, pulling into a parking spot. “Good luck finding a hottie who’ll help you out with the same potential problem I’ll have when I get to college since you’ve never slept with anyone either.”
“I wish,” she muttered. “But we both know my mom would literally throw herself between any interesting guy and me to make sure nothing happens.”
“For real.”
We shared a laugh over the mental image of her mom shoving between Rachel and some random man on the beach before hanging up. Then I hopped out of my Jeep.
I was nervous as I walked into Hellbound Studio, but that didn’t stop me from going inside. I’d wanted a tattoo for two years, but since I only turned eighteen last month, I hadn’t been able to get one until then. My birthday was so close to my parents’ anniversary, so I decided just to wait and have it done today since that would bring extra meaning to the tattoo.
My nerves combined with the summer heat, making my palms sweaty as I crossed the parking lot. I rubbed them against my shorts before taking a deep breath. Then I yanked the door open and strode inside, trying to look more confident than I felt when the guy behind the counter looked up and flashed me a grin.
He didn’t look much older than me, but he had several tattoos on his left arm, so he fit with the place. “Hey, how can I help you?”
“I have an appointment with Onyx.”
He tapped on the keyboard, then asked, “Annika Lee?”
I nodded. “Yup.”
“And this is your first tattoo?”
Another nod. “Yeah.”
He scanned this information. “Looks like you already filled out all the paperwork online, so I just need to see your driver’s license.”
I grabbed my wallet from my purse and tugged out my identification. Sliding it across the counter, I murmured, “Here you go.”
He scanned my license into their system before handing it back to me. “Now you’re all set for when Onyx is ready to take you back. Should be any minute now.”
“Great.”
Faster was definitely better, as far as I was concerned. Although I’d been looking forward to this day for so long, I didn’t trust myself not to chicken out before my appointment even got started.
As he answered the ringing phone, I wandered over to the waiting area. When I searched online for a tattoo shop, Hellbound Studio had been rated the best in Georgia, not just in my little town of Riverstone. It was on Main Street, across from The Fuel & Flame Diner, but I had never been to either business since the local motorcycle club owned them. The fit my uncle would pitch if he ever learned I came here would rival Rachel’s mom’s if she’d been with me.
Hellbound Studio wasn’t anything like I’d pictured in my head. The cinder block walls were painted white, and the floor was decorative concrete with a dark and light gray pattern. The wood beams in the ceiling were exposed, and so was the ductwork, giving the place an industrial feel. But the lighting was bright, and there wasn’t a speck of dust that I could see.
Instead of sitting down, I studied the framed pictures on the wall. They were sketches of what I assumed were tattoos that the Hellbound artists had done, and they were all impressive. “Annika?”
Turning, I smile at the man standing in front of the reception counter. “That’s me. You’re Onyx?”
“Yup,” he confirmed with a lift of his chin. “From the note when you booked your appointment, it sounded like you know exactly what you want. Did you bring any photos or drawings that I can use as a reference?”
Crossing to him, I pulled my phone from my purse to show him what I found online, pointing out the flowers first. “I was hoping you could do a heritage rose like this one.”
“I can draw that.”
Then I swiped to a photo of a heart-shaped pocket watch with Roman numerals on the face. “And I want the hands to point to eight and eleven.”
“Today’s date? It has special meaning for you?” he asked as he scrolled through the images I saved in a folder on my phone.
I swallowed the lump in my throat that was always there when I talked about my mom and dad. “It’s when my parents got married. I thought it would be a good way to honor them and how much they loved each other.”
“Loved?”
“Yeah, I lost them two years ago.”
I didn’t give him any additional details because I'd never make it through this appointment if I did. Talking about their deaths was too hard for me, even after this much time had passed.
“I get it.” Onyx lifted his shirt and twisted to the side to show me the black ink on his back. “Had this done to honor my mom. Lost her when I was a teenager. It’s what got me interested in becoming a tattoo artist.”
I hadn’t expected the tall, muscular, tattooed biker to open up to me like that, but I felt much more at ease with his confession. “I hate that you had to go through a loss like that, but I’m glad you understand why I want this particular tattoo. It makes me feel a little more comfortable with you being the one to draw it.”
He dropped his shirt back into place and leaned his hip against the reception counter. “You have nothing to worry about. I’m the best in the business.”
“Most of Ink’s clients would disagree,” the guy behind the counter murmured.
“Ignore Jay. He’s a prospect who just started answering the phones for us last week. He has no fucking clue what he’s talking about.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Onyx smiled at me. “For the clock face, you want the short hand on eight and the long one on eleven?”
“That’s exactly what I want.”