Chapter Two – Jaxon
”Shit, man, I don’t know,” Lee replied with a shrug. ”We could try to find a new route out there, but I get the feeling the Tigers are going to cut us off at every turn.”
Chuck let out a low growl of irritation and shook his head, then glanced over at me.
”What do you think, Jax?” he asked. I held my hands up.
”Hey, don’t ask me,” I protested. ”You’re the ones who know this city better than I do.”
”Yeah, and you’re the one who does most of our weapon runs,” Chuck replied. ”If you think you can handle it, we can stick with the route we’ve got. If not, we can find a way to work around the Tigers...”
I grimaced, not wanting to let Chuck down – but, before I could give him an answer, I heard the bell at the door of the shop ringing.
”Customer, boss,” I told him, getting up to meet whoever it was. ”Can we pick this up later?”
”Sure,” Chuck replied, waving me off. He had tried to explain to me that I didn’t need to take the tattoo shop work so seriously, it wasn’t much more than a cover for everything else the Dark Dogs got up to, but I enjoyed it – made for a break from everything else that was going on in our lives, and a chance to flex my artistic skills for once.
I reached the front desk – and, when I saw the woman approaching it, I let out a low whistle through my teeth. Damn, she was hot. The kind of hot you didn’t see around these parts all that often. Long, blonde hair, pale blue eyes that seemed like jewels against her pale skin, a willowy build with a few freckles smattered across her nose. She was dressed down in a pair of jeans and a tee, but she looked like she could have walked off some fashion runway as she glanced around, taking in the designs on the wall around her.
”Hey,” I greeted her, and her head snapped around at once.
”Oh, hey,” she replied. ”You work here?”
”Last time I checked.”
”I want a tattoo,” she replied. ”Can I get one? Today?”
”If you’ve got the cash,” I replied. She reached into the bright pink backpack slung over her shoulder and pulled out a few twenties.
”Is this enough?” she asked. I eyed it.
”Depends on what you’re looking for,” I replied. Truth be told, I would have given her a whole sleeve for that amount, if she had just stuck around a little longer.
She held up her left arm and tapped the spot just below her hand.
”I want a star, here,” she explained. ”Maybe a couple of inches wide. Can you do that for me?”
”First tattoo?” I asked her. She nodded.
”That’s a painful place to get it,” I warned her. ”You think you can handle it?”
She narrowed her eyes at me like I had just put forward a challenge to her.
”Yeah,” she replied. ”I can handle it.”
I jerked my head over to one of the chairs next to the mirror.
”Sit down there,” I told her. ”I’ll sketch something and get you cleaned up, and then we can get started.”
She perched on the edge of the chair, and I pulled out some paper to sketch out a few ideas for her. I could feel her watching me, taking in the work I was doing. It wasn’t exactly a difficult piece she had asked for, but still, I was in no rush to get her out of here.
”Why a star?” I asked her.
”What?” she blurted out. She seemed on edge. Probably nervous about this tattoo. We didn’t get many first-timers in here – mostly bikers who already had a sleeve full of gnarly stick-and-poke art – but getting your first was always tricky.
”Why do you want a star?” I repeated myself. She sighed.
”Oh, uh,” she replied. ”That’s my name. Star.”
”Your name is Star?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. Not exactly a common one.
”Yeah...”
”Your parents must have thought a lot of you,” I remarked. She bit her lip.
”Yeah,” she agreed. ”I guess they must have.”
”Here, what about this?” I asked as I showed her the quick sketch I had done. It was simple, and wouldn’t take more than twenty minutes or so, but her face lit up as soon as she saw it.
”That’s exactly what I had in mind,” she gushed. ”I love it. Can we get started?”
”Let me get you cleaned up first,” I chuckled. ”You in some kind of rush?”
”No, not really,” she replied. ”I just...I’m looking forward to this, that’s all.”
”Here, put your hand like this,” I told her, flipping it over on the arm of the chair. Her skin felt soft beneath my touch – my hands must have seemed callused to her, but I noticed goosebumps appear on her wrist as I touched her. I laid out the sketch on her arm, checking that it matched up with her delicate wrist. I could feel her watching me as I worked, and there was something about that watchful gaze that had me feeling a way I wasn’t used to.
”Okay, I’m going to get my tools ready,” I told her. ”You sure about this? Last chance to back out if you’re not...”
”I’m sure,” she replied, narrowing her eyes at herself in the mirror, as though she was convincing herself as much as she was me.
I pulled over the tray of tools – the tattoo gun, the alcohol wipes, the needles – and got myself set up, laying out the sketch so I could draw over it and give myself something to work off of. She watched me as I drew out the shape of the star against her skin.
”What made you decide to come here for your first tattoo?” I asked her.
”What do you mean?”
”I mean, not many people choose us for their first,” I remarked, as I wiped down the area. ”Especially not people like you.”
”People like me?” she shot back, defensively. ”What’s that supposed to mean?”
”Nothing bad, trust me,” I replied, flashing her a grin. Her cheeks, for a moment, flushed with a light pink.
”Good,” she muttered, and I lined up the needle with the first line of the star.
”You ready?” I asked, and she nodded, gritting her teeth.
”I think so...”
I turned on the tattoo gun and held her arm steady as I traced out the first line. Her jaw dropped as soon as it touched her skin.
”Oh, fuck!” she exclaimed. ”That really hurts!”
”I told you it was a tough place for your first tattoo,” I reminded her. ”But you’re in it now.”
She looked down at her arm, where a thin line of black ink was already pushed beneath her skin. She clenched her jaw, closed her eyes, and twisted her head to the side.
”Okay, just keep going,” she muttered. ”Get this done as quickly as you can.”
”I’m not going to rush it,” I warned her, as I held her arm in place and continued to ink out the shape of the scar on her wrist. I could see the blood pulsing in her veins, her heart pounding as she tried to navigate the shock of this pain. But, to her credit, she didn’t let out so much as another whimper as I continued to work. She kept her arm steady as I finished filling out the rest of her star, and I glanced up at her every now and then. I could see that pink flush to her cheeks, but she had her lips pressed together to keep from making a sound.
After a few minutes, I turned off the tattoo gun, and she opened one eye, stealing a look at me.
”Is it done?” she asked, breathing out a sigh of relief.
”That’s it,” I replied, grabbing a wipe so I could clean off the blood. ”What do you think?”
She held it up in front of her face and stared at it for a long moment – just a small star, on her left wrist, nothing extreme. But the smile that spread across her face told me that this was way more than just a tattoo to her.
”I love it,” she murmured. ”Thank you.”
”You’re welcome,” I replied, straightening up and grabbing some clingfilm. ”Here, let me wrap it, and then you can pay.”
”Thanks,” she replied, and she grinned at me, those blue eyes lighting up. Fuck, she was sexy. I was glad neither Chuck nor Lee had come out from the back to check on me because I knew they would have been shamelessly flirting with her the first chance they got.
As I wrapped up her arm, she glanced around again, like she was worried someone might have been watching her. She had seemed a little jumpy since the moment she stepped through the door, and I couldn’t help but wonder why. Was it anything to do with the reason she was getting this tattoo? Sure, it might have been her name, but the look on her face when she had seen it told me it was far more than just that.
”Crap!” She exclaimed, as she snatched her arm back from me and sprang to her feet.
”What is it?” I demanded, snapping upright. ”Does it hurt...?”
”No, it’s not that,” she replied, glancing towards the window that looked out onto the street beyond. ”It’s that...fuck, those guys who just walked past, they’re...they’ve been following me the last few days...”
”You sure?” I replied, and she nodded, turning her back to the window. Sure enough, a pair of guys passed back outside the door, and one of them glanced inside. As soon as they saw her standing there, he turned to his companion and started to say something.
”Can I hide?” she begged me. ”Just behind the counter – for a minute or two, I promise, just until they’re gone.”
I hesitated. I could practically hear Chuck in my ear, telling me not to get involved with anyone else’s shit, that I knew better than to let myself get drawn into whatever mess this girl had found herself in. But the way she was looking at me, with those pleading eyes, that fear in her face, I knew there was no way I could just ignore her.
I sighed and jerked my head towards the counter.
”Just until they’re gone,” I told her. ”Keep your head down. And don’t make a sound. You hear me?”
”Thank you,” she gasped, clasping her hands together and rushing towards the counter, dropping down into a crouch behind it. It looked practiced, as though it was far from the first time she had hidden out like this. Who the hell was this girl? And who were these people looking for her? None of this made sense to me...
But, before I had a chance to think better of it, the door opened, and the two men who had been standing in the street stepped inside. I rolled back my shoulders and looked them dead in the eye.
”Can I help you?” I asked, voice cold and controlled. I didn’t know who the hell they were – but I knew I wasn’t going to let them get to the girl hiding behind the counter. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt protective of her, and there was no way I’d allow them to take her.
Whatever it was they wanted her for.