A moment later, she leaves the room, and I gather my tools and carry them to the autoclave to be cleaned once I cash out Whitney. After washing my hands, I walk to the front. Whitney is leaning over the counter, her elbows on the glass, talking to Jazz. Jazz is a big man, like really fucking big. He’s over six foot seven and has to weigh close to three hundred pounds, all pure muscle. He sports a long goatee that he puts in a braid when he’s working. His head is completely bald, but covered in tattoos. Not just any tattoos though; the crazy motherfucker has his wife’s name tattooed in multiple fonts, sizes, and colors. To say he’s crazy about her is an understatement.
“Thought you weren’t coming in today with Naomi being sick,” I remark as I finish dealing with Whitney.
A big grin splits across his face as he plays with his goatee braid.
“Looks like I’ll be needing a lot of extra hours to pay for the baby she’s giving me. Found out last night she’s pregnant.”
“That’s so exciting!” Whitney squeals, and walks around the counter to give Jazz a hug. Whitney’s sort of become a shop family member with how many times she’s come by to get work done. Naomi’s been in a couple of times when Jazz was tattooing her, and they’ve hit it off. “You tell that girl to call me tomorrow. I want to take her out to lunch to celebrate.”
“Will do, Whit.”
“Congratulations, man.” I shake his hand. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. It’s been a long time coming.”
They’ve been trying for years to have a baby without success. Jazz may be rough around the edges and a brute, but I have no doubt he’ll adore his baby just as much as he does his wife. He’s a huge fucking softy when it comes to her.
The bell over the door rings and in walks Beck. His eyes immediately spot Whitney, and blatant appreciation flashes in them.
“Well, hello there, sugar. I was here to see this ugly fucker,” he juts his chin to me, “but seeing you here makes it so much better.”
She laughs and cocks her hip out to the side. “I can’t say you’re better-looking than Luca, but your definitely not hard to look at.”
Jazz and I laugh at the wounded look on his face.
“Ouch.” He clutches his chest “That doesn’t say much for my looks. Way to hurt a guy.”
Her eyes run over him heatedly. “I’m sure you’ll be just fine.” She’s still smiling when she turns to me and Jazz. “Thanks for the ink, Luca. And congrats on the news, Jazz. I’ll see you boys later.”
With a wave, and a silent reminder with her eyes to me to call her if I want company tonight, she turns and struts across the room. She pats Beck on the chest as she passes by him. “Later, handsome.”
Beck turns and watches her ass sashay from the shop before turning back to us. “Who in the hell was that?” he asks, walking over.
“Whitney,” I supply.
“Damn. Maybe I should come in here more often if that is part of your clientele.”
“I’ll tell her you’re interested.”
“You do that.”
The bell dings again, and Jazz’s customer walks in. He leads them to the back, leaving Beck and me alone.
“You here for more work?”
There’s not much left of Beck’s body that isn’t covered in ink.
He shakes his head. “Nope. I came by to tell you who I ran into at Bangers the other day.”
Bangers is a bar that’s right on the edge of the north side. One more block over and you’ll be on the south. It’s a place both sides frequent. I’ve been there quite a few times myself, but it’s been a while.
“Who?” I ask, having a feeling I already know.
“Chase and Cora,” Beck answers. “Since when have that bitch and asshole become an item?”
“No clue, but she was there when I paid him a visit after he fucked with Ella.”
His lip curls in disgust. “I don’t know which one to feel sorry for the most.”
I couldn’t agree with him more.
“I don’t care who either of them fuck, as long as they do it on their side.”
A sneer curves Beck’s lips. It’s a smile I’ve seen when he’s done something malicious.
“I noticed his face was healed from when you got a hold of him, so I may have fixed that little problem. I’m sure Cora’s pissed, because it’ll be a while before Chase’ll be able to get his tiny dick up for her.” His eyes turn thoughtful. “But then again, it’s Cora, so I’m sure she’ll find some other loser to fuck around with until then.”
“Fuckin’ A, Beck.” I aggravatedly run my fingers through my hair. “You gotta watch that shit. If his dad can link it back to you, you know he’ll use everything he can to put you behind bars.”
He chuckles and sits on the leather couch, leaning back and getting comfortable. “His dad won’t be finding out. Chase doesn’t even know who fucked him up.”
I nod, confident that what Beck is saying is true. The man’s a hothead, but he’s also smart and devious as hell. There’ve been plenty of times he’s fucked someone over and covered his tracks well. If he says Spencer won’t find out, then he won’t.
“What’s this shit I hear about Theo being married?” he asks.
I glance at the clock on the wall and see I have ten minutes before my next client is due. I lean back against the counter.
“You remember the car accident I had years ago?”
He squints his eyes for a moment, then nods. “Yeah. You were out of it for a couple of days, right?”
“Yes.” I cross my arms. “Do you remember me acting different before the accident?”
“Different how?”
“Like erratic or distracted by something.”
He thinks over my question. It’s been years, so he may not remember shit.
“I don’t know, man. Maybe. I do remember you disappeared a lot around that time.”
My teeth mash together, and I close my eyes, once again trying to pull up that day. I’ve tried so many times over the last few weeks to remember, and I always come up blank. The only memories I have of Jules are of her in my dreams.
“What’s going on, Luca?” Beck asks.
I open my eyes and look back at him, pissed that my brain isn’t fucking working.
“Apparently, Theo met a woman a few weeks before my accident. He kept it a secret from everyone, but I found out and became obsessed with her. I attacked her one day to keep them from leaving town. She’s been in a coma until recently. She’s doesn’t remember either, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.”
“Holy fuuuck.”
“Yeah. Fucked-up shit. I don’t remember her or what happened.”
“You believe Theo?”
“There’s no reason for me not to. I’ve been having dreams about her for years, and she’s always in pain or sad and begging me for something. It stands to reason she was begging me not to hurt her. I just don’t know what I did to her in the short time I was there. And that shit fucks with my head.”
“Damn.” Beck whistles low. “What are you going to do?”
“Stay as far away from her as possible.”
“Probably a good idea.”
The door opens, interrupting our conversation, and my client walks in. Beck leaves a few minutes later, after letting me know he’ll be in within the next few weeks to get ink on one of the few empty places left on his body.
As I get things ready for my next session, my words to Beck play over in my head. I haven’t allowed myself to acknowledge it until I told Beck, but what I told him was the truth.
From the dream I had of Jules crying and begging me to stop, it’s apparent something happened between the time I got to her house and the time I left.
The question is, what exactly happened? For some reason, I feel like the answer to that question will change me forever.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jules
“THANKS FOR COMING with me today, Ella.”
She pulls up to the curb in front of my house and shuts her car off. “It was really no problem. I needed to stop by the store anyway, so two birds….” She ends with a smile and a shrug.
“You want to come in for a few minutes?” I ask, reaching for my door handle.
“Sure.” She looks at her phone. “Vicki’s not due home for a couple more hours.”
We get out and walk up to the house. I feel my pockets for the house key Theo gave me this morning and wince when I don’t find it.
“Crap,” I mutter, then look at Ella sheepishly. “We’re screwed. I must have left the house key on the kitchen counter.”
She laughs and pats my shoulder then walks over to the concrete steps. After rustling with the leaves beside them, she stands back up with a big grin on her face and holds out her hand, producing a key.
“Not screwed. I know where my brother keeps his hide-a-key.”