Page 26 of Tattooed Boss
“Do that, and you’ll find your damn microphone in the ocean.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Oh Allison, you know me better than that. It’s a promise.”
“Always such a pleasure, Reid.”
“Wish I could say the same.”
Allison turned to Harley. “Call me.” She handed Harley her card again. “In case you threw my other one out.”
“Where are you going?” Reid called after her.
“To Joe’s to see if I can get the surveillance footage.”
“For fuck's sake. The woman knows no bounds.” Reid pinched the bridge of his nose before swinging his gaze to Allison’s retreating frame. “Wait until I get there to start watching.”
“Bring me coffee, and I’ll think about it.”
Reid brought his attention to them, hands on his hips as he surveyed the damage. “I’m going to write up a police report, so this is on record. Then I’ll check the surveillance video and see if we can make out who did this.”
“And if you can?”
“If we can, and we can get a positive ID, then I can summons them for criminal mischief, which is a class D misdemeanor. They’d get an arraignment and possibly a trial. If accused, they could spend up to a year in jail, but doubtful if you can’t prove the damage didn’t cost more than two grand. And between us, there isn’t two grand worth of damage here. At least if we get it on file, if they do any more damage to Harley’s property, then there’s a case. That’s if we can even identify them. The likelihood of getting an identification from some grainy security camera is going to be slim. I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
“Trust me, they’re not,” Harley said, the bitterness in her tone impossible to ignore.
Chapter 9
Harley wasn’t even pissed. No, it went beyond that. Fury boiled beneath her skin, wanting her to take off and run again. Find a place where no one could find her and let herself fade into oblivion. But when she looked over at Garrett, his dark blond hair secured in a bun, his blue eyes focused on the tattoo he was currently working on, she couldn’t imagine leaving him behind.
He told her they would figure it out together, and while she’d been let down so many times before by the men in her life, something in her gut told her Garrett was nothing like them. He told her they were a team, and she believed him. She just hoped she wasn’t being foolish again, blinded by the good looks and charming smile.
Garrett glanced up, catching her gaze. He winked, and the butterflies that only fluttered for him took flight. She was like a giddy schoolgirl, and she didn’t care. After everything she’d been dealt the last few days, letting herself feel anything other than defeat and shame was welcomed.
The sound of the gun filled the air, and Harley closed her eyes, savoring the familiar hum. She’d been itching to pick up a gun and create. Since she’d been in town, she’d more or less been observing how Garrett ran things and helping with the front desk. It wasn’t tourist season yet, which Garrett warned once that season hit the walk-ins would pile up. He had two other tattooers who worked part-time during the busy season, so without her current clientele knowing where they could find her, she’d be relying on walk-ins and sharing the pool with the others.
Maybe it was time to let her following know where she was in the world. They traveled to get to her before, and they would do it again, even if she was in a town barely visible on a map. The enemy had already found her, and while she had avoided social media, wanting to stay in her blissful bubble a little longer, she knew her location had been compromised. Whoever threw the water in her face and vandalized her car most likely spread the word of her whereabouts.
By not saying anything, was she giving the trolls exactly what they wanted? Was she letting them force her into oblivion, another notch on their post of people who they destroyed? As if they were doing the world some noble service. When in reality, none of it really mattered, did it? So why did she care so much about what they thought?
Allison’s card sat heavy in her pocket, and every now and again, she slipped her finger between the fabric, touching the card before yanking her hand out and changing her mind.
Reid had called earlier, and as Harley suspected, the video was too grainy to make any sort of positive identification. A part of her hoped they could identify the perpetrator and maybe use them to set an example. She wasn’t going to sit back and let people destroy her property or her anymore. Not having the video deflated that hope and kept her from calling Allison.
The hum of the gun stopped, and she glanced to Garrett. He put the gun down and walked to the mirror with his client. Javier’s face lit up when he saw the tattoo reflecting at him. That. That right there was exactly why she loved tattooing. Seeing the excitement on someone’s face when they realized she’d brought their vision to life, there was nothing better than that. Nothing that Harley loved more.
She really needed to get a gun in her hand. Needed to feel the vibrations of her art permanently marking someone’s skin and branding them with a memory they’d never forget.
Day moved to afternoon, and before Harley realized, it was time to close. Garrett stretched his arms over his head, his t-shirt rising above the hem of his jeans, revealing the taut skin beneath. She bit her lip, thinking about how she wanted to run her mouth along his hard ridges before dipping her head and taking him into her mouth like she had in the kitchen that morning.
The memory played on repeat in her head, and her lips curved up as she remembered how good it felt to bring that beast of a man to his knees.
“What’s the smile for?” Garrett asked as he made his way to the counter. He detoured, going to the door and flipping the lock before leaning across the glass display and kissing her.
Her lips tingled from the light caress; her thighs quivered in anticipation of what lie ahead. She kissed him back, tilting her head and deepening the kiss.
He pulled away. “I’ve wanted to do that all day.”