The Harder He Falls: 2 (So Inked) (4 page)

Every few moments Quin grunted a “Huh,” or uttered, “All right.” After a few moments he hung up, a dark scowl pulling on his features. “I’m going to have to come back later. Something’s come up.”

The quiet anger rolling off him was palpable. Quin was a man she never wanted to see angry. An intangible yet deadly quality cloaked him. If Kellie had met him on the street at night in this mood, she would get away from him in all haste.

“Let me bandage you up.” She made quick work cleaning up the tattoo, slathering it with ointment and wrapping his entire arm in plastic wrap, then taped it in place with medical tape. “I have your number on the paperwork, and I’ll get you a business card on the way out so you can call and make an appointment when you’re ready.”

“Thanks,” he said in a clipped voice.

As suddenly as he’d swept into the shop, Quin left without a backward glance. She sat in her chair, watching him disappear through the glass window front, a strange feeling of loss settling in the pit of her stomach.

“You get all the beefcake,” Mary said.

Kellie wheeled around, a hand flying to her chest. “Fuck, warn a girl before you scare the shit out of her.” Mary quirked a brow at her and kicked her legs. How long she’d been sitting on the table behind her, Kellie didn’t know.

“Sorry. Who’s your new boyfriend?”

She would have glared at Mary, but her friend was impervious to such expressions. Mary had a teenager after all. “No one special.”

“He looks like your type.”

“Boneheaded idiots are my type?” she snapped with more venom than Quin’s teasing warranted. Mary continued to sit in silence as she typically did. She was like that, using her silence to wear you down until you told her everything. Kellie sighed and turned back to clean her station. “I’m cranky. I need a new gym but I don’t have time to go. I’m just frustrated.” And Quin had taken the brunt of that. Now who was the jerk?

The wood table creaked as Mary pushed off the edge. Her patent-leather heels squeaked as she pivoted and stepped up behind Kellie, who flopped back in her chair and rolled her head forward. Mary answered the silent plea and began slowly kneading her shoulders and neck.

“You need to work out this tension. It’s not good for you.”

Kellie sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

A shrill phone she didn’t recognize rang, interrupting the impromptu massage. She glanced around and found the source of the ringing. Quin’s phone lay on the counter.

* * * * *

“Sorry I’m late, Kellie.” Natalie popped out of her Toyota, more than a little frazzled.

“Hey, Nat. Festive scrubs.” Kellie met the nurse halfway between their vehicles and gave her a hug. Sometimes it felt as if Natalie were family. She spent about as much time in Kellie’s house as she did.

Natalie glanced down at the reindeer print and laughed. “They were clean. I can’t wait for this move to be over and I know where all my stuff is. How’s she doing?”

“Good. I gave her lunch and meds half an hour ago, so she should be pretty happy.”

“Awesome. Do you need a hand?” She gestured at the back of Kellie’s Cube, full of soft drinks and a bulging garment bag.

“No, this is the last of it. Remind me again how late you’re here for? Sorry, rough couple of days.” She scrubbed a hand over her forehead, swiping away the light sheen of sweat that had begun to gather along her hairline.

“I’m here until three.” Natalie winked at her. “Don’t have too much fun.”

Kellie chuckled and slammed the door shut. “I’ll try not to.”

They said their goodbyes, and for the first time since the week prior, she left knowing Grandma was in good hands. She popped in a CD, slid the sunroof back and headed for So Inked.

All too soon she took the exit for Greenville Avenue. The trendy street looked a little faded and sad in the searing afternoon heat, but then again it was hard to be upbeat when the thermometer was over the one hundred degree mark. The dog days of summer were gnawing her ankles.

She turned down a side street and pulled the Cube into an alley. The old So Inked shop had burned to the ground, courtesy of a truly psychotic man who had stalked Pandora. Insurance and the best landlord they could’ve asked for allowed them to move the shop down the street to an unoccupied space in a different strip mall, putting them directly in the middle of some of the busiest foot traffic in the area.

And today was their grand opening.

She pulled in next to Mary’s refurbished classic De Ville and gathered her bag. She headed for the back door to the shop and pulled it open to a yipping dog and Mary’s rapid-fire Spanish. Kellie breathed a sigh of relief.

It was nice to be home. They might be in a different building, and all of the equipment might have changed, but nothing could destroy the So Inked spirit, as long as her girls were working under one roof. Now if she only knew where Autumn was.

The back emergency exit had a direct line of sight to the front doors. A single bulb floating inside a mason jar lit the hall. To her left were the office and a storage room. To her right were the bathroom and a private room to do piercings and more sensitive tattoos. The walls had been painted a dark crimson. Gaudy gold frames hung at intervals, each featuring paintings they’d done for the purpose of decorating the new shop.

Their last attempt at decorating had been to use all of Pandora’s artwork, but Mary wanted to showcase their variety at the new location. It was a decision Kellie agreed with, at least until she’d had to sit down and paint something. She’d managed the final touches on her contributions Friday while stuck at home. Kellie adjusted one of the frames as she passed, ensuring it was hung just so.

“What’s with all the racket?” she yelled as she stepped into the shop proper.

She glared at the man cradling the Corgi in the middle of her shop. She loved the fur ball, but made a point of giving his owners a hard time whenever she got the chance. “Brian, what did we say about the dog?”

He grinned and waved a doggie paw at her. “We’re on our way out.”

Kellie dropped her bag next to the wall and crossed the floor to give Gibson a scratch behind his ears. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“Thanks, Kellie, didn’t know you cared.” Brian winked at her and hefted Gibson up in his arms. “Okay, I need to get back to work. Hey, Pandy, I’ll be back around six. Do you still want me to pick up the food?”

Pandora turned from where she’d been arranging her new work station. “If you wouldn’t mind, please? And call Carly again? I think she’s tired of hearing from me.”

“Sure thing. See you later, babe.” He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

Mary bumped Kellie with her hip as she came to stand next to her, both blatantly watching the two lovebirds. Kellie was secretly proud of how far Pandora had come in the last few months. Brian was good for her, and even if that was the only thing working in his favor, she’d be his number-one fan. But Brian Adler was a special kind of man. If it were possible to clone him, she’d be first in line. If they came made to order, throw in a god-like body and she’d be set. Not that she had time for that kind of a distraction, so wishing was pointless.

Pandora glanced over her shoulder. Public displays of affection were not her strong point. She straightened her spine and peeked up at Brian through her lashes. It was a sickeningly sweet departure from her typical tough-and-rumble behavior.

“I love you,” she mumbled, as if all eyes weren’t avidly watching the couple.

Brian beamed, planted a kiss on the tip of her nose and without her self-conscious display, returned the statement. “Love you too.” To the rest of the peanut gallery, he saluted. “See you guys later.” He let himself out through the front door. Pandora, following a few steps behind, turned the lock back in place.

Kellie darted a look to Mary, who was smothering a broad grin. While they’d all seen Brian’s overbearing protective tendencies and the couple’s budding relationship, they had missed out on weeks of giving Pandora hell since she’d been working with her clients at home and spending a lot of time at the hospital.

“So what else needs to be done?” Pandora rubbed her hands on her jeans and glanced at the walls.

“Paaaannddyy, I love you,” Kellie cooed.

Pandora scowled and jabbed a finger in her direction. “You, shut it.”

Kellie laughed and glanced at Mary, glad to see some of the lines that had bracketed her mouth were gone.

“Drinks,” Mary said, prompting Pandora to head for the back door. “How’s Grandma?”

Kellie sighed. “The same. Or worse. Who knows?”

“That sucks.” Mary began slowly walking toward the exit and Kellie followed.

“Yeah, it does. Has Quin come back for his cell phone?”

“Oh, he’s Quin now, is he? I thought he swung back by to pick it up.”

She ignored Mary’s leading. “Let me give him a quick call.”

Pandora let the back door close behind her with a crash.

“Hey.” Mary grabbed her arm. “Autumn’s still a no-show. You haven’t talked to her, have you?”

Shit. Caught. “I haven’t heard from her today.”

Mary dropped her hand, her dark gaze flashing. “This can’t go on. We cannot bankroll her irresponsibility.” Tattoo shops all ran differently, but So Inked operated on a base salary plus commission scale. Which meant that even when Autumn didn’t come in, because of the way their agreement was written, she still got paid. It was a bad legal document they hadn’t replaced yet simply because it hadn’t been an issue with the four of them working so well together. But Autumn’s absenteeism was getting worse.

“We don’t know what’s going on.” Kellie knew Autumn. She knew the woman with the heart as big as Texas and the one who blew her paycheck on makeup. Sure, she’d skipped work before, but this was an all-time low and it was getting harder for Kellie to fight for her.

The back door opened and Pandora struggled to carry in an armful of drinks. Mary moved to open the door for her, giving Kellie an escape.

She took a right into the spacious office. It was nice they were no longer crammed into a tight space with a single desk between them. It was large, accommodating two desks and a couch, as well as storage for things like the store t-shirts and other odds and ends.

She’d stashed Quin’s cell phone on her desk, turned off because no sooner had Quin left the day before than the damn thing blew up buzzing and beeping. She powered it on and immediately it began the same song and dance she’d turned it off for. Quin was a very popular person.

Since he hadn’t returned for the phone, she didn’t think scrolling through his contacts was an invasion of privacy.

Finally she found an innocuous-looking entry.

Work.

She clicked dial and waited.

“Hey, boss,” an overeager male voice answered.

“Not your boss, but I’m looking for him. He left his cell phone and I’m trying to track him down.”

The person on the other end chuckled. “That makes sense why he’s been so hard to get hold of. I think I saw him heading to his office. Hold on for a minute.”

Before she could get “Cool” out, the line went silent.

Kellie sank down in her desk chair and swiveled back and forth.

“Hello?”

She stopped mid-swing. Had his voice been that deep and sexy yesterday?

“Hello? Damn kid—”

“Quin?” Her voice cracked, as if she were dying for water and he was the only liquid in sight.

“Yeah, who is this?”

She cleared her throat. “It’s Kellie from So Inked. You left your cell phone.”

He sighed, sounding weary. “Damn, I was kind of hoping it would stay lost.”

Her heart went out to him. Just a little. She didn’t like him that much, even if he was damn hot. Oh who was she kidding? She liked him. If only a little. “You seem like a very popular person. I had to turn it off just so I could get some work done.”

Why was she chatting with him? She needed to tell him to come get his phone or else she was going to chunk it.

“I wish I was less popular. Or had more girls calling me. I’d settle for either.”

“Well, I’d love to shoot the breeze, but we have the grand opening party tonight. Drop by whenever you want. Someone will be able to get it for you.”

“Party? And I wasn’t invited?”

She snorted. “It’s an open invitation. You could have picked one up.”

“What time?”

She bit her lip. No, he wouldn’t come, so there was no danger inviting him. “Seven until nine. There’s a rough plan to go to out for real drinking after.”

“I’ll be there.”

Yeah, right. “Cool.”

He missed the beat where she expected him to hang up, say goodbye, anything really. She sat there for a moment, torn between wanting to listen to his voice and needing to go unload her car.

“Do you know anything about dogs?” he asked.

“Uh, excuse me?”

“Dogs. Do you know anything about them?”

“You give them food and water, and in return they slobber on you and follow you around. My friend has a Corgi. I could ask her for pointers if you need a dog expert.”