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Chapter Five
Hunter
Before leaving the office, I call Dani again, planning to give her shit for ignoring my calls and not returning my messages, but she’s apparently intent on denying me that pleasure. As a last resort, I decide to track her down and confront her face to face. It’s not hard. All I have to do is type her name into a search engine, and I have the name of the shop where she works, Skyn Ink, located on the opposite end of downtown.
When I climb out of my car, however, I begin to feel nervous. Ridiculous. I’m not a nervous person. I’m a strong ass, confident alpha male. I pull myself together on the outside, but inside my head is racing as I make my way down the street and to her shop.
From outside, the tattoo shop seems nondescript. It shares the same brick exterior as so many buildings in this city, but above the door is pink neon signage over a white background.
I’ve never been in a tattoo shop before. I’ve been afraid of needles since I was a young kid, but I’m hoping I managed to hide that little fact from Dani when she was giving me shit about that bet.
I exhale and pull myself together before pulling the black glass door open.
A bell rings over my head as I step into the dark space that looks a bit like an art gallery. It’s more upscale than I ever would have imagined, with frames lining the far left wall and recessed lighting offering glimpses of light through patterned darkness.
I step to the front desk and lean over, looking for a bell to alert someone that I’m here. Just as I spot a bell situated on the opposite side of the counter, a woman peels back a black curtain behind the counter and emerges.
She’s stunning, a real head-turner with deep emerald green eyes and curled dark brown hair. She’s tan, with the faintest hint of a tattoo peaking out from underneath the rolled sleeves of her white blouse.
“Can I help you?” she asks with a warm smile, placing both palms on the counter top.
“I’m looking for Dani.”
“Right.” She nods, her eyes taking measure of me. “You don’t look like Dani’s type. Is this business or pleasure?”
I’m startled by her boldness. “Excuse me?”
She just smiles and shakes her head. “Never mind. Look, we technically closed fifteen minutes ago, but silly me forgot to flip the locks.” She steps from around the counter and to the door, holding it open for me. “So, if you want to try again tomorrow—”
“This is terrible customer service,” I say with a smile, but quickly realize she’s not joking. “Is she here or not?”
She sighs and pulls the door shut before crossing her arms. “You’re obviously not here for an appointment and by the looks of it, you’re not going to be setting up one anytime soon.”
“You’re still not answering my question.”
She rolls her eyes then pushes past me, brushing her shoulder against my bicep. “I’ll be back.”
After she disappears behind the black curtains, presumably to grab Dani, I examine some of the art framed against the brick backdrop. Most of the tattoos represented are watercolors. The designs run the gamut from simple and serene to complicated and fantastical. There’s one particular tattoo that sparks my interest in it’s simple beauty: a sky of watercolor clouds with a blue sun’s rays piercing through the pink and purple clouds.
“Do I need to file a restraining order?” A familiar voice says from behind me, and a satisfied grin hitches across my lips as I turn. Dani leans against the counter with her elbow propped against the countertop. She’s wearing a sheer black top exposing a black bra underneath and skin tight jeans that hug her sexy ass curves.
“Why are you ignoring my calls?”
She shrugs and looks over my shoulder. “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
The girl from earlier emerges from behind the dark curtains again, this time with her purse over her shoulder. She marches between Dani and I, and heads straight for the door. She cranes her head over her shoulder as she pushes through the glass doors. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Eve.” Dani waves goodbye with a genuine smile before turning back to me with a look of annoyance painted on her lips. “Look, I just finished a long day and I’d like to head home.”
“So you can continue ignoring my calls?”
“Doesn’t feel so great, does it?”
“Ah. Payback?”
She sighs. “No. I’ve just been busy.”
She does look tired. “Why don’t you finish packing up? I’ll walk you out.”
