Chapter 15
Cori
Monday had arrived. It was the big day for Cori to prove she could control her new ability to bestow special gifts with her tattoos, so she’d arrived at the shop early to get things ready. While she felt reasonably confident about the test, her luck hadn’t been that great lately. Anything could go wrong. She prayed it went smoothly or else her business would be lost.
Her phone rang just as she finished her opening prep. As soon as she saw it was an unknown number, she quickly answered it. “Hello.”
“It’s me,” Bartol said, his familiar voice coming over the line.
“You’re late.”
“My apologies.” He sounded exhausted. “I told you before that I couldn’t always call you on time. Sometimes things come up, and this search has been…more than a little difficult.”
Her shoulders sagged in relief after finally hearing from him. She’d barely gotten any sleep the night before when he didn’t call. Today’s test with Derrick was bad enough but not hearing from Bartol made things worse. She’d tossed and turned. When Monday morning had arrived and he still hadn’t sent her so much as a text message, she’d been both angry and worried. But now all those feelings went away listening to the exhaustion and stress in his voice.
“Want to talk about it?” Cori asked, taking a seat on the barstool behind her shop counter.
He sighed. “I’m not certain you want to know.”
“I’m right here, Bartol. Whatever you need.”
The longer he was away, the more strongly she felt about that. It had already been a week since they last saw each other, and she felt every mile that separated them. It was far more difficult than when he’d just avoided her for a month but still been around Fairbanks. She could feel the bond between them stretching like a taut rubber band.
“The demon’s kills are less than pleasant,” he admitted. “And due to some unusual time constraints, it has taken us two days to clean up one of his latest messes.”
She frowned. “Messes?”
“It was rather gruesome. Perhaps massacre would be a better word, but even that doesn’t quite fit. I don’t know what to call it.”
Cori knew she shouldn’t ask anything more, but she also wanted to understand what he was going through. “What do you mean?”
Bartol was quiet a moment. “The demon compelled thirty humans to consume each other until they were dead. The carcasses were left for the authorities to find, but the blood and other…leftover scraps were hidden so that only those with angel blood could see, touch, or smell the remains at a specific time of day.”
“Wow.” She was at a loss for words. “Where did this happen? When?”
“A little over two weeks ago in Romania—inside a cathedral.”
Her stomach rumbled with nausea. “That’s horrible. And you’ve been cleaning it up?”
“I’m afraid so.”
If thirty people had torn each other apart in some sort of zombie feast, the mess left behind had to be terrible. She could imagine what it might be like within the confines of a church. Then another thought occurred to her—this had happened weeks ago.
“So none of the humans coming for mass every day were aware the remnants were all around them?” she asked.
“Yes. That is why we’ve taken the time to clean it up when we really need to get back on the hunt. We could not leave the remains like that, and there is only one other person in the city who can see them.”
“Another nephilim?” Cori had thought most of them were stuck working in the nerou training camps since quite a few had led the campaign to bring the supernaturals out.
“Yes, she lives here.”
She couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. “Do you know her?”
“We were once friends—long ago.”
Cori clutched her cell phone tightly. “What happened?”
Bartol hesitated. “Does it matter? That was many centuries ago.”
“It does to me.”
“We were friends for a long time, and then we became lovers.” He paused, and she could hear his footsteps pacing across a wood floor. “Sofia wanted more than I could give her, so I broke things off. We didn’t see each other again until a couple of days ago.”
Cori took in everything he told her, feeling both jealousy and frustration. She wished she could see his face. Hell, she wished she could be in Bucharest at that very moment. “Is that what you’re doing to me? Pushing me away?”
“It’s not the same thing at all,” he said, disgruntled. “You’re my mate.”
“You still went through the effort to see if our bond could be broken.”
He let out a sound of annoyance. “That was for your benefit.”
“I don’t want it to be broken,” she admitted.
“Neither do I.”
Cori closed her eyes, relieved to hear that. “Whatever it takes to earn your trust and make this work—I’ll do it.”
“We’ll discuss that when I return. For now, I need to focus on what I’m doing here.”
“What about Sofia?” She cleared her throat. “Does she still mean anything to you?”
“She knows I’m mated and have no interest in her.”
Cori hated sounding like a jealous woman, but she couldn’t help it. “She hasn’t tried anything with you?”
“No, I assure you she has not.” Bartol was being patient with her, but his tone was beginning to take an edge. “Sofia already has a lover. She also understands lives are at stake, and we must focus on more important matters.”
Cori could take a hint. She had to let the subject drop for now and be grateful he’d at least opened up more this time around. He could have chosen not to mention Sofia at all, and she would never have known about the woman. Instead, Cori had gotten one more nugget into his past, and it made her feel better that he’d come forward with it rather than her finding out some other way later.
“Any idea where the demon went next, or where he is now?” she asked.
“This city was the last confirmed stop.” Bartol paused, and she heard the squeak of a mattress. Had he just sat on a bed while talking to her? “The other clues we’ve gotten on where the demon might have gone aren’t confirmed, so we’ll have to check all the possibilities one by one.”
Cori dropped her head. “This is going to take even longer than you expected, isn’t it?”
“It appears that way.”
She stared at the shop counter morosely. “I’m sorry I got you into this mess.”
“I made my own choice.”
“Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I will.” Bartol was silent for a moment. “Today is the day you’ll test your new tattoo abilities, isn’t it?”
Cori sat up straighter, having nearly forgotten while talking to him. “Yeah. Derrick will be here in a few hours after it gets dark.”
His voice softened. “You will do fine—I’m certain of it.”
“I hope so.” She sighed. “But this is all new to me, so I have no idea if I can pull it off.”
“I’d be there if I could,” he said.
Cori took a deep breath, fighting the emotions swirling through her chest. “Thanks. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that.”
“I’ll call again soon.” He made a shuffling sound. Blankets, maybe? “I must get some rest for now. Tomorrow will be another long day.”
“Do you have any idea where you’ll go next?” she asked.
“Most likely, Budapest.”
“Keep me updated.”
“I will,” he promised. “For now, take care of yourself and just do your best with the experiment. Text me with the outcome.”
“Okay. You take care, too.” She wished she could reach through the phone and touch him. “I miss you.”
Bartol cleared his throat, and his voice came out raw and barely above a whisper. “I miss you as well, Cori. More than you can possibly know.”
Before she could respond, he ended the call.
She lowered her cell phone into her lap and stared at it. That was the longest conversation they’d had since he left. He’d even admitted to things from his past and showed more emotion than she could ever remember. Did that mean he wasn’t angry at her anymore or was this demon search taking an even bigger toll on him than he let on? Cori didn’t know, but she wished she could be there. More than anything, she was beginning to realize she cared for Bartol far more than she imagined possible.
***
The next few hours passed slowly. Cori had hoped closing her shop for a week would mean more customers showed up on her first day back, but the only person who came was the delivery guy for a shipment she’d ordered weeks ago. Her only employee, Asher, came in for an hour. She finally broke down and told him some of the things that had happened to her and why they were losing business. She promised him she’d work it out, and then let him go for the day.
Asher needed money since he was getting married soon and had a baby on the way. Cori couldn’t afford to lose him in case things got better, so she gave him a check to help him get by in the meantime. Usually, he earned sixty percent of the commissions for the work he did, but in recent weeks, that hadn’t been much to live off of for him and his soon-to-be wife and their unborn child. They were getting married in two weeks, which added to the pressure. Cori would do whatever it took to help Asher since he’d been totally loyal to her throughout the craziness of recent months and had covered for her whenever she needed it. But if things didn’t look up soon, she was going to be in trouble and might have to let him go.
She was tempted to break something in frustration. Her father had always said he believed in her, which was why he’d left her enough money to start her business after he died. Now she couldn’t help feeling like she was letting him down.
The bell on the shop door jingled, and she looked up from where she sat behind the counter. Derrick walked in with four humans and Kariann in tow. Cori glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was ten minutes until four. It had been dark outside for nearly an hour, but she’d been too lost in thought to notice. Her worries over her lack of customers had distracted her even more than she realized.
“You’re early,” she said, getting off the stool.
Derrick met her in front of the counter. “I’ve got four people for you. Figured it was best to make sure you’ve got plenty of time to work on them.”
“We’re just doing small tattoos, right?” He nodded, and she went on, “Then it shouldn’t take long if the design isn’t too intricate.”
Lucas flashed into the room with a large man in tow, drawing everyone’s attention. Cori assumed he was the nerou that Melena’s husband had said he’d bring. She’d seen him in passing, but she’d never spoken to him.
“This is Ivan,” Lucas said, introducing him.
The nerou was probably the most muscular of all the ones she’d seen. He had dark hair cropped rather close on his head, sky-blue eyes, and pale skin. She knew Lucas stood at about 6’4” in height, and the guy next to him was only about two inches shorter. He reminded her of a Marine with the way he stood so still and wary, assessing the room around him like anything could appear and he had to be ready.
She moved toward the nerou and held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Ivan.”
“You’re mated,” he said, glancing down at her outstretched palm.
“Yes,” she said, trying not to be annoyed he was leaving her hand hanging. “And you’re a nerou, so what?”
He gave her a hard look. “We were told it is rare for two people to mate and that we should avoid touching anyone who is mated because it might cause jealousy between mates.”
This was a guy who took rules to the extreme.
“My mate is thousands of miles away and not returning in the near future.” She dropped her hand. “But that’s probably not bad advice.”
Even if she did think the idea was stupid. Then again, hearing about Bartol being near Sofia had made Cori consider all sorts of bad things—to include finding a way to murder the female nephilim. Melena had warned her that jealousy was a problem and especially in the early months when both mates were still adjusting to their new status. Cori had just been apart from Bartol for so much of their relationship that she hadn’t had to face the issue before.
Ivan nodded. “You are new to our world. I understand.”
He might be a big guy, but Cori was half tempted to pull the shotgun she kept behind the counter and shoot him with it. See if that took the arrogant look off his face. There was something about the nerou that set her teeth on edge, though she doubted he even realized how uptight and annoying he was being.
“We ought to get started,” Derrick said, breaking the tension.
Cori ran her gaze over the four humans—two men and two women. They were all quiet and stood unnervingly still with no emotion reflecting on their faces. “Who’s first?”
The alpha pointed at a pale red head. “That one. She’s the female who was attacked by a vampire the other day.”
“I assume I’ll be giving her compulsion protection when I do the tattoo?” she asked, casting a sympathetic gaze at the woman. Her skin was still sallow from blood loss. Cori guessed the human couldn’t be more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight, but she looked older at the moment.
“You will,” Derrick confirmed.
“Okay.” She ran her gaze across the assembled crowd, doing her best to hide her nervousness. “I’m going to need most of you to take a seat in here. I work in a room in the back that isn’t very big, so I can’t have more than two extra people in there at a time. Derrick can be one of them, and the rest of you can rotate.”
The alpha lifted his brows. “I don’t recall approvin’ this.”
“My shop, my rules,” she said firmly.
It was difficult enough that Cori had to prove herself, use an ability she’d only recently discovered, and make sure she didn’t screw up. If she was going to do it right, she had to make some of her own rules for this experiment.
“Alright, I’ll allow it.” Derrick pulled a sheet of paper from his back pocket. “This is the tattoo you’re givin’ to the humans who get immunity to compulsion.”
“That confident I can make it work?” she asked.
He smiled, revealing a row of white teeth that reminded her of the wolf side of him. “I haven’t got any doubts on that. It’s more like I’m worried whether you can keep from givin’ the same protection to the humans who aren’t supposed to get it.”
“Will I be giving them the same tattoo?”
“No.” He shook his head. “They’ll get somethin’ else in case you do the job right.”
She didn’t bother to say anything to that. Instead, Cori beckoned the red headed woman and had her follow her to the back room. The vampire victim settled on the plastic-covered chair, gaze unfocused. It was strange but not entirely unusual. Maybe these people were nervous about the experiment as well.
Cori studied the paper with the design, noting it was basically a path of shooting stars. She glanced at Derrick. “Where should I put it?”
“On the inside of her right wrist.”
He certainly had it all planned out. “If this works, you’re going to require I do this same tattoo and in the same place on whichever humans ask for it, aren’t you?”
“You catch on quick,” he said, nodding.
Lucas came in and observed while she copied the tattoo so she could set the outline on the woman’s skin. Cori kept waiting for the vampire victim to say something, but she didn’t. All she did was lie in the chair and stare at the ceiling.
Her suspicions were rising. “Is she under compulsion now?”
“Yep.” Derrick crossed his arms. “I had Kariann do it, so we can see if you break it while doin’ the tattoo.”
Cori gave the alpha an accusing look. “How do I know she’s given consent for this?”
“I wouldn’t make her do it against her will,” he said, annoyed. “In fact, she was more than willin’ when I offered her the opportunity.”
Melena trusted the alpha, swearing he was honorable if a bit uptight, so Cori would just have to take Derrick’s word for it and hope she wasn’t marking a woman for life who might not want shooting stars on her wrist. This whole situation was becoming even more nerve wracking by the minute.
“Fine.” Her voice came out clipped. “I’ll find out soon enough if you’re telling the truth.”
His eyes darkened. “Are you accusin’ me of lyin’?”
“Sit down and let me work.” She pointed at a chair against the wall. “I don’t need you growling at me and causing me to mess this up.”
The alpha hesitated, obviously not liking her ordering him around, but he did eventually sit down. Then he looked at Lucas. “I can see why she’s Melena’s friend now.”
“Also the reason I tolerate her,” the nephilim replied with a hint of pride.
Cori ignored them and finished prepping the tattoo. She’d already done most of the setup hours ago, but she still had a few things left to do, including choosing the right ink. Derrick had told her which design to do, but she’d choose the colors that best suited the person.
She was only halfway through the tattoo when the woman’s eyes lost their glossy appearance and became focused. She jerked under the grip Cori kept on her arm. “What’s going on? Where am I?”
“It’s okay,” she soothed the woman. “You’re in my shop, and I’m doing a tattoo on your wrist that is giving you resistance to compulsion.”
The woman glanced down to see the outline of stars on her wrist. “Oh. Wow, it’s really working.”
“You’d still be in a near vegetable state if it wasn’t.”
She glanced at Derrick. “I don’t remember anything since we left my house. It’s like I just woke up.”
“Good.” He gave her a reassuring look. “But you need to let Cori finish.”
“Give me ten more minutes, and we should be done.”
The human woman nodded and relaxed in her seat. Cori set to work with the final elements of the tattoo, feeling everyone’s eyes on her. Lucas left and let Ivan come in next. The nerou watched her from the corner with hard, emotionless eyes. Of all the people from the compound Melena’s husband could have brought, why did it have to be the hard case?
Cori finished and began cleaning up the woman’s wrist. “It’s done. Give me a couple of more minutes, and you’ll be out of this chair.”
“That wasn’t so bad,” the woman said.
“Was it your first?” Cori asked.
She stared at her arm. “Yeah, but I always wanted one. Since I didn’t have to pay for it, and there was a chance I might get a bonus effect, I figured I might as well go for it.”
Cori bandaged the tattoo and instructed the woman on aftercare. Then she turned to Derrick. “I’ll need a few minutes to clean up in here, and then we can start on the next person.”
“Alright,” he said. “But first I gotta check her.”
“Check her?”
Derrick moved in close to the woman and gazed deeply at her. “Close your eyes.”
“No.” The woman lifted her chin. “I don’t feel like it.”
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
Ivan shifted closer to them. “This is something that could be useful in the future if Cori’s ability proves to have multiple applications.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, fearing the worst.
“Myself and my brethren will soon become enforcers. Our job will be to put human safety above all else, and we will require many tools to make that happen.” He gave her a look of respect. “You may become an ally to us.”
Cori had no idea what to say to that, though she was flattered he finally saw her in a more flattering light. Maybe he wasn’t completely annoying.
“I wouldn’t get ahead of yourself just yet,” the alpha said, narrowing his eyes at the nerou.
Ivan lifted his chin. “You are irrelevant to me and my sacred duty.”
“Why you…”
Lucas entered the room, shooting a warning glare at Derrick. “Let me try.”
Everyone moved out of the way.
The woman gulped, looking up at Lucas who was definitely intimidating as he leaned close to her. “Stand up.”
She jerked to her feet right away, annoyance spreading across her features as she gave an accusing look at Cori. “It doesn’t work with him!”
Her shoulders sagged, hating that the immunity she’d given the human wasn’t a hundred percent. “I guess not.”
“You owe me a hundred dollars,” Lucas said, holding his hand out to Derrick.
The alpha pulled out his wallet and gave a crisp bill to the nephilim. “I was hoping you were wrong.”
Cori gave the woman an apologetic look. “I gave it all I had. I’m sorry.”
“Do not feel bad.” Lucas glanced between them. “I’m over two thousand years old. I’ve yet to run across a human who could fully resist me in a very long time no matter what precautions they took.”
Even before Cori had a dose of Melena’s blood, she’d had a natural resistance, but when Lucas’ twin, Micah, tried to compel her, he’d managed it with some extra effort. She should have known her newfound ability would only go so far.
“Two thousand years old?” the woman gasped, looking the nephilim up and down. “How is that even possible?”
Lucas leaned close to her and spoke in a compelling tone, “Forget the last few minutes of conversation and that your tattoo doesn’t provide full protection. The only thing you need to know is you’re safe from compulsion by anyone who would try to harm you.”
“Hey.” Cori hit him in the arm. “That’s not fair to her.”
“But it is the way it must be after what she’s seen and heard.” He straightened, letting go of his mental hold on the woman, and led her out of the room.
Derrick and Ivan followed behind, giving Cori some space. After she had everything set up for the next customer, she called out to the alpha, who quickly led a man into the room. This one moved just as woodenly and had the same glassy-eyed appearance.
“He’s next.”
Cori directed the man to take a seat. “Does he get the shooting stars, too?”
“He does—in the same place.”
She wondered what Derrick expected her to do if she ever had to work on a human who already had a tattoo on the same wrist. She supposed she’d have to cross that bridge when she came to it. On a bright note, at least if this worked out she could charge extra for these tattoos. A lot of humans would want them once the word got out. It could become good for business—as long as Derrick endorsed it so the sups wouldn’t stop people from coming. Still, it helped her relax a little at the possibility. Maybe things would work out, and her shop would be running smoothly again soon.
Cori finished with the guy even faster than the woman. He was also under compulsion until she broke it halfway through the tattoo. The man thanked her profusely, making her wonder what his story was, before he headed back out to the front room.
“Well, I had no doubts she’d handle these first two okay,” Derrick said, standing up from his chair.
Lucas leaned against the doorframe. “Neither did I.”
The alpha glanced at her. “But can she handle givin’ normal tattoos?”
“Just hand me the next tattoo design and get the hell out of here while I clean up.” Cori reached out her hand. “I’ll be alright.”
Derrick’s voice came out gruff as he dug into his pocket, “We’ll see.”
He gave her a wrinkled piece of paper, this time with a flaming sun on it.
She lifted a brow at him. “You really put a lot of thought into these, didn’t you?”
“If I have to pass around the word about these, then I gotta keep it simple and easy for folks to remember.” Derrick shrugged. “Some supernaturals are smart and have good memories, but not all of them.”
Cori supposed she could see the logic in that. She waited until the two men left the room before starting her cleanup and prep. After finishing, she worked on the outline first before calling in the next human.
The alpha led a man inside. “Do him first.”
“The wrist or somewhere else?”
“Upper arm,” he replied.
She got the man set up in the chair and prepped him for the tattoo. The whole time, she tried to keep her mind clear. If this was going to work, she couldn’t think about magic or compulsion or even supernaturals. Instead, she kept her mind focused on the design and what it would take to make it look perfect. Cori now understood how a surgeon felt during a complex operation. Her very livelihood was on the line if she didn’t do it right.
Half an hour later, she finished. Her shoulders had begun aching from trying so hard to do the opposite of what she’d been doing with the first two people. It helped that the tattoo was different, but she also had a lot of eyes on her. Lucas didn’t leave the room this time, and Ivan and Kariann took turns hovering in the doorway. She could almost feel their doubts and skepticism, or maybe she imagined it, but either way it was disconcerting.
Cori glanced up at the human’s eyes and found they were still glazed over. Relief filled her. Not once did he move in his seat or question her. “I’m done.”
Kariann swaggered over. “My compulsion is still there—good.”
“That’s one down, but can she do it again?” Derrick gave Cori a questioning look.
“Just give me half an hour.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I need a short break.”
“Don’t take too long,” the alpha said.
She scowled at him and headed for the bathroom. After using the toilet, she washed her hands and splashed cold water on her face. Cori noted dark circles under her eyes. She hadn’t been sleeping well this past week and last night was the worst of all. Worrying about Bartol, as well as how things would go with the tattoos, had kept her from getting much rest. It was silly and maybe weak of her, but she wished her mate was here. Whenever she was near him she felt more relaxed and secure, like she could face anything. She had no doubt he had her back, which helped most of all. The others out there might claim the same, but she couldn’t be sure of them. There were few people in her life she’d ever found to truly be reliable.
Cori returned to her booth and started cleaning up. Once finished, she washed her hands again and called in her final customer. A glance at the clock told her it was almost seven in the evening. At least they were making good time and she could close up shop before it got too late.
Derrick led in a blond woman who was probably pushing forty. Once again, she had a glazed look in her eyes that gave away she was under compulsion. It was awkward working on people this way, but at least they didn’t flinch or feel pain as long as they remained in their dazed states. Cori supposed it did have that advantage.
After prepping the woman, she started on the final tattoo. She was so tired that it didn’t take much effort to avoid thinking about compulsion or anything else. Cori just focused on the tattoo and making it look its best. Occasionally, she glanced up to check her customer’s eyes, but they remained unfocused.
At the end, she cleaned up the woman’s arm and bandaged it. “That’s it.”
“You owe Melena a hundred dollars now,” Lucas said to the alpha, holding out his hand. “I’ll give it to her.”
Derrick begrudgingly got his wallet out once more. “We’ll see how it goes when we move on to werewolves next.”
So he was actually considering her tattooing his pack? The fact the full moon had passed during the weekend and he hadn’t had anything negative to report, was a good sign. She’d been so nervous about their test today she’d forgotten about the other issue until now.
“How are things going with your guy?” Cori asked.
“He didn’t feel the pull of the moon like the rest of us, but he was able to shift,” the alpha replied.
She hesitated. “Is that a good or bad thing?”
“Depends on who you ask. Some like the call of the moon and don’t wanna lose that, but others think shifting durin’ the day might be worth the price.” He paused. “Assumin’ you can repeat what you did before.”
“And when would that be?”
“Give me a few days, and I’ll let you know,” he said.
“So do I get your endorsement to work on humans again?” That was really the most important thing since regular people were ninety percent of her business.
Derrick glanced at Lucas, who glowered at him. He couldn’t back out now without raising the nephilim’s ire. “Yeah, I’ll put the word out and tell my people they gotta let humans come here again. But there are two conditions.”
Cori stiffened. “And they are…?”
“For one, you mess up even once and give someone resistance who didn’t want it or vice versa, I’ll withdraw my support. For two, you can’t advertise it, and either Lucas, your mate, or another nephilim strong enough to push through the compulsion has to make sure the human isn’t able to tell anyone about the uniqueness of their tattoo. They’ll know, but they can’t talk about it.”
Her jaw dropped. “Then how is anyone supposed to find out?”
Never mind how much of a pain in the ass it was going to be if every time she did one of the special tattoos she had to call a nephilim in afterward. Cori hadn’t seen that rule coming, though she probably should have. Derrick didn’t appear too fond of her new ability, especially since he wasn’t strong enough to get around it. The alpha had quite a lot of power, but not nearly as much as Bartol, Lucas, or Micah, who were far older.
“I’ll send them your way whenever we find victims who need your special brand of tattoos,” he said, tone brooking no argument.
Lucas crossed his arms. “Myself and the nerou—after they become enforcers—will also reserve the right to direct customers Cori’s way.”
Derrick worked his jaw while Ivan stared at the alpha with a hard expression. The nerou already had the look of an enforcer and would probably be rather good at the job. Cori sure as hell wouldn’t want to get on his bad side.
“Fine,” Derrick said, less than pleased at being usurped in his own territory.
Cori didn’t know how Melena could call the alpha a friend, but she doubted she herself would ever consider him that. How could he not see what a big deal this was to human safety?
“Some people might like to avoid becoming victims before something bad happens,” she argued.
“That’s one way to look at it,” he agreed. “But if too many people get your tattoos, vampires and other passing visitors who might need to wipe human memories—for whatever reason—might just start killin’ them instead of just takin’ their blood and lettin’ them go. I can’t control everyone all the time. There will always be people who break the rules or just don’t know them yet.”
She let out a frustrated breath. Derrick sort of had a point, but she didn’t have to like it. “Fine, but at least don’t hesitate to send the people who do deserve the tattoo. I…” she swallowed, hating to show weakness, and glanced between the alpha and Lucas. “I need the business.”
“That reminds me.” Derrick pulled out his wallet for the third time and withdrew a chunk of cash, handing it to her. “Here’s your payment.”
She counted it. “This is two thousand dollars. That’s way more than I planned to charge you.” Cori was a lot of things, but she wasn’t a cheat. She believed in giving her customers a fair deal even when she didn’t like them. “It’s too much.”
“From now on, your anti-compulsion tattoos will be five hundred dollars each. That’s fair since I ain’t gonna let you do many of them,” the alpha replied.
“Take it,” Lucas said, giving her a stern look.
She did need the cash, and the test hadn’t exactly been easy. “Fine.”
“Good.” The alpha glanced around. “Now let’s get this place closed up. I don’t want you leavin’ here alone tonight, especially not until I talk to my people.”
That was…thoughtful of him. “What about tomorrow?”
“I’ll have the word out by then. You should be alright to open up like usual.”
Finally, things were looking up for her—she hoped.