Chapter Five

ELIAS

After dropping Harley off at school, I had to rush to work. I had clients booked all day for custom work. Custom pieces were alwaysa time consuming pain in the ass, but they paid pretty well. Still. It meant that it was going to be a busy day. And it wasn't until I was getting out of my car in the parking lot of the parlor that I realized my phone was gone.

“Shit,” I said, patting down all of my pockets.

There was only one place it could be – Paige Cleary's classroom. I had an appointment early that morning, so I couldn't get back to the school to grab it. I couldn't skip out on my client, which meant that I'd have to head over later. If I got a lunch today, I might have just enough time to drive across town and pick it up. Maybe. Depending on how things went at the shop.

Being in demand meant I got a lot of work. But the flip side of that meant that I stayed busy. I did my best to book most of my appointments during the school hours. Which meant that I was usually the only person at the shop most mornings. Which was fine, because when people thought of getting some ink done, they typically didn't think about getting up at the crack of dawn to get it done. Most people came in later – many of the artists did too.

So, when people requested me specifically, they had to fit it in during my schedule. Most days, I liked it. It allowed Harley to spend less time at the shop and I could see my daughter after school. It wasn't always possible to schedule things that way, but I did what I could.

My first client of the day was a regular of mine. We were going to finally finish up that sleeve we'd been working on for months. There was no way I was going to be able to call and reschedule, so I did the work. Not like I had much of a choice, but I couldn't turn my client away.

The work, of course, took longer than anticipated, especially because we were so close to finishing up and there was a lot of fine detail that had to be done. So, I just went for it, lost myself in my work as I worked my magic on his arm.

As I was working though, I heard someone enter through the front door.

“I'll be back Charlie,” I said, pushing away from the client.

No one came in that early without an appointment, so I was curious who was stopping by. But once I stepped out front, I realized they weren't there for a tattoo.

“What are you doing here, Jay?” I said. “Come to get some work done?”

“Nah, already have a guy, thanks,” he said.

“Then why are you here?”

“Checking in on you,” he said. “Mav was worried when you didn't get back to his text this morning. Was getting a little worried you were getting cold feet, so he sent me to find you.”

“I left my phone at my daughter's school,” I said. “I'm going to try to head over there later and pick it up.”

“Don't need me to run by her school for ya, do you?”

He gave me a menacing look, so I just rolled my eyes.

“No, I got it covered,” I said. “Thanks anyway.”

“Good,” he said. “Mav would appreciate it if you'd respond quickly when he contacts you. Just until he knows he can trust you again.”

“Have I ever given him a reason to not trust me?”

“When you left the MC, you gave us reason to not trust you.”

Good point. They never trusted outsiders. And to them, I was an outsider now.

“Tell Mav I'll be in touch once I can swing by and get my phone,” I said.

“Will do,” he said, turning on his heels to leave before turning back as if he'd just remembered something – a move I knew was calcuated for dramatic effect. “Oh, and Elias?”

“Yes?”

“Be careful where you leave your phone. Wouldn't want the wrong person getting ahold of it,” he said. “Not with what's stored in there.”

Clenching my hands at my side, I wanted to beat the shit out of him for that idle threat. But there was no way I could do that and get away with it. The MC was dangerous, but I knew that the less trouble I caused them, the less trouble they'd cause me. Or so I hoped. I just needed to play ball.

Jay turned and left the shop. Watching as he walked toward his bike, I kept hoping and praying he'd get hit by a bus. Was that too much to ask? I waited until I heard the roar of his engine and then went back in to finish Charlie's sleeve.

ooo000ooo

“Someone's here to see ya,” Mitch said, calling back to me from the front.

I'd just finished up with Charlie and was prepping for my next appointment – who I assumed was the person up front asking for me. I was hungry and hoping to grab a quick bite, but there's apparently no rest for the wicked.

“Tell him I'll be right there,” I called up to Mitch.

“It's a chick,” Mitch said, lowering his voice as he stuck his head into the studio.

“What? It's not Dixon?” I said, wiping my hands off and walking to the front.

Once I pushed past the curtain, however, I found myself staring at my daughter's art teacher. Paige smiled at me and I gave her what I was sure was an awkward smile in return. Mitch side-eyed me, giving me a knowing look and a sideways smirk.

Yes, Paige was an attractive woman – although, she was a little too clean-cut for my liking. But I had to admit, with her auburn hair and pale skin, not to mention those curves, she was a looker. Though, in her somewhat modest and conservative dress slacks and button-up shirt, she definitely didn't fit in at a place like this.

“Hey,” I said, giving her a incredulous look. “Aren't you supposed to be enriching young minds or something?”

“And aren't you supposed to keep track of your belongings better than most of those young minds I'm supposed to be enriching?” she teased, handing my phone back to me. “It's my lunch hour. Thought I'd swing by and drop it off for you. It's been buzzing nonstop, figured it might be important.”

Jay's warning from earlier came back to me, and I wanted to ask her if she'd seen any of the messages that came through, but decided against it. She was acting normal, so I highly doubt she read anything troubling.

“Uhh yeah, thanks,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “I'm sorry you had to drive all the way over here. I feel like an ass for leaving it in the first place.”

She shrugged, flipping through a photo album sitting at the front desk – the album of my designs and work.

“It's fine,” she said, flipping back to the cover of the album again. She saw my name on the cover and then looked up at me, “So this is all your work in here?”

“Yep, that's my work.”

“Wow. You're very talented,” she said.

“Thank you,” I said. “Though I have to admit, that sounds kind of odd coming from someone like you – ”

“Hey now,” I said. “I used to have my nose pierced once upon a time.”

“Wow. How edgy of you,” I teased her. “Was this before you started teaching at SnootyBrook Elementary?”

She laughed. “Something like that, yeah,” she said. “But seriously, you don't know the first thing about me, I'm not nearly as uptight as you think I am. I used to have a bit of a wild streak in me.”

“Oh. So you're here to get a tattoo then?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Uhh no,” she said, an amused look on her face. “But if I were, I have to say, you'd be the man for the job. You have some seriously great work in here. I see where Harley gets her talent from.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I may only be a tattoo artist, but I actually do take my art very seriously.”

She started to say something, but then stopped and started again. “You know, I used to not consider this artwork, but the more I look at it – ”

“Believe it or not, there's more to art than what your liberal arts education taught you.”

She shot me a look of death – one that she said she was tired of having me knock her education or artistic training. Truth be told, I had no idea what her education or training background was. It was just one of those things I used to jab her.

“I know that,” she snapped, and then took a breath and seemed to collect herself again. “Which is exactly what I was about to say. I'm opening my eyes to new and different things. And I have to say, some of this is truly breathtaking.”

I leaned over her shoulder and flipped to the back of the book. I found a specific piece of work – one I was exceptionally proud of – a watercolor tattoo that blended a few of Van Gogh's works together in one, intricate sleeve. As soon as Paige's eyes landed on the page, she gasped and looked up at me with eyes that were wide

“That's amazing,” she said. “It's absolutely gorgeous.”

“I thought you might appreciate it,” I said, a knowing grin. “And thank you.”

She touched the photo, tracing her fingers along the page, seeming to be picking out the different works in her head.

She tilted her head up and stared into my eyes with a strange look on her face. It looked like she wanted to say something – was about to say something – but then bit it back and remained silent for a moment. She cleared her throat and when she looked at me again, that strange look on her face was gone.

“I have to get going,” she said, biting her lip, “but I also need to grab some lunch. Care to join me?”

I looked at the clock behind the counter and strangely enough, felt a pang of regret. “Can't,” I said. “I have an appointment in ten minutes. Rain check though? Maybe another time?”

“Oh, sure,” she said, her cheeks coloring. “Another time. Totally.”

Mitch had left us alone, and without even realizing it, I found myself standing incredibly close to Paige. Close enough that I could count the freckles that dotted her face – freckles I hadn't even really noticed she had until that moment.

“Well, I better get going,” she said, closing the album and stepping away, “Need to grab some food and get back. I'm not really supposed to leave the school anyway.”

“Okay,” I said. “Well, thanks for dropping my phone off. I appreciate it.”

She gave me an awkard smile and a nod before turning and heading for the door – muttering to herself the whole way.

“Hey, Paige?” I said before she stepped outside.

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For bringing this over – but more for caring about Harley,” I said. “And I'm sorry if I came off like a dick earlier – ”

She held up a hand to cut me off and gave me a warmer, more genuine smile. “And I'm sorry I come off as pretentious and snobby.”

Another time. As I watched the door swing shut behind her, I thought I might actually have to make time to meet up with her at some point in the near future. But before I could let myself delve too far into that fantasy, I remembered my reality.

Things were far too messy and complicated to get involved with anyone right now. I needed to focus on keeping myself out of jail, on keeping custody of my daughter, and making sure we all came out of this alive and in one piece.

It was most definitely not the time to think about dating.

Not now. And hell, given my current situation, probably not ever. Not until Harley was in college far away from there, anyway.