I stood there holding the camera by its lens. I raised an eyebrow trying to figure out what the hell just happened. I grabbed the camera by its strap and rolled it up tight.

I gritted my teeth, really fucking annoyed.

My room was my room. My space. My private area.

Ever since Hazel came busting into the shop and into my life, I had been thinking back on some old memories. It was the camera thing that got to me most about it all. There was a time when I was followed for a few weeks by cameras. People yelling to me. People wanting to know a story that they had no business of getting involved with.

Looking down at Hazel’s camera, I had the urge to throw it against the wall. But I knew the damn thing was expensive, and I knew the damn thing meant a lot to her.

I hit a few buttons on the back of the camera and the pictures she had taken popped up. The first was mostly black with some light around the edges. That was my hand over the lens. When I grabbed it.

When Hazel went into a state of sheer terror. Like she thought I was going to hurt her. Did she really think I would hurt her? I would never put my hands on a woman without the intention of pleasuring her or helping her if something was wrong. Maybe I came at Hazel a little strong, and maybe I scared her. But I would never hurt her. Not with my hands.

I clicked the button on the camera.

The next picture that popped up was the picture I was looking at floating through the air. When I threw the picture, Hazel took a picture of it. It was a picture of her, the only one I had of her. And it was just there, floating through the air.

Just like the last time I saw her alive…

I shut my eyes and clicked the button again.

The next picture was me. Just sitting on the stool, staring at the picture of her.

It really pissed me off.

This was why I hated pictures. Capturing the realest moments of life and then they remain there. Almost like stealing a memory. I didn’t need Hazel throwing herself into my life. She wanted to take pictures of tattoos? Fine. She wanted to appease Tate’s fucking ego? Go for it.

But my personal stuff…

I turned the camera off and left my room.

I was met with Tate.

We were eye level, but he was puffed out like an animal ready to attack.

And that’s just what he did to me.

* * *

His hand pressed against my throat a little tighter than I cared for. I felt the color rushing to my face but held a straight expression. His other hand had a handful of my shirt.

“What the fuck did you do to her? What did you say to her? Huh?”

I lifted the camera to show Tate. Then I just started blinking fast. I wasn’t going to try and talk through him choking me.

“Jesus Christ,” Max said as he came rushing toward us.

He and River grabbed Tate’s tree trunk arm and pulled him away from me. Believe me, if Tate wanted to stay there, he would have. But he let Max and River pull him away.

“You fuck this up and you’re fired,” Tate said.

“Workplace violence,” I said. “My boss choking me. That’s a hell of a lawsuit, Tate.”

“Fuck you,” Tate said.

I smirked. “You cool now?”

“What the hell did you do?” Tate asked.

“She looked a little scared,” Max said. “Then she took off.”

“I showed her the size of my dick,” I said. “She dropped her camera and ran. I’m used to scaring people.”

Tate stepped forward, and Max got in front of him. “Jesus, Tate. Calm down, man.”

“I’m not kidding, Maddox,” Tate said. He pointed at me over Max’s shoulder. “You fuck this up, you find a new job.”

“And the invasion of our privacy?” I asked. “If I need a minute alone, I don’t need the fucking paparazzi barging in on me.”

“I don’t give a shit,” Tate said. “Whatever you did to her, you better fucking fix it. She’s out there in tears.”

“Tears?” I asked.

“Came through the back door and jumped into my arms. What the hell did you say to her?”

Nothing.

I said nothing to her.

I opened my mouth but didn’t say anything to Tate. He was heated. I was heated. There had been worse arguments in St. Skin. We had come to blows many times in the shop. That was just how it went. We were a brotherhood. We cared about what we did. And sometimes emotions got a little wild.

So it was better to just walk away.

With the camera in my hand, I left St. Skin.

I saw Hazel sitting in her car. She looked right at me. I froze for a second. I lifted the camera up like the killer in a horror movie would hold up a severed head.

I wasn’t going to fucking smile. I wasn’t going to fucking play nice. I was going to be me. That’s what they all wanted. For me to be me.

But I wanted Hazel to be her. I wanted to know what the hell that freakout was all about.

I approached the car and half-expected her to just start the car and take off. Lucky for me, she didn’t do that. Instead, she put down the window.

“Got your camera,” I said.

“Thanks,” she whispered.

She reached for the camera, and I pulled it away. “Coffee.”

“Coffee?”

She looked at me.

Hazel with the green eyes.

Damn those eyes. Damn that color.

I could see that she had been crying.

The questions were on the tip of my tongue. Tons of them.

I held back.

“Let’s ditch this place and grab coffee,” I said.

“Maddox…I’m…”

“Look, you’re just trying to do your job,” I said. “I get that. But there are certain things that don’t belong exposed. Got that?”

“My job…”

I turned the camera on. I clicked the button to bring up the first picture. My hand. Then the next picture. Of her.

“Delete this,” I said. “Right now.”

“Maddox.”

“Now.”

“Do you understand what I’m doing here?”

“Right now, you’re getting on my nerves. And confusing the hell out of me.”

“Confusing you? How?”

I looked at her. Hazel with the green eyes. “You’re standing up to me now. Defiant. Confident in this fucking picture that you know nothing about. But a few minutes ago, you looked ready to collapse just because I came at you. Tate said you were crying. So what is it? Defiant or scared?”

Hazel reached for her camera. Her hand touched mine for a second. I sucked in a breath as I gritted my teeth.

Then she looked up at me. “It’s both. Okay?”

“Both?”

“Where do you want to get that coffee, Maddox?”

Just like that I let the camera go. The picture still stored on the memory card.

Hazel started her car.

Then I gave her directions.

She pulled away, and I stood there for a few seconds.

I rubbed my jaw. I told myself not to get involved. I told myself to just ride this stupid idea out. Let Tate have his moment. Let Hazel take her pictures. It would be over soon enough.

But I was very wrong there.

This…this was just the beginning.