For the very first time ever, Johnny’s reaction really scared her. It might not be a fear for your life kind of fear but it was certainly a shock to see him react so violently to something she’d not thought twice about. Getting blindsided like that was stressful.

She stopped wiping the moisture from her body as she heard a pounding coming from the shower. It sounded like a fist battering the wall and was hard enough to make them shake. Pulling on a t-shirt and shorts, she blew her hair out while he finished his shower. Walking to the kitchen, she pulled out her small first aid kit and sat quietly on the edge of the bed.

Why did the only man she’d managed to ever form an attachment to have to be so screwed up in the head? Because they were birds of feather, that’s why. The idea of him ravaging his knuckles against the wall was almost physically painful, as was any thought of him being hurt. Her mind quickly drew the line from point A to point B, and she understood with total clarity why he was so upset.

Within moments the bathroom door opened so hard the doorknob poked a hole through the wall when it collided with force. Johnny stalked out with his cell phone to his ear. “You heard me, Skippy. Same exact one.” There was a pause. “I don’t fuckin’ care what time it is, you fucked up my world and you’re going to fix it.”

Turning the phone off he shoved it in his pocket. “Get dressed, Doll. We got somewhere to be.”

“Where are we going? What should I wear?”

“Clothes.” The clipped one word answer was all she got. When she came out of the bedroom, wearing jeans and a nice blouse she saw him texting on his phone. Immediately standing he held open a light jacket that he’d apparently retrieved from her hall closet. Thoughtful touch from the raging mobster who’d threatened to give her a dirt nap when they first met. Stepping forward, she allowed him to slip it on. He’s laid a pair of boots, so she pulled them on.

As soon as they exited the building, she saw his bike with two helmets hanging off. A guy in a suit walked up and handed him keys. Being a mafia don’s son, Johnny would have people to fetch and carry shit for him. She had to hand it to the guy in the expensive suit, he’d moved pretty damn quick.

Johnny climbed onto the bike and helped her on with the helmet. Though he was clearly still angry and avoiding eye contact, his hands were gentle. Climbing on the back of his bike, she felt like she found her place of belonging. Something about the long ride with her arms around his waist had a calming effect on both of them.

When he stopped, Sarah was surprised to see the same tattoo shop she’d used to get her tattoo. It was well after dinner time and there were several artist working on people in different areas. She’d noticed before it was set up kind of like a styling salon, with each artist having a chair and their own tools. Johnny grabbed a small chair and dragged it over to an empty section and turned it around, presumably for her to sit in.

The nice tattoo covered artist came out of the back. “You’re making enough racket to wake the dead, Johnny.”

“Shut the fuck up, Sparky, and get to stickin’. I want to see my pillow sometime tonight.” Johnny jerked off his shirt and flung himself down face first in the seat, which was already in a reclining position.

The irritated man stalked over and begin setting up his equipment. “Regular people make appointments, Johnny. Then they enjoy the anticipation of waiting for them, marking a big x on their calendar to count down the days.”

“I ain’t regular people. You tore up my little agent’s back with your needle when she came here all upset about fightin’ with me. Now, she’s gonna sit right there and watch you do the same to me.”

Sarah gasped as shock tore through her. “What the hell is this, Johnny, a revenge tattoo? Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds?”

Sparky, tilted his head slightly. “Especially coming from the tattoo virgin who always complained that he didn’t need a tattoo for everyone to know he was a badass.”

“We doin’ this, or scrappin’, cause those are your only two choices.”

“Fine, you pushy bastard.” Glancing at Sarah, he asked curiously. “Why do you call her an agent? Does she book cruises and get people deals on airline tickets for a living?”

“Homeland Security Agent, not that’s it any of your business.”

The man snickered his amusement. “Bet your pops is loving that.”

“He’s fuckin’ thrilled, now do your damned job.”

“You always did like a lady with a badge, Johnny. Never quite understood that, with you being who you are.”

Johnny finally found his humor and snorted a laugh. “They always seemed like the lesser of two evils. All cops want to do is arrest me, while most everyone else wants to kill me.”

“Makes a weird kind of sense. If you weren’t so irritating, maybe that wouldn’t be such a problem.”

Sarah couldn’t believe the only gangster in the world who wasn’t wild about body art was about to get himself a huge one in some misguided attempt to teach her a lesson. “Look Johnny, you don’t have to do this. I get what you’re trying to say.”

Grabbing her hand, he tugged her down into the chair in front of him. “Have a seat and hold my hand, Doll. I was just joking around with Sparky, that ain’t why we’re here.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“Yea, I do. Come and hold my hand. You know I don’t like repeatin’ myself.”

Sliding into the seat, she scooted forward and cupped his giant hand between her two more delicate hands. “Why are doing this? We could be home in bed, cuddling.”

Sparky, sniggered.

They both ignored him. “I was lyin’ about cutting the tie tonight. I just wanted to stop arguing about your list of reasons we’re not good for each other.”

“Fine, but you’re just dragging out the inevitable.”

“Just bear with me, for a bit. I promise, you’ll understand real soon.”

He looked so earnest and she knew he was asking her to trust him for just a little while longer. His big handsomely stupid face was begging to be kissed. Bending down, she planted a kiss on his lips. “Whatever you say, Johnny.” Basically they were two lost souls, reluctant to give up what they’d found with each other.

Sparky sighed dramatically. “You two are real cute together. Trust me, I never thought I’d say that about mister tall dark and handsome.”

Sarah couldn’t help but smile at the strange looking man. “You sound like a hopeless romantic.”

“Maybe, but don’t go telling everyone. Hey, we’ve got time to kill. Want to hear all about what it was like growing up with your lover boy?”

Johnny growled over his shoulder. “Pay attention to the tat. Nobody wants to hear that shit.”

Regardless of how Johnny tried to shut him up, Sparky got in a story or two.