by London Casey
“You look like a black lab kind of guy,” Jessica said.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. “See how this works? I take care of your tattoos and you tell me what kind of dog to get. We’re a good team.”
She laughed.
The tension eased a little, which was good.
I worked the outline of a beautiful rose as Jessica shared her heart. The story of her mother not feeling well one day and going to the doctor the next to find out she had cancer. And that led to a long road of treatments, sickness, good days, bad days, worse days, and her final days.
It was therapeutic to talk about it while getting the ink. Letting out the demons and the pain while getting inked as a reminder of what had happened. That’s why I loved to do this stuff.
When the outline was done, I wiped the excess ink away and gave a nod.
“Getting there,” I said.
The door to the room suddenly swung open.
“Need something, brother?” I asked, thinking it was River.
I turned my head and started to laugh.
It wasn’t River standing there.
It was Tate.
FIVE
SAWYER
1.
I told Jessica to hang tight for a few minutes. I figured it was a good time for her to catch her breath and get ready for the shading of the rose.
Tate didn’t want to shake my hand, which was no shock.
He walked to the back door and punched it open and walked right out.
That’s when I saw River again.
“Ratted me out?” I asked.
He didn’t say a word.
Maddox stood next to him.
I saw Prick with his arms folded, leaning against the doorway to his room. I hadn’t become too familiar with Prick since we hired him right before I split town. There were other people there, none of them I had met. But I had heard of them. Zayne was some kind of wild rebel guy who was new. And then Cass, a former rock star who turned into a tattoo artist.
What an amazing crew of guys.
I walked out back and saw Tate pacing like a caged tiger.
I stood there and waited.
Tate finally stopped, a few feet from me. He turned and swung, clocking me right in the jaw. My head snapped so hard I thought it was going to go all the way around. I kept my footing and didn’t go down.
I stretched my jaw and tasted blood inside my mouth.
“Feel better?” I asked.
“No,” Tate said.
He brought another fist back.
I jumped at him, not willing to give him a second free punch. This one he was going to have to earn.
We pushed each other a little before Maddox and River got between us.
“Jesus Christ,” Maddox growled. “We have a shop full of people. Not now. Not here.”
“Then get him out of here,” Tate roared.
“Easy now, brother,” I said. “I own half this place.”
“Fuck you,” Tate said. “You left this place.”
“I didn’t give it up. I just went for a ride.”
“For how many years?” Tate asked.
“A few. Maybe more.” I grinned.
Tate pushed at River and knocked him out of the way.
“No,” River said, letting me go and grabbing at Tate’s shirt.
I backed up a little and showed my hand. “Hey, I’m in the middle of a session. We can talk about this stuff later, Tate.”
“Later? You’re out of here, Sawyer. You’re not welcome here. Get the fuck out of this shop and this town.”
“Can’t do that,” I said. “You know why I’m here.”
“Hell no,” Tate said. He grabbed River’s wrist. “Don’t try and stop me again.”
Now everyone let us be.
We got close but nobody threw a punch. Yet.
“Don’t come here for that,” Tate said.
“For what? For what’s mine?”
“You left everything that was yours.”
“And you conveniently just stepped right in to be the hero, didn’t you?”
Tate curled his lip. “Don’t fuck with me, Sawyer. I’ve hung low for a long time. I didn’t fight you on anything. I took the shop and moved it forward. You get your damn check every month…”
“And now I’m here again,” I said. “And I’m not going anywhere. No, wait, that’s a lie. Right now, I’m going to finish that tattoo on that woman. It’s her first. You believe that, Tate? My first day back and I get to give someone their first tattoo. Amazing how life works.”
Tate’s chest puffed out. “This isn’t over, Sawyer. Not by a long shot.”
“I know that, brother,” I said. “That’s why I’m here.”
I turned and walked toward the door. I paused and looked to the guys standing out back.
“River, good to see you again. Maddox, you too.” I walked toward Prick. “Prick, not sure we really got to know each other before I left.”
“Yeah, right,” Prick said.
“Cold shoulder. I like it.” I looked at Zayne. “You’re the outlaw, huh?”
“You’re the asshole, huh?” Zayne asked.
“You can call me Sawyer. Or Saint. I am an asshole, yeah. But St. Asshole in neon lights doesn’t have the same look.”
I moved down to Cass and put up my fist. He raised an eyebrow and slowly bumped his fist to mine.
“You’re a great guitarist, brother,” I said. “I remember you from past days. Old life. Glad you took root here.”
There were still others I needed to meet, but Jessica needed me first.
I opened the door and gave one last look back. Right at Tate.
He looked ready to charge at me and keep the fight going. We would get to that later.
“Tate… when I’m done here, I’m going to get Kate back.”
SIX
KATE
1.
I caught myself sitting at the kitchen table, sketching on a napkin. It was a caricature of someone that looked like Tate. A huge body and super tiny legs, holding a phone in his massive hand, with a quote bubble telling me he needed to tell me something important.
Because that’s what happened.
I got a quick call and he swore to me it was really important and that I had to stay put at home. Just in case.
Now, those three words could make anyone worry, but for me, those three words could invoke terror. Simply because… what if…
I stood up and walked to the fridge. On the side was my lawyer’s business card. I had his number programmed in my phone but I kept the card there as a reminder. He promised if I ever needed anything, just call. He understood the position I was in when it came to Jason. So much about life that Jason didn’t know. About his own life. Things he lived through that he didn’t even remember.
I swallowed hard and shook my head.
“No,” I whispered.
If anything was happening with that past crap, the lawyer would have called. There was no way Tate would have information before the lawyer.
Even still, my stomach wouldn’t settle.
It was right around ten when Tate knocked on the door.
Jason was fast asleep again, lost in a world of dinosaurs and action figures. Tonight’s drawing was of a massive alligator poking its head out of a deadly, gas filled swamp as a superhero stood on the shore with a magic sword, ready for the fight of a lifetime. I made Jason a deal. As long as his stories and my drawings didn’t give him any bad dreams, I would keep drawing.
I opened the door to find Tate standing there with a pizza and a six pack of beer.
I gritted my teeth as anger hit me. “Is this a joke?”
“What?”
“You have me scared to death… all for pizza and beer?”
“What? Why are you…”
I shook my head.
“Oh,” Tate said. “Shit. You thought maybe…”
“Maybe,” I said.
“Fuck. Kate. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean
to scare you. I’m not here trying to get a cheap date out of you. I swear. Something happened today.”
“And you figured why not grab a pizza and some beer?”
“I hate coming over here empty handed,” Tate said. “Can I come in now?”
“Yeah, sure. Why not? Let me take a few breaths to calm down.”
Tate put the pizza on the table and grabbed two beers. He twisted the caps off and they clanked to the table. He forced one into my hand.
“What is this?”
“You calm?”
“Maybe.”
“Get ready to not be calm.”
“Why?”
Tate took a drink of beer. His lip curled. “Sawyer is back in town.”
2.
“What did you just say?”
I was frozen like a block of ice. So much so, I couldn’t even drink the beer Tate had given me.
“You heard what I said. I wanted to give you a head’s up.”
“I don’t understand. How do you know?”
“How do I know?” Tate asked. “If it wasn’t Sawyer, then who did I punch outside St. Skin?”
“You punched him?” I asked.
My heart skipped a couple beats and I could tell how excited I seemed to be.
I hate you, Sawyer… I hate that you make me feel this way… instantly.
“Yeah, I punched him,” Tate said.
“So… he just showed up?”
Tate cleared his throat and backed up to the counter and nodded. “I was in my office and River came in to give me the news. I thought he was fucking joking, Kate. Sawyer? When was the last time we saw him?”
I didn’t answer. Neither did Tate. We both knew the last time we saw Sawyer. The night at the bar when he punched Tate. When everything boiled over. Years of little things turning into a big thing. When I decided to check on Tate instead of checking on Sawyer.
“He walked right into St. Skin like he owned the place,” Tate said.
“Well, he does,” I said. “Right?”
“Half of it, Kate. And to be fair, I could have sued his ass years ago. I could have done a lot to get him away from the company. But I didn’t. He’s gotten a check right on time every month. And now he just shows up.”
“What did he do then?”
“He took a client.”
“What?”
“He took someone into the back and gave them a tattoo.”
“You’re kidding,” I said.
I had to fight the urge to smile. Not because I liked Sawyer. No way. I hated him. With a passion that was hard to explain. I wanted to smile because I could see Sawyer doing it. Just walking into St. Skin like he had been out on the world’s longest lunch break. Picking up where he left off and getting right back to work. He was the only guy I knew with the guts to do that and to pull it off because he was good at what he did.
“He just shows up and tattoos someone,” I whispered.
“Yeah. And it was a really good tattoo too. Her first one. She’s going to be back for more. Only if Sawyer does it.”
Jealousy touched a raw nerve as I thought about Sawyer touching another woman. But he was a professional when it came to his art. Whether it was a woman’s wrist or her bare chest, he took tattooing seriously. It was my heart and mind that forced the dumb jealousy and dumber thoughts.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Tate said. “I took him out back and punched him in the face.”
“Tate…”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Tell me he didn’t deserve it.”
“Oh, he deserved it. And plenty more, I’m sure.”
“He took the punch and walked back in to finish the tattoo.”
“Was he hurt?”
“Bleeding.”
“What did the woman say?”
“He told her it was a business meeting,” Tate said. “Played it off nice and smooth.”
Typical Sawyer.
“I can’t believe this,” I said. The memories and regrettable excitement quickly faded as I looked over my shoulder and bit my lip. That’s when a sense of panic settled in. “Tate… what about Jason?”
“I know,” Tate said. “That’s why I came over. You tell me what to do here and I’ll do it.”
“Did he say anything about me?”
“Of course he did,” Tate said. “He said he’s coming for you.”
I shook my head. “How do I explain Jason? If he starts asking questions… he’ll know by Jason’s age… and what I promised…”
Tate moved at me. He put his beer bottle down and touched my shoulders. “Hey, hey, hey. Take a breath, Kate. Take a deep breath.”
I listened to Tate. I stared up at him.
“Listen to me,” he whispered. “It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks or knows or doesn’t know. You’re doing the right thing for the kid. Okay? I know this isn’t the life you wanted. But you’re doing amazing at it. I’m sorry that Sawyer is back. I’m going to talk to him. Try to keep us from beating the hell out of each other. Hopefully he’s just swinging through like he did before. Right?”
“Like he did before? He lived here. And then he just vanished.”
“Maybe he’ll vanish again. Whatever he thinks he has here, he’s wrong, Kate.”
I nodded. “There was a lot left behind, Tate. Between all of us.”
“I know,” Tate said. “I didn’t want to ruin your night, Kate. But I didn’t want him to show up and… you know, the kid.”
“The kid. You always call him the kid. His name is Jason.”
“Why don’t we get something to eat and try to breathe for a second, okay?”
I nodded. “I’m in shock.”
“Join the club,” Tate said. “When I swung to hit him, I thought I was going to hit air because it had to have been his ghost. But it wasn’t.”
“He just walked through the front door and went to work?”
A grin tried to creep along Tate’s face. “Would you expect anything less from him?”
My heart was starting to race even faster as all the memories - good and bad - came rushing back to me.
Sawyer had always been wild, a little bit dangerous, and everything I should have avoided.
Yet I couldn’t get away from him. He had to leave me to get me away.
“Kate?” Tate asked. “You okay?”
I looked at him, blinking fast. “No, I’m not okay at all.”
SEVEN
KATE
(YEARS AGO)
1.
I knew I wasn’t drunk, but I was getting close, so I pretended to keep drinking. I would put the bottle to my lips and threw my head back, letting the burning liquid touch my lips but I didn’t take another drink. It wasn’t that I didn’t like being drunk, I just didn’t want to waste my night with Sawyer by not remembering it. Plus, the way he kept drinking, I figured I would need to be able to get him home. Or wherever he wanted to sleep that night. I wished he could crash at my place, but things weren’t exactly easy when it came to that stuff.
There wasn’t a day that went by where I wasn’t warned about these guys. Sawyer, Tate, and a few others. The few others I really never got close to at all. It was like Tate was the brains and Sawyer was the balls. Sawyer would just punch someone for any reason at all while Tate was the one checking for the cops and, making sure we got out of the situation without getting hurt.
Tonight, it was finally just me and Sawyer. He and Tate met at Tate’s apartment and talked about their tattoo shop. They were actually getting really serious about it. I had no idea how they planned on getting money to make it happen, but I wasn’t going to be the voice of reason. Tate was smart enough to find a way to do it. And Sawyer had the nerve to take care of everything else.
“You really want to do this,” I whispered to him, my head on his shoulder. “The tattoo shop.”
“Yes,” Sawyer said. “It’s going to happen, darling.”
“But… you don’t even have a tattoo yet.”
He looked at me. �
��You’re right. What kind of place will it be where the owners aren’t all inked up?”
“Exactly,” I said. “You’ll look like a fraud.”
“I better get some ink.”
“How? You’re not old enough.”
Sawyer curled his lip. “Don’t tell me I’m not old enough. I don’t play that game, darling. There’s always a way around rules.”
“You need someone to sign for you. And you need to find a shop that will let you do it.”
I shouldn’t have said a thing. I saw the look in his eyes. Those wild, bad boy eyes that made me feel things I didn’t know I could feel. The way he smirked and slid off the small brick wall and put his hand out for me to take.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“We’re going back to Tate’s.”
“Why?”
“I’m getting a tattoo… tonight.”
2.
Tate was half asleep on his couch when Sawyer opened the door. It was pretty cool that Tate had his own place. Well, he shared the place with someone. His cousin, or at least someone he called his cousin. He worked with computers and was never home. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if everything that happened in the apartment was even legal.
But that didn’t matter.
What mattered was the chain of events after Sawyer woke Tate up.
“Come on, brother,” Sawyer said. “We need to get ink.”
“What?” Tate asked. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Ink,” Sawyer said. “Check it out… we have this idea for this tattoo shop and we have no ink. It’s not right.”
“You don’t have ink,” Tate said with a grin.
“What?” Sawyer asked.
Tate pulled up the right leg of his jeans. He had a dragon on his calf.
“When?”
“A week ago,” Tate said. “Walked right into a shop across town and they didn’t question me. The guy that inked me was named Brian. Really cool guy. Where do you think I got all the ideas from for the shop?”
“You got a tattoo without me?” Sawyer asked.