Razor's Mark: (Marked Book 1)

by Gracie Meadows

  “Thanks, Razor.” And like that, she went into the bathroom. He needed another drink. The door sounded, and he opened it only to see a smile all too bright for his liking.

  Damn, Casper.

  “Hey, mate, gotcha some food.”

  “Set it over there.” He went to his wallet to get cash for Casper, but the little prick had already sat his ass down.

  “Now come off it, there is plenty of food for more than one person, so where is the lass anyway?”

  “That’s none of your business,” he snapped.

  “Aww, I think I hear the shower, you dirty rascal.” Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Faith walked out. Never had he given her a second look before, but her standing there with wet hair hanging down and in his shirt, did things to his cock. Her bare legs, damn, he didn’t expect those. Fuck, she wasn’t wearing a bra. Motherfucker.

  “Oh, bloody hell, mate, you got yourself a vixen wrapped up all pretty like. Hey there, me lovely. I’m Casper.” Faith blinked and looked at both of them, then blushed.

  “Hi, I’m Faith.” She walked closer to them and held her hand out, though a little hesitantly. “You said you’re Casper, like, as in the friendly ghost?” Razor couldn’t help it; he busted up laughing. Casper was going to be pissed.

  “Fuck, not you too. I’m not Casper the Friendly Fucking Ghost.”

  “Oh, but he was cute, I liked him.” Which started a whole round of questions for her. At least she wasn’t crying.

  Chapter Seven

  Casper had not been what she had expected at all. First, he was a flirt and a half, which was nice compared to Razor’s grumpy demeanor. He made her feel good about herself. She knew she wasn’t a blushing beauty, but she didn’t think she was a total dog either. After she came out of the bathroom from her shower, Razor had magically found some pants for her to sleep in. Having to roll them, a lot, she sat and ate dinner.

  Casper was very talkative, but then again, it wasn’t so much what he was saying, compared to how he said it. His accent was awesome. She could be drawn into him, even if he just recited the alphabet. It also helped that they had been drinking. Casper stopped at one beer, but Razor seemed to be passing her drinks mixed with God knows what, which she drank.

  “So, Faith, you got yourself a fella?”

  “A fella? Like, am I seeing someone?” answering Casper’s question.

  “That’s what I’m asking.”

  “Well, seeing as people want to kill me, and I practically live like a nun and only get pleasure from my removable shower head, I say nope.” She smiled, but then looked at both their faces, eyes wide and their mouths open like fish. Shit, she had said that out loud.

  “Umm, what I mean is, no. I think it’s time for bed. Yeah, sleep is good. Thanks for dinner. Night, everyone.” She scurried to the bedroom, shutting the door faster than she could even breathe, then leaning against it. The sound of mumbled words and laughter only confirmed her thoughts; she was an idiot, and they now knew how much of a freak she really was.

  Wiping the few tears that slipped out, she climbed into the bed she had been sleeping in. She just needed to figure things out. Razor hadn’t even brought up what John had sent him; her mind was frazzled to the max, and all she wanted was to sleep off her drunken state. It was easy to tell she didn’t drink, well, at least, not like she had tonight, but maybe it was because her nerves were fried by the excitement of today.

  Or it could be the fact that she was getting interested in Razor. Faith kept telling herself it was just a physical reaction due to his broad shoulders, strong jaw, tattoos, and piercings. But he had shown there was more to him. He had a heart, and someone had to have hurt him, or something like that for him to act the way he did. He only showed people the outer layer of him, and though she hated parts of it, she knew there was more. But at the same time her attraction to him was also because he was the opposite of John, Razor was a bad boy. He was the bad boy her mother had warned her about. Not that any of them would give her the time of day anyway.

  Growing up in a rundown part of town, her mom had worked two jobs. One at a doctor’s office as a receptionist and the other as a waitress to help put her in a better school for gifted children. Her dad was a deadbeat, or so her mother said, but who knows. She studied and studied; graduated high school at sixteen and went to college. She had landed the job at Hamilton and Rodgers right out of college. She had been there since. No one ever talked to her except via email, and that was only to get her help. John was the only one who seemed to take an interest in her personally, which had shocked her. He was as good looking as Razor, maybe a little less muscular, but they had the same features.

  What was she going to do? Razor had John’s information, but she was too fuzzy to try to analyze it now. Closing her eyes, she let the alcohol take her into a dreamless sleep.

  *****

  Razor said bye to Casper while he put away the rest of the food. He couldn’t believe Faith had said what she had. He had no desire to start anything with her, but when she came out of the bathroom looking like sex on legs, he about came in his jeans. He was shocked he never really took the time to notice her before, but she was fucking gorgeous, well when she wasn’t wrapped up in her own little world. Making sure to cover her up and then plying her with booze seemed to have helped him deal with his raging hard on.

  However, she was still having issues with his brother’s death. Hell, he hadn’t even started grieving. Honestly, he doubted if ever he would. He loved Johnny, but he didn’t cry, ever. That was something pussies did. Even when his parents had passed.

  Sure, he was devastated, but he would drink the pain away, or ride his bike.

  He was in a bind with this whole damn situation. He felt like he was beating his head against the wall and not getting anywhere. Deciding he wasn’t going to figure things out with Johnny or even Faith, he went and took a shower before laying down on his couch.

  He hated this stupid thing, but he wasn’t going to sleep on the floor. In and out of his shower, he made sure the door was locked and secure. He took the gun he had grabbed from the shop earlier and slid it under the couch. Close enough he could reach it, but not enough it would stick out. Taking a deep breath, he laid down before letting exhaustion take over and falling into a deep sleep.

  *****

  His damn back hurt like a motherfucker. He needed to figure out something else, maybe get an air mattress. His couch worked well enough to chill and hang out on, but with his height, it didn’t work as a bed. Stumbling up, he made a pot of coffee before heading to the bathroom to take a leak. He had a client coming in today and knew for a fact that it was going to be at least a six-hour piece.

  Splashing water on his face, he needed to shave and clean up. He looked like shit. He had a beard growing, and it looked weird. He looked better with a clean face; at least that’s what the chicks said. What the hell was he thinking? He wasn’t getting laid anytime soon, at least not with issues going on with Faith. Still, he enjoyed feeling clean.

  Not fully awake to rationalize anything, he hunted for his coffee, chugging the first cup before pouring another. Food; he needed food. Making his way to his room to get dressed, he opened the door to find Faith sitting up in bed, her hair a mess, but looking out the window.

  “Um… Morning,” he grumbled. He was trying.

  “Oh hey, please tell me there’s coffee and food?”

  “Coffee, yes. Food, no. Shit out of luck on that one.”

  “Oh.”

  “You okay?”

  “I feel like I got hit by a Mac truck. Why did you let me drink that much last night?”

  “You needed it.”

  “To get drunk? I don’t do drunk.”

  “Well, you did a damn good job last night.”

  “Shit, I don’t remember much. I’m trying to figure out if I said something else, but I got nothing.”

  “You’re good.”

  “Oh okay. Well,
umm, can I ask a favor?”

  “You can; doesn’t mean I’ll do it though.”

  “I need clothes.”

  “And?”

  “Can we, you know, stop by my apartment and get some.”

  “No.”

  “What do you mean, no?”

  “I said no. You’re fine in what you have. You’re not leaving here today anyway.”

  “But I have work to do.”

  “I know, but Sparkle is getting you a secure line, and you need to figure out what the hell it is that Johnny left me.”

  “Oh, God, I forgot all about that. Okay, can I get some coffee?”

  “Yup.”

  She raised an eyebrow at him.

  “You know where the kitchen is,” he said as he grabbed his clothes and headed into the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower, if you need to pee, do it now,” he warned.

  He looked at the clock and knew he had enough time to clean up before Sparkle came over. Casper had offered to watch over Faith, but the little shit had too much interest in her, which oddly pissed him off. He could have asked Tex, but then, he might scare the shit out of her, Tex, while sweet with a southern charm on the outside, had a different personality. Big Guy, well, he had a feeling he wasn’t going to be staying around too much longer. He had been contemplating going back to Hawaii.

  Razor still had Mary Jane; maybe Faith would like her. She was a cool chick. Faith staggered to her feet and headed into the bathroom. Using that time, he drank another cup of coffee. He sent a text to Sparkle asking her to bring Mary Jane and some food, promising he would make it up to her. He was grumbling about something before he went into the bathroom to clean up for work.

  *****

  Faith hated mornings, and this morning was worse than others. Her head was spinning, and Razor seemed to be as much of an ass as always. Yet, she couldn’t remember what she had said last night. She remembered Casper being over, but that was about it. Razor was passing her drink after drink.

  Ignoring the pounding in her head, she hunted down the coffee, and a spare cup, though it was chipped. He really needed to have spare cups and utensils for when someone stayed over. Well, maybe he didn’t do sleepovers, or hook-ups, or hell, she was so out of the loop she didn’t know what the hell anything was called anymore.

  Damn, she was a cat lady already, but without the cat. Drinking her coffee, she had to add extra sugar. Not even looking in the cupboards, she knew they were bare. Hangovers required toast, something to soak up all the liquor, and not want to make her vomit her coffee up.

  Finding her way to the couch, she noticed a spring was sticking out. Damn, that sucked. She suddenly felt bad that Razor was sleeping on this thing. Maybe she could sleep out here tonight, and he could have his bed. Maybe it would even help with his grouchy mood. Anyone who had to sleep with a spring in their back had to be in a bad mood when they woke up.

  Clicking on the news, she saw the same crap in DC like normal mornings. Traffic on 95, various break-ins, and political heads coming into town. The weather, now that would normally interest her, but it didn’t seem to be an issue today. After all, she was stuck in the damn apartment trying to deal with this issue.

  The sooner she could find out who was behind everything, the sooner she could send the information to the right people. She could be free and clear and maybe find out who killed John. The door opened, and Razor stepped out of the bathroom. He had shaved and dressed in jeans that clung to his hips and an all-black t-shirt. His hair was damp, but the rest of him looked like something out of a sex novel she’d read the other day. She had to press her legs together to ease the ache that seemed to creep there.

  “I gotta go to work. Sparkle should be here soon with food and to help set up the network for you.”

  “Okay,” she squeaked. He looked at her like she’d grown two heads before shaking his head and going into his room. A knock on the door had him walking out, telling her once again to go to the bedroom. She scrambled to the room while he answered the door. It was Sparkle and another woman who looked like a model with leather pants and a halter top.

  “Kitten, it’s cool. Come on out,” Razor called. She walked out slowly as both women smiled at her.

  “Aww, honey, you look like a damn stray dog. Come out; I won’t bite,” Sparkle said.

  Faith braced her shoulders back to show she wasn’t a damn dog.

  “She’s cute, Razor. You said she’s your brother’s girl?” the other woman said.

  “No, they just worked together. Kitten, this is Mary Jane; Mary Jane, this is Faith.”

  “I think I prefer kitten,” the woman said, chuckling. Faith felt a blush creep over her face. “Shit, she is so damn cute, we should totally keep her. We could make her ov-“

  “No. She isn’t a toy. Watch her, lock up, and let her work. Got it?” Razor snapped.

  Everyone in the room froze.

  “Sure, we got it. No touching the merchandise,” Sparkle stated.

  “Stay,” Razor snapped at her, burning an icy glare at her before grabbing his wallet and heading out the door.

  “Shit, the dude seriously needs to change his tampon more often,” Mary Jane said, making Faith giggle.

  “Come on, chick; we can’t touch you, but we can feed you and help you get set up.” Sparkle started to get to work on the network while Mary Jane passed out food. They ate in silence, but when someone did talk, it was Mary Jane going on and on about some guy she was seeing as she spoke to Sparkle and once again, she was invisible to the outside world while they had girl talk.

  Chapter Eight

  While Faith waited for the network to get hooked up, she excused herself and went into the bedroom to look at the watch Razor had gotten in the mail yesterday. She didn’t know anything about it, but it looked almost like the one she’d given him as a present, only slightly different. Playing around with the gears, she noticed a tiny port on the underside when you pushed the button in. Could this be where he’d stored the information?

  Sparkle said the network was up and running. The one in her office was so amazing even NASA couldn’t break into it; however, the one Sparkle hooked up in Razor's apartment would suffice. She was good to go now, finding a cord that looked similar to a phone charger, she plugged it into the watch and then her laptop. Suddenly the screen came alive with information. The screen shifted into names and numbers of accounts. The line was endless. She started using this information and categorized it to determine who the top man was and who was just working for him. Creating a pyramid outline, she entered algorithms to simulate what would happen if she told one person and the likelihood that it would come back and hurt her. Faith was so engrossed in her activities she didn’t hear anyone come in until they touched her shoulder.

  “Faith, you okay?”

  “Yeah,” she said without ever looking away from her computer screen. She needed paper. Something she could track easier. With a single minded focus, she searched until she found some paper in the kitchen drawer. She was barely aware of someone trying to talk to her as she made a beeline back to the bedroom. However, she bypassed the bed and built a nest on the floor. Soon the area around her was completely covered, and she wasn’t any closer to finding someone she could report all this to.

  So far, she had her direct supervisor and one who worked side by side with John taking an extra-large bonus, as did his boss. No one in the company below her knew too much, but the upper management did, and they were enjoying their new leisurely life. Various politicians helped support the act and found ways to code the items being shipped so they wouldn’t be checked at customs. Not to mention the whole switching weapons and goods once there.

  It made her question the whole system of the government. Hell, what she discovered was just about as bad. Someone was selling intelligence to the Russians, and no one was the wiser. So far, the mole was hiding from her. It looked like John might have discovered him, but he didn’t provide any in
formation, only breadcrumbs down a weird path.

  Not willing to give up, she continued down the trail, knowing that as soon as she had it, she would have her life back. She could solve John’s murder and get away from Razor. At least that was her goal, for now, it was all she had. Clicking away, she was lost in her own private bubble.

  *****

  Razor got to work and laid everything out. Today his client wanted to do a larger piece of an octopus taking down a pirate ship. He didn’t really care about the significance of the piece to his client, just as long as he could do a kick ass tattoo. The guy came in and soon he was laying on his table as Razor shaved his back area. Having to change the stencil a few times to make sure the lineup was right for the shape of his body, he waited until Greg, his client, got comfortable.

  The shop provided headphones, and DVD’s played for those who sat for long sessions. Greg seemed to be lost in the sensation as Razor started to outline the piece. Making sure each detail was done correctly, he made the lines clean and straight then added the varying degrees of shading and coloring.

  He enjoyed things like this. The feel of his gun in his hand, the creative outlet to design something knowing it would be permanent on someone’s body. It was his mark on the world. Before he knew it, he had finished adding the highlights and lowlights to the tattoo, and he was done. Cleaning the extra ink and blood off, he helped Greg stand, taking him to the mirror.

  “Holy shit, Razor, this is bad ass! So much better than I thought!” Razor nodded before walking him back over to his station and making sure to cover it completely. After giving Greg his instructions and some cream, he helped cash him out.

  “Yo, mate, how is my foxy lady this morning? Did she get to take a shower yet?” Casper said with a grin that caused him to grind his teeth.

  “Oh, ya’ll talking about the virgin Razor brought in? Damn, she was so fresh; I bet she cried real pretty too. I would love to mark her skin; so fresh, so white, such wasted space. Tell her if she wants one to see me,” Tex chimed in.