by Harley Wylde
“No.” At least, I didn’t think I did. “Or at least not right now.”
“Do you know your ring size?” he asked. “Since you’re my wife, you’ll need a ring.” I glanced at his bare hand and he snickered. “Yes, Mei. I’m getting one too. If you want, I’ll even tattoo your name on me.”
I thought about the artwork I’d noticed on his body. He had one for his club across his back, and countless others on his chest and abdomen. His arms were pretty bare except his biceps, but his shirt hid those. In fact, none of his tattoos could be seen unless he was partially undressed. I wondered if he’d done that on purpose.
“Do you want me to have your name tattooed on me?” I asked.
“Only if you want to. You’ll have a property cut soon. Possibly by tomorrow. You’ll need to wear it anytime you leave the house. Consider it a layer of protection.”
I nodded and contemplated whether I wanted to get his name on my body. It seemed so permanent, as if I were agreeing to be his forever. In my world, forever could last a lifetime or until your next breath. But he wouldn’t offer to put my name on his body permanently if he didn’t want a lifetime with me, would he? I was still trying to learn to trust people. So far, Dingo hadn’t lied to me. “Could we get the tattoos together?” I asked.
“If that’s what you want. There’s a parlor over on the main strip in town. Lots of foot traffic over that way, so even if we ran into anyone from your past, they wouldn’t dare cause trouble. Especially if we take a few of my brothers with us. Wolf would be a good person to ask.”
“Just you and Wolf?” I asked.
“Well, no. You haven’t met Steel yet, but I think you’d like him. Maybe. He’s kind of reserved. Ex-military so he’s never been all that chatty with any of us. I know he’d protect you with his life. Any of the club would.”
“Then ask Steel and Wolf. I just need a minute to clean up.”
“Don’t get your bandage wet, Mei. If you get in the shower, only let the water hit you from the shoulders down.”
“I’ll be quick,” I promised. I stopped by the guest room and gathered my things, then moved them over to Dingo’s room. Since everything in his bathroom had a manly scent, I also grabbed some of the things from the other shower. While he made his calls, or whatever he needed to do, I quickly rinsed off, braided my hair, and changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a gray shirt. It was as plain and nondescript as I could get, and I loved it. There was a pair of white tennis shoes and I put those on as well. Admiring myself in the mirror, I had to admit that this look was definitely one I’d want to keep for a while. I didn’t know if it would be considered what I’d heard called “soccer mom” or what, but I liked it.
By the time I got back to the living room, Dingo was dressed and ready to go. He waited for me at the front door and gave me a smile, reaching out his hand. I slipped my fingers across his palm and let him tug me out the door.
“I didn’t think you should be on my bike after this morning’s incident, so we’ll use one of the club trucks.” He opened the passenger door, then stared at me. “Can you drive?”
“No. I don’t have a license either. Or any other form of ID.”
“Hmm. We’ll have to fix that. Not sure I’d be the best person to teach you, though. I might ask Grizzly. He taught his girls and has the patience of a saint when it comes to women.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed with him on that one, but he knew the man better than I did.
I’d ridden through town with the foster family plenty of times, but I’d never paid much attention to my surroundings. I’d always been too focused on just getting through the day. Now I had the chance to look at the different stores and admire some of the historic buildings. Dingo pulled up in front of a building that seemed to have been a barber shop at some point, the red-and-white pole out front still swirled, but the glass window clearly said Inkin’ It. The glass was smoky and I couldn’t see inside, but anticipation thrummed in my veins. A tattoo! I’d never thought to get one before.
Two motorcycles parked on either side of the truck and I saw Wolf and a man I hadn’t yet met get off their bikes. Maybe the Steel he’d mentioned? They lounged on either side of the entrance to the tattoo shop, arms folded, looking very much like bodyguards. I supposed that’s what they were, for the moment.
Dingo helped me from the truck and we walked in together, a bell jingling as the door to the shop opened. I reached up to smooth my hair, making sure it hid my bandage. I’d learned the fewer questions people asked the better.
There was a petite woman behind the counter, her pixie-cut hair spiked up in neon pink, and her piercings glittered under the bright lights. There were two black stars outlined on her upper right cheek. The look worked for her. She came off as a badass fairy. Since I didn’t know if she’d appreciate that description, I kept my mouth shut.
“Hey, Dingo. What did you bring us today? New customer?” she asked, her smile going wide. “Or are you getting more ink?”
“Both,” he said. “This is Meiling. My wife.”
The woman’s mouth formed an O of surprise and her gaze skittered over to me. I wasn’t sure what she thought of Dingo’s surprise, but when she held her hand out to me, I figured I’d passed inspection.
“Hi, Meiling. I’m Deidre. Everyone just calls me Dee.”
“And everyone just calls me Mei.” I smiled and took her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Dee rubbed her hands together like an eager child about to get a cookie. “What are we doing for the two of you?”
“Mei wants her first tattoo, and I want to get her name inked on me.”
Dee blinked a moment, glancing between the two of us. “I see. Well, you know the policy on getting someone’s name put on your body. If you can convince Teagan to do it, more power to you. Mind if I tattoo your wife?”
Dingo looked down at me. “You might prefer Dee’s touch to Teagan’s. He’s a big bastard.”
“I’d be honored to have you give me my first tattoo, Dee,” I told the woman.
“Excellent!” She bounced on her toes. “Come over to my station and tell me what you want. I’ll sketch something up and we can talk logistics.”
I released Dingo’s hand and followed Dee to a workstation just two cubes over. The half walls let me see into all the different areas, and it looked like they had at least four artists set up. Unless some of the stations weren’t in use, or were intended for other purposes. This world was new to me.
“I haven’t really thought this over,” I admitted. “He said I could get a tattoo, and so here we are.”
Dee smiled. “Well, you don’t have to get the ink today. Just tell me what you’re thinking and I’ll come up with some ideas. I can show you a rough sketch after we talk, and then give me a few days to flesh it out and we’ll set up an appointment for the actual tattoo.”
“Dingo sort of saved me. I haven’t had the easiest life, but he made himself my protector from the moment he saw me. He claimed me, and now we’re married. I want something that shows where I came from, but also where I’m going, if that makes sense.”
Dee nodded. She grabbed a sketch pad and pencil, then stared at me.
“Um. Well, he called me a phoenix. I don’t know if that gives you anything. I was in foster care. A really fucked-up family had me, and when I aged out of the system, I ended up working at the Ruby Slipper.” I sank my teeth into my lip to keep from saying anything more. Everyone in town knew about that place, so now she’d know what type of woman I was. Or rather had been. “I didn’t want to be there. I never wanted any of that.”
Dee gave me a sympathetic smile. “Hon, I doubt that any of the girls over there want to be there. There’s no shame in doing whatever is necessary to survive. But I’m going to need some time to think this one over. Come back in two or three days and I’ll have a few things sketched. Once I know the direction you prefer me to go, then I can add some more details and we’ll get your appointment scheduled.”
&
nbsp; “Thanks, Dee.” I hesitated. “And thank you for not judging me.”
Her eyebrows lifted. She set her stuff aside and stood, lifting her shirt to expose her lower abdomen. There were long, angry scars that looked like deep knife wounds across her belly and in the fleshy part over her hip. “This is a reminder that I can’t trust everyone I meet,” she said. “We all have a past, Mei. Some are worse than others, but it’s how we use the knowledge to move forward that counts.”
She gave me a hug and led me over to Dingo. He hadn’t been wrong when he’d said Teagan was a big bastard. The man working ink into Dingo’s skin had to be the tallest, broadest guy I’d ever seen. If he were an actor, studios would be lining up to put him in roles about giants or Titans or something. I watched as he formed my name. My full name. Meiling. I narrowed my eyes at Dingo because he damn well knew I preferred Mei.
“Stop looking at me like that,” he said.
“That’s not what everyone calls me and you know it.”
He winked. “I happen to think your name is sexy. Did you know that Meiling Shan means beautiful coral? Seems fitting.”
He thought I looked like coral? I tipped my head to the side as I stared at him, trying to puzzle how I even remotely resembled that.
“You’re beautiful, with a fiery color, and you can be prickly,” he said.
I huffed and rolled my eyes. Should have known it wasn’t completely a compliment. If he wanted Meiling on his wrist, then it wasn’t like I could stop him. Especially at this point, since my name was already formed in a black script, but Teagan was adding some shading in a pinkish hue around it that almost made my name look like it was glowing. It was actually a bit fascinating. I’d never seen someone get a tattoo before.
After the design was finished, and the tattoo had been cleaned and covered, Dingo paid and we walked out to the truck. I’d thought we were done, but apparently I was wrong. Instead of opening the truck door for me, he led me across the street to Dyson’s Jewelry, with the two bikers watching our every move from their spot across the street outside the tattoo shop. He’d mentioned getting wedding rings since we were legally -- illegally? -- married. I just hadn’t realized he meant right now. Didn’t something like that cost a lot of money? We hadn’t discussed finances, and while his home was nice and his furniture was decent, nothing screamed rich guy.
We entered the store, and he went straight to the glass case of wedding rings. It was hard to miss with all the sparkling diamonds, and took up the entire center section of the store’s display. Blackwood Falls wasn’t anywhere near big enough for this, was it? It almost looked like they had more diamonds than residents.
“May I help you?” asked a man in a gray suit.
“I was a dumbass and married this beautiful lady before buying any rings. Thought I’d remedy that by stopping by your store,” Dingo said.
The man eyed me, then Dingo, his gaze staying on the black leather covering his torso a little longer than I’d have liked. Were we about to be kicked out just because Dingo was a biker?
“Anything in particular? Perhaps a plain band?” the man asked.
I squeezed Dingo’s hand. “I don’t need anything.”
He gazed down at me with a look that clearly said we weren’t leaving without rings. I sighed and looked at all the shiny things in the case. They were beautiful, but completely unnecessary. I’d never owned jewelry before, and I’d get along just fine without having any now. It was a frivolous expense.
“I want my wife to have the prettiest ring in the store. Anything she wants.”
“They’re all so sparkly,” I murmured.
The man eyed me. “Maybe something a little less ostentatious?”
I nodded. “I don’t want anything flashy. Something plain is perfectly fine.”
Dingo bumped my shoulder with his. “Meiling, I want you to have the best. You don’t have to pick the cheapest thing in here.”
I worried at my lip until I tasted blood, too anxious to even bother correcting his use of my full name. I didn’t want to discuss this with him, not in the middle of the store, but I needed him to understand that I didn’t want anything that would draw attention to myself. I liked being nondescript, blending into the background. It was safer.
“Your wife seems like the type to enjoy understated things. With her coloring and pretty eyes, she doesn’t need anything ornamental to make her shine,” the man said.
I glanced at him in surprise and he gave me a kind smile. The tension eased from my shoulders a bit and I hoped he could see how grateful I was. Maybe Dingo would listen to him without me having to spell it out for him.
“That it, Meiling?” Dingo asked, watching me intently.
“Yeah. I want to wear a ring that shows I’m yours, but I don’t want it to draw attention.”
He nodded and looked in the case again. After a moment, he pointed to a silver colored band with pink roses etched into it. “What about that?”
The salesman smiled. “Excellent choice. This band is white and rose gold. If it’s not the correct size, we can re-size it or special order one.”
He removed it from the case and held the black velvet box out to me. I just stared, almost afraid to touch it. Dingo slipped the ring from the box and eased it onto the ring finger on my left hand. And it fit perfectly. I had to admit, it was very pretty and delicate. I loved it.
“It’s perfect, Meiling.” He kissed my cheek. “We’ll take it.”
“Are you going to wear one?” I asked. “You said you would.”
“Yeah, but I’d have to take it off at certain times, like when I’m working on the bike. Wouldn’t want it to get caught up in anything.”
The man cleared his throat. “If I may make a suggestion. We don’t sell them here, but there are bands made of a type of rubber material that seem popular with fireman, law enforcement, and men who work with their hands. I believe you can order them online if you know your size.”
He looked down at his hands. “I’ve never worn a ring before.”
The man pulled out a ring of little circles and held one up. “Let’s try this one. Once you know your size, you can order your ring. Or if you’d like, we can place an order for you to pick up at your convenience.”
After a few tries, Dingo found his ring size and placed the order for his wedding band. He paid for our purchases and thanked the man. I smiled up at him as we stepped out onto the sidewalk and immediately ran into someone.
“I’m sor…” The words died on my tongue.
“Time to come home, girl,” my foster father said.
Dingo put himself between us and growled like a damn bear. “My wife isn’t going anywhere with you. “
Chapter Ten
Dingo
The audacity of this fucker! I hoped Mei stayed behind me. Wolf and Steel were crossing the street, coming up behind the asshole. The man reeked of alcohol and sex. His bloodshot and glassy eyes made me wonder if he hadn’t partaken of something other than just booze.
“She can’t marry you,” the guy said. “I didn’t give my permission and she’s my daughter.”
I moved in closer, bumping him with my chest until he stumbled into Steel and Wolf. Steel had a blade pressed against the dick’s side within seconds and Wolf had a grip on his shoulder so tight my brother’s knuckles were stark white. Pain flashed in the man’s eyes.
“Let’s get one thing clear. A father doesn’t whore out his daughter or make videos of her having sex with other kids or men in exchange for money. You’re a child pornographer, and a pedophile. Simple as that. If you think I’m letting you anywhere near Meiling, then you have no fucking clue who you’re dealing with.”
The man puffed up. “I’ve got connections.”
“Yeah? I don’t think they’ll do you much good in hell, until I send them there to meet you.” He paled and I smiled, flashing my teeth at him. “Good. We understand each other. You’re on borrowed time. The two of us will meet again, and I can promise my face wil
l be the last thing you see before the flames start licking at you.”
Steel pressed the blade harder and a trickle of blood soaked the guy’s shirt. He squealed like a damn pig and tried to jerk away, but Wolf held him too tight.
“If I find out that you’ve put your dick into any kids, and I will find out, then I may just have to keep you alive for a while. Let you suffer. Did you know that in prison men who rape children don’t fare so well?”
I backed away and nodded at Wolf and Steel. It seemed Steel wasn’t quite satisfied yet and sank his knife deeper. Not enough to kill the bastard, but he’d need stitches and probably feel that one for a while. Maybe it would slow him down and give any kids in his house a reprieve. I knew Outlaw and the others were still working on getting everyone safely away from this douchebag and his sorry excuse of a wife. I wasn’t about to tip that hand, though. Let them find out the hard way. “Until we meet again.”
I reached back and took Mei’s hand, noting that she trembled. Skirting around the man responsible for her pain, I led her over to the truck. Wolf followed close on our heels, but Steel remained where he was. I saw him lean in and whisper something to Mei’s foster father. I hated thinking of him like that. He wasn’t a father of any sort. No, he was a pimp and nothing more. The fact he’d used the system to find his victims sickened me. He’d known that no one gave a shit about the kids he took, and someone on the inside was helping him. They were all going down. Every last fucking one of them.
I got Mei settled in the truck, then burned rubber as I tore down the street and headed back to the compound. Wolf rode my tail on his bike, and I knew Steel would catch up. Beau was on the gate and he threw it open as I pulled in. I didn’t stop at the clubhouse but took Mei straight home. I knew I’d have to talk to Grizzly and the other officers, let them know about my little run-in while we were in town. First, I needed to make sure Mei was all right.
She didn’t seem too steady as I helped her into the house, carrying her back to the bedroom. She stood by the bed, just staring blankly. I made her sit and pulled off her shoes, then worked her jeans down her legs. When she still didn’t move or acknowledge me, I removed my boots and cut, then picked her up and laid her down. I settled next to her, putting my hand on her belly. “Meiling, talk to me.”