Permanent (Indelibly Marked) (Volume 1)

by Kim Carmichael

  “No.” There wasn’t enough air in the drawer for the two of them, the money and Shane’s soap, and she backed away. “No, it’s not the same.” She took a deep breath to make the room stop spinning. “It’s not the same, and you have no record.”

  “I’m in trouble.” This time he took her arm.

  She covered her face. It was worse than the time her father found that lady’s mattress stuffed with confederate money, and more terrible than the man who paid one credit card with another, creating a circle of debt until he went bankrupt. “Oh … my … God.”

  He pulled her into him. “Please help me.”

  “Shane, I can’t.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “I do, but I can’t do this.” She pressed against solid chest, but she couldn’t push him away. Damn her for wanting to know what tattoo lay hidden beneath his shirt.

  “Lindsay.” He trembled, but didn’t meet her eyes. “I’m begging. My family…”

  “Oh no.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll find you someone, and I’ll check in with them.” This was a disaster of epic proportions.

  He shook his head. “It can only be you.”

  Weight, like bars of gold, settled on top her head. She was supposed to help straighten things up, clean up the IRS mess, and walk away, back to her side of the playground. His type never wanted her, only her help. She couldn’t do it again. “Why do you think that? You don’t even know me.”

  “How can you say that? I know that you’re an accountant and you must be excellent.”

  She shook her head.

  “I know this because no one would import someone all the way from Ohio to work at a Beverly Hills firm unless they were phenomenal.” He moved closer. “Also, on the personal side, I unpacked you. Trust me when I tell you that you can learn more about someone from their possessions than from what they say.”

  “Like what?” Now she felt exposed, almost naked.

  He raised his eyebrows. “For someone brave enough to come to Hollywood on her own, knowing no one, you get paralyzed when you have to make a decision as simple as which side of the stove to put the salt and pepper shakers. Everything you own is brand new. You’re hiding something in the one box you wouldn’t let us unpack, and you have a terrible sense of direction.”

  She wrapped her arms around her waist and turned her back to him. “Maybe I don’t know you well enough to do this.”

  “Oh yeah, you don’t know me, but for someone who plans everything you handed a stranger your car keys, and you jumped into my arms when the arachnid showed its ugly face.”

  She craved her pencil, but instead she bit her nail. Something about him made her want to do what he asked, but she was saved when Emily came bounding into the room with Ivan.

  “Shane.” She made a beeline toward her brother.

  Emily put her hands on her hips and looked him squarely in the face. “I know you’re giving Carson a lesson today, and I want to be the guinea pig.” Emily waved at Lindsay. “Oh, and I brought my stuff to do your makeup.”

  She never remembered wanting to have her makeup done, and she couldn’t stay long enough to have it done.

  “No.” Shane pushed her away. “No, you are not inking yourself.”

  “That’s a little hypocritical, don’t you think?” Emily narrowed her eyes.

  “As long as you’re my sister, you are not getting a tattoo and that is final.” He raised his voice, took her shoulders and spun her around.

  “What if I wasn’t your sister?”

  “One day when you are someone else’s responsibility, then he can make that decision, but until that day comes, you are under my jurisdiction and there will be no permanent marks made on your body.” He guided her to the back. “Go do Ivan’s makeup while Lindsay and I finish up.”

  “No way, last time someone thought I was in the middle of a sex change operation.” Ivan slipped behind Lindsay. “Save me.” He gave her a friendly punch in the arm. “How are the finances going?”

  Shane returned. “We’re discussing the details of our arrangement.”

  “Sounds important.” Ivan laughed. “I don’t know if we’ve ever been in an official arrangement before.”

  “The problem is worse than we thought.” Shane looked into her eyes.

  His dark blue eyes grew darker when he was serious. Again she ran her mental ledger but kept forgetting the entries. All she knew was that being in a tattoo shop with these people wasn’t part of her plan. “Pack everything up and I’ll work on it at home.”

  Shane shook his head.

  She raised her arms. “Do you honestly care where I work as long as it gets done?”

  “I want you to do it here.”

  “I thought you trusted me.”

  “You are the only one I trust.” He set his jaw. “But you need to be here with us and do the work here.”

  “Yes, she has to do it here, so we can protect her from you.” Ivan squeezed her shoulders. “She’s one of us.”

  “I thought so.” Shane’s gaze consumed her.

  She was one of them? These men were experts at handing out the lines like custom drawn artwork.

  “She even looks the part.” Ivan adjusted her collar.

  “I think she looks perfect.” Shane put her collar back.

  The inflection he used told her he wasn’t joking, and a strange heat radiated again, somewhere between getting sick or floating away. Not wanting either of them looking at her, she disengaged herself from Ivan and went over to the cabinet. Where did her backbone go when Shane Elliott was around?

  He followed her. “What can I do?”

  She took out the box of money. “Answer a question.”

  “I already told you I would marry you.” He laughed.

  She shut her eyes.

  “We should go right away.” He kissed the back of her hand. “We shouldn’t waste any time that we can be together. I don’t think I could ever do any better than you.”

  Convinced his words were not a compliment, she extracted her hand and tried to joke as well. “Well, I would never marry anyone who was in this sort of financial mess, so go do something while I figure out what to do.”

  “Yes.” He took her into his arms and bent her back. “I only want to keep you in the lifestyle to which you’ve become accustomed.”

  She licked her lips. Shane was like a rich fudgy dessert. Enticing, delicious and terrible for her health. Later, when he was all taken care of, she would be left with nothing but a stomachache and tears. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from taking a bite.

  He looked into her eyes and smiled. “You had a question?”

  She gave a half-hearted attempt to get out of his arms. Even she didn’t believe it. “How’s my car?”

  “Do you need it?”

  “Well, I thought I would go to the office supply store.” Also, she needed to get out of there for a while. Maybe she could stick to that plan. All her other plans failed worse than his finances.

  “I shall drive you there, and on our way we’ll get lunch.”

  “I can go alone.” She couldn’t spend any extra time with him. It was one thing to do the books, but another to go out with him for errands and meals.

  “Well, alone is not in your future.” He winked. “Your car is sick and won’t be well for at least a few days. Looks like I’ll be your chauffeur.” He put his arm around her. “Don’t worry, I’ll run shuttle service to and from your work.”

  Every muscle in her body tensed. “I can take a cab?”

  “No. No cab, they’re not safe.”

  “I’ll rent a car.”

  “No.” He didn’t offer an explanation, but the no felt final.

  “Then a bus.”

  This time both Shane and Ivan shouted no, and she swore she heard Emily’s echo from the back.

  “You will absolutely not go on a bus.” He pulled her in closer. “Now that you’re one of us, you will be under our protection.”
>
  This time she managed to get out of his grasp. She was not one of them.

  “Your chariot to the office supply store awaits you.” He held out his elbow. “What do we need there anyway?”

  “Things like file folders and such.” She sighed. “That’s my system, so you’ll have to get used to it.”

  He took a fist full of money out of the box and held it out to her. “I didn’t think you were a shove it in a drawer type of girl.”

  She took the money. “I’m not.” She also wasn’t a tattoo parlor girl or the type of girl that got the shivers for the man with the Mohawk, yet here she was, but she couldn’t stay.

  If worse came to worse, and it probably would, she would be out of there in five months and nine days, and her parents could fix her disaster again.

  Chapter Seven

  “I’m flipping starving.” Ivan tossed a magazine aside. “Send Carson for some burritos.”

  Shane shook his head while he picked the chewed eraserless pencils out of Lindsay’s cup and replaced them with a handful of brand new pencils with nice pink plump erasers for her to bite off. As he tossed the old ones, he smiled. When she got working she also got chewing.

  “Burgers?” Ivan asked.

  Without a word he picked up the artwork of the inside of a computer for his next tattoo. He supposed his customer wanted to be electronic.

  “Subs?”

  He shrugged.

  “Sushi?” Ivan groaned. “Again?”

  “I have lunch.” He lifted the pad in front of his face. In ten years, he’d never brought his lunch to work. “Lindsay made me something.” He pulled a cooler out from under the front desk.

  Ivan came over. “Look at that. She labeled it.”

  He smiled at the paper she’d taped to the cooler with his name. “Well, now I won’t forget who I am.”

  “So this week she’s made you breakfast twice, balanced your check book, well actually took it away, and yesterday we got cake.” Ivan rubbed his stomach.

  “I got cake. I was just nice and shared.” The first day he arrived early to take her to work she acted shocked and didn’t talk much. He knew she didn’t want to like him, but every day he worked on her and slowly, like erosion, he was winning. “It’s for driving her around this week.”

  “When is her car going to be ready?”

  “Tonight.” He glanced at his watch, remembering to pick her up soon. She recognized Friday was a busy night at the shop and told him he could get her early. No matter how many times he begged Carlos to take his time with the vehicle, the asshole finished in less than a week. The whole car situation fell into his lap. The bonus landed Lindsay in the shop every day.

  Shane put the cooler down to return to his art when Ivan appeared next to him. “What?”

  “What does a good girl like little Lindsay prepare big bad Shane for lunch?” Ivan picked up the cooler.

  “Hey.” He reached for it, but Ivan held it out of his reach.

  “This is pretty heavy. She must think you’re a pig.”

  “Give it.” He set his jaw.

  “Either you open it, or I do.” Ivan put his finger on the button latch.

  “You’re an ass.” He reclaimed his cooler and opened it himself.

  They peered inside.

  “I think that’s Tupperware.” Ivan pointed.

  Everything in the cooler was neatly packaged and Shane hated to disturb it.

  “You can’t lose that stuff. Women hate it if you lose their Tupperware, and if it’s Lindsay’s it’s all brand new.”

  “I know. I’m not going to lose it.” He prayed he wouldn’t lose the Tupperware and pulled out the first plastic square.

  Ivan leaned in as Shane lifted the lid. “Wow.”

  “It’s a salad.” Her precision cutting technique had all the vegetables uniformly sliced and diced.

  “And not just lettuce, there’s a good representation of different vegetables in there.” Ivan nodded. “She even put the dressing off to the side so it wouldn’t get soggy.”

  Shane took a breath. Lindsay was all about the details and watching her work was fast becoming one of his favorite spectator sports. One second she was quiet and going through her papers, the next she was sternly giving him a lecture on finances. Half the time he didn’t understand what she said, but he loved watching her get all riled up. However with his money situation slowly being wrangled, she seemed to soften. Maybe it was time to plan an outing with her that didn’t involve business talk. With Lindsay, timing was crucial.

  “What’s your second course?”

  He blinked as Ivan interrupted his thoughts and retrieved a round container from the cooler, opening it to reveal a sandwich on a circular piece of bread that fit the Tupperware perfectly.

  “That’s cool how she did that.” Ivan pointed. “What kind is it?”

  He lifted the bread. “Turkey.”

  “Healthy. She must not want you to die.” Ivan rubbed his hands together. “Keep going.”

  He dug through the rest of lunch. A rectangular tub contained fruit salad, and a smaller square had cookies. Finally he pulled out a triangle one with a piece of cheese and some crackers.

  “How does she do that?”

  The lunch was as amazing as the woman who made it. His mouth watered. “What?”

  “How does she make all those shapes fit together?” Ivan motioned toward all the containers.

  “It’s so the food doesn’t get wrecked.”

  “Only girls know how to do that.”

  Shane pursed his lips. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool.”

  “She even remembered a napkin.” Ivan held up a paper napkin with a floral design. “I guess she doesn’t want you to use your shirt anymore.”

  “I like it.” He gathered the containers and went to the table.

  “Yeah, I suppose a lunch like that has to be eaten at a table.”

  Ivan joined him as Carson returned with the burritos.

  “Why are we eating here?” Carson frowned at the table.

  “Shane has too many accessories to eat on his lap.” Ivan laughed.

  “Why does he have all that?” Carson wrinkled his nose.

  “Miss Lindsay made him lunch.” Ivan winked. “Gentleman Shane thinks it’s to thank him for all the chauffeuring while her car’s getting fixed, but I think it’s because she wants to take a walk on the wild side.”

  Shane slammed a thermos down on the table.

  Carson and Ivan jumped.

  “Okay. Let’s eat lunch together, all nice.” Ivan grabbed his food, sat down across the table and shoved a napkin in his t-shirt collar.

  Shane glared at them and then opened the thermos. A warm sensation permeated through him at the contents.

  “Did you get soup?” Carson laughed. “Remember when mom tried that?”

  “Nope. Iced tea.” He made a huge deal out of pouring the liquid into the cup, straightening when a lemon wedge made its way into the plastic cup.

  “Dude, she wants you bad.” Carson shook his head.

  “Shut up.” He opened his sandwich.

  “Oh Shaney, let me know what it’s like to be with a man who wears more jewelry than I do, before I settle down with someone respectable.” Ivan spoke in a falsetto voice, picked up the circular lid and pressed it to his chest.

  “Jerk.” Before taking a bite, he ground his teeth together. No one at the shop could say they didn’t think exactly that when they thought about a mainstream girl.

  “Aww, did Shaney get his feelings hurt?” Ivan fanned himself with the lid.

  He lunged for the lid. “Give me that.”

  Ivan tossed it to Carson.

  “Die or give it.” He held his hand out to his brother.

  Ivan grinned as Carson tossed it back to him. “Maybe if we lose it she’ll give you a spanking.” He raised his eyebrows. “She could be a closet bad girl. She wears those tough business suits.”

  He stood. “I’m not joking.”

  When
the lid soared above his head, Ivan stepped back.

  “You asked for it.” He took his cell phone out of his pocket.

  Ivan didn’t budge.

  “I’m calling Lindsay and telling her you lost her lid and she’ll get that look in her eye like when you teased her for eating pencils, especially after she finds out you ruined the lunch she worked so hard making me.”

  “I hate that look.” Ivan flipped the lid and it took flight.

  Shane jumped to catch it, but missed. It landed, slid across the floor and disappeared in the vent.

  “Uh oh.” Carson stood.

  Shane stomped to Ivan. “What did you do?”

  Ivan winced.

  “Get it.” He pointed.

  “It’s cool.” Ivan hurried to where the lid vanished. “It’s evil down there.”

  “I think this should make Lindsay happy.” With his jaw jutted out he went right to Ivan’s station and picked up the baseball signed by Dodger center fielder, Matt Kemp. “I think I should take it out of its protective case and wipe the signature off. I wouldn’t want her to think I gave her a used ball.”

  Ivan’s held his hands out. “Put the innocent ball down!”

  He tossed it in the air. “The lid for the ball.”

  “I’ll buy her new Tupperware!”

  “Nope.” He caught it and leaned back against the wall, threatening to twist the case apart.

  “I’ll get it.” Ivan got down on his knees.

  Shane sauntered back to his sandwich and prepared to take a bite when his phone rang. At Lindsay’s name on the screen, he scrambled to answer. “I didn’t lose any of your Tupperware.”

  Even through the phone, her laugh tickled his ear. “That’s okay. It’s the disposable kind. You can just throw it away. I didn’t want you to have to worry about it.”

  His best friend was on all fours in an attempt to free the lid from the underworld.

  “Cool, what’s up?”

  “Are you busy?”

  He smiled. That was her code for needing something. “Not for you.” His appetite reappeared and took a bite of the sandwich.

  “When you pick me up, would you mind coming up to my office and helping me with a few books I need for the shop?”

  Her muffled voice told him she had a pencil in her mouth, which meant she was nervous to ask him. Completely cute. “Consider it a done deal.” He took another bite studied the sandwich with the perfect combination of meat, bread and condiments.