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We take my Jeep, and I drive with white knuckles on the steering wheel, jaw clenched. Both are beginning to hurt, but I’m too tense to let go. Kelly and Mica are talking animatedly in the back seat, but I don’t join in. I’m actually too mad to say anything.
Since Belle dropped the bombshell about Johnny and his fucking signatures, I’ve barely been able to think straight. Initially I thought she was joking, then confused or mistaken. But once I saw for myself, on my own fucking skin, I wanted to murder the little fuckwit. Belle pointing out that we could be inundated with lawsuits just about made me snap. I want out. I need out, or I will kill the fucker.
We arrive at the café across the street from the tattoo shop, where they do a mean breakfast. The three of us quickly order the large breakfast platters and take a seat. It’s late enough that we’ve missed the crazy morning rush, but early enough that the lunch crowd isn’t in yet. We sit with our various liquid vices, mine being coffee so strong you could walk on it, clutching them like life rafts. Mica and Kelly are still furiously chatting away. I do, at least, listen to them this time. They’re raging about Johnny as much as I am, and they’re usually more tolerant than me, so if Kelly is pissed, I know I’m not overreacting for once.
“Guys,” I say, leaning forward and interrupting their argument on the best way to get revenge on Johnny. Mica is all for pinning him down and tattooing a giant dick on his face. The idea has merits, but I think we need something more permanent. “We need to get out.”
“Huh? Why?” Mica looks round the café like he’s expecting it to close. Idiot.
“Not out of here, you moron.” Kelly thankfully smacks the side of his head so I don’t have to. “He means get out of bed with Johnny.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have put it quite like that, but yes. I think we need to cut and run before we’re slapped with a massive lawsuit, and our name and credibility get dragged through the mud.”
“You’re right,” Mica sighs.
“Who’s going to tell him?” Kelly asks.
“I will. He’ll get defensive if we all go in there,” I say. “And it needs to be said sooner rather than later, so we can begin the process of leaving. I don’t plan to challenge Johnny for the creative rights to trade under our name. It’s safest to let it go, we’ll start fresh.”
“I’ll call the lawyer this afternoon,” Kelly supplies, and I nod. Good. At least I don’t have to do everything. Mica and Kelly are good men, despite the fact that we all ‘got into bed’ with a shitbag like Johnny. “We need to figure out the flat.”
“I can call the landlord and give notice,” Mica offers.
I finish up my breakfast and coffee, and say I’ll see them later, tossing my share of cash on the table. “I’m going to go speak to him now, guys, maybe stay here a little longer. You know he’s a drama queen at the best of times.”
With that, I say goodbye and make my way out of the café and across the road to the tattoo shop. I stride past the receptionist. I never remember their names because they’re never here long enough for me to learn them. Johnny fucks them, and when he won’t commit, they inevitably quit. So far though, Johnny seems to have left the bald chick alone. Ironic that the pierced, tattooed, bad boy doesn’t like that look in his women. If we weren’t leaving, I might actually have had to learn this one’s name.
I come to a stop outside Johnny’s room and listen for a moment at the door. The machine isn’t on, so I barge in, letting the door bang off the wall behind. I don’t care.
“What the fuck?!” Johnny screams, jumping and hurrying to shove his junk back into his too-tight, skinny, ripped, black jeans. Idiot. On her knees, on the floor in front of him, is some chick with a fresh ink on her shoulder. A quick scan of her work confirms that Johnny is the massive dick I thought him to be, and Belle was right. Not that I doubted her.
“For fuck’s sake, Johnny! You need to stop offering free tattoos in exchange for getting your dick wet!” I explode. It’s fucking typical Johnny behavior, and I’ve absolutely had enough of it. It’s a wonder we make any money at all, let alone have the success to open a string of franchised shops across the country. What an asshole.
“Fuck off, Linc. I could have been tattooing. You can’t barge in here like that. I could have fucked the whole piece up, and she could have sued you.”
He couldn’t have chosen a more inappropriate thing to say to me. I don’t know if steam starts coming out of my ears or what, but the chick on the floor suddenly scrambles to her feet and makes a hasty exit. I’m not stupid; I know I cut a commanding figure, but she looks absolutely terrified. Good. If only I could make Johnny look like that. The arrogant fucker thinks he’s untouchable.
“Settle your bill with the receptionist,” I call after her. I have no idea if she hears me, but when Johnny throws me a dirty look, I growl at him. Fucking asshole.
“One, you dickhead, I checked at the door that you weren’t running the machine before I came in. Two, I also waited til you finished because I’m fucking nice like that. If I came in a minute sooner, you’d be sitting there with blue balls right now, so don’t fucking give me shit!”
Surprised by my outburst, the little prick does at least have the decency to look ashamed, and he pipes down.
“What do you want?” he asks me, knowing there must be a reason for my barging in, since I normally avoid him like the diseased shit he is.
“I want out, Johnny,” I tell him straight. “I’ve had enough.”
“I’ll stop giving away tattoos for sex,” he hastily promises, but I shake my head.
“It’s not just that,” I reply. “It’s everything. I don’t want to do this anymore.”
“Look, Linc—” he tries to interject, but I cut him off, thrusting my tattooed arm — his own work — into his face. “What the fuck?” he asks.
“My sentiments exactly, Johnny. What the fuck is this?” I seethe, shaking my arm in his face again. He knows; I see the realization dawn in his eyes.
“I’m sorry. I don’t do it anymore,” he insists. He doesn’t look sorry in the least. And he’s a lying shitbag.
“Bullshit. I just saw the same ‘error’ on Sucky’s shoulder!” I’m struggling to hold in my rage now. “You’re going to get us all sued, and I don’t want to be a part of that.”
