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“Frankie?” I could hardly believe she was calling me. “Hey, where the heck have you been?”
“You know. Around.” She sounded tired, and I felt a stab of guilt that I hadn’t thought to reach out. It had been months since I had talked to my friend, Francesca, and suddenly, I missed her something fierce. I had a very small circle of people who I knew I could count on, and Frankie was definitely on the list.
But life had a way of getting away from you, and suddenly I wanted nothing more than a good gab session and a cold drink with my girl.
“I was hoping you had time to see me tonight, though,” Frankie said, and I almost jumped for joy. Hanging out with Francesca? My night was looking up. “I’m gonna be heading out of town for a bit,” she continued, “and I was wondering if you could fit me in for some work?”
“Are you for real, girl?” I asked, completely shocked. I had known Frankie for a long time, and I figured with her sheltered upbringing, there would be no way in hell the woman would ever sit for me. “You know I have been wanting to get my work on you for ages. You’ll look hot as fuck with my ink on your skin, girl. You have somethin’ in mind?”
“How about I head over, and I’ll show you what I’m thinking. But, I warn you, it’s pretty simple.”
I laughed, delighted beyond words at just the thought of what she could have cooked up.
Little minx.
“Frankie, with you, nothing is ever simple.”
Chapter two
Ricki
“So,doyouthinkyou can do it?”
I stared at the simple piece Francesca had on her phone, a silhouette of a wolf’s head, mid-howl. She was right; it was simple, but I knew I could trick it out and make it really jump off her skin. Frankie was full-blooded Italian, and that gorgeous golden canvas she had been teasing me with for years was just begging me to mark it up.
“I can do anything, Frankie. You know that.”
Frankie smiled, her grateful expression making me feel like a million bucks.
“But...” I continued, and her expression fell. “I need you to know that I’ve only worked with the black light reflective ink once before.” I wasn’t about to tell her that the one and only time I’d used the UV ink, it had been on a pig carcass, because that wasn’t the kind of information she would appreciate.
“I understand, Ricki, but I’ve seen your work. It will be great.”
“And you know that the UV ink is not technically approved for use on people, right?” The powers that be in the government had approved it for use in agriculture, so I figured that was close enough, but I wanted to make sure Frankie knew what she was getting into.
“Ricki, don’t worry. I know the deal.” Frankie smiled again, smoothing down her fancy-ass sweater as she sat at my station, looking all kinds of out of place. I knew the guys in the shop were staring—how could they not? Francesca was the definition of gorgeous. But she was not the typical type of client we got here in Mott Haven, meaning she stuck out like a sore thumb.
Add to that the fact that she didn’t have any other ink, and I would have been surprised if the guysweren’tlooking.
“Alright, girl. Just making sure you’re informed. Where do you want me to put it?”
“My shoulder blade, please,” she replied primly, crossing one leg over the other in her black slacks. “I think that would be the most inconspicuous, everything considered.”
By that, I assumed she meant the fact that she was rarely without a full coverage sweater set, buttoned up tight.
Just another reason I was surprised to see her here, no matter how happy it made me. I knew her family had some seriously high expectations of her—much like my own had, once upon a time—but if she still felt that this was what she wanted, who was I to stand in her way?
She knew her life, and the consequences of her actions, just like I had when I had made my own choices.
And Frankie seemed determined to get this done, regardless of what anyone else thought, so I was gonna make it the best damned tattoo I’d ever done.
Getting Frankie set up in my chair, her chest pressed against the backrest as she straddled the seat, I made sure she was comfortable, then headed to the supply room to gather the things I was going to need. Francesca was a small person—smaller than I was, which was saying something—so I wanted to make sure that the piece was clear, but still delicate. Grabbing a ten gauge round lining needle and one of the smaller shading needles, I was just reaching for the UV ink when I heard the supply closet door open behind me.
“You taking appointments without checking with me first now?” Murray growled, his annoyance clear.
“I didn’t realize you had other bookings for me tonight, Murray.”
“I don’t, Ricki, but that’s not the point.”
