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Adrian and Jackson took advantage of this pause, coming up behind to grab one arm each, both of them tall enough to carry him to the door by his shoulders.
“Leave,” Jackson said. “Or we’ll do a lot more than kick you out next time.”
Nathan gave him a withering look and for a moment, I expected him to charge back into the shop. But instead, he spat blood on the concrete, said, “Tell that slut this isn’t over”, and walked away, shoving past my confused-looking client who’d just arrived.
“What was that about?” he asked, as he came through the door.
“Nothing,” I said, although my hands were shaking and I knew I’d need a break for a few minutes before I switched the tattoo gun on. “Take a seat and I’ll be with you in a minute.”
13
EMMA
The cameras didn’t have audio, so even though I could see that Nathan was arguing with Xavier, I couldn’t hear what either of them were saying. I leaned as close to the television as I could get, trying to lip read, but it was pointless — the footage was too grainy and I wasn’t great at reading lips, anyway.
Jackson had told me to stay in the apartment, but curiosity got the better of me and I opened the heavy security door. Then, when I still couldn’t hear anything, I propped the door open and ventured downstairs. Part of the kitchen was visible from the studio but the stairs weren’t, so I sat out of sight on the bottom one and strained my ears to listen, holding the bannister so I could sprint back up to safety if I needed to.
“Where the fuck is she?” Nathan demanded, and when Xavier pretended not to know what he was talking about, added, “You know who. My girlfriend.”
The way he said the wordgirlfriendsent shivers down my spine. It was so possessive and angry that I wondered how I’d known him for so long before I realized this side of him existed. He’d been smooth as butter when we first met, and I was still grieving my mother’s death, so I’d been happy to accept him at face value. Even when I saw glimpses of his true colors — like when he shouted obscenities to other drivers through his car window, or was unnecessarily rude to waiters — I turned a blind eye.
I needed someone in my life who loved me, because I wasn’t sure I could love myself.
“Move on, buddy,” I heard Xavier say. “She has.”
Dread filled my stomach — I knew Nathan wasn’t going to leave that alone. I stood up, keeping one foot on the step above me, poised to run. I desperately wanted to know what was going on, wanted to make sure the guys were okay, but I didn’t dare to venture out where Nathan could see me. That would be Game Over, both confirming his suspicions that I was here and giving him access to hurt me, in a room full of needles, no less.
I felt like this was all my fault.
The back door that led out to the alleyway was within my view. I could run, I thought, and tear down the alley and not bother these men anymore. But if I did that, if I kept running, I was a massive inconvenience to everyone who’d protected me: Cora, Xavier, Jackson, Adrian… and myself.
Maybe I should go back to Nathan.
The thought was irrational, but I couldn’t help it. It wasmehe wanted, after all, not them. But then I remembered the sincerity in Xavier’s voice as he said,You don’t deserve this, and stayed where I was.
I held my breath as something crashed on the floor.
“Leave,” I heard Jackson say. “Or we’ll do a lot more than kick you out next time.”
The bell above the door jingled as it closed and I waited, unsure whether it was safe to go into the shop yet.
“One Mississippi, two Mississippi…” I counted, and I heard the bell ring again.
“What was that about?” a stranger’s voice asked.
“Nothing,” Xavier said. “Take a seat and I’ll be with you in a minute.” He came back into the kitchen and jumped when I stepped in front of him. “Shit, Emma,” he said. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
He turned on the tap and let the water run over his trembling hands for a minute before pumping soap into his enormous palm and rubbing his hands together until it had lathered.
“Is he gone?” I asked and peered cautiously into the shop. Jackson and Adrian were tidying the supplies that had fallen on the floor and Xavier’s client was scrolling through his phone. There was no sign of Nathan, but that didn’t stop my nervous system from being on high alert.
“Yes, he’s gone,” Xavier said, as he dried his hands on the towel next to the sink.
I wanted to thank him, but a lump formed in my throat and I couldn’t talk. So many emotions tumbled through me that I didn’t know if I could have put them into words, anyway. As though he knew what I was trying to say, Xavier wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze.
“You’re welcome.”
I hugged him back, pressing my head against his chest. His heart pounded, which I figured was to be expected after such a dramatic encounter.
