Dead Ink (Karma #4) Read online

  “Drop it. We’ve got bigger problems.” Lars didn’t need someone else telling him what he already knew. “Did you find that kid or, more importantly, pick up any lead on Keith?”

  “I found the kid. He was a waste of time. Some loser just looking to score a couple of bucks to get high. A man meeting Keith’s description had gotten to him a few blocks away but he was long gone. What happened here that had her so freaked out that you needed to do that?” Cutty jerked his thumb toward where Faith was across the room, the irritation still thick at the mention of it.

  “Drop it, will you?”

  Cutty refilled his own glass and then leaned against the counter near Lars. When he started talking again, some of the edge was gone from his voice. “You going to tell me what happened before you…?” He made a circular motion near his head, indicating how he’d screwed with Faith’s mind.

  “You mean besides receiving the bloody possessions of dead family members?” Lars said. “A package got delivered today. It was her brother’s ring covered in dried blood. It smelled suspiciously like the blood the other day in your guest room. We looked up the guy’s name. There were pictures of his mutilated body leaked online. It looked like they’d had a field day with him.”

  “So, the blood that was on my ceiling?” Cutty made a sour face. “The shit dripping down on her?”

  “Was probably her brother’s,” Lars added. “And don’t tell her. She’s already a mess. Let her think it was pig’s blood or something.”

  “You think she’s not going to put that together? Really?” Cutty did a subtle shake of his head and took another sip of whiskey like he was the one with a taste in his mouth he couldn’t get rid of.

  Lars’ eyes shot over to where Faith was snuggled deep in his covers, in his bed, only her small face peeking out as if he needed to reassure himself she was safe.

  “Maybe you should just fuck her, already. It’s obvious you want to,” Cutty said, following Lars’ line of vision.

  He pulled his eyes back to Cutty. “I don’t know…” Lars’ words trailed off as he looked at Faith, alarmed at what might happen if he did act upon his desires. But what if it would get him to stop thinking about her? “Maybe,” he said, after they’d both been standing there a minute or so in silence. Hell, who was he kidding? It was going to happen.

  Cutty was right. He’d crossed a line today that he’d never thought he would. He had to get this strange fascination with her out of his system or he’d be useless to everyone. Might as well just do it. He’d sleep with her, and she’d be like all the other chicks he’d slept with. He’d be back to normal. “On to bigger issues, we should probably get everyone up to speed. Can you get the guys downstairs in an hour?”

  “Not a problem. What are you gonna…never mind. I’ve got enough headaches with Fate, Karma and the world falling to freaking pieces around us and you doing the walk-to-your-death-all-nice-and-happy voice.” He put his glass down and walked toward the door. “I don’t need any more info.”

  “Real nice. It was your suggestion and now you’re cutting all responsibility?”

  “Don’t act like I’m the actual reason it’s going to happen.” Cutty waved a hand, as if trying to disassociate himself with whatever was going on between Lars and Faith. “See you in a little bit.” He shot a final look toward Faith before he walked out of the apartment.

  Cutty shut the door, leaving Lars and Faith alone.

  Lars crossed the room to where she lay in the center of his large bed, curled on her side and hugging the corner of the blanket to her. Her hair was covering almost the entire pillow her head rested on.

  He never held back and here was someone he wanted to sleep with more than any woman he’d ever met. And he knew she wanted him as well. Why not?

  Cutty was right. He was going to sleep with her sooner or later but he wouldn’t do it right now. Not when she was like this. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t once she was more aware.

  He yanked his shirt over his head but left his jeans on. Just because he wasn’t going to do it now didn’t mean they couldn’t get a bit more acquainted with each other. He eased in beside her, pulling the covers over them both. With an arm around her waist, he pulled her closer to him, fitting her back to his front and wedged a leg in between hers. A contented feeling slipped over him just from lying beside her.

  “What are you doing?” she asked. He knew his chant was still clinging strong to her psyche by the calm tone of her voice and years of past experience. People sounded different when they were under the influence of his talents, and he’d laid it on pretty thick. It hadn’t been intentional. He hadn’t used it in a long time and had let it slip out a bit too strongly as a consequence. It would take a while longer for her to come out of it.

  “Keeping you warm?” he asked.

  When he’d climbed into bed with her, he’d known she’d remain relaxed. He knew she didn’t have a worry in the world right now. He’d been very good at walking a resistant soul toward their death. His talents were underutilized in a situation such as this.

  But he didn’t expect what she did next. She arched against him and then turned toward him, still in his embrace. Her lips were parted as she slid her hands up his chest and then ran one into his hair. She tilted her face to him, with lips parted.

  He reacted instinctively, taking what she had to offer and then some. He flipped her onto her back, his rock-hard dick pressed snug between her legs. Resting his weight on one forearm near her head, he plunged his tongue into her mouth and she sucked on it in a way that made him think of having her sweet lips wrapped around other parts of his anatomy.

  With his other hand he yanked up her shirt. A flimsy white lace bra cupped her perfect breasts, causing a slight unease to clench at his gut. One of the guys had picked that out for her, maybe imagined her in it. The thought of it spurred him on from the small taste of what she was offering to something more, as if he needed to brand her as his.

  He tugged at the button on the jeans she was wearing and then pushed them down off her hips with her panties. His fingers, first one, than two entered her and his desire grew even deeper when he felt how wet she was for him.

  Even in her relaxed state, her hands were frenzied as they unzipped his jeans. When he felt her fingers wrap around his hard cock and the other hand cupping his balls, he knew he needed to pull back or this wouldn’t end here.

  She’d just discovered her brother was dead and although what he’d done to her wouldn’t cause her to desire him, it lowered inhibitions in a similar way to if she were drunk. She might want this but if she were in a normal state of mind, she might not act upon it.

  He pulled his mouth away, leaning up on his forearms, which only made him press more firmly to the juncture between her legs. She let out a low soft moan that told him it was exactly what she wanted as well. Her legs wrapped around his hips as she arched off the bed. Her hands went to his shoulders, trying to bring his lips back to hers. Her face flushed and lips parted, and pulling away was the hardest thing he’d done in a long while.

  He paused. She was clinging to him. Would it really be that wrong? She was practically writhing under him and the desire she was feeling was pure lust, conjured up by her alone. Nothing induced there.

  Eyes half lidded with lust…or half out of it because of what he’d done?

  He rolled off her, hearing a soft sigh of disappointment as he did. He headed straight for a cold shower before she could say or do anything else that would have him throwing his good intentions straight to hell.

  Chapter 21

  When Lars walked into his shop, Angus, Cutty, Bic and Fate were already there waiting for him.

  “Where’s Faith?” Angus asked, looking behind him. Lars knew it was a precaution to make sure she wasn’t close behind, not that he wanted her there. This was a conversation strictly for the guys.

  “Upstairs, sleeping,” Lars said.

  “Yeah, more like sleeping it off,” Cutty added, speaking softly
as if to himself. His comment didn’t go unnoticed, and the three not in the know all turned to him, waiting for further explanation.

  Lars shot Cutty a look that told him to shut his mouth. He knew what he’d done had rattled Cutty but did he really have to turn into a blabbermouth now? Lars was fairly certain Cutty hadn’t meant to. His disapproval of Lars using the voice on her had just gotten the best of him and leaked out into nervous chatter.

  Angus took a step toward Cutty when Lars failed to explain. “She got drunk?”

  “Yeah, she looked drunk,” Cutty said, trying to cover up his slip of the tongue.

  It was a good attempt but Lars knew it was too late. Faith hadn’t touched a drink since she’d met them, so the idea of her getting blasted in the middle of the afternoon didn’t ring true to anyone’s ears. He confirmed his thoughts with the skeptical looks he was getting. No choice left, he launched into damage control. “She was really tense after what happened. I helped her out a bit.”

  “You helped her out?” Fate was instantly on his feet and getting in Lars’ face. “When Karma was having a near breakdown, you wouldn’t do shit to calm her. You were there, you saw what she was going through.”

  Everyone considered Karma and Fate an item except Karma and Fate. And here Fate was again, proving that everyone else was correct.

  Instead of getting right back in Fate’s face, like he would’ve normally done, Lars took a step back. He remembered exactly what Karma had gone through. This afternoon, when he’d seen Faith like that, if one of his guys could’ve helped and hadn’t, he’d have gotten just as angry.

  “I’m…man, I don’t know what to say.” Lars knew there wasn’t anything that could take back how Fate had felt.

  The room, which was already subdued, seemed to become more so. Normally, a confrontation like this would end up in a brawl and then a drink together afterward, but never an acknowledgment right out of the gate.

  Fate, knowing him better than anyone, seemed slightly taken aback. His brow scrunched a bit as his head tilted. After a long pause, Fate said, “Shit happens. It’s okay.”

  “If I had known at the time what it was like, I…” Lars put his hands up in bewilderment, not able to express any more on a moment that still felt sore to him.

  “I get it. I…you know…” Fate shrugged and nodded. When he looked at Lars now, there was commiseration in his eyes. “So, it’s like that between you two?”

  Lars shrugged back. “No, I don’t know. I just felt bad.”

  “Yeah, man, I get it.” Fate let out a long sigh as if he understood all too well.

  Cutty walked over to the two of them. “When you two are done braiding each other’s hair, can we get back to the matter at hand?”

  Lars and Fate cleared their throats at the same time, while Cutty took the floor. “So, we’ve got a bloody ring, a note and a positive ID on Keith being the one who supplied said ring. Where do we go from here?”

  Lars perched himself on the edge of one of the work counters that lined the walls of the shop. “He still wants her but he can’t get to her here and he knows it.”

  Angus who had taken a seat on the tattoo bench spoke up. “You’re sure?”

  “Positive. He crosses on to my territory and he’s dead. He can’t bust through my wards, which is why he sent that kid. Plus we all know he’s scared to get within fifty feet of me, just in case I might be able to escort him along to somewhere he doesn’t want to go.” Lars was the only one of the guys who was always avoided by Malokin and his men. Even Fate had gotten into range, but not Lars. Not Death himself; that was too risky. They must have suspected his full range of talents even if they had no proof.

  “The problem I have is why does Keith want her so bad?” Fate asked. “I know all you guys have taken a liking to her,” Fate shot an awkward look at Lars as he said that, as if trying to apologize for throwing his girl under the bus, “but you can ask Karma, good people don’t get messed up and involved with these guys. Why is Keith infatuated with her? Lars, he came right up to your sidewalk. They’ve never gotten that close to you before. This isn’t sitting well with me. At all.”

  Lars remained quiet. He couldn’t imagine Faith doing anyone wrong but he couldn’t trust his opinions anymore, not when it came to her.

  He’d used the voice on her. What if he really wasn’t thinking clearly? No, he needed to sit out on this one. He couldn’t go to bat for her when he couldn’t trust his gut. This could jeopardize them all.

  When no one disagreed, Cutty spoke up. “We only have a small sampling of who he’s gone for. Karma herself was one of his victims. What about that? Don’t tell me you think Karma is evil,” Cutty said, directing the question at Fate bit looking at Lars.

  Lars knew what he wanted, back up defending Faith. Lars looked out the window instead. He couldn’t defend her, even though it was killing him. The more he thought about how he’d used the voice on her, the more he realized his judgment really might be impaired when it came to her.

  “Karma was different. She had potential and also a skill set that made her appealing,” Fate shot back at Cutty.

  Lars made the mistake of looking back at Cutty. He could read his thoughts so clearly. He looked at Fate and then to him, clearly saying, See? He defends his woman.

  “And how do we know that the same wasn’t the case with Faith?” Cutty asked, glaring angrily at Lars, rather than Fate, who he was arguing with.

  “What skill set has she demonstrated?” Fate asked.

  “I don’t know,” Cutty said. “But I trust her. Maybe that’s it? Maybe she instills faith? Hell, it is her name, after all.”

  Fate let out a mocking laugh before voicing his disdainful reply. “Because that’s definitely something Malokin and Keith would find useful.”

  “What do you think, Lars?” Cutty said, putting him on the spot.

  “I think whatever the case is, that’s unlikely to be her calling,” Lars replied. Cutty was really starting to get his ire up. They barely knew the chick, and just because he might fuck her didn’t mean he was obligated to have her back in every instance. The guilt trip Cutty was trying to lay on him was a step too far and he was already in a bad way. “The bottom line is, none of us know her that well. We need to be cautious,” Lars shot back at Cutty.

  “Lars is right. For now, I think we keep going as is.” Fate walked across the room. “She’s our guest as long as she doesn’t try and leave. At least for now.”

  Lars felt guilty as he nodded but it was the only sane move. Everyone agreed, except for Cutty, who remained silent. Angus, Bic and Fate left but Cutty didn’t budge from his spot. Lars remained in his, knowing the two of them had unspoken business.

  The door to the shop swung closed and Cutty didn’t wait long to get what was bothering him off his chest. “You can’t be on both sides of the line.”

  “Man, what the fuck are you talking about?” Lars’ head was starting to spin and he didn’t need grief from one of his closest buddies.

  Cutty stiffened. “You’re either on her team or you’re not.”

  “Team? There is no team. You said it yourself, it was a good idea to bang her. That doesn’t make me and her a team. If that’s all it took, I’d be on a hell of a lot of teams.” Too many to count, and he didn’t understand why Cutty was getting all up in arms this time.

  Cutty pointed his finger at him even though he maintained his distance. “If you aren’t going to have her back, don’t touch her.”

  “Don’t tell me who to touch or how I have to treat them if I do. I didn’t ask for your advice on the subject, so stay out of it if you don’t like what I do.”

  Cutty shook his head, clearly disgusted. “I don’t want you to use her.”

  If it had been Fate, Lars would’ve punched him in the face already, just to shut him up. But it was Cutty, the guy that always covered his ass and had always taken his side—until now, that was. Still, he tried to reel back the anger he was feeling. “I might fuck her, not pled
ge my life to her. Why are you getting so out of whack about this?”

  “You’re an idiot,” Cutty said, making Lars wonder why he’d bothered trying to discuss it at all.

  “I don’t get what your problem is,” Lars said, feeling like he had to try one last time to smooth the waters between them.

  “I just told you what my problem is. You’re. An. Idiot.” Cutty walked out of the shop and didn’t look back.

  Chapter 22

  Lars was in the kitchen when Faith finally woke the next morning. Black shorts hung low on his hips and his torso naked, he looked sexy as hell cooking over the range. She could tell from the aroma he was making omelets. She took in a deep breath and noticed she could pick up the individual scents of pepper along with the dash of salt.

  But as the sleep fled from her brain, everything that had gone down yesterday chased in behind it and drove out any joy she felt over her new discovery. Arthur was dead. Keith was still out there, and his obsession with her was stronger than ever. Then there was Lars, who’d talked to her in a strange way that had erased every care she had. Well, except for getting him into bed, that is.

  Amidst all of it, she’d thrown herself at him and he hadn’t accepted the invite. Today, with a clear head, every negative emotion from humiliation to raging grief began eating away at her.

  She saw Lars heading towards her with a mug in hand, and she forced herself to sit up and start a day she wished she could fast forward through.

  “Here.”

  “Thanks,” she said, taking the offering. She sipped it and wondered how he’d known exactly how she took it.

  “Come get some eggs,” he said, walking back to the kitchen area.

  She couldn’t sit idly by like a spectator anymore while things happened to her. Her situation had hit critical mass. She dragged herself out of bed, armed with only a couple of sips of caffeine to fuel her through the upcoming moments.

  She took a seat at the table in front of the omelet Lars had placed there. She picked up the fork, spending more time shuffling the eggs than she did eating them, while she debated on the best approach. She finally came to terms with the fact that some conversations didn’t have a good entry point, they only had an emergency exit. “I want to thank you for trying to help me yesterday. I know you had good intentions. But whatever it was you did can’t happen again.”