Page 56 of Rox

All of this is to catch a man who started by following her, only to put himself right in the room with her and then continue to show up everywhere she is. He’s been right under our nose the whole fucking time, and none of us had a clue.

I wanted to grab him straight up, but he still hasn’t shown up. Knuckles looked into him but couldn’t find anything on him. It’s as if the man is a ghost, and decided haunting Rox was what he needed to do.

Rox got a ride to the shop with Angel to set everything up with Duncan and Stanford. They have to reset how the chairs are currently positioned to accommodate Rox getting her own chair, as well as Angel and Ink, and their other artist who’s coming with. Rox told me how she and Duncan were sharing a chair, which she thinks is one of the reasons he was such an assbag, her word, not mine, to her before.

I hated not going in with her, but I trust Angel and Ink to keep her safe. While I don’t like the plan, the more people they cycle through, the more chances we have for Mark to make his appearance.

I run my hands over my face and through my hair as I hover over Rox. She’s been working on clients since the minute their doors opened. Flash sales are no damn joke. The amount of people inside and out is insane and making my anxiety spike.

I’ve been trying, but not trying enough.

“Dude, get the fuck outside and handle the crowd.”

My attention is snapped to my side when Whitley speaks to me. “Excuse me?” Who the fuck does this guy think he is?

“Look,” he grips my shoulder and walks me away from Rox. She either didn’t hear him, or is choosing to ignore him while she works. “It’s clear that you’re stressed as fuck abouteverything, and I understand why. But you’re making everyone else uncomfortable.”

“Are you fucking serious?”

“Yes, Mimic. There have been a couple of women who asked to wait until Roxie is free, but one already backed out because of you standing by her and glaring at everyone. If this is going to work, Roxie needs to be able to work. She’s safe. Angel is right next to her, Ink is two chairs away, and I’m here.”

“That’s not as assuring as you think,” I grumble.

He chuckles, “Are you forgetting that I’m an ex-FBI agent? I know how to fuck people up. She’s safe with me, Mimic. So please, for all that is holy, get the fuck outside.”

I’m not happy about it, but I get it. It actually hurt when he told me a woman left because of me. I’d never hurt a woman, but I also don’t know her history in order to make her feel safe. Plus, it’s not like we can tell her the truth.

So, here I am, pacing as I watch Duck and Willie joke and talk to people in line. Duck has a few dares going with a couple of the guys to get a dick tattooed on them or get their dick tattooed instead.

I know Ink will do it in a heartbeat if they ask. While I don’t want Rox tattooing another man’s dick, it’s not like I can ban her from it. Plus, it’s hilarious. And money for the shelter is money, regardless of the ink received.

The thought gives my racing mind a moment’s pause, but it’s not long after when I’m back in my head, wishing I could beat the fuck out of someone. Preferably Mark. It’s looking like I won’t get that chance because I’m not allowed inside.

“Pretend you want to be here,” Cowboy says as he walks past me.

“I’m trying, but my face always looks like this when I’m—”

“Shut. Up. Mimic. You need to take the edge off or something. You are starting to scare people in line.” Prez tells me as he joins Cowboy and I.

“Again, I’m fucking trying. This is just my face today!” I hold my arms up in the air.

“Duck, take Mimic and get his ass to smile or something,” Cowboy calls out.

“What? Like, suck his dick? I mean, that makes most men smile, but I think his Ol’ Lady would have a thing to say about it.” Duck calls down the line. Causing a few people to laugh, and a few women get even more stars in their eyes about his crazy ass. Which makes no fucking sense, but to each their own.

Any other day I would have been embarrassed about this whole thing, but I’m too amped up.

“You are really dumb,” Willie tells Duck, giving him a cuff upside the head. Burrito rushes over and whispers something in Duck’s ear. They look at the time on Duck’s watch, and the evil look on Duck’s face does very little to ease the knot of tension in my gut.

“Follow me. I know how to get a HUGE smile on that face of yours,” Duck says as he leads me into the shop. “Oh, Roxie pie!” he sings, his arm slung over my shoulder. I tried, but there’s very little I can do to get away.

“Yes, Ducklips?” she sings back. The smile on her face eases some of my tension. She’s happy and living her dream. Putting herself out there and working with her best friend and pseudo uncle with her father and uncle here supporting her. Everything she wants is here. While I know realistically that this a great opportunity for her, the chances of things going sideways still bothers me.

“Aren’t you due for a lunch break?” Duck asks. I give him a side eye, unsure of what’s going on in his twisted little brain.

“I’m just cleaning up to go. What’s up?”

“Your man here needs a tension blow job. If he doesn’t cum soon, there’s a chance he’ll blow up and die all over the crowd. And not in the fun fireworks way. He almost made Goblin cry with his meanness. I mean, can you handle it? I can do it for you, but I think he would be more receptive to your glug-glug 3000.”

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