Page 20 of Broken

“I wouldn’t,” Shane mutters without looking at me.

“Does he speak to you like that all the time?” I hiss.

“No, he’s…” he searches for a word. “Intense.”

“He’s an asshat,” I mumble.

“At times,” Shane laughs. “But he’s a good guy. Like I said, intense.”

“That’s no excuse to treat people the way he does,” I huff, folding my arms over my chest then immediately regret it, hissing at the shock of pain from my nipples.

Oh, and the way he looked at my nipples. Absolute sleazebag. Seeing him checking me out again did things to me. Not anymore. No man gets to speak to me the way he did and get any further attention. Unless it’s giving him shit back.

“On a scale of one to ten, how bad was it?”

It takes a few seconds to recalibrate and realize Sin is asking about the piercings, not how angry I am atGarrett.As surreptitiously as I can, I glance at him, but his back is to me, and he’s hunched over the man he is tattooing.

“Seven,” I focus back on Sin. “Until I bash them, then it’s a hundred and seven.”

Shane chuckles again. He’s a nice kid, far too nice to be working for that dickhead. He won’t get any more of my time or attention. I focus on the tattoo on my best friend’s collarbone. It’s pretty, with swirling calligraphy that looks as ifsome renaissance age master designed it. He’s added in some blue flowers, Sin’s favorite color, weaving in and out of the word ‘Jericho’.

“What do you think he will say about this?” I lean back in my chair, trying not to grimace too much at the burning sensation on my boobs.

“The same as these guys,” she snorts. “I shouldn’t be getting his name.”

“Why is it so superstitious?”

“Most of the cover up work we do in here is ex partners names.”

I glance at the man with the Irish accent. He’s leaned over Ruby’s upper thighs, but his eyes are on me now and he winks.

“Case and point.” He gives Ruby a stern look.

“I already told you, Jericho and I are endgame.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her I felt the same way about Jared, but I hate even thinking about him, never mind speaking his name. Sin’s eyes are burning into the side of my head, like she is reading every erratic thought running through it.

“Besides, it's for me, not him.”

“That makes no sense,” I shake my head at her.

“It’s pretty though,” she responds.

It is, on that we can agree. For the next hour, I watch Shane finish the tattoo. The light, friendly banter started up not too long after I first came back into the room.

Luckily, Garrett the Grump didn’t tell everyone to pipe down. He didn’t get involved, and spent most of his time focused on his tattoo. He chats with the guy, but not loud enough for anyone to hear over the buzzing, music, and chatter.

Not that I am watching him or anything.

Sin pokes me on the knee, startling me. Her eyes move to Garrett and back again. I scowl and make a point of staring straight at her. Shane looks between us, a bemused expressionon his face. He doesn’t know my friend and I are having a silent argument. I can read her mind. She thinks Garrett is hot, she thinks we should have angry, passionate sex.

My eyes narrow and Sin laughs.

“I have no clue what is going on right now, but my sister is right,” Shane mutters.

“About what?” Sin asks.

“Girls are psychic.”

---