Page 9 of Four Tattoos

“Christian.” His voice sounds deeper than usual, or am I imagining that?

“What’s this that curves around behind it?” There are swirling lines, bold colors, and I think I see clawed feet.

“A dragon. Mace did that one.”

“Have you all done each other’s tattoos?”

“Mostly.” He doesn’t move to show off more of the dragon, so I put my hand down. Neither of us steps back, though, and I can feel the energy coming off of his body like electrical sparks.

“No bakery today?”

“We had a big lunch,” Hutch says, and it’s his voice that finally pulls me out of Zipper’s invisible hold.

I distribute drinks to Christian and to Mace, who’s also come up to join us.

“Do you have any clients here?” I ask them.

“Not at the moment,” Christian says with a quick glance to Hutch before he directs his full focus to me.

“Is business going okay? My brother always worries when there’s a slow day at the coffee shop.” All of the men are holding their drinks, but my hands are empty, and my fingers tingle with the desire to trace over more of their tattoos.

“It varies by season,” Mace says. “Most days we’re busy now in the summer, and we have clients coming in later.”

“Oh, that’s good. Same goes for us. It’s much busier now than it was a month ago.”

I hear the shop’s door open and turn to find an older woman coming in. She doesn’t look like someone I’d imagine getting a tattoo, but I guess you never know.

“Mrs. Marcos,” Hutch says, giving her a nod.

“Oh good, you’re up front.” The woman’s voice matches her small frame. “I’m sorry to bother you, but could one of you help me with the mailbox again?” She dangles a keychain in front of her that holds what looks to be at least a dozen keys.

“Sure thing.” Hutch strides over to her, setting his drink on the front desk before following her out the door.

“What’s that about?” I ask the remaining three men.

“She and her husband own the flooring store next door. They’re both getting up in years, and sometimes she asks us for help with things rather than bothering her husband. Sounds like her mail key is giving her trouble again.”

“It’s just the two of them working there?”

“Other people do the installations, of course, but at the shop, yeah, it’s usually just the two of them,” Christian says. “They do okay, but I don’t know how much longer they’ll be able to keep up with the business.”

“That’s too bad, but it would probably be nice if they could retire.”

“They don’t seem like the type who want to,” Zipper says, just as Hutch returns.

“That was fast,” I say when he joins us again.

“The mail lockers are right on the other side of their shop, and she only had letters in there today,” he explains. “What’d I miss in here?”

“We gave Rose a full back tattoo while you were gone,” Zipper says drily, earning a frown from Hutch.

“Speaking of work and busy times,” I say, “I have a night job at Club Red, and it’salwaysbusy. Have you heard of it?”

“That the male strip club?” Hutch asks.

“It’s a revue show. They don’t fully strip. It’s just a tease.”

“Do the strippers tease you?” Christian asks. He’s teasingmewith his question, but there’s an edge of seriousness in his tone.

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