Tainted: Book Three - Enslaved

33. For a Reason

Kerry

Then I'll rip his spine out. Give him plenty of time to scream—

"Hey. Wanna help me with something?"

Mira interrupted my thoughts, which were spiraling down at warp speed.

"Help you with what?" I grouched.

"I want a tattoo." She shoved her hands in her back pockets. "Rome told me you're an artist, so I figure you probably designed yours, which are unbelievable, by the way."

I looked around to find someone to rescue me, but Jax and Gigi had left to send some money to Spin, who was on the phone with Rome for the second time today. It sounded like Monkey had discovered something about Mrs. Hubler.

I couldn't have cared less. Mrs. Hubler wasn't who I wanted to find.

"I love your style of artwork." Mira moved to stand right in front of me. "And I've never seen anything like that 3-D effect."

She's gonna keep badgering me, isn't she? It's like she knows what I'm thinking and is trying to distract me.

I stared at her, but she didn't flinch. With a sigh, I gave in and pushed up the left sleeve of my henley. The black dragon with bats flying around its head was my favorite piece. I'd spent ages sketching it, and Yuri had taken the time to do it the justice it deserved.

"Yeah, I draw them, but it's my tattoo artist who does the hard work. He uses an illusion in the inks so you can't see the scar underneath. Plus, the tat stays perfect forever, even if your skin gets damaged again."

"Good. That's what I want."

"For your arms?"

"No, for my back." She half-glared at me, like I shoulda figured that out myself or something. "The scars on my arms I chose to do myself. I did not choose to have 'slave' carved up my spine in Diabolical!"

"Infernal," I corrected her. "That's what their language is called. You got an idea in mind?"

She took her hands outta her pockets and sat down next to me on the couch. I scooted to the far side, knowing I wasn't safe enough to be that close, not when thoughts of torture still lingered in my mind.

"I was kinda thinking of a phoenix."

"Why would you want one of those inked on you?" My upper lip rolled back. "Fire birds are mean, smelly little back-biters."

"What are you talking about? And you have a freaking black dragon on your arm, so don't knock my idea!"

"That dragon is there for a reason, and you obviously know nothing about phoenixes."

I yanked up the right side of my shirt and half-turned so she could see the thick ridge of scarring that ran down my ribs to right above my waistband.

"That's what the no-good buzzards do to you. One breath and your skin's melting."

"Oh, dude, I'm sorry I stirred up bad memories." She winced. "A phoenix is a symbol of renewal. In Greek mythology, after they die, they're reborn out of their own ashes. It seemed appropriate since I'm trying to start over, you know?"

By the time she finished, her voice had faded to a mumble.

"Harker!" Rome barked.

Pulling my shirt down, I tilted my head back and looked up at him. He stood over me with one hand over the bottom of his phone and a fierce scowl on his face.

"Blowing up bridges!" he hissed.

Bridges? What the—

The memory of a fairy pumpkin flashed into my brain.

Oh.

"Mira, if that's how you think of phoenixes, then that's perfect. A tattoo should mean something to you. It don't matter what anyone else thinks about it. You're the one wearing it. Now, do you want me to sketch out real life fire birds or these Greek ones?"

"I've never seen a real one. What do they look like?"

I didn't wanna destroy her fantasy image, so I told her to describe her version first.

"Big birds made of fire, or at least their wings are flames. "

"Sweet. I like drawing flames. We'll go with that."

"I'm gonna be demanding," she warned me. "This is my first tattoo. I want it to be perfect."

"Yeah, yeah."

I rolled off the couch to fetch my sketchbook.

"And bring your colored pencils," she called after me. "I won't settle for some simple, prison blue outline. I want full color!"

"That'll take hours!" I grumbled.

"You ain't got nothing else to do right now!"

I couldn't argue. Everything was on hold for the moment, and there was nothing I could do about it.

At least it'll give me something to do other than worry about my girl and plan how I'm gonna kill my enemies.

#

Mira

While Kerry talked with his "ink guy" Yuri, I looked around with curiosity, aware Rome was watching me. I turned away from him and rolled my eyes. I mean, we were in a tattoo parlor. What trouble could I possibly find here?

"Like what you see, chica? My place is only a block away."

I blinked and realized I was staring at a man whose earlobes were stretched by wooden circles as big as ⅞ sockets.

"What? No, I was, uh, admiring your plugs. I'm—"

"That's not all you'd admire about me." He looked me up and down in a way that made me feel soiled.

I started to turn away and Plugs made the mistake of grabbing my elbow.

"Take your hand off me," I warned him.

With a laugh, he slid up against me and pressed himself against my hip.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a haze of blue, then a low rumble made the framed photos clack against the walls. If I didn't end this soon, Rome was gonna murder this guy.

When I'd planned this field trip, it was primarily to distract Kerry. Now, it might end up in a fight, and, as slimy as Plugs was, he probably didn't deserve to die.

He probably didn't deserve to keep his junk intact, though.

Well, I warned him.

Swinging my free arm back, I grabbed his privates and squeezed hard enough to make him shriek.

"Touch me again and you'll draw back a nub. Understand?"

"Si," he gasped.

I let him go and cut my eyes over to Rome. He leaned against the counter with his arms crossed, one ankle draped over the other, and an expression wiped clean of emotion. His eyes were fixed on something behind me, though, and I knew he was tracking Plugs' every move.

Wait. If he isn't fired up, then— Uh-oh.

Kerry's eyes were incandescent, and power snapped and snarled through his hair like static.

On one hand, I was touched that he wanted to protect me. On the other hand, I was insulted that he thought I couldn't protect myself.

"I can fight my own battles, Kerry."

"I know that," he spat, "but you shouldn't have to! Makes me wanna follow him and—"

"Well, Harker," Yuri cut in, "my schedule has suddenly freed up. Let's see what you want done this time, hmm?"