Full Contact (Redemption #3)(55)

“Three,” she says, now recovered from her uncharacteristic moment of embarrassment. “But who’s counting?’

“Me.”

The room chills at Christos’s icy tone, and without another word, he storms out of the studio.

“Uh…did I miss something?” Duncan scratches his head.

“Unrequited love.” I give Rose’s arm a squeeze when her brow creases in a frown. “Don’t worry about him. Jealous is good. Jealous means he cares. Jealous means he might get his head out of his ass and tell you how he feels.”

“Sure.” Rose shrugs. “I’ve only been waiting three years.”

Duncan’s Russian client, Yuri, drops in while Rose and I are going through the schedule for the day, to see if anyone has time to ink some crosses on his knuckles. Rose says Christos can fit him in and excuses herself to go and find him. Yuri looks down at me sitting in Rose’s chair, his unblinking ice-blue eyes making my blood run cold.

“So you work here every day?”

I shake my head. “I take a day off every week, depends when we’re not too busy.”

His golden bracelets clang when he folds his arms over his massive chest, and I will him to go and sit where clients are supposed to sit—in the client lounge and away from me. Unfortunately, Yuri doesn’t hear my silent plea.

“You ink all the fighters?”

“Some of them.”

“You ink the Predator?”

Again with the Predator, and he doesn’t look like the fanboy type. The skin on the back of my neck prickles, and I look back over my shoulder to where Duncan is inking a client. At least I’m not alone.

“Yeah, I inked him. Not finished the piece yet though.”

Yuri nods. “I saw the outline. Very nice. So, he’ll be back for more?”

“I guess so.”

Mercifully, Rose returns with a calmed down Christos, and they whisk Yuri away to Christos’s chair. For a moment, I toy with the idea of adding a note to his virtual file that one or two fighters should be present anytime he comes in. But why? Although he looks threatening, he has only ever been polite and cordial when he’s been in the shop, albeit a tad inquisitive.

Half an hour later, Doctor Death arrives for his appointment, and Rose’s melancholy fades as she basks in the glow of his smile. Christos glares when Doctor Death whispers something in Rose’s ear that makes her blush.

“He’s gonna use her and throw her away, and she’s gonna get hurt.” He mutters obscenities under his breath along with conjecture about what might happen if he ever met Doctor Death in a dark alley.

“You’ve got it wrong,” I whisper. “Rose is him but in female form. And she’s the one pulling the strings. He didn’t have a chance from the moment he first stepped through the door. My money is on her using him and me getting to do a new broken-heart piece on his other ass cheek next week.”

Doctor Death’s ass work is largely uneventful, although I have to step outside to “give him a moment” a few more times than with the usual ass. I keep the private room bright, the music loud, and my needle humming. There is no more talk about sleeping around nor is there any more talk about Syndee. At first I think it is because he is smitten with Rose, but while I’m applying the bandage, he mentions Ray.

“So, Rampage says you and Ray—”

“I don’t discuss my personal life with clients.” I pat the bandage a little too hard and his ass cheek tightens when he winces. Doctor Death looks back over his shoulder. “I’m hardly just a client. You’re part of Redemption. We’re family here.”

“Nosy family.”

He chuckles. “Guys like to know where they stand when there’s a beautiful woman on the premises.”

“You mean Rose?” Shifting uncomfortably in my seat, I apply the last piece of tape and hope he gets the message.

He doesn’t. “I mean you, Sia. I’ve had my eye on you since Fuzz brought you to the first Redemption party. Rose and I had fun together, but we’re too much alike.”

Backing my stool away from the client chair, I shake my head. “I’m flattered but I’m with Ray.”

“Really?” He pushes himself to his side, and I look away just in case I get an unexpected visual treat.

“He ever take you out on date? In public? Have you gone to a restaurant or a movie? Or anywhere that isn’t secured with a door?”

Puzzled, I frown. “We went for a walk once.”

“Somewhere deserted and in the dark no doubt.” He snags the towel from the back of his thighs and adeptly manages to push himself to sitting while keeping decently covered.

The hair on the back of my neck prickles. “What are you saying?”

His face softens and he sighs. “I’m saying there’s more to Ray than he lets on.”

My hand clenches into a fist, and I back up into the door. Oh God. Have I misplaced my trust yet again? “Like what?”

“Not my place to say. He doesn’t know I know. I just…don’t want you to get hurt when he walks away.”

“Then why did you bring it up?” My voice rises in pitch. “You hardly know me.”

“I know you well enough to want to get to know you better,” he says. “And I’d be lying if I said my motives were entirely selfless. But even if I weren’t interested, I would have said something. We look after each other at Redemption.”