Faster (Stark Ink, #3)
Read Faster (Stark Ink, #3) Online
Authors: Dahlia West
Faster
STARK INK
Book Three
By
Dahlia West
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and locations are either a product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious setting. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or people, living or dead, is strictly coincidental. No part from this book may be used or reproduced without written consent from the author.
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to an online book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Copyright © 2015 by Dahlia West. All rights reserved.
Cover Design by:
Cover Shot Creations
Edited by:
Lorelai Logsdon
For my sister
1980 - 1980
Me and my shadow
Chapter One
S
he could stab him. She really could. Ava clicked the pen in her hand and glanced around the lobby of Stark Ink as she sat in the receptionist’s chair. The place was empty except for the asshole standing in front of her. His mouth gaped as he offered her a sleazy smile. “My name? Well, my name is Donny, sweetheart. Donny the Dude.”
Ava tried not to roll her eyes. Donny watched far too much TV. “I need it for the appointment,” she grumbled as she scrawled into the ledger that sat open in front of her. Like she really cared what this guy’s name was.
Donny the Douche
, she wrote with a flourish. He couldn’t see it anyway. He was too busy craning his neck to look down the front of her black tank top.
Ava’s scowl deepened. Stabbing him would be bad for business, certainly. Plus, she’d get blood all over Adam’s beautiful black and white tile floor. She could fantasize, though. And, oh, she did.
“What’s
your
name?” Donny drawled. “I might could squeeze you in.” He grinned, a little too widely and slid one large arm across the counter casually. The ripped T-shirt revealed an assortment of ink in various shapes and colors. It ran from his wrist all the way up his arm and disappeared under the fraying hem of his sleeve.
Ava was unimpressed.
There was no flow, no cohesiveness to it. It was obvious they’d been done at random times, by different artists. Possibly even while ol’ Donny was under the influence, because—though she’d never smoked it—Ava was pretty sure cannabis wasn’t spelled with a ‘u’. Poor Donny showed a lack of judgment in a lot of areas. Ava had taken more time with her ink, especially since Adam had made her wait so long.
Immediately after graduation, she’d made a beeline for the shop and gritted her teeth as Adam had outlined the sleeve on her arm. It had hurt like a bitch, but it was so worth it. Like wearing your soul on the outside.
Ava liked tattoos. God knew she had enough of them herself. Trouble was, she liked teeth, as well. And this guy was missing more than a few. He was also jawing on a particularly nasty wad of chew. His biceps were starting to sag and his belly was starting to protrude just a bit.
His cocky grin and confident swagger hinted that at one point, probably in high school, this guy had been hot shit. He’d probably had a muscle car and spent his free time lifting, with Skynyrd blaring in the background. But those days were obviously long gone. All that was left was for Donny to get the memo.
He leaned closer, hovering over the counter. Way too far into Ava’s personal space. “So,” he said with a grin, “what time do you get off?” He stressed the last two words just a little too hard, making Ava’s stomach turn.
As if.
Ava’s hand flexed on the pen again but she kept her cool. It was probably bad for business to stab customers. “Doesn’t matter,” she told him. “I’m not allowed to date the customers.”
Donny leaned back on his heels and jammed his thumbs into his sagging pants. “It’s a free country, baby girl, you can saddle up and ride any stallion you want to. Not allowed? Who says?”
“
I
say.”
The voice came from behind Donny the Douche. Both Ava and Donny turned to look. Adam loomed in the doorway between his workroom and the lobby, looking particularly pissed off. “Unless you want to wake up with a pretty pink bow tatted on your fucking forehead, you’ll back up off my sister.”
Donny stepped back and held up his hands. “Oh, hey. Okay. It’s cool. I didn’t know. I had no idea she was your sister.”
Adam glared at him. “You knew she was a kid. That much is obvious.”
The guy grinned. Adam’s jaw clenched. Possibly, this douche nozzle just couldn’t help himself. Possibly, being a perv was in his genes. “She don’t look like a kid,” he countered.
Ava’s heart skipped a beat as Adam tore his gaze from The Douche to her. He frowned but said nothing. They’d talked before — or Adam had talked, anyway, for a
very
long time— about just how much skin he was comfortable with his baby sister showing in public, especially in the shop. Ava had listened, she really had; the trouble was her closet just happened to be full of items that Adam despised. She shrugged at her older brother. He rolled his eyes and then turned back to The Douche.
“Did you make an appointment?” Adam demanded.
The Douche nodded. “Sure did. Just now. With her.”
“Cancel it,” Adam told Ava.
Ava clicked the would-be shiv and scratched out Donny the Douche in black ink.
“Hey!” The Douche protested.
Adam was nonplussed. He jerked his head toward the front door. “Get out.”
“But—”
If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas
, Ava thought as she watched Donny the Douche slink toward the door. A Pop-ism, the old man had an endless supply. Ava wasn’t entirely sure what that one meant, since they’d never received candy or nuts for Christmas.
“Candy and nuts,” Adam muttered under his breath and turned back to the workroom. “And change your shirt,” he called out over his shoulder.
Ava bristled. “I have boobs, Adam!”
“No, you don’t,” he replied without looking back. “You’re permanently six years old with pigtails and filthy knees.”
Ava snorted. Before graduation, she would’ve argued more. But since she’d been out of school, Adam’s rules had loosened considerably. Doubtless he’d realized she was 18 and he could no longer control her comings and goings. Though apparently his opinions on her wardrobe were less evolved.
The bell above the door jingled again and this time Jeannie, the shop’s other receptionist, strode through the door. She had on thigh-high black leather boots and a skirt that could double as a headband. Ava was willing to bet that her oldest brother never got on Jeannie’s case about
her
clothes.
“What’s up, girl?” Jeannie called out with a smile as her heels clicked sharply on the tile floor.
Ava grinned back. “Not much.”
Jeannie peeled off her leather jacket while balancing a coffee in one hand. Ava glanced at the clock on the wall behind her. Shift change. Ava’s eyes darted instinctively to the computer screen in front of her. Her fingers twitched with impatience as she waited for the older girl to settle in.
As Jeannie slipped past her and into the storeroom to hang up her jacket, Ava quickly turned back to the reception desk. Her heartbeat sped up considerably as she punched the keyboard. With a furtive glance toward Adam’s workroom, she waited for the screen to maximize. The file she had been downloading before Donny the Douche walked in was now finished. Pulse roaring in her ears, she double-clicked the map with the red pin, marking a location to the east of Rapid City.
Fingers flew furiously over the keys as she emailed a copy to her phone. Seconds before Jeannie emerged from the storeroom, Ava closed the window and deleted the browser history on the shop’s computer. With the tap of a final key, the innocent-looking logo of Stark Ink once again lit up the screen. She pushed the rolling chair back from the desk.
“Busy today?” Jeannie asked as she came up behind Ava.
“Steady,” Ava replied. “Almost booked solid for tonight.”
Jeannie nodded and glanced over the appointment ledger sitting on the desk. She frowned. “Cancellation?” she asked, tapping the black scratches covering Donny’s name.
Ava grinned. “Yep.”
“Okay,” Jeannie replied.
Ava liked the slightly older girl who also answered the phones for Adam. Jeannie’s short, spiky hair was always dyed some show-stopping shade, and apparently Jonah had gotten some practice in after Adam had hired him, because young Jeannie seemed to have quite a few more piercings than Ava remembered. They got along great, despite the close quarters, mostly because Ava and Jeannie’s taste in clothes were fairly similar and Jeannie had nothing but compliments about Ava’s personal style. The hair was a problem, though, Jeannie thought. She had been begging Ava to let her “go to town” on Ava’s long, blond locks. Ava was tempted, but showing up at the house with pink (or blue or purple or green) hair might give Pop a heart attack.
The old man had given in to the bike Ava had begged for when she approached him about selling Mom’s car and getting a bike instead. Considering that just a few months after Adam hired Jonah, Jonah had gotten his own Harley, it was hardly fair for Ava to be the only Stark without two-wheels. Pop had, reluctantly, agreed that Ava was the odd man out in that respect. And Pop also knew how much Ava hated feeling anything less than a full-fledged Stark. Pop had almost changed his mind, though, when Ava took him to the dealer and instead of fingering a Harley for her first real ride, she’d sidled up to a Honda CB1000R. Pop’s jaw had clenched, his eyes had darkened. The bike in question went right up to the line of being classified as a racer, but didn’t quite go over. “The first time you get a ticket, Ava,
the very first time
, that bike is
gone
,” he’d sworn.
So, he’d caved on the bike as a graduation present to his only daughter. Ava thought rainbow hair might be pushing her luck. Technically, she was 18 and an adult, but she still lived at home for the time being. And she’d never disrespect her Pop.
Cell phone safely stowed in an inside pocket, Ava retrieved her own leather jacket and zipped it up. The red leather gleamed and fit her like a glove. Her jeans were tight, as well. Adam couldn’t argue about it because she’d pleaded motorcycle safety. Baggy pants and bikes didn’t mix well. Ava’s calf-high boots had one-and-a-half-inch treads, which didn’t make her as tall as Jeannie in her stacked heels, but gave Ava some height, nonetheless. Ava tucked her disappointingly blond hair up into her helmet and with a flick of her wrist, brought the visor down.
No matter how many times everyone lectured her on the rules of the road, Ava always felt safe once she was fully clad in her leathers and helmet. She waved goodbye to Jeannie and headed, not out the front, but down the back hall. To her left were the wooden stairs that led up to the small apartment Jonah was now occupying. Straight ahead was the back door. Stepping through it, Ava saw that the sun was only just setting. Her Honda looked almost dwarfed next to Jonah’s large softail Harley, but Ava didn’t care. The Honda was
hers, her ride
. And she adored it.
Hiking her leg up over the seat, she turned the key and the engine roared to life. Her gloved hands revved it just a bit as she enjoyed the feel of all those horses between her thighs. She had no time to waste, though, as it would be full-on night soon and she had somewhere to be. She left her phone tucked away as she’d already memorized tonight’s route. She pulled out of the back parking lot, headed down the alley, and signaled a turn onto the street that fronted the tattoo shop. As she waited at the light, a large Mustang pulled up beside her. Ava turned to look.