Page 13 of Reaper and Ruin

I was scared if I closed my eyes, when I woke up, Violet might have realized all of that and would have left me alone.

I didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts. My head was a storm of them, and the only way they quieted was when I was constantly doing something.

But Violet was shivering in the passenger seat. I pointed all the heating vents in her direction, and she smiled at me gratefully, but I knew I needed to get her some new clothes.

Saint View Tattoo, despite the late hour, was still open as we cruised through town, just as I’d predicted it would be. I had skulked around these streets in the dark enough times to know that at this time of night, the two things you could rely on were a hot, cheap meal at the Dead End Diner or a tattoo in Dax’s shop.

I’d spent many nights doing both. She’d be safe inside, with me, and Dax, and the other guys there, working on pieces. No creepy killers in vans were going to follow us into a brightly lit tattoo shop.

I would be the only creepy killer driving a van around Saint View, thank you very much.

I parked it beneath the neon-pink sign of the strip club and offered Violet a hand getting out. She took it, wrapping her fingers around mine.

They were ice-cold.

I was such a fucking asshole.

But I could fix it. I hurried her into the tattoo shop, and a couple of the guys glanced up from various pieces they were working on. The space was warm and cozy, and my gaze landed on the rack of hoodies and sweatpants embroidered with the store’s logo.

I pounced on them like they were precious treasures, and threw two sets of sweats on the counter.

Dax eyed me. “You know those are horrifically overpriced, right? Nobody buys them.”

I gawked at him. “Well, sir, that is their loss. Violet and I are going to be your walking, talking billboards. Just charge them to my card.”

His glance moved between the two of us, taking in our soaked clothes and the bedraggled state of Violet’s hair. “You two get caught out in that storm?”

That was putting it mildly.

“Something like that,” Violet told him.

Dax rang up our items and winced at the total. “That’s two hundred and fifty dollars.”

I handed over my card. “I just fell off a goddamn cliff, Dax. Charge me whatever you want. Hell, throw in a face tattoo while you’re at it.”

Violet widened her eyes at me in alarm.

I shrugged. “What? Levi has one!”

Dax frowned at me. “You don’t really strike me as a face tattoo sorta guy, X.”

“Because I’m too pretty?”

Dax snorted. “Because the last time I tattooed you, you howled like a wolf during a full moon. And your face is going to hurt a whole lot more than your chest or your biceps.”

I mulled that over. “You have a point.” I shot him a dirty look. “You said you were going to keep the girlish screams a secret, bro. Be cool.”

Dax mimed zippering his mouth closed, though it was really a little late for that. I didn’t want another tattoo anyway. Especially not one on my face. “Just one nose ring, please…” I turned to Violet. “Unless you want one too? My treat?”

She picked up the gray tracksuit I’d already bought for her. “I think the clothes are enough for tonight.”

I nodded. “Just the one nose ring then, please. I promise I won’t scream.”

He glanced at Violet. “Did he really fall off a cliff tonight?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Dax’s eyes widened. “Shit.” He squinted at me. “I’m really not supposed to do tattoos or piercings when someone may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”