Ruined #4 (The MC Motorcycle Club Romance Series - Book #4) (5 page)

I got the cleaning supplies I’d left under the
bathroom sink when I’d been staying there and went to work. I found a clean
sheet in the towel cabinet so I started there by changing the sheet and making
the bed. Next, I set about dusting. I realized after I started that I was going
to have to throw away a lot of trash piled there before I started.

Taking a garbage bag from the bathroom, I started
picking the trash off the dresser and then the nightstand. I started on the
floor and that was when I saw a green spiral notebook laying on the floor. It
was half under and half sticking out from underneath it. I bent down and picked
it up and saw Terrance’s name. Curious, I sat down and read it.

Terrance,
Brock, Blake---set me up. Kill them?

It one would have concerned me, but it was lined
through. I thought it was safe to assume that meant he’d decided against it. I
read further down and it said something about drugs and sending them to live in
a cage. Dax must have written this after he found out about Terrance and saw
the security video of Brock sending the email. I ripped it out and then I tore
it into tiny little pieces and threw it away. Dax wasn’t going to need this any
longer and it really shouldn’t be lying around where just anyone could find it.
What if one of the club guys found it? That could be dangerous. I took it out
and tore it into even smaller pieces. I stuffed it way on the bottom of the
trash can. I’d take it all out to the dumpster when I finished cleaning.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

DAX

I got up early and left before Olivia was up. She
looked so sexy and peaceful sleeping in the big old bed. Her dark hair was
fanned out around her all over the pillow. I was tempted to wake her up at
first and make love to her again, but I made myself refrain. I tiptoed around
and got dressed. I had actual important things to do.

I met my mom at her bank first. She helped me get a
business account set up. Then, we went by and talked to the guy who owned the
building downtown that we were thinking about renting. He opened it up and let
us take a look around. It had been a tattoo shop in the past, so it was kind of
already set up with a curtained back room and plenty of space to store things
and to put a sterilizer machine. I liked it and so did my mom, so I wrote my
first business check and put a deposit down on it. I had to have a business
address before I could finish my licensure application.

We went back to my mom’s house and went online and
printed off the application for licensure and all of the requirements. Although
I’d already read them, I wanted to go through them again. One of the
requirements was a Health and Safety class that I would have to take. I
registered for one online but I’d have to go take the class in person. The
soonest class I could get into was on Tuesday the following week. It was still
early in the day though so I gave Greg, the guy who does my tattoos, a call and
asked him if I could sit in for the day with him. He said I could watch until I
was comfortable and he was even okay with me doing one. I thought spending the
day in the shop might help me with my class and to pass my certification test.
It might be surprising to some, but even though he was a convicted felon, Greg
was a stickler for the law when it came to his business and his licensure. It
would be good to spend the day watching him.
 
I thanked my mom…profusely.

Before I headed over to Greg’s place, I called
Olivia. “Hey baby! What are you doing?”

“Hey! I’m cleaning. Well, I actually just finished
up. What are you doing?”

“I got all my ducks in a row today to get my
business up and running. I’m pretty damn excited.”

“Congrats. You should be excited. I’m so proud of
you!”

“Thanks,” I told her. “How about we get dressed up
like normal people tonight and we go out and celebrate?”

“Out? Like on a date?”

“Why do you sound so surprised? I used to take you
out all the time.”

“It’s just been a long time since I’ve been out on a
real date,” she said.

“Dax is back!” I told her, full of myself at that
moment. It finally felt like I’d taken a couple of steps forward. One foot in
front of the other.

I went on over to see Greg and he was okay with me
watching him and signing me off on watching me do one. He didn’t get very many
customers that weren’t ex-cons, but that was okay with me because that was who
I was used to tatting in the first place.

I watched him do three of them all together. The
first guy wanted a Raiders symbol on his back. It was a big ass tattoo. Greg
did the outline while I watched and then sent the guy on to return back the
following week to start coloring it in. Next, he did the same guy’s wife. She
had all three of her kids’ names tattooed on her right shoulder with little
footprints and hearts in different colors. It turned out really good. I was
impressed with Greg’s artistic abilities.

The next guy looked young. He tried to tell Greg
that he was eighteen, but he didn’t have a driver’s license or I.D. Greg
wouldn’t touch him without seeing proof of his age. The kid got flustered and
finally admitted that he had just turned sixteen. His dad was getting ready to
get out of prison in a few weeks and the kid thought if he had a tattoo when
the old man got out, he would be impressed. Greg explained the law to him and
the fact that it was his licensure and his livelihood on the line if he didn’t
follow the laws. If his dad wasn’t impressed, Greg could be in a lot of
trouble. The kid left dejected, but Greg’s licensure was intact.

We had some lunch. The pink-haired girlfriend cooked
and the purple-haired sister served. Those three had a strange relationship.
One that I was sure I didn’t really want to know any more about.

After lunch we got back to it. A guy about my age
who had just got out of Corcoran State Prison came by looking to get one of his
prison tats removed. Greg explained the process to him and I listened, but then
Greg told him he didn’t have the equipment to remove them. He told him who
would have it and where he would go if it were him.

Greg explained, “The laser stuff is the best way to
go, but it’s expensive for to me to buy the equipment and for you to get the
tat taken off. I have a list of a few places not far away that will do it for
you and they come highly recommended. Then again, it’s a long, hard process.
You may want to look at just covering it up with something else.”

The guy showed Greg the tattoo in question. It was a
big one on his side. I could see why he wanted it taken off. It was a big,
ugly, black swastika. In prison, it showed you were part of a certain group,
which was important for your own protection. Out on the streets though, it was
offensive as hell to anyone who saw it.

Greg checked it out and asked, “What about football?
You got a team?”

“Cowboys fan,” the guy said.

Greg gave him a raised eyebrow look that told him
how he felt, but he said, “I could cover it with a dark blue star and some
silver around the edges. It’ll take a couple of sessions and it won’t be cheap,
but I’m willing to bet it’ll be cheaper than getting it removed.”

“That’s cool,” the guy told him. “Can we start
today?”

“Sure, I’ve got my happy helper here,” he said about
me.

“How about if I do the outline Dax and you can take
over coloring it in? If you feel comfortable I’ll have you do the silver
outline also.”

“Yeah, that sounds great,” I told him.

Once Greg was finished with the outline of the star,
I started the coloring in process. It was a big star so the coloring in was
going to take a while. I worked on him for about an hour before he said he had
enough and he wanted to come back in a few days to finish. After he left, I
asked Greg a few more questions about his tools and techniques and then I
thanked him and went to get ready for my date with Olivia.

CHAPTER
NINE

OLIVIA

Dax picked me up from my uncle’s house right on time
for our date. He’d text me and told me to dress casually and to wear a bikini
underneath my clothes. I was glad it was warm outside when I heard that. I
didn’t know what he had in mind, but whatever it was; I was looking forward to
it being just him and I having a good time alone…like it used to be.

I wore a bikini and put a blue tank top on over it
and a wrap-around skirt over a pair of matching leggings. I wore my hair down,
mostly because it made it easier to get my helmet on that way.

“Hey gorgeous,” he said with a smile when he saw me.
“You look great.”

“Thanks, so do you,” I told him.

He wore a short-sleeved shirt with a collar on it
and what looked like a brand new pair of jeans. I grabbed a jacket for the
bike, a leather one that Dax had actually bought for me a few years back.

“Are you ready?”

“Maybe,” I said with a smile. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” he said.

When he said wear the bikini, I was thinking picnic
at the lake, but he didn’t seem to be carrying anything on the bike other than
his regular saddle bags. I hoped the date involved food though, because I was
starving.

I followed him out to the bike and we both put on
our jackets and helmets. He slipped on his gloves and straddled the bike and I
slipped on behind him. I loved the feel of him and the smell of leather. I
loved the feel of the cool air on my face, being able to see the beauty of the
landscape around us and the moon and stars up above us.

Dax turned in the direction of the hills and I
realized after a while that we were going towards the lake. We used to do that
a lot; take a picnic basket and go up there and eat and swim in the dark.
Sometimes we’d make a bonfire if no one else was around. When we were kids, Dax
had found us a secluded little spot. I hadn’t been there for a while and the
closer we got, the more excited I became.

I was surprised to see another bike when Dax pulled
his to a stop and parked.

When we got off, I asked him, “Who else is here?”

He looked at the bike and back at me and said,
“Ryan.”

“Ryan who?” I asked. I genuinely had no idea who he
was talking about.

“The newest prospect,” he said.

Bull made the new guys wear patches that said
Prospect until they proved themselves. At last count, he only had two. Neither
of them was named Ryan. I guess I was behind on what was happening with the
club. I liked it. I wanted to keep moving away from it.

I followed Dax and wondered why he would invite this
Ryan guy. When we came around the corner to the spot in the sand that was
surrounded by beautiful big, red rocks I saw a bonfire already going. Dax
stepped over one of the rocks and then he put his hand out to help me over. The
sight I took in caused me to gasp. As Dax was thanking Ryan and sending him
away, I stared at the scenery in front of me.

The bonfire was in the center of the space. On the
right side of it was a huge, soft-looking plaid blanket, a little vase filled
with wildflowers and a spread of food that made my mouth water and my belly
rumble. There was fried chicken and potato salad…biscuits and coleslaw…I saw
cheesecake and chocolate cake…and there was a big decanter with a big bottle of
champagne chilling and ten or twelve bottles of beer.

“Oh my God, Dax…this is so amazing. I don’t even
know what to say.”

He came over to me and took my hands and said, “You
don’t have to say anything. I hope you like it though?”

“I love it,” I said, honestly. “It’s so
romantic…it’s incredible…Did that guy set this all up?”

Dax laughed and said, “Um, no. He was just
protecting it until we got here. I set it up before I came to get you.”

I put my arms around him and gave him a long, deep
kiss. When we came up for air I said, “Thank you.”

He grinned and replied, “You’re welcome. Are you
hungry?”

“Oh God, I’m starving,” I told him. He laughed
again. He used to always tease me about having a big man’s appetite in a little
girl’s body.

“Good, let’s eat first,” he said.

“First, before what?”

“Before we swim,” he said with another grin.

“It’s a little cold, don’t you think?”

“Nah, it’s been warm all day. The water will be a
good swimming temperature. Let’s eat first, and then we’ll talk about it.”

We sat down on the blanket and ate. The fried
chicken was delicious and I wondered if his mother had made it or if he’d
bought it somewhere. When I tasted the biscuits I could tell that they were
unmistakably Gail’s.

“Did your mom cook all day for us?”

“Not for me,” he said. “For you. Every time she
hears we’re doing something together, she does a happy dance. I think you’re
the daughter she’s always wanted.”

I laughed. Everyone knew how Gail felt about her
son. Dax was the one she’d do anything for and since he had to have Bull for a
father, I was glad he had her.

“It’s delicious. Thank her for me,” I said.