His eyes snap to mine before he shakes his head and curses. “Fuck.”
He runs his fingers through his hair. “You want me to leave? I can get a prospect to pick you up when you’re done.”
“No. I want you to stay, but let’s maybe stick to neutral topics for now.”
He huffs out a laugh and sits in the empty chair behind him. “Alright, I’m game. What do you consider a neutral topic?”
Just then, Dean walks back in with the stencil.
“Tell me about Au. That’s a cool name, by the way,” I say as Dean lifts my arm, turning it so my palm faces up, and starts cleaning and prepping the area for the stencil.
“Thanks. I’ve always been a lucky fucker when it comes to making money, which is why I ended up with the name Midas.”
“And since Midas is famous for his ability to turn things to gold, you used the chemical symbol for it,” I finish as Dean looks up.
“Huh, I wondered what that meant. Guess I should’ve paid more attention in something other than art class,” he says as he takes a seat and wheels over, positioning the stencil on my wrist.
I laugh. Not that I have room to talk. I only attended high school for a year, and even then, with my mom being sick, I spent more days at home than in the classroom. It took me almost two years to earn my GED, which I completed between sets at Euphoria, a strip club owned by The Chaos Demons. I had to wait until I was old enough that my name didn’t set off any red flags in the system. After all, I was still a minor when I disappeared.
Dean clears his throat, snapping me out of my thoughts. He peels the paper away, showing me the design. I nod, happy with the placement, and take a deep breath.
The Chaos Demons never required a property tattoo. I’m not sure if it’s because we were disposable, or because—back when things were bad—some of the girls were sold, and tattoos would’ve lowered our value. The thought makes me shiver, and it’s one of the reasons why I got mine immediately after Viper, Zero, and Grim cleaned out the bad elements from the club. I was one of the lucky ones, even though I never really felt that lucky. I became friends with Megan, the queen bee, who encouraged me to take a few business courses and spread my wings a little. Even though, at the time, that just meant jumping from one chapter of Chaos Demons to another. I thought a fresh start would be beneficial, and it was in a way. It helped me realize you can’t outrun your problems if you carry them with you.
I sigh, which causes Dean to look up at me. “You okay?”
I nod. “Yeah. Sorry, I’m just out of sorts today.”
I turn away from him and look at Midas. “So, how does someone end up owning a pawnshop?”
Midas stares at me, and for a second, I don’t think he’s going to say anything, but then he starts talking about how he ended up in the pawn business. I think he knows it’s helping to distractme. I’m not scared of needles, but I won’t lie, I’m a little worried about everything it represents.
Blade says it’s for my safety—anyone wearing this symbol falls under Raven Souls’ protection. I crave having a family so badly, I’m willing to ink my loyalty into my skin, but there is a small part of me that worries it feels more like a mark of ownership than protection, and instead of being one step closer to freedom, I’ve added another lock on my cage.
Half the problem is fear. Some part of me still feels like that terrified little girl who’s all alone in the world.
I swallow and use the sound of Midas’s voice to anchor me. It keeps me from spiraling. My dark thoughts don’t belong here—not in this new place where I’m going to build a life for myself. It might not be freedom in the way most people know it, but it’s the closest I’ve come since I woke up and found my mother dead.
I’m so caught up in Midas’s story that I don’t realize Dean’s finished until he taps my arm.
“All done. Take a look.”
I lift my arm to examine the small black raven, and my heart both warms and sinks a little.
“Nice,” I tell him with a smile, setting my arm back down.
“I guess you already know the proper aftercare if this isn’t your first rodeo?”
I nod, even as he quickly goes over it again before wrapping my wrist in plastic wrap.
“If you have any issues, give me a call. Midas has my number.”
“Thanks, Dean. How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing. Blade already paid.”
“Oh. Okay, cool.” I stand up and sway a little, realizing I haven’t eaten today.
“Come on, let’s grab you something to eat before I take you back,” Midas says, handing me my helmet.
