Chapter One
Sothea
Morning came early in the shop. At least ours. We had a particular portion of our clientele who liked to visit us as the sun rose, or shortly thereafter. Some on the way to work. In many cases, these were folks who were in the middle of their sleeve or other complex artwork, and they liked to sit awhile in the quiet before the shop got mobbed.
Which, later in the day, it always did. Partly because we won awards at every show we attended, and partly because of word of mouth. So by ten o’clock, both chairs would be filled and the noise level would rise.
Generally, I was the only artist there until about nine, and while I enjoyed the company of the rest of the staff, it was nice to have my needle be the only one buzzing when I wanted to concentrate.
“Looks like we are almost done.” The wolf shifter flexed his forearm and admired the colorful swirled letters intertwined with foliage. “The entire history of our pack on my arm.”
“Glad you like it.” I took his credit card and ran the charge. “One more session, and then you can always come back if you need a touch-up. Thanks for letting me work on a project so close to your heart.”
“Thank you for helping me make my vision a reality. My pack will appreciate their alpha’s commitment to our lineage, I think.”
“I’m sure you’re right. Next week at the same time?”
I noted it in the schedule and let him out, about to close the door again when I spotted my boss, aka my sister-in-law, Greta, coming down around the side of the building. “Morning, boss.” She and my brother and I owned the place, but she was definitelythe boss. Mostly because she had the best head for business. But also, she was pushy, in the sweetest possible way.
“Sothea. Having a good morning?” Greta was also a tattoo artist, but handling the shop took most of her time, wasting her gift, I thought. Not that I’d dare to say so. My brother and I were the only working tattooists here for the moment. “I saw the wolf alpha leaving.”
“He’s a good alpha. His pack is lucky to have him.”
“I have heard good things. I hope he’ll allow you to photograph your work. It’s some of your best.”
“Probably because it means so much to him. He’s also patient and lets me do my job without trying to tell me how to go about it.” A problem with a small percentage of our clients. “So, I have a short break here before my next appointment, so I think I’ll run down the block for coffee and a bear—a pastry.”
“Go ahead and say it.” My sister-in-law got a real kick out of my reluctance to name my favorite treat. I ate it, no problem. “Sothea, come on.”
“Bear claw. Happy?”
She moved behind the small desk where she spent too much of her day. “Blissful. Bring me a latte and a scone, okay? Whatever kind they have today is fine. And when you get back, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”
“Let’s talk now.”
“Before coffee? Blasphemy. Just go while I get organized.”
When Greta dug her heels in, there was no moving her. Also, if she hadn’t had caffeine before leaving home—which it sounded like—she would never be willing to listen to anything. So, I headed for the small bakery and coffeehouse down the block. Our town was growing, but Main Street still held most of the touristy businesses with our shop and other artisans on the side streets. The coffeehouse lay right on the corner of Main, justa moment or two away from us. And we got the local discount, too.
There was already a line, but Maria beckoned me over to the side and took my order. Yet another benefit of being local. She got the discount from us as well. “Give me two shakes,” she said and handed off the order to the barista and bagged our baked goods.
On the way back to the shop, I wondered what Greta was interested in discussing. Last time she wanted to talk, she was asking me to do a design I was not crazy about for one of her friends. A big dahlia in neon colors on her chest. I managed to convince the friend to go another way. If this was a similar request, I could probably do the same thing. No need to worry.
But when I entered the store, I found her sitting in my chair, holding my flash designs portfolio. I passed her the coffee with a warning not to spill it on the book. Greta set the cup down and opened the book. “Let’s talk about this design.” She tapped it with one long, pointy bloodred nail. “I had a complaint yesterday from someone who wants it.”
“It’s not the first.” I shrugged and sat on my stool to have my breakfast. “It’s not for sale.”
“Why not?”
“It just isn’t. There are plenty of other designs for people to choose from. That one stays.”
“I’ve backed you up before, but this was one of our best customers. Maybe give in and just let them have it.”
“No. Anything else.” I took the book and flipped through it. “There are a lot of animal flashes. Just let them choose one of those. How about a nice squirrel? A panther if they want an apex predator? A wolf? I have multiples of all of those.”
“But only one bear. Come on. What gives with that? We are bears. Our friends, many of them, are also bears.”
“And if they have a design they’d like, it’s not that I won’t do a bear for them. Just not this one.”
