The man nodded. “We’re about done here anyway.” Moving away, he called out, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Erik. Great job today.”
As soon as they were alone, Chloe’s belly flooded with butterflies. He’d shed his hoodie, and the navy blue T-shirt he was wearing hugged his muscular shoulders while leaving his thick biceps on display. Suddenly, she couldn’t remember what she’d come in here for.
After a moment of awkward silence, Erik prompted, “You wanted to talk to me?” just as Chloe blurted, “This really is amazing work.”
He turned slightly to look at the backdrop, and Chloe’s breath caught as she was offered a view of his unscarred profile. He’d truly been a beautiful man. But when he turned back and she saw his scars, her chest clenched painfully for him. He’d been hurt so very badly…
“Did you need something?” His voice was clipped, almost angry, and her cheeks heated with embarrassment that he’d caught her staring and had probably seen the sympathy on her face. He had a right to be angry, especially if he’d heard even half the things peoplehad been saying about him today. He probably assumed she was just like them, and probably thought she’d come to gawk. Poor man. Honestly, she was surprised he hadn’t up and quit.
Refusing to let his bad mood affect her, Chloe smiled brightly. “I wanted to see how your first day went.” She motioned to the backdrop. “You were certainly productive.”
He let out a little grunt. “It was fine.” Turning, he started gathering up some of his things.
She nodded, though he wasn’t looking at her anymore. He’d said his day was fine, and he hadn’t quit despite most likely having heard the bullshit being spewed about him, nor had he looked like his feelings had been in any way hurt. Clearly, he had a tough hide and didn’t need her coddling him. With her purpose for coming here completed, she should have left. It had been a long day. He probably wanted to go home, eat, and relax – exactly what she should be doing – but she couldn’t seem to get her feet to move.
“Lattie showed me your website.”
He didn’t turn to look at her, just continued packing things up in a crate. “Yeah?”
“I saw there was a whole section of tattoos.” Some really amazing tattoos. She’d seen an incredibly intricate jungle scene with gorillas, a photo-realistic lion with a mane that looked so soft she’d wanted to pet it, and a cherry blossom tree in full bloom, each delicate pink petal floating on an invisible breeze, a work of art.
That got his attention. He turned his head to look back at her, his eyes skating up and down her person. “You want a tattoo?”
Chloe couldn’t get a read on his tone. Did he sound skeptical? She drew herself up a bit. She could totally get a tattoo. She could be badass.
Her chin hitched up a notch. “What if I do?”
Straightening to his full height, he wiped his hands off on a rag. “What’d you have in mind?”
Chloe’s eyes widened. She didn’t know there was going to be a quiz. “Er…”
One side of his mouth quirked up just the tiniest bit. “You think about it and let me know.”
Was that a dare? Did he think she wouldn’t? “I will.”
Having gotten the last word, she whirled around, ready to march away, only to hear him say, “You do that.”
Her back stiffened, but she forced her feet to keep moving. She hadn’t intended her visit to devolve into some childish back-and-forth, yet she hadn’t been able to help herself. Something about him just riled her up, got her blood pumping, and made her feel alive.
Erik left right after Chloe, watching to make sure she got safely to her car in the parking lot, and then following discreetly behind heruntil she reached her place. He may have been a bit pissed off at her, but that wouldn’t keep him from doing his job. He’d seen the pity on her face when she’d looked at his scars. The horror. It had been written there, clear as day, and anger had burned through him so hotly he’d wanted to growl. He wasn’t even sure why he’d been so irritated. People reacted to his face way worse than Chloe had – today especially – but for some reason, he expected better from her. No, that wasn’t true. It wasn’t that he expected better of her; it was that he didn’twanther to see them at all. He wanted her to seehim. Which was ridiculous. She’d have to be blind not to notice that half his face was fucked.
He let out a light chuff of laughter as he recalled their tattoo conversation. She’d been so damn cute, he hadn’t been able to resist baiting her. But hell, if she wanted ink, he’d happily tattoo her, anywhere on her body. He’d even be happy to give her some suggestions on the design.
With that conversation still on his mind when he got back to his apartment, Erik settled on the couch with his sketch pad. He didn’t know Chloe that well. The details he had on her were little better than sterile facts, not a deep dive into her psyche, but he imagined she’d want something delicate, pretty, yet also something meaningful to her.
Picking up his pencil as an idea began to take shape, he started to draw.
When his phone rang and he raised his head, he winced as his muscles protested the change in position. A glance at the clock showed he’d been hunched over his sketch for almost two hours now, though it hadn’t seemed like that much time had passed.
Seeing the general’s number on the screen, he connected the call. “Sir.”
“Erik. I have new information.”
Sitting up straighter, Erik listened as the general said, “Since this op isn’t official, I can’t devote the full scale of Black Bay’s resources to it, but Lark volunteered to do some digging, and I have some friends willing to feed me intel.”
That didn’t surprise Erik. Lark was always hungry for a new puzzle to solve, and the general’s network of retired military buddies was extensive and spread across the country.
“If Jackson Savoy is communicating with anyone, he’s using a burner. I was able to get eyes on his place. He left his phone there, and all his things, so he’s traveling light. He left his car parked in his garage, but took the keys, leaving us to assume he intends to return. Aside from his bills, which are set up for automatic withdrawal, there’s been no activity on his accounts, so he didn’t rent a car or buy a ticket for public transportation.”
