“Well,” he said in an icy voice. “It looks like it’s getting a little crowded around here. Maybe I’ll come back for my tattoo another time.”
Nearly every week for the past six months, Ritter had been saying the same thing. I didn’t begrudge indecisive clients. It was better to procrastinate and put it off than to get permanent ink that you hated on sight.
But I didn’t get an indecisive vibe from Ritter.
He waslurking.Today, it finally weirded me out too much and I had to call in the cavalry. As much as I hated to admit it.
Ritter went slinking out the door without another word. As soon as he was gone, I released a breath of relief. Trooper let his hands slide away from me. Immediately, I missed his heat, his touch, his taste.
Fuck, that kiss was going to haunt me for the rest of my life.
“I’m flattered that you’re hitting on me,” Trooper quipped. “But I have a feeling you’re just using me for your own personal gains. Not that I’m complaining.”
I punched him in the shoulder.
“Shut up. You’re the one who marched in here and kissed me, no questions asked.”
He smirked and crossed his arms.
“I didn’t hear you protesting. In fact, you kissed me back.”
My face went red and I turned away before he could see it. I caught a glimpse of Raine and she fanned herself with a wink.
Damn it. She was never going to let me hear the end of this one.
“Hey.” There was no teasing in Trooper’s voice this time. He cupped my elbow and pulled me around to face him again. “Tell me what’s going on. Who was that guy? Did you know him? Ex-boyfriend who won’t take no for an answer?”
I sighed and shook my head.
“He’s…just a guy. Six months ago, Ritter stopped by for a tattoo. He didn’t know what he wanted, so I did what I always do with prospective clients. I let him look through my portfolio to see if he found anything he liked. But he never made a decision, and he’s been coming here nearly every week since then.”
Trooper nodded without interruption. I shrugged and continued.
“He seemed a little socially awkward and lonely. Like he didn’t have anyone to talk to. But that’s not a crime.”
“Until he started getting fucking creepy,” Raine piped up.
Trooper frowned and glanced at her.
“Creepy? In what way?”
“He left his phone here by accident one day,” Raine replied. “But it was angled a certain way, and partially hidden. He totally left it behind on purpose. When Shea found it, the phone had recorded ten minutes of video already.”
Trooper’s eyes darkened as he shifted his attention to me.
“Did you tell the cops?”
“I filed a report. Not that it did any good. They said they would look into it. I never heard a peep though.”
He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his mouth.
“Did this Ritter guy do anything else weird?”
I exchanged a quick look with Raine. She arched her eyebrows, as if to say,if you don’t tell him, I will.
“When I showed up to open the shop one day,” I said. “There was a stack of deliveries at the door. No one was around. It was first thing in the morning. Nice and quiet. Then…Ritter was just standing there. Too close. I swear that he—”
I broke off, biting the inside of my cheek. It wasn’t like Ritter ever laid his hands on me or threatened me in any way. He was just…strange.
