Out From Under Read online

  I smiled at him, even as I was contemplating about him, and Loire had already started working on my elaborate tattoo. I don’t think I could have gotten through it had he not been there. He kept up a string of chatter about the latest inside rumors in the music industry, which had Loire and I both in stitches. At one point, she had to stop working on my tattoo, she’d laughed so long and hard.

  “Well, we know who to avoid the next time we’re out in a club,” I responded finally. after one of his stories about a certain rock star who’d gotten it on with a young actress. He’d left her with his semen running down her leg when she exited the ladies room.

  Linx’s smile disappeared as he grabbed my hands. My arms were stretched out in front of me and my hands felt nice within the calloused palms of his own. It was a quiet gesture of support because Loire had gotten to the names and every time the needle hit my spine, I wanted to scream. I didn’t ever want to know what a spinal tap felt like, if just getting a tattoo was this bad.

  “Almost done, baby,” Linx murmured. “You’ve been a trooper.”

  “Thanks,” I replied through gritted teeth. “I think.”

  “Seriously, I knew you were badass, but what you have just been through…all I can say is wow. I don’t think I was that calm when I got the guns and roses tattoo on my chest. I’m pretty sure I was downing Jack Daniels by the bottle and trying not to wince.”

  “Who did it?” I asked, my voice quiet.

  Linx looked at me again with those gorgeous eyes that demanded my attention and I couldn’t dare look away. There was just something so magnetic about his stare, I didn’t want to turn away.

  “Nil did it. He’s Seth’s brother and Loire’s partner.”

  “Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say because I was too busy focusing past the pain that had intensified again.

  Loire busied herself, finishing up my tattoo. It definitely hurt more than I’d imagined it would.

  “Just breathe,” Linx instructed in the velvety-smooth voice of his, and I squeezed harder on his hands.

  There was such care and gentleness in his words and actions with me; I didn’t realize I probably was cutting off his blood supply until his hands turned stark white from where I was squeezing them.

  “All done!” Loire announced, her voice excited as she cleaned me up and bandaged the whole area of my back with saran wrap. She applied hypo-allergenic paper tape to keep the saran wrap in place.

  I sat up and Linx helped me back into my dress while Loire gave me instructions on the care and cleaning of my new tattoo.

  “In eight hours or so, remove the saran wrap and the tape. You are allowed warm baths or showers but do not expose the tattooed flesh to a high-pressure shower head, or to the sun, not yet at least. The best thing you can do is run cold water over the area for about a minute after you are through bathing. That will close the pores and prevent loss of pigmentation for the tattoo.

  “Keep your tattoo moisturized with vitamin D for the first week so it can heal properly. No scented or perfumed lotions are to be used whatsoever. After about a week, you should be fine and can go back to your usual habits. If you have any issues or questions, call Linx here. As you can see, he’s already inked down, so if anyone is a tattoo expert, it’s him.”

  “Wait, do you have tattoos on your legs?” I questioned him in a voice that didn’t sound like my own. It was girly and…immature.

  “No, I don’t. Just on my arms, stomach, chest, and my shoulder blades. To be honest, I never really wanted any on my legs either.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “My mom and dad are already mortified by how much I have ‘desecrated my body’. I like my legs the way they are and they will continue to be tattoo-free.”

  I laughed again as Loire folded her table and Linx picked it up.

  “Lay down on the sofa, face down. I’ll be right back.”

  I watched as he left with Loire and wondered why I’d decided to “mutilate” my body with a tattoo. My father would be turning over his grave if he knew.

  Actually, both my parents would be a bit horrified if they knew. Tristan would worry I’d ruined my body for life even though he possessed a few hidden tattoos of his own. The thought occurred to me that he no longer possessed anything since he was dead.

  Linx returned shortly afterwards and sat next to me on the sofa.

  “You see, it wasn’t that painful, was it?”

  I shook my head though it was an outright lie. “No, it wasn’t bad at all.”

  “Liar.” His face was dead serious until he smiled, putting me at ease. “You’re a very convincing liar, but I know that isn’t true. We both do. You’re really brave, do you know that?”

  I looked down at the sofa and said nothing to this statement. I felt, more often than not, like a coward who’d run away from my problems since I couldn’t face the truth. My parents and brother were dead, and there would never be a happy ending to the so-called tragedy that was my life.

  “I wish that was true,” I finally murmured, as I rested my head on my arms.

  “It is true, but you’re just you’re too scared to admit it. I’m a no bullshit kind of a guy and with everything you have been through, you’re stronger than you think you are and that, in itself, is an admirable quality. It makes you loveable and you are worthy of love and affection. Don’t you ever forget that.”

  I didn’t know what to say to a declaration like that so instead I said nothing. He moved closer to me on the sofa and allowed a comfortable silence to settle between us.

  Linx began to stroke my hair gently, in a caring and relaxing pattern that soon had my eyes closing. Before I knew it, I’d fallen asleep on his sofa.

  OVER THE NEXT six weeks that followed, after our impromptu tattoo session together, I began to spend a lot of time with Linx at the studio. The band was quite busy since they were recording their new album, which had undergone several name changes before it was accurately titled Delusions of Lost Love.

  At first Talia was reluctant to let me follow her to the studio because she didn’t understand why I didn’t want to hang out with anyone my own age.

  “It’s boring—you said so yourself—so why the change of heart now?”

  “I don’t want to be in the house alone. Besides, it gives me a chance to see you in action. I love watching you sing.” I refrained from pointing out to her that I didn’t even know anyone my own age here.

  “And Linx. Let’s not forget about him shall we?” Talia chuckled out loud, as we sat in the back of her chauffeur-driven silver Cadillac Escalade. “Have you fucked him yet?”

  I felt my whole face flame up with embarrassment. “No! We usually hang out at the Viper Room or the Sky Bar and then go back to his place. We have barely even kissed, let alone done anything else…” I trailed off as I looked down at my interlocked fingers.

  “Good because he’s not the man for you.” Talia adjusted her back in the seat and placed her hand on her growing baby bump.

  “What the hell does that mean?” I rubbed the back of my neck where I’d recently gotten another tat, a small single rose that was an exact replica of one of the roses on Linx’s chest.

  I liked him…a lot. More than any man I’d ever met, if I were being honest. We talked with one another like two adults and he treated me like his equal. We did incredibly boring shit together, but had fun doing it because we were together. I’d met his two sons, Jimi and Brady. They were adorable and it pleased me that they liked me. I liked them back and we’d had the time of our lives at the L.A. Zoo. Yet, here was my cousin telling me she didn’t think he was appropriate for me and I wanted to know why.

  “He’s got two kids and a fucking crazy ex-wife who would probably slit your throat if she knew about you. Linx is a sweet guy, but he’s damaged beyond repair. He isn’t fit for a relationship—”

  “—says the woman who is pregnant by a man who is on and off with his junkie girlfriend, while you string your junkie kinda ex-boyfriend along?”
I snapped in anger. “I’m an adult, Talia. I love you, but I have been taking care of myself for a while now. I appreciate the room and the board, and the job of course, but…please stay out of my personal life.”

  “Look at you!” she exclaimed. “Your mother and father would kill me if they saw you now. You’ve got a tattoo on the back of your neck and a huge ass fucking tattoo on your back. The old you wouldn’t have dared to ‘desecrate’ your body the way you have.”

  “I don’t look at tats as desecration, Talia, and neither do you. You have a half a sleeve on your right arm, from below your elbow almost to your wrist! You have tons of tats—why the fuck did you ‘desecrate’ your body?” I used air quotes to emphasize the word desecrate, which was probably a little childish, but I couldn’t help it—I was angry.

  “It was my body to do whatever I wanted to do with it. Plus, I’m a rock star. It’s not like I can’t get rid of them when I start to get old and wrinkly. That’s totally not the point, because I wouldn’t—every single one of them means something to me. I understand the memorial on your back, but what the fuck is up with the rose?”

  “It’s how Lennon sees me,” I began in a soft voice. “He calls me his little rose. I copied one of the tats on his chest and had it duplicated by Loire. It’s small, see?” I pulled up my hair to show Talia.

  “Don’t fall in love with this fucking guy, Trista. He isn’t ready for another relationship and he will just break your heart. Be his friend if you want, but don’t start something he won’t be able to finish. You’re just asking for a world of hurt and I don’t want that to happen to you.” She massaged her bump again as her face grimaced.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, baby boy didn’t like the jalapeno chili cheese fries I ate for lunch and he’s starting to kick a lot. I already called Dr. Rogers, he says I’m fine and so is the baby. We’ve done every test known to man and the baby is healthy and growing.” Talia smiled. “I’m more scared of giving birth than I am of being pregnant if you can believe it.”

  I grabbed my cousin’s hand and held it. “Listen, I won’t get hurt…even if I do fall for Linx and he breaks my heart. I don’t want you to worry about me, Tal. You just worry about giving birth to a healthy baby boy and that no-good father of his. Sooner or later, Jaden is going to have to make a decision. Then again, once a Cox, always a cock.”

  “Do you have first-hand experience with any of the Cox men?” she asked me, her brow arching.

  “Um, no. Dad would have murdered me himself. Mom and Dad did the books for them and laundered money for the Saints’ club.” I picked at the cuticle of my thumb. “The Bastards’ didn’t care—they knew it was business and besides, Trey would have never allowed our parents to betray his club. No one suspects the Saints or the Bastards of their murders but they have gone kind of postal on the White Knights.

  “Brooklyn Decker threatened me the night of that get together in the Costco parking lot. He told me to ‘call the dogs off’ but I don’t have that kind of power over my brother. Trey does what he wants and the hits are sanctioned. It’s not my fault if they are decimating the ranks of the Knights.”

  “That’s what I’m talking about. What would Linx do if the Knights came back to make good on their promise?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Nothing is going to happen to me, Talia.”

  Luckily, she allowed the subject to drop as we arrived at the studio and I helped Talia out before she strolled into the studio.

  Linx leaned against the side of the building in the official Smoking Area, watching me as he dragged from a Camel.

  I walked toward him and placed my arms around the small of his back. I leaned against him, on tip toe, and kissed his lips. He tasted like tobacco. It was his taste and bothered me less than it usually would have.

  “What’s Talia’s problem?” he asked as he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer.

  “She’s scared you’re not a good influence on me. She doesn’t think you are relationship material and I am stupid for getting my hopes up that we could be anything more than friends. She believes Cassidy has damaged you beyond repair, and you’re going to break my heart.”

  He looked down at me, his blue eyes bright and shimmery with pain. “What do you think?”

  “I call bullshit. Horrible tragedies happen to people all the time and no matter how broken a person is, they can still heal and go on to have a perfectly respectable relationship.”

  I leaned my head against his chest and felt his heart beating in his chest. “You’re not damaged beyond repair and yes, your ex did a number on you, but if I can move past my family’s deaths then you can heal yourself too. Cassidy treated you like a piggy bank and you both used and abused each other, but it wasn’t all bad. Think about the two beautiful babies you two made. They are good and pure. Not everything about your relationship with Cassidy was poison and destruction.”

  Linx smiled down at me as he ground his cigarette out in the ashtray provided and wrapped both his hands around my neck. “Your cousin is right. I don’t deserve you and you’re much too intelligent for a fucking jerk like me. You make me feel like I can be a better person. I never thought I would say that about an eighteen year old girl,” he murmured.

  Our lips were only inches apart before I made the move and pressed mine against his. He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me into him. His fingers pressed against the newer tat, hurting a little, but I didn’t care. As my mouth opened, he claimed my tongue with his tobacco soaked one and I moaned into the kiss.

  “What the fuck is going on here?” a male voice inquired, full of rage.

  I looked up and turned toward the angry voice.

  “Who’s that?” Linx wondered as a tall, tattooed biker stalked toward us.

  “That, sweetie, is a Demon’s Bastard and my brother…Trey.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  LINX DIDN’T SCARE easy; one didn’t grow up in South Boston without learning how to fight. Trey, Trista’s brother, however, had a major advantage over him. He was holding a silver nine millimeter in his left hand as if it were an extension of his body. He’d been around violent people enough to know that only true gun experts held their gun like that.

  He glared into those dead, hazel-green eyes and could see the resemblance between him and Trista though he and Trey had the same coloring. His skin was slightly tanned and he wore three-day-old stubble on his rugged face.

  “What are you doing here?” Trista asked but she merely glanced at the gun before her eyes wandered back to her brother’s face.

  There wasn’t a shred of fear in her eyes. This woman was harder than he’d ever imagined and wouldn’t break if he made a mistake. She was the real deal, a strong woman, who had survived the deaths of most of her family. After all of the murder and mayhem in her past, he could still coax a genuine smile out of her.

  “Who is this motherfucker with his hands all over you?” Trey demanded, pushing his sister out of the way as he aimed the gun directly in Linx’s face. The safety was off; one wrong move and his brains would be all over the ground.

  “I’m Lennon ‘Linx’ Carter, bassist for Winter’s Regret and your sister’s…boyfriend.”

  Did he just fucking say he was Trista’s boyfriend?

  They hadn’t even discussed their relationship status; what if she didn’t want him like that? What if she’d already friend-zoned his ass? Perhaps she was looking for more of a “friends with benefits” situation or an occasional bootie-call.

  Trista pushed past her brother, moving the aimed gun away from Linx’s head before she jumping into his arms. “Really? That’s news to me but I’ll take it!” She kissed him on the lips as his heart thundered in his chest. When they broke away, he saw the huge smile on her face. She definitely seemed ok with his assessment.

  “When did this happen? Looks like you two weren’t that cozy before,” another male voice said.

  Linx spotted a guy with dirty blond hair who was scowling behind Tr
ey.

  “What the fuck is he doing here?” Trista asked Trey. “I told you. We are through, Clooney, and you’ll never get any of this pussy again, so shut the fuck up and mind your own damn business!”

  He backed off quickly, as she ended their intimate embrace and wrapped her arms around his waist.

  “Listen, I didn’t come here to start anything. I just wanted to know if you have been in any danger these past few weeks? I know Brooklyn Decker made a trip here six weeks ago, and I hoped he didn’t decide to pay you a visit.”

  “He did.” Trista breathed deeply. “Talia is ultra-paranoid, Trey. She has two bodyguards on me at all times and they’re ex-Navy SEALs for fuck’s sake. I’m fine.”

  “What about you, Romeo?” Trey inquired as he glared directly at Linx. “When my sister is with you, is she safe?”

  “Her bodyguards don’t exactly leave her side. They sleep in my guest bedrooms when she spends the night.”

  “Trey, you haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here in L.A.? You didn’t ride your Harley all the way from Pine Bluff to ask me about Brooklyn Decker.” Trista asked, interrupting the interrogation.

  Linx watched the interaction between Trista and her brother with interest. It was obvious they were siblings but there was a distinct hostile tone in her voice and her body language had become defensive. She acted like she was annoyed and aggravated by his presence instead of relieved.

  “Club business.” He glared at her, hazel-green eyes cold as an Eskimo’s dick. “I also wanted to check in on my little sister—is that a crime?”

  “No but we’ll have to finish this conversation later at Talia’s house. Winter’s Regret is recording today in the studio and if we’re not upstairs in five minutes, Linx is going to be late.” She adjusted the pink, short-sleeved babydoll blouse she wore with a pair of dark blue jeans and black, four-inch booties. “Then again, you’ve always had impeccably bad timing.”