In Too Deep (7 page)

Gabriel and Jess looked at each other full of yeah-right and burst out laughing. Fallon clutched the edge of table, and glared back at them.

Brody came to her rescue. “So, Jess, when does your sister move up?” She wanted to squeeze his leg in thanks, but kept her hands to herself. The last thing she wanted to do was lead him on when she refused to get involved.

“
End of the week,” Jess answered and turned to Fallon. “Please, come over and help unpack. We’ll make it a girls night.”

“
Sure.” The move was news to Fallon, just like when Jess moved up. That hurt, but Jess and Jamie probably had their reasons.

“
You better make your famous chili to redeem yourself for disappearing.” Jess winked.

“You just miss my chili.” Fallon relaxed, “Y
ou’ll have to lend me the crockpot and utensils, and tell me when.”

Brody interrupted.
“All that stuff is in your apartment.”

Goddess, he really had planned for his family.
“Thanks.” She smiled weakly. His head tilted as he searched her face.

* * * *

Fallon should have known Brody’s brother was one of Gabriel’s tattoo convention buddies. Gabe had connections everywhere
.
In fact, Adam did the eagle across Gabe’s chest.

The conventions
never were Fallon’s thing. She figured that out at the first one she attended. Thanks to Gabriel and her Other clients, she had developed a following, which was just weird in her opinion. Too much attention always made her squirm and she felt like she was on display when she went.

Once she pushed her plate away, Brody nudged her shoulder.
“There’s a Cell Shop next door to Adam’s. I could take you by there before Gabriel finishes eating, and he can meet us there.”

“
Thanks.” She looked over at Gabriel. “You know where the shop is?”

Gabriel nodded.
“I do. I’ll catch up.”

Fallon gave Brody a smile.
“All right then. Thank you.”

“
Don’t mention it.” Brody waved to Slater and Jess. “See you two tonight.” He offered Gabriel his hand again and they shook. “It was a pleasure.”

“
You too, my man,” Gabe said cheerily. “I’ll see you at Inktastic in a bit.”

Fallon groaned.
“Inktastic? That sounds so girly.”

“
But fitting. Adam’s woman came up with the name.” Gabriel grinned and shrugged one shoulder. “They do great work there. Almost as good as yours, but no one is as good as you.”

“
Hmph, except you.”

He shook his head.
“Not too sure about that, doll. I may have taught you everything I know, but you manage to do things with your wards I didn’t think were possible.”

Fallon rolled her eyes.
“If you say so.” She squeezed his arm as she climbed out of the booth. “I’ll see you soon.”

* * * *

Brody followed Fallon out of the bar. He knew she was tense, but her shoulders relaxed as she stepped into the sunshine. Her head tipped back as she took a deep breath.

“
You okay? You seem pretty anxious,” Brody asked.

Her mouth tipped up in a smile as her gaze met his.
“That went better than I expected.”

“
How’s so?”

“
Gabe didn’t go all papa bear on me, and Jess only gave me one I-told-you-so. Maybe they’re taking pity on me.”

He chuckled.
“Isaac doesn’t sound real popular.”

“
Well, you could ask Jess. She always thought he was a skeev, and I guess some of his… desires leaned that way. He was a good friend for years. Then, I had a momentary lapse in judgment and wound up sleeping with him.”

“
Two years though?” Brody didn’t understand. Before Sarah, he had a series of short term relationships and one night stands. As soon as he figured out the fling wouldn’t work he walked away before things got serious. Then Sarah came along and things just felt right.

Fallon sighed.
“I’m sure you know how Jess is. She has a vision, and she wants to help stop something bad from happening. Well, I’m stubborn, and I wanted to prove her wrong. So I stayed too long when I knew we weren’t working.”

“
But you knew it wasn’t working, so why?”

She swallowed hard and rubbed the back of her neck.
“Honestly?”

“
Mmhmm.”

“
The sex was good, and we were friends first. I guess I hoped what we had was enough. It wasn’t.” She turned to get into the truck.

He wondered if she ever let anyone
in all the way. She seemed so lonely when she shut the door.

Brody walked around the truck and opened the door
to climb in beside her. “Has he really called that many times?”

Fallon took out her phone, brought up her missed calls, and held it out. He glanced over as he fired up the engine.
32 missed calls from JACKASS.
Brody let out a low whistle.

“
Look,” she said, “I was stupid. I tried to see the best in him. I was wrong. Hell, maybe I thought my heart was safe because I didn’t really love him.” She swung her emerald eyes toward him, and shrugged. “So, how bad could he hurt me?”

“
Didn’t he though, emotionally?” Two years, whether she loved him or not, and to find him doing what he was doing had to hurt. He pulled onto the road.

Fallon half-laughed and dropped her gaze.
“He pissed me off, but I didn’t lose sleep over him.” She licked her lips and he caught the scent of caramel. God, he loved the way she smelled.

“
Hmm?” Brody had to wonder if she thought about him the night before. If she had, he would feel a hell of a lot better about all the things he dreamt about doing to her.

“
Thanks for the ride,” Fallon said. There was a pretty blush on her cheeks as she hopped out of the truck and strode into the store. She went right to the prepaid display. Brody followed her in but leaned next to the door, watching as her nervousness evaporated and was replaced by cool confidence.

Charlie, one of the sales guys, looked up and his mouth rounded in an
“O” as he got a good look at Fallon. The poor kid didn’t stand a chance. He looked like a preppy college kid. With a winning smile, he hurried over to her and opened his mouth to start his pitch.

She fixed him with a deadly look.
“Stop right there. I know what I want. You can get me one of these.” She pointed to a phone that sat on the display. “And this.” She handed him a prepaid card. “No, I don’t want a contract, and I don’t want any accessories.”

Charlie stared at her for a few seconds, and her brow inched up as her hands landed on her hips. He finally nodded, then cleared his throat.
“No problem. None at all,” he stammered before scrambling to the back.

Brody held back his laugh as the poor kid came racing back out with her phone and the prepaid card.

“Can I set up the service and transfer your numbers?” He practically begged. “They are the same phone and it will only take a moment.”

“
Sure, thank you.” Fallon gave him just a hint of smile and Charlie’s mouth parted on a gasp. Her smile was breathtaking, and he knew Charlie had a thing for tattoos.

Brody gritted his teeth and shot Charlie a look the kid didn’t notice because he was too busy staring at Fallon. She started to turn back and Brody blanked his expression. With a nod at the kid, she rolled her eyes.

Her clear disinterest was a huge relief. Fallon turned back but ignored Charlie’s obvious fascination with her. She paid, turned on her heel, and marched toward the exit.

“
Hey, wait.” Charlie jogged around the counter to catch up with her. She paused but didn’t look up until he asked, “Want to go out for a drink sometime? I’m Charlie, by the way.”

Her eyes narrowed as she looked over and quickly swept her gaze up and back down his body.
“Thanks, but boys do nothing for me.” She walked right out the door and turned toward Inktastic.

Charlie’s mouth fell open,
and he watched her with wide eyes as she headed over to Adam’s shop. “Who is she?”

“
Fallon, new tattoo artist next door.” Brody nodded toward Inktastic.

“
She’s freaking hot. Like white, blazing, molten, inferno hot. What’s her story?”

The urge to punch Charlie ripped through Brody and his hands cranked into fists. He took a deep breath and attempted to calm down before answering.
“She just dumped some asshole.” He tried to shrug casually. “The woman needs some time and space.” He may have growled a little.

“
Oh, my God. You want her? Wow, you really do.” Charlie gawked at him. “About time you found yourself a woman.”

“
Don’t,” he grumbled, and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t think she’s going to be ready any time soon.”

Charlie snorted in disbelief.
“Please. Was there ever a woman you couldn’t get before…?” His eyes got really wide as he glanced away and changed the subject. “Go over there. I won’t keep you.” He shook his head and muttered, “Lucky bastard.”

* * * *

Fallon walked into Inktastic by herself, and the door bells rang. Brody stayed behind to talk to the dipshit sales guy. Maybe that was unfair to the kid, but she didn’t give a damn. Preppy-boy ogled her like she was a piece of meat. At least the dumbass was obedient and didn’t push his luck.

There was no one
out front, so she took a moment to relax and look around. Stupid name or not, the tattoo shop was nice and had a homey feel. The walls were lined with photographs tastefully displaying their work, and classic rock played on the radio.

There were two tables, one set up on each side of the hall, and a total of eight comfy office type chairs, two on either side of each table. She walked over to the bookshelf full of binders labeled with the artist name and the type of tattoos, and opened the first one she touched. The two pages had photos from multiple angles of a beautifully detailed dragon. The tattoo covered the man’s back and wrapped around his shoulders and chest. Fallon had to admit she was impressed.

She put the binder back and took another look. The live plants brought a taste of the fresh air indoors. Down the hall, she noticed doors on either side, which were probably where the tattoo stations were. Fallon could see herself working there.

The bell rang and she glanced back to watch Brody walk in, followed by Gabriel, which reminded her to text her new number to her friends. Maybe trading numbers with her new landlord would be a good idea. She could just imagine his low rumbly drawl in her ear and shivered.

Right, not happening
, she reminded herself.

A slightly smaller version of Brody walked out from the back. His
dark blond hair was short, he had full sleeves on each arm, and there was a mischievous glint in his smoky blue eyes as he took her in. Then he looked back at Brody and one corner of his mouth quirked up before his eyes swung back to her. “Why, hello.”

She couldn’t help wondering
about their silent communication.

Brody came up behind her.
“Fallon, this is my brother Adam. Adam, this is Fallon O’Shea.”

“
Pleasure to meet you, Fallon. I’ve heard so many good things about you and your work.” Adam had no trace of Brody’s southern drawl. Adam shot another look back at Brody and then Gabriel. “I’m hoping you’ll fill our opening. That is, if you’re interested in working here?”

“
So far, I am.” She resisted a glance back at Brody. “And your shop is charming. I’m pleasantly surprised.” She could rib him about the name once she knew him a little better.

“
Good, then let’s have a chat and get things rolling, as long as Gabriel doesn’t mind bringing your gear in. Then Brody can help him move your boxes to his truck.”

“
I’ll be right back,” Gabriel told her before he went outside.

“
Hmm, I hear the beautiful Miss O’Shea is here to join our motley crew.” The badass version of Dakota swaggered down the hall with a devilish grin. He wore a lot of ink, and she couldn’t miss the big tomahawk tattooed on his neck.

“
Tomahawk, I presume.” She smirked. “You certainly aren’t Dakota.”

Brody moved closer, not quite touching but close enough she could feel the heat of his body
. Fallon almost leaned back against him, but she stood her ground. His face moved closer to her ear, his breath a caress. “Don’t mind Tom. He’s a terrible flirt.”

“
Doesn’t hurt to flirt a little.” Tom winked.

Harmless flirting was a hell of a lot easier to ignore than Brody’s brand. He seemed to mean what he said and his sincerity was wearing down her resolve.