Ink (The Haven Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

arguing, but they’d each be the first to jump to the other’s defence if a third party tried to start something.
    And then there were her clients. Sure, there were a few pains in her ass but she rarely had to deal with them more than once and her regulars were the ones who made it worthwhile. The ones who appreciated their ink as a piece of art, who knew what they wanted but respected her input, who shared the stories behind their designs.
    She’d laughed her ass off with Cherry Hayes, as she’d created a graceful cascade of music notes and cherry blossoms down the singer’s side. The rock star regaling her with tales of fans with her face tattooed on rather sensitive parts of their anatomy.
    She’d blinked back tears when Elijah Gordon, the one-time soldier with the now permanent limp, told her the dog-tags she’d just etched over his heart were for the brother who’d died in his arms in the dust of Afghanistan. His parents’ youngest boy.
    And she’d spent many strangely companionable hours in relative silence with a certain ruggedly handsome biker, pretending not to notice that the heat in the studio seemed to creep up on the occasions when he watched her work with intense dark eyes. Or that the taut muscles of his stomach fluttered under her fingers if she lightly grazed his tanned skin, making her idly wonder what other reactions she could draw from him ...
    Callie’s eyes flew open at the sound of the doorbell and she sprang off the couch, a guilty look on her face at the direction her thoughts had taken unbidden. But a second impatient ring forced her into action and she plastered a smile on her face as she went to answer it, relieved when her friend simply breezed past with nothing more than a quick kiss on her cheek, her arms full of take-away food from the Red Dragon – Callie’s favourite Chinese restaurant.
    “You are a beautiful person and, if I swung that way, I definitely would,” Callie grinned, doing her best to shake off her little daydream and wandering into the kitchen to watch as Lana busied herself with finding plates and glasses.
    “Yeah, well, don’t say that too often – you might give Mich ael ideas and, much as I love you, I’m so not down with that,” the redhead shrugged, a naughty twinkle in her clear green eyes. “Now, we got any wine?”
    “Red or white?”
    “Long as it’s wet, can’t say that I care.”
    “That’s my girl.”
    ***
    “So ...”
    The steepled fingers and conspiratorial look quickly got on Will’s nerves as he stared down the lawyer from across his desk. “So?”
    “You gotta know what I’m asking here,” came the response, the assured smile never faltering as he glanced at the scant notes he’d scribbled down in his own particular brand of short-hand. “Did they do it?”
    “Do what?” the president asked innocently, leaning back in his chair and taking another drag on his cigar. The hint of a challenge was clear in his hard eyes.
    “Will ...”
    “Michael ...” He echoed the forced patience of the tone, finally drawing a frown from the other side of the table as the lawyer sat back and pointed his pen at him.
    “You can trust me, you know – I’ve told you that before.”
    “Well, if a lawyer said it, it must be true,” Will nodded with mock-seriousness. “No offense, man, but I ain’t paying you to solve a murder case. I’m paying you to keep my boys’ asses outta jail. Simple as. If that’s gonna be a problem, Haven ain’t that tiny. I’m sure I can find another lawyer somewhere.”
    “Good as me? Good luck,” Michael scoffed, before quickly changing tack. “You said Sam would be joining us?”
    “Uh, yeah, I sent for him – Colton’s out though. Guess I forgot to tell him you were coming,” Will lied again. He knew his sergeant had little time for guys like Michael, but he could at least be guaranteed to keep a lid on it. Colton, on the other hand ...
    When it came to club business, he was as dependable as they