Protective Ink (Urban Fantasy) Read Online Free PDF Page B

told you no, Garrett,” Dory retorted as she stood and walked away from the black leather couch.
    “Oh, ho, ho, the kitten has claws, Garrett, better watch out.” Lissa reached over and punched him lightly in the arm.
    Garrett’s forehead creased into a frown. “Fine, we’d like to talk about perhaps getting the good Miss Dory a tattoo. Maybe.”
    It wasn’t much better, but at least he didn’t already have her in the chair with the needle buzzing away. Lissa tried not to snicker, especially when she saw the thunderous expression on Dory’s face.
    She leaned toward him. “I don’t know what it will do to her, Garrett. There’s no telling if it would hinder the way she can heal you. I’m not willing to take that chance and send you back to the chair.”
    “See, Garrett? I’m not willing to take the chance, either.” Dory said. “You’re just going to have to trust that I know what I’m doing and that you won’t hurt me.”
    Poor guy. Lissa knew how hard it was for Garrett to trust. After all, his own mother had encouraged him to use his talents to do horrible, unspeakable things.…
    “Dory.” Garrett tried to take her hand, but she shook him off.
    “I’m not going to do it. If Lissa can’t guarantee it won’t affect my ability to heal you of the darkness, there’s nothing you can say to change my mind. Don’t you understand?” She stilled her twisting hands by locking her fingers.
    “I want to know you’re protected, dammit. I’m drawing in too much darkness with all the shit that’s been going on.…”
    “And what exactly
is
going on? No one will tell me.” She zeroed in on Garrett, her hands clasped at her waist. “I want information, Garrett. You and Jackson are constantly having private conversations. And you’re gone almost every night, but you won’t talk to me about it. From what you have deigned to tell me, crime has been escalating in the past few weeks. That’s literally all I know. How do you think that makes me feel?”
    “Dory, the whole sharing thing isn’t natural for me.”
    “Yeah, yeah, I know. Man of Steel in his Fortress of Solitude. I’ve spent plenty of time reacquainting myself with your comic books when you don’t come back home for hours. But when you do, you’ve never hurt me, and I’m not potentially taking away the one thing I can do to help you.” She huffed away to the door. Before she left, she shot Garrett a look over her shoulder that made Lissa wince. “And I am not getting a tattoo. You’d know I already have one if you’d ever take me off this darn pedestal.”
    With that, she stomped out of the apartment, leaving Garrett with his mouth wide open. Poor guy.
    “Well, hon, that is not one happy trouper.” Lissa sat down next to Garrett and tucked her legs under her.
    “Yeah, thanks.”
    Lissa hooked her arm around his shoulders and gave him a squeeze. “She’ll be fine. Take her some flowers or something and apologize. Your little girl won’t be bent out of shape for long, I’m sure.”
    “She’s not my little girl, Lis. She’s a woman.”
    “Then why don’t you treat her like one, space cowboy?” Her voice got quieter, which always spelled trouble for everyone involved. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on between you two, but you need to mend it. Now. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”
    Giving him a pat on the arm to offset her harsh words, she left, stopping by Dory’s nearby apartment on her way out to say goodbye. She wasn’t overly surprised when Garrett appeared on the landing seconds after she did.
    “Going somewhere?” she asked.
    He ducked his head. “To get some flowers,” he muttered.
    * * *
    Twenty minutes later, Lissa let herself into her second floor apartment then closed and locked the door behind her. She leaned back against the door, thanking her lucky stars that she’d decided years ago never to get serious with anyone. She didn’t need the complication of thinking of someone