Ink Me (6 page)

Kelly screamed as the report of the gunshot filled the room,
but Summer suddenly found herself incapable of making any sound at all. Every
last bit of air seemed to be sucked from her body as she watched Aidan’s
shoulder explode in front of her eyes. Bits of frayed rope, blood and what
could very well have been bone splattered across the right side of her body,
but she hardly noticed the sting as something sharp flew into her eye.

All she could think about was catching Aidan, stopping the
momentum of his body before he hit the hard floor.

“Don’t touch him, girl, or you’re next. I owed him one for
Kelly, but I’ll shoot you too. Wouldn’t bother me at all,” Jake said, his voice
calm, more in control than it had been before. It seemed shooting people
soothed his savage beast.

Summer gritted her teeth and tried to still her shaking
hands as she watched Aidan’s head hit the floor with a dull thud. He groaned as
he made impact, squeezing his eyes shut against the pain. Finally he opened his
eyes, blinking rapidly, breath hissing out through gritted teeth. He seemed to
be holding on to consciousness, but his gunshot wound was bleeding way too
freely for her tastes. He’d only been on the floor a few seconds, but blood
already pooled around his left shoulder. He needed direct pressure applied to
the wound and professional medics on the way to help him, ASAP.

“What do you want? Just tell me what you want and I’ll give
it to you,” Summer said, slowly easing herself to a standing position at the
edge of the bed, her hands held up in plain sight.

“I already told you what we wanted, bitch.”

“Fine, I’ll do the tattoo and give you everything in the
safe.” Summer ran her shaking hands through her hair in what she hoped was a
distracting gesture and shifted a few more inches to her left. She was slowly
but surely getting in a better position to reach for Aidan’s weapon and that
knowledge brought her a small measure of calm.

Shooting was going to soothe her savage beast as well. She
couldn’t get her hands on that gun fast enough. She was going to kill Jake,
make sure that motherfucker was sorry he had ever been born. He’d not only shot
the man she loved, but done it when he was tied up and completely helpless and
he was going to pay.

It’s your fault he’s helpless. If you hadn’t wanted to
play that stupid game, if you both had just gone home—

Summer willfully silenced the voice in her head. There was
no time for second-guessing herself. She had to get to the gun, take care of
Jake and Kelly and get Aidan medical attention. She had to get him help, make
sure he wasn’t going to bleed to death. That was all that mattered.

“Summer, I’m okay,” Aidan whispered.

“I hear a homo talking. Didn’t you get it, homo? Or do you
need a bullet in your big mouth to shut you up?” Jake barked. His voice was so
deep that when he yelled the sound vibrated across Summer’s skin like a very
unwanted physical caress.

“Please, Aidan. Just be quiet. I don’t want to lose you,”
Summer sobbed, turning to look toward where Aidan lay on the floor and taking
another half step backward. Close, she was getting so close. One or two more
steps and she’d be close enough to squat down and grab the gun.

“That’s good advice, man. I’d listen to your bitch,” Jake
said. “Then maybe you’ll live to let her tie your homo ass up again. Hell,
maybe she’ll even want you to tie her up after she’s been fucked by a real man,
not some pussy-whipped faggot.”

Jake’s eyes shifted back to Summer’s bare breasts, then slid
down to her pussy and finally back to her eyes. He examined her with an air of
detached interest, not lust, but his look made his intentions clear. He might
not find her attractive, he might not even be in the mood for sex, but that
didn’t matter. He was in the mood to be the big fucking boss and Summer had a
horrible feeling that fucking her was part of what would really do it for old
Jake.

Shoot a few people, steal some money, slap his girlfriend
around and rape a stranger and Jake would go home with the warm contentment of
a job well done. He was a sicko, all right, and Summer felt the last bit of
doubt fade away. She was going to kill this man if at all possible, and sleep
all the more peacefully tonight knowing one violent bastard had been removed
from the face of the earth.

“Jake, you’re not going to fuck her, are you? You promised
you wouldn’t this time, that if I got the tat it would just be me and you from
now on,” Kelly said, her voice catching as she prepared to break out into
tears.

“You didn’t get the tat, so we’ve got no deal, honey.”

“Please, Jake, I’m going to get it tonight, right now. Don’t
fuck that bitch, don’t—”

“Shut up, Kelly. That’s the last time I’m telling you,” Jake
whispered, his eyes moving from Summer to glare at the woman next to him.

Summer shuffled another half step back as he looked away,
her heartbeat speeding as she spied the gun out of the corner of her eye. She
wasn’t more than six inches away, but now she could see that the weapon was
snapped into Aidan’s holster. Would she be able to unsnap the heavy leather
restrains, release the safety and arm and fire the weapon before Jake figured
out what she was up to and fired first? Her chances didn’t look good, but she
had to try.

The way Kelly had said
this time
didn’t give her the
slightest bit of comfort. They’d obviously robbed before and Jake had raped
someone, at least one someone, during the robbery. Summer could safely say she’d
rather spend the night in a locked coffin filled with maggots than have Jake’s
dick in her. She just couldn’t,
wouldn’t
let that happen, especially not
in front of Aidan. If he had to lie there on the floor bleeding and watch her
being violated, she knew it would eat away at him forever.

She loved him too much to let him live with that, not if she
could do anything to keep it from happening. Slowly she shifted her weight and
toed a pillow out of the way with her boot, clearing the last obstacle from her
path. Now she just had to find the right time to go for the gun.

“Go get her tools, Kelly. I’ll get our girl warmed up and
ready to work.”

“Jake please, don’t, I—”

Jake calmly transferred his gun from his right hand to his
left and then backhanded Kelly with his right. Her head snapped back at an angle
and she stumbled, but didn’t fall. Jake, unfortunately, managed to keep his
eyes, and his gun, trained in Summer’s direction the entire time. The man had a
real gift for ambidextrous abuse.

“That hurt, Jake. I already got my fucking hand shot up. Did
you really have to—”

Jake lashed out so quickly Summer never saw the second slap
coming. She flinched as Kelly’s head snapped back a second time. When the other
woman recovered her balance and righted her head, her nose was bleeding freely,
running down into her mouth.

“Now, you want to think again about what you’re going to
say?” Jake asked, his voice smooth as silk. Strangely, each burst of violence
seemed to soothe the man, even as it escalated the tension in the room by leaps
and bounds.

“I’m sorry. I’ll go get her tools. I think I remember which
ones she was going to use.” Kelly’s voice sounded oddly nasal, like a kid with
a stuffed up nose, making Summer wonder if her nose was broken, not merely
bloodied.

The woman was on her shit list, big time, for trying to
shoot her and bringing this man into her studio in the middle of the night, but
a part of her still felt pity for Kelly. What the hell must her life be like if
a man like this had convinced her that he was a good catch, someone worthy of
having his name tattooed on her ass for all eternity?

“That’s my good girl, now give me a kiss.” Kelly leaned over
and eagerly gave Jake the requested kiss, which he accepted with enthusiasm,
despite the fact that the blood running from her nose smeared across his lips.
Sick fuck. Maybe he enjoyed the taste of blood. Summer didn’t want to stick
around long enough to find out.

His eyes weren’t closed, but he was momentarily distracted
by the tongue tangling with his main squeeze. Summer didn’t know if she’d get
another, better chance to reach for the gun. She squatted down and reached for
the snaps on the holster, not moving too quickly so as not to attract
attention, but not too slowly either. She might only have a few seconds, she
had to get the gun in her hand, had to—

“What the fuck are you doing, bitch?” Jake asked, breaking
the kiss and aiming the gun at the center of Summer’s head as she knelt beside
the bed. She could try to duck down, get out of range, but how long would it
take him to leap over the futon and be on her? Not long, not nearly long
enough. She had to stall, had to find a way to keep him from pulling that
trigger.

“I just wanted to get some clothes to put on,” she sobbed,
trying to force tears from her eyes as her breath heaved in and out of her
chest. Damn it, she could usually cry at the drop of a hat. Pampers commercials
made her tear up, for god’s sakes, so why couldn’t she manage a few of the real
things now, when she was probably more scared than she’d ever been in her life?

“I told you, you don’t need clothes. Those boots are plenty.
I’ve never fucked a bitch in boots before. Fucked this whore once who liked to
wear those crotch-less panties, but never—”

“I’ll kill you, you motherfucker. If you touch her, I’ll
kill you,” Aidan said, his voice disturbingly breathy, but his blue eyes clear
and lucid.

The knot of fear in Summer’s chest tightened as Aidan’s eyes
darted from hers to the gun on the floor and back again. He knew what she was
up to and he was going to try to help the only way he could by providing a
distraction. She could only hope that he could keep from making Jake angry
enough to open fire again, and that she could get the gun free before she
attracted Jake’s attention a second time.

She’d convinced him she was mostly harmless for the moment,
but the instant he saw the gun in her hands all bets would be off. She had to
be ready to make the most of the chance Aidan was trying to give her.

“You’re not going to be doing anything except bleeding if
you don’t shut up,” Jake said. “Go on, honey, get the stuff while I show the
homo how a real man fucks a bitch.” Kelly turned toward the door of the main
studio room with a nervous look over her shoulder. She met Summer’s eyes for a
split second, long enough for her to read the regret in the other woman’s face
before she disappeared into the other room.

Great, she picked this moment to acquire a conscience. It
was way too little, far too late.

“Come on over, Summer. Let’s see what that naked little
pussy of yours looks like up close.”

“I swear to god, I’ll cut your dick off and shove it down
your throat, you faggot,” Aidan said, his voice stronger. Summer unsnapped the
first strap under the cover of his shout and then reached for the second.

“I think you’ve got us confused. You’re the only faggot I see
in here.” Jake’s voice was soft, but ripe with menace as he moved toward the
side of the bed where Aidan still lay bleeding.

“Takes one to know one, right? Come on, Jake, you’ve heard
that line about protesting too much, right? Only a big, flaming fag would feel
the need to accuse a man who obviously just finished fucking a woman of being a
homo.”

“Shut up, you stupid fuck,” Jake screamed, raising the gun
and arming it again. Summer fumbled with the second snap.

“Go ahead, shoot me, won’t make you any less of a fag. Or
you could untie me and we could settle this like real men. Or don’t you have it
in you to fight fair?”

“I’d pound your face into the ground, homo. I’d—”

“Then go ahead, untie me. Let’s settle this, Jake, let’s see
if you’re half the man you like to imagine you are when you’re raping women
with you little pencil dick.”

“How about we see what your dick looks like in a million
pieces instead.” Jake aimed the gun at Aidan’s groin just as Summer pulled the
gun free from its holster.

“No!” she screamed, releasing the safety and firing in the
general direction of Jake’s chest. She didn’t take time to aim, but figured
even she couldn’t miss from a distance of five feet.

She was right.

“Fuck,” he grunted, looking down at his chest where a small
hole began to leak red on his white wife-beater seconds later. “You bitch.”

He lifted his gun in her direction, but Summer fired again,
this time hitting his gun arm. Jake winced, but didn’t drop the weapon. Summer
had just enough time to realize that she was about to be shot in the chest at
close range when Jake’s knees suddenly buckled. The shot went wild, pinging off
something behind her.

“Summer, get his gun,” Aidan said. He was on his knees next
to Jake. He’d knocked the other man to the floor with a sweep of his legs and
then rolled over and was struggling to his feet. Jake tried to get up, but
Aidan managed to stand first and deliver a swift kick to the other man’s
stomach that made him fall to the ground and lie still, panting for breath.

Summer ran for the gun and plucked it from the floor just as
sirens began to sound in the distance. Giving Jake a wide berth, she ran to
Aidan and began pulling at the ropes that held him.

“You were almost loose,” she said, shocked to find one of
his hands already free.

“Yeah, if old Jake here hadn’t had such an itchy trigger
finger, I would have been out in time to take care of him myself,” he said,
helping her unwind the ropes from around his chest. When he was free, he pulled
her into him with his bad arm and took his gun from her with the other. He
kissed her forehead and squeezed her tight, just once, letting her know even
with that brief contact how thankful he was for her safety.

“Are you okay? You’re still bleeding, should I get—”

“You should get some clothes on. I’m betting those sirens
are for us. Someone probably heard the gunshot. I’m going to secure this creep
and then go check on the princess in the other room. I don’t want her running
this time.”

“But Aidan, your arm,” Summer said, pulling on her kimono
and fetching Aidan’s clothes form the pile at the end of the bed. If he was
going to go tracking down suspects, it might help for him to have some clothes
on, as well.

“It’s fine, it only grazed the skin. We’ll get it patched up
at the ER and I’ll be fine to go home tonight,” Aidan said. He finished tying
Jake’s hands behind his back and moved down to his feet.

“Is that necessary? He doesn’t even seem to be moving,”
Summer said, trying not think about the fact that Jake might be dead already,
that she might have really killed another human being. No matter what a monster
he’d been, she didn’t know how well she would sleep at night if she’d really
murdered him.

“He’s still breathing. Whether he’s faking it or really
unconscious, I’m not taking a chance with you here alone with him.”

“Fuck you, asshole.” Jake grunted and started kicking as
Aidan tried to tie his boots together. Summer jumped at the sudden movement and
had to swallow the scream that rose in her throat.

“See there? Old Jake is going to live to stand trial after
all,” Aidan said, smiling as he tightened the rope around Jake’s legs and then
stood up to survey his handiwork.

“How can you smile? I mean…shit, Aidan,” Summer said, those
tears she’d been trying for a few minutes ago flowing down her cheeks now that
she
didn’t
want to look like she was falling to pieces. Traitorous
emotions.

“Baby, don’t cry.” Aidan pulled her close and dropped a kiss
on her forehead. “I’m so glad you’re okay. You were so brave. I’m so proud of
you.”

“I should have just gotten the gun in the first place,” she
said, returning his kisses even as she pressed his boxer briefs into his hand.
Those sirens were getting closer and far too many strangers had already seen
Aidan naked tonight, no need to add half the LVMPD to the list.

“No, I should have gone after that bitch and made sure she
was taken into custody.” Aidan quickly slid into his boxers and jeans, only
wincing the slightest bit as he pulled his black t-shirt over his head. “You
stay here and wait for me. I’m going to go out there and see if I can get Kelly
to see sense and turn herself in.”

“No, I want to go with you,” Summer said, feeling
ridiculously clingy. She just wasn’t ready to let Aidan out of her sight, not
when she’d spent the past twenty minutes certain that she was going to lose him
forever.

“I don’t think she’s armed, but she might still be dangerous
so stay behind me and run back in here if there’s any trouble, okay?” He kissed
her temple softly again before stepping into his boots and moving toward the
door the studio.

Summer cast one last look over at Jake, who lay struggling
on the ground, before she followed Aidan with a shudder. She was glad he hadn’t
made a fuss about her tagging along. No matter that the man was tied up, she
still didn’t want to be in the same room alone with Jake. He was too creepy and
had come far too close to making this the last anniversary she and Aidan would
ever celebrate.

* * * * *

“Are you sure you don’t want a prescription for some
painkillers?” The doctor washed her hands at a basin near the entrance to the
room while the nurse attendant finished bandaging Aidan’s shoulder. She was
already halfway out the door by the time he responded.

“No thanks,” he told her swiftly retreating back.

ER doctors, they were always on the move, but Aidan wasn’t
going to complain. He’d been admitted, tended to and was getting ready to be
released in less than an hour and a half. It was a new emergency room record
and he was appropriately grateful.

“You’re all set, I’ll put your chart at the front desk,” the
nurse said with a friendly smile before following the doctor out the door.

It was nearly two in the morning on a Friday night in Vegas,
prime time for the shit to hit the fan and the drunks and crazies to hit the
ER. The hallway outside was as loud as any casino and the waiting room packed
to capacity. Luckily, the doctors in the ER did their best to take special care
of the officers of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The fact that
Aidan wasn’t technically still a member of the force hadn’t been mentioned, but
he didn’t feel bad for the small deception. After the night he’d had, he was
just grateful to finally be able to head for home with Summer by his side.