Permanent (Indelibly Marked) (Volume 1) (3 page)

“Get these filled for Miss Lindsay so we can take her home. Ask for Henry at the pharmacy. Remind him I’m the reason he now has a wife and two kids.” He handed Carson the prescriptions. “Did you call the super and make sure her door was fixed?”

“All done my Czar.” Carson saluted and left.

“Shane?” Wavering, she took hold of his arm.

“Yes, there’s still plenty of time to make it to Vegas for our wedding.” He winked. “Don’t worry.”

Quite certain she was about the last woman he’d ever want to marry, she finished her sentence. “I just wanted to say thank you.”

“You are more than welcome.” He put his arm around her. “We’re neighbors.”

“If you ever need anything, just let me know. I’m more than happy to return the favor.” The last thing she needed was to start her California life in debt.

“I will surely keep that in mind.” He pulled her closer for a squeeze. “We should do this again sometime.”

She forced a laugh. Except for a friendly wave from the next-door over, no doubt they would go their separate ways. Someone like him was not in her plan.

Chapter Three

Shane leaned back on the wall between his and Lindsay’s door, waiting for her to return from her first day of work. After some prodding last night, he discovered she worked in the heart of Beverly Hills, right on Wilshire Boulevard. In rush hour it would take her about forty minutes to drive the six miles home and he inhaled. She should be there any minute.

“I’m starving!” Emily’s voice screeched from his apartment.

“All in good time.” Shane thrummed fingers on his doorjamb.

“Can I practice my makeup on her?” His sister stuck her head out of the door.

“Eventually.” He motioned her back inside. “She needs a girlfriend and so do you.”

“Why do you say that?” Emily stepped all the way out with her hands on her hips.

“She has been here all week and the first I heard or saw of her was when she fell yesterday.” He couldn’t fathom how boring it must have been for her with no friends. “You have too many men in your life and could use some female influence.” Lindsay was a total girl, with manners and blushes and little smiles. He licked his lips.

Emily stuck her tongue out. “Won’t she be overwhelmed by all of us?”

“She was yesterday.” He shrugged and pushed her inside as the woman he wanted limped to the stairs. She clutched the wood banister as she dragged herself up.
Perfect
.

When she raised her head, he waved and gave her a broad, inviting smile. Her pristine black business suit wilted around her like a piece of lettuce left in the heat too long, and the heels she apparently loved had become some sort of medieval torture device. Even though she waved back, she didn’t muster a smile.

This would be a snap. “Hard day at the office, dear?”

She managed to top the stairs and nodded.

He leaned down and lifted three bottles from a strategically placed cooler. “I wasn’t sure what you liked.”

Her eyes darted between the bottle of soda, wine, and imported beer. He almost laughed aloud when she reached for the soda but kept her focus on the beer. To his surprise, she didn’t give the wine a second glance.

 “Thanks.”

Shane tilted his head. “May is the perfect time in LA.” He opened the bottle for her and took a beer for himself.

Lindsay took a long sip. “The mountains are incredible.”

He pursed his lips at the San Gabriel Mountains and Hollywood Hills that had always been there. Honestly, he never really thought about them. “Ohio is pretty flat I take it.”

“Yep.” She squeezed the bridge of her nose.

“How’s the noggin?”

She touched the bandage. “No one believed what really happened.”

“You should have just told them you were in a bar fight, and that would have shut everyone up.”

“I wanted to thank you again for everything.”

“At your service.” He put his bottle down. They still needed to converse for a few more minutes before he put the rest of his plan into place. He almost stumbled on his next words. “The rest of the gang and I were going out to grab some sushi. We thought after a day of crunching numbers, you might want to join us.”

When she wrinkled her nose, an unfamiliar tightness radiated throughout his body. “My sister’s here.” If she didn’t want to be with all guys, it might help. “Or, if you don’t like sushi, we can go get some Italian?”

She graced him with a true smile laced with a bit of something else, maybe sadness. “I really can’t tell you how much I appreciate the invitation, but I can’t.”

“We can always just order a pizza or Chinese.” Did he sound desperate? “I have friends in either cuisine.”

“Thanks anyway, maybe another time.”

Not sure how his idea to feed her backfired, he continued. Maybe she wasn’t hungry. “Did your big corporate office take you to a huge lunch in honor of your first day?”

“No they didn’t.” The smile vanished and she moved toward her door.

Did he peg her wrong and she did have a social life? Thrown off, he spurted out the first thing that came to him. “So what’s going on?”

She kept her back to him and pressed her hand to the door as if needing support. “They are supposed to take you to lunch or something on your first day, right?”

Yes, he was right at the sadness he detected. “Yeah, when a new guy starts at the shop we always buy him a burrito or sub.”

She nodded. “Thought so.”

“I’d be happy to fill in. Mexican maybe?”

Her shoulders drooped and she slid the key in the lock. “I can’t. As you saw yesterday, I have yet to unpack. I should probably tackle it.”

“I noticed.” He jutted in front of her to stop her from escaping. “Why didn’t you unpack yet?” Why would she spend the last week sitting in a room of boxes?

She bit her lip.

He bent down by her ear. “Let me in on the secret.”

After an extended pause, she cupped her hand over his ear. “I’m trying to plan out where everything’s going to go.”

He tingled from the chills her soft breath on his earlobe created, and pulled back. The California sun had not touched her yet, and he enjoyed the contrast of her bright red cheeks against her pale skin. “Well, you’re in luck because I planned for exactly this contingency.”

Lindsay narrowed her eyes. “You planned for this?”

“I did!” He rubbed his hands together. “All right she’s ready!”

At his yell, his door flung open and Carson came out first. “I’m an expert at hanging pictures and making sure no one gets injured.” He pointed at her bandage and walked by her.

Lindsay’s eyes widened when his best friend, Ivan, came out next carrying a knife. With his platinum blond hair that fell halfway down his back and more tattoos than any of them, he was a sight to behold.

“I’m Ivan and I’ll break down the boxes.” He bowed and joined Carson.

“Shane?” Her focus alternated between him and his crew.

“Yes, I brought my special secret weapon as well.”

With that introduction, his sister leapt over the threshold, ran right to Lindsay, gave her a hug. “Emily Elliott.”

Shane gave her a thumbs up.

“I’ll work on the closets.” She hugged Lindsay again and interlaced their arms together as everyone walked toward her door.

“Hold on!” Lindsay held her hand out stopping them.

They halted.

“What’s wrong?” Shane maneuvered around her outstretched hand.

“We can’t just do this, I have a plan, and I can do it alone.”

“We saw how well you did yesterday.”

“Really, this is my job. I have to do this myself.” She frowned. “I’ve been mapping everything out. I just had a few trouble spots is all.”

“Here’s the deal.” He put his arm around her shoulders. “Everyone needs consultation when they move, otherwise how do you know which drawer to put the silverware in?”

He knew he got to her when she mumbled something. “What was that?”

She turned toward Emily. “That was exactly what stopped me from unpacking.”

Emily laughed.

“Then I say we go figure that out.” He plucked her keys from her hand.

“Seriously, you guys are really incredible, all of you. This is just something I have to do alone.” She untangled her arm from Emily, took her keys back and returned to her door. “Thank you, I mean it. You saved me yesterday and I’ll never forget it. My offer still stands.”

What was happening? He held up one finger and turned to his tribe. They shook their heads in unison. His opportunity would be lost if she walked in the door. “Lindsay!”

She spun around.

He tripped on his own foot and said eight words he was pretty sure never came out of his mouth before. “Can I talk to you for a second?” He waved behind him to signal the others to disperse.

Lindsay wrapped her arms around her middle and pressed her back to the door.

“Hold on.” He raised his finger, located Ivan and stomped toward him.

“She thinks you want to ask her out.” Ivan flicked Shane’s forehead.

Sweat broke out over his entire body. “Wouldn’t that be a good thing?” Girls adored him and he wouldn’t mind taking her out if that was what she wanted. She could be the good little business girl and he would be the big bad tattoo artist.

“Not when it comes to you. Not even your charm will make her succumb.” Ivan tilted his head for emphasis.

Shane slunk back to Lindsay. He was about to let her off the hook, and simply ask her for help, when she interrupted his groveling.

“What financial advice do you need?”

Her black shiny high heel tapped the ground in time to his heartbeats. “How do you know that?”

“Call it accountant’s intuition.”

He raked his nails down the side of his Mohawk before he reached into his pocket and handed her a folded envelope. “It’s from the IRS.” Simply voicing the letters made his stomach twist.

She took the envelope, unfolded it and extracted the letter. He studied her face for any reaction, but she gave nothing away. Thank God he hadn’t eaten because he was going to puke over the side of the railing. Though everyone knew about the letters, this was the first time he’d addressed it. He tried to find someone to help, then Lindsay dropped right into his lap.

“I’m taking you up on your offer.”

She clicked her tongue.

“Can you fix it?” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

She held the letter out to him. “I need to think about it.”

No one said no to him. “What? Are you saying no?”

“No.”

“You just said no.” He pointed at her.

“I said no, I wasn’t saying no.”

“Then what are you saying?” Unable to stand still, he paced around in a circle.

“I’m saying that I need to think about it, I can’t just answer right away, I need to weigh the options.”

He groaned. “You said you were the best.”

“I said I was good, and that has nothing to do with whether I take this on or not.” She pursed her lips. “How many other letters have you received?”

“How do you know there are other letters?”

One narrow glance told him she knew.

“I don’t know, I keep hiding them.” He tried to give her a toothy grin.

“Thank you for being honest.” She rubbed her finger across her lips.

“I’ll never lie to you, I promise.”

“I will think about it.”

“What do you need think about?” This was a yes or no question, and no was not an option since she offered to help him if he needed it. Fixed head for fixed finances seemed like a fair trade.

“Well, this is a big undertaking. It could be a conflict of interest with my new job, and I may not be the right person for you.”

Somehow he located the backbone she easily destroyed in a few words, and hooked his arm in hers. “I think my financial mess would showcase your talents as an accountant perfectly.”

He took her briefcase, slinging it over his shoulder. She opened her mouth but before she could protest, he plodded ahead. “I would never jeopardize your job, ever. It would be our secret.” He stared right into those baby blues.

Though she shivered, she didn’t push him away.

“I have no doubt that you are not only the right person for me, but the only one.” He nodded until she mirrored his actions. “It has to be you.”

They both remained silent.

“I think I’m the only accountant you know and I owe you a favor.” She put the letter into his hand.

“But—”

“But I will think about it.”

He set his jaw. If he kept pushing she would downright refuse. “When will you tell me?”

“As soon as I decide.” She exhaled. Another wave of sadness washed over her and seeped right through her hard business armor.

“What?”

“The last thing you want is an accountant who jumps into things.” With a nod she took her bag back, opened her door and lowered her head.

In one last-ditch effort, he came up behind her. “I promise not to bug you every second until you give me an answer … if you let me pick your silverware drawer.”

For a good minute she stared into her apartment. “But I will buy the take out for everyone.”

At her agreement, he almost broke into a victory dance. Before he entered, he wondered what happened to his plan. He wanted to feed her, unpack her and have her practically begging to fix his disaster by the time he hung the last picture on the wall. Did she best him?

*~*~*

“Miss Lindsay.” Ivan charged into her kitchen carrying a three-inch knife blade up.

“Yes.” She backed up. The hair, the height and the tattoos made Shane’s best friend appear as if he should be fronting a rock band. She pieced together he worked with Shane.

He bowed then used the knife to point back to the front door and bowed. “I broke down all the boxes and stacked them according to size as you requested, my queen.”

“Thank you.” She tiptoed forward and tapped his shoulder. “You may rise.”

When he lifted his head a shock of long blond strands fell around his face. Ivan’s tattoos were as impressive as Shane’s, but rather than animals and art, they depicted motorcycles and motor parts against a blazing sunset. “Just to make things interesting, I lined up all the packing materials in alphabetical order.” He put his arm around her. “You will notice bags, boxes, bubble wrap, foam and trash. I hope that meets your approval.”