The Girl with the Wolf Tattoo

She bent over the man, eyes focused and unblinking. Her hand gripped the ink gun and moved steadily. She created lines and filled spaces. Two hours later her job was done. She stood, stretched her back and sighed with relief. The man went to the counter and paid his bill. She'd just made one more customer happy. Alex was a tattoo artist at a little hole in the wall place. They were known by bikers and gangs, a rough crowd. Alex, Alesandria, but she hadn't gone by that name in many years, was a 23 year old blonde nobody. She'd dyed deep purple and pink streaks in her hair, wore all black and drove a car older than she was. But this was the best life she'd ever known. She hoped to be a nobody forever. Nobody meant she was safe. "s**t, Alex. You must've made that guy's whole day!" Reggy, another artist at the shop, said. "He left you a $200 tip!" "Hell yeah," she said as she took the cash. "Now I can get my headlight fixed." "Good job," a deep voice behind her said. Griff stood in the doorway between the tattoo floor and the back offices and storage rooms. Griffin, Griff for short, owned the place. He kept to himself most of the time, only tattooing when he had to. He was tall, broad and had a couple scars on his face. Alex didn't know how old he was, but she guessed late 30's. He might've been a handsome man when he was younger, but a hard life had left its marks. His eyes were dark, almost black and everyone who looked into them looked away quickly. There were secrets there. Secrets you didn't want to figure out. Some things were best left alone. Griff had given Alex her big break. She's been a waitress living off tips when he discovered her and offered her a job. She didn't ask why, she just accepted and here she was five years later. "Thanks," she answered. She pocketed the money and got ready for the next customer. A big biker man wanting the name of his ex covered up with the name of his current woman. This was the fifth time she'd had to do this for him. She knew talking him out of it was useless, it had been tried. By the end of the day her back and neck screamed at her. She was ready to go home and soak in the bath. She drove home, dumped her keys in a little bowl by the door and went straight to the bathroom. After a long, hot bath she started to feel better. After the bath, dinner was in order. She through together a simple pasta and meatball dish and sat on her couch to eat. Eat, sleep and go to work was about all she did. Occasionally Reggy would try to convince her to get out and let loose. Meet someone at a local bar. Something, anything to break up the monotony of her life. She did go out on occasion, but was not interested in meeting anyone. She liked her solitude. No one could pry her secrets out of her. She had a major secret she was determined to keep. She sat twirling a pen in her fingers. She'd had one walk in, then she cleaned up, swept, sanitized her instruments and checked her inks. There was nothing to do now but hope someone walked through the door. Reggy had done a number of piercings, but Alex had been pretty out of luck. She stared at the door, maybe if she willed hard enough it would open... She was so focused on it that when the bell above the door rang she jumped. Inwardly rolling her eyes at herself she stood and approached the front desk. She stopped short, holding back a gasp. The man before her was incredibly handsome. Broad shoulders, muscled chest and defined arms. Dark, beautifully large, almond shaped eyes. His lashes were better than what many women payed good money for. He was tall, but not too tall. "Hello," he said in a rich, deep voice. "Do you take walk ins?" "We sure do, what can I do for you?" He extended his arm and pulled up his sleeve. "I have this eagle tattoo here. I'd like the lines cleaned up a bit and some shading done. I never did get it finished." "I can do that," she said in her best customer voice. "Great!" She lead him to her tattoo chair and setup her supplies. When she touched him she felt an electric spark run up her arm. He didn't even twitch, so he must not have felt it. She ignored it and got to work. Halfway through, she realized he was staring at her intently. She was good at her job, so she didn't let it bother her. Not just yet. Something about him felt off. She just couldn't put her finger on what it was. An hour later she was done. She wrapped his tattoo and set her tools aside to sanitize later. She quoted him the price, took the payment and he left. But not without staring into her soul with those eyes. "I guess even the hot ones can be creepers..." she said to herself. After she cleaned up her work station and tools she went back to put away the money he'd paid. She gasped when she saw he'd left her a very large tip. A few more days like this and she'd be able to live a little more comfortably. "Are you good to lock up?" Griff asked. "Reggy took off already." "Yes, that's fine." "Just make sure to keep yourself safe, okay?" She nodded her agreement and her boss left. She finished out the day alone. The only other customer was a mother with a little girl who wanted her ears pierced. As she was locking up she coudn't help but feel like she was being watched. She walked quickly to her car, got in and locked the doors. This was not the best part of town. She raced home, thankful for the safety of her triple locked door.