Black & Gray

CopyrightCopyright © 2023 Aurelia GaleThe characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Please visit www.aureliagale.com to learn more about Aurelia, sign up for access to her Freebie Library, and for information regarding content warnings in this story, if any. ASIN: B0C3X2SMXF Cover design by: CT Cover Creations Black & GrayEternal Tattoo Shop Book 1Aurelia Gale Contents CopyrightTitle PageChapter 1: TheoChapter 2: SerenaChapter 3: TheoChapter 4: SerenaChapter 5: TheoChapter 6: SerenaChapter 7: TheoChapter 8: SerenaEpilogue: TheoKeep Reading...Books By This Author Chapter 1: TheoI switched on the neon sign. The crimson script began to glow.Eternal Tattoo Shop.That was the hope. That this shop would stick around for the long run.The building in front of me meant more than a business venture.This shop represented a lifetime of work. First, an apprenticeship at a dodgy shop in southeast London, tattooing as a teen, earning peanuts but knowing it was the only thing keeping me clean and off the streets.Then decades of guest spots, traveling the world to learn from the best, slowing down as I slowed down and matured, settling for a few years at a time up and down the United States’s West Coast, realizing the demand for my work was only getting higher…It was time. What I’d wanted since I was an asshole teen surrounded by mates wrapped up in gangs selling heroin, dreaming big, could finally become a reality.Opening day was so close.The power had been switched on the first of the month. The sign had just arrived today. Sighing, I entered the building again and switched it off. No use in advertising when we were still a couple of weeks from opening.I turned and surveyed the space, a converted garage that was perfect for tattooing with its wide open floor plan.Boxes, unassembled furniture, donations from friends and colleagues lined the walls. The place was still fairly filthy. I’d swept the concrete floors and wiped down the first layer of dust from the counters and cabinets, but it was nowhere near tattoo-ready.Humming echoed through the building.What?Was someone else in here?Or had I imagined it?No. The sound was faint, but recognizable as the tune of a lullaby.Nothing I’d heard in a long time. I tried to recall the words…A shadow passed across the gap between the floor and the bathroom door. Rustling sounds.There was something in the shop’s bathroom.Someone uninvited.Couldn’t be anyone too dangerous, right? Humming a lullaby while rustling around the bathroom wasn’t so threatening.Still, could be someone broke in off the street looking for junk to pawn. The area was industrial, just next to downtown, and the sidewalks got plenty of traffic from all kinds of folks.“Hey!” I called. “Come on out.”The humming stopped.I made a mental note of the self-defense options available to me. Always preparing for the worst-case scenario had kept me safe more than a few times, on the streets in Lewisham as a young idiot, and while working my way through shops across the world. I’d run into all sorts, including those who saw me as an easy mark.I was not.The machete I’d picked up in Brazil was in a drawer by the front doors. Noted.A variety of heavy metal objects on the table nearest me.“Now,” I repeated, when I heard some shuffling in the bathroom, but no one came out.The door creaked open and…I bloody near forgot to take my next breath.A woman stepped out, her eyes downcast.I took her in, helpless to resist running my gaze down her curves. Her long dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, thrown over her shoulder, next to…Coast Cleaning Co.Oh.Well.“You’re not supposed to be here,” I said.Her eyes flicked up to mine. Brown, with flecks of lighter amber.Since when had I noted someone’s eye color like that?“Eternal Tattoo Shop, right?” she asked, her voice wavering. “Are you Theodore Jenkins? The company gave me your name and this address with a start date of today. I think, I mean, I could have gotten it wrong.” She pulled out her phone, the bright light illuminating the softness of her face in the dim lighting of the shop.I cleared my throat. “Theo,” I corrected. “And your name?”“Serena,” she answered, still scrolling through her phone. “Oh no.” She looked up, full lips parted in surprise. “You’re right. You’re completely right. I’m so sorry, I’m actually supposed to be downtown right now. Oh my gosh. I don’t know how I did that. I just got the start dates mixed up, Saturday versus Sunday…”“There’s no problem,” I said, but she was already ducking back into the bathroom. I peered through the crack in the door to see her throwing cleaning supplies into a cart. “Can I help you with that?”“No, no,” she said, not pausing in her mad dash to gather her things. “The sink is done, but I’d just started, so that’s all. Totally on me. Please don’t tell the company.” Now she did pause, looking up at me with pleading eyes.My heart melted at the look. Did this woman know how absolutely gorgeous she was? She didn’t act like it.“I wouldn’t think of it,” I assured her. “Let me pay you,” I added, pulling out my wallet. “How long have you been here? What’s your hourly rate?”“Oh no,” she said, pulling the cart toward the exit. “Like I said, this is all on me. I can’t ask anything of you.”I offered her a fifty-dollar bill. “Will this cover it?”She looked at the cash and swallowed. “No, that’s fine. Coast Cleaning handles payment and everything and it’ll automatically go through next week, when I’m actually supposed to be here. Again, I’m so sorry for the inconvenience.”The woman -Serena -attempted to pull her cleaning cart through the front door, but