He wondered what the tattoo Ayesha had chose was going to look like. He also wondered who was going to hold King back when his woman cried in pain. That big bastard could get downright mean when it came to his ole’ lady. King would kill and take the blame for a murder for the little woman he’d claimed. To think he wouldn’t come unglued watching her in pain wasn’t far-fetched, especially after hearing they’d had to almost sedate him when she’d been in labor with Legend.
TIANA CROSSED HER LEGS in the backseat, seething over the argument her sister had started in front of the entire clubhouse. Her embarrassment was compounded by the fact the one man she wished hadn’t been there to see it, was front and center.
“Are you going to give me the silent treatment the entire ride, T?”
She didn’t look up and give her sister the satisfaction of seeing the hurt in her eyes. Okay, that was harsh because she knew her sister didn’t want to hurt her. Still, what she’d done had been beyond wrong in her estimation.
“We already discussed my outfit at the house. You bringing it up at the clubhouse wasn’t right, and you know it. You embarrassed me,” she said quietly.
“Tiana, I didn’t want to embarrass you, but you weren’t listening to me. When you dress like...like that, you’re inviting men to—” Ayesha trailed off.
Tiana turned in the seat to face her sister. “Oh, are you saying that by dressing like a ho, I’m announcing to all and sundry that they can have their way with me? Newsflash, sis, women should be able to dress any way they want and not fear some asshole is gonna look at her and think he can take advantage of her. And for your information, men don’t rape women because they see a scantily clad woman and think damn, I should fuck her since she’s nearly naked. Rape is an act of violence, not lust.”
Ayesha slashed her hand through the air. “I know that, and no, that is not what I mean. God, stop putting words in my mouth.”
“I’m not putting words in your mouth. You just said it. Didn’t she, Wheels?” Tiana asked the man driving the Escalade.
“He isn’t going to get into our argument. I’m sorry, okay. Gah, I’m such an awful parent. How can I raise a baby when I can’t even do this right?” Ayesha cried, wiping at the tears flowing from her eyes.
Tiana groaned, slamming her head on the back of the seat. “Oh, for fuckssake, stop it. You and I both know you’re a great mom. You stepped up and filled the shoes of mom and dad for me when you could’ve sent me away. And this little one is so blessed to have you as his mama. You just need to realize I’m not a little kid, Ayesha. I fucked up. Badly, yes, and I’ll never be able to thank you and King for saving me. But dressing like this is no different than every other girl my age. Me or any woman dressing like this doesn’t give anyone the right to violate them.”
“I know. It’s just hard for me to imagine you like this, when I think of you as the girl I used to dress up in seersucker and pigtails.” Ayesha stretched her hand across the seat.
Unable to stay mad at her sister, Tiana took her sister’s outstretched hand, interlocking their fingers over the baby’s car seat. “Well, I can totally put my hair in pigtails for you if you’d like. I think they’re making a comeback.”
“Please don’t. I can only imagine you’d make some of the guys’ wet dreams come true. I’d then have to have King kill a couple of his brothers. That would be bad for club morale.”
Wheels chuckled but he didn’t say a word. Tiana had a feeling her sister was right though. The one man she wished would be interested in her, seemed to find it really damn easy to ignore not only her, but every attempt she made to draw his attention.
When they pulled up to the tattoo shop, she looked at Ayesha, back to the window with the words Twisted Ink on the front. “I want to get a tattoo,” she announced. Although they treated her like she was a child, she’d just turned nineteen and didn’t need permission. However, Tymber and the other artists wouldn’t touch her skin if King said no. If Ayesha was on her side, then King would approve.
“T, a tattoo is permanent. I’ve thought of my design for a long time. I sent Tymber a picture of what I wanted and know what he’s going to put on me is going to be amazing. You can’t just decide you want to get a tattoo and walk into a shop and get one.”
She hated when her sister got all superior on her. “Ayesha, I’ve thought of getting a tattoo for a long time as well. I know exactly what I want and where I want it.” When she’d been taken and thought her life was either going to be ended or become one where she’d wish it was over, she’d thought of all the things she’d wanted. While Ayesha was smart, she was the artistic one. She’d drawn exactly what she’d wanted a dozen times until she’d gotten it perfect in the last two years.
“Shit, I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”
“What?” Tiana asked.
“I’m assuming you’re jumping into the fire without a flammable suit. You’re not stupid, T, and here I am assuming you are. Fuck me.” Ayesha sat back with a sigh.
Her nephew grabbed for her hand. His first birthday was coming up, but he was already a big boy, like his dad. Her sister was a great mom, she was the best, she just needed to let go of Tiana a little.
“I’ve made some pretty questionable decisions, sis. I mean, how many people can say they were kidnapped by sex traffickers?” She lifted her hand, smiling. “That’s right, I did, and I lived to tell the tale thanks to my kickass sister who faced down a big bad biker. Now, you can trust that I did learn a little lesson out of that ordeal. Look.” She opened her phone, pulled up her doc file where she kept her designs, including the one she’d perfected of the butterfly made of two half skulls coming together, with another butterfly flying above it. Its wing was that of a skull as well. Some might find the design gruesome, but she thought it was beautiful. At first, she was going to make the one above more feminine like the one below, but then she changed her mind and went with a more androgynous design. The surrounding butterflies were normal...if the artist kept with her design and didn’t add any fancy shit to them. She had added watercolor around it with some shading in dark teals and pinks with some darker purples, but figured one of the tattoo artists, preferably a female, would know what looked good once she started working.
“Holy shit, Tiana, this is fantastic. This is what you want to get?” Ayesha swiped her finger across the screen to the next image Tiana had drawn.
She nodded.
“I shoulda told you what I wanted and had you draw it before sending it to Tymber. I’ll have you do it for my next, if I make it through this one. Okay, if there’s an artist here who King thinks is good enough, and they have time to do yours, then you can get this. But this will probably take more than one sitting,” Ayesha warned.
Tiana couldn’t prevent the grin that split her face. “Thank you, sis. I love you.”
“Don’t get all excited until we know for sure it can be done today.”
She unbuckled and waited for Ayesha to scoot out onto the sidewalk before following the car seat out. They had one of those deluxe models that was a car seat and stroller combined with just a press at the sides.