Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

DECLAN

The contact they gave me for paranormal tattoos showed up on Sunday morning. We weren't open yet, but I heard him knock and came down to see who was here. To say I was shocked was an understatement. He wasn't what I was expecting, and it took a few minutes for me to stop gaping at the literal minotaur in front of my shop.

I was a little uneasy about letting him in. Aziel and his friends were a lot less intimidating than this guy, and that was saying something since Aziel looked like he kicked puppies on the regular. This guy didn't give away any emotions on his face and he had to duck to get into the shop.

"You Declan?"

I blinked a few times, shaking off the nerves. "Uh, yeah. Sorry. I'm Declan Gray. You're…"

"Mannyr. My friends call me Manny." He offered me his hand, which engulfed my own as he shook it. He was gentle enough, he didn't hurt me, but still. The unease was real, and I almost wanted to change my mind about meeting this guy.

The bell above the door to the shop rang and Aziel stepped inside, an irritated look on his face. He came up short when he saw Manny and I'll admit I was relieved to see him. Surprised to see him so soon, but so fucking relieved. I still wasn't comfortable around paranormals, but Aziel was different. I was oddly comfortable around him, even after a short amount of time. Last night was proof of that.

"Az. This is Manny, the contact your friend gave me. To teach me about paranormal tattoos?"

Manny turned, offering him his hand. "Mannyr. My friends call me Manny."

"Aziel Shadowwalker," Aziel growled in response. He looked just as wary as I did, and I didn't know how to take that. Was he being possessive again, or did I have something to worry about?

Manny's bushy brows drew together tightly. "Shadowwalker. Like the crime family?"

My eyebrows flew up, and I whipped my head towards Aziel. He never said anything about a crime family.

Aziel looked annoyed, scowling at the minotaur. "Declan said only a special ink was needed. What kind of ink?"

Manny and I both saw through his subject change, but Manny ran with it, digging through a messenger bag I hadn't noticed before. I'd been too busy staring at his face. He looked like a bull on hind legs. It was disconcerting.

"These are what need to be used for paranormals like demons or gargoyles. Though gargoyles will need a special needle. They've got tough skin. Vamps and witches can use the regular stuff, but vamps need a smaller needle or they'll bleed too much. And maybe a bodyguard. Those bloodsuckers ask for tats then lash out when you poke ‘em."

That made me snort and broke the tension a little. "I'll keep that in mind. I've only ever tattooed a couple witches before. It… didn't end well. I'm, uh, I'm okay with helping Az and his friends, they seem cool, but I don't know if I'll do anything else for now."

"What happened?" Aziel demanded.

I shot him a bland look. "Why? You gonna track them down and hurt them for me? I'm not a damsel in distress. I handled it and they never came back. Simple as that."

Aziel snarled, but I ignored him. It was Manny's frown that caught my attention .

"You sure about that?"

"I mean, I'm here every day and I haven't seen them. Why?"

He shook his head. "Don't think they'd come back, but they might make it harder for other people to come here. You been approached by paranormals since?"

I opened my mouth to reply and snapped it shut again. As a matter of fact, no. No paranormals since the witches. I'd been happy with that, since I wasn't comfortable with paranormals anyway, and never thought to question it. Manny headed for the door and Aziel followed behind him, both of them searching the outside of my shop. They pointed at something under the bay window, and Manny beckoned me outside with a wave of his massive hand.

"Look here. They put a spell on your shop. If a paranormal was walkin' past, they wouldn't see this place. The spell tells ‘em there's nothing here and they keep walkin'. They're screwin' with your business that way. Might even work on some humans."

Well, fuck. My shop wasn't that busy, but I thought that was just because I wasn't well known. I was still relatively new to the area. I just thought paranormals didn't come here because they weren't interested.

Still…

"You didn't notice because you were happy about it," Aziel pointed out. "Tell us why."

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. "I told you. It was nothing. They got tattoos, tried to scam me with a glamour, and when I proved them wrong, they tried to jump me. My dad showed up before things got too ugly, though, and they left."

"And you've been wary of paranormals ever since." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. If Aziel took offense to that, he didn't say anything. He just looked back down at the mark on the wall. "My friend's landlord is a witch. I can ask her to remove it. But I'm not going to if you don't want to tattoo paranormals."

There was an accusation there, and my spine stiffened. I didn't discriminate against paranormals. I was wary around them. That didn't make me a bad person. But from the look on Manny's face, he didn't agree with that. His expression flattened, and he took a step back, offering the ink he brought to Aziel instead .

"Well, here's the ink. If he needs more, you'll have to go to Hell."

I made a choked sound, incredulous. "Excuse me?"

Az rolled his eyes and ignored me. "That's the only place?"

Manny nodded. "That I know of. Haven't found anywhere else that sells it. The creator is a stingy bastard, refuses to sell the recipe to anyone else."

"He lives in Hell. Are you surprised?"

Manny huffed out a laugh, but his face fell flat when he looked at me again. He turned away, giving his full attention to Aziel. "I'm gonna head home. Don't wanna be where I'm not welcome. If you want someone with experience to do your tats, send me a message."

He didn't say anything else to me, just shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away. The dejected look ate at my insides and when Aziel turned his sour expression my way, I threw my hands into the air.

"What? Am I not allowed to react when I'm fucking targeted and attacked? I was here alone, Aziel! I was handling it until my dad showed up, but I might not have been that lucky if someone as big as you came, causing trouble. I never actively turned people away. I just didn't question why none ever showed up," I snapped defensively.

He considered me for a second, but I couldn't tell if he agreed or not from the look on his face. He was comically blank, and it irritated the hell out of me. I spun on my heel, storming back into the shop, only to come up short with him right in front of me. I jumped, whipping my head around to where he'd been standing before and back to him. Fucking teleportation.

"Real funny. Can you just–"

"Do I scare you?"

My head jerked back, surprised. "What?"

"You heard me. You got attacked once and never tried again. Are you afraid of all paranormals? Do I scare you?"

"No! I'm not afraid of paranormals! I'm just cautious! That doesn't mean paranormals shouldn't be treated fairly!"

I didn't know why I was shouting. I never had to defend this to anyone else before. My dad was the only one who saw it happen. And Ben came after the attack. He never questioned why we didn't tattoo paranormals. But saying out loud that I was glad paranormals couldn't see my shop made me sound like a jackass and I hated myself for it .

"I believe you."

Stunned, I gaped at him. "I'm sorry, what?"

He still didn't look pissed. A little defensive, maybe, but the look of understanding wasn't forced.

"You stood up for me and my brother in the park when you didn't even know us. And other than when we showed up to confront you, you've never treated him poorly, even after the fight with Ollie. I wish there were more humans like you, so I didn't have to worry so much about Dante. If you don't want to invite paranormals into your work because you feel you can't defend yourself, I won't judge you for that. I don't think less of you for it."

The comment about me not being able to defend myself dug a little. I scowled at him, but I was more mad at myself. I never wanted to discriminate. But I let one bad experience set the tone for how I interacted with paranormals from then on. I'd gotten into way more fights with humans in school than I ever did with paranormals. It just felt more dangerous. I could hold my own against humans. If someone bigger than the witches came after me, I might not have been so lucky.

"It's not… It's not that I don't want them here. Honestly, when I first opened this place, I'd been interested in learning how to tattoo paranormals. I believe in inclusivity. And it's not like I'm making enough money to be able to turn people away. I just… In my experience, once bullying starts, it takes a fucking fight to stop it. I didn't think I could hold my own if that happened."

"You don't have to change things here."

I made a face. "Yeah, but it'd be a little hypocritical of me to fool around with a paranormal, but not be willing to work around them."

A mischievous expression crossed his face. "Well, we could always keep fooling around until you're more comfortable around paranormals."

I huffed out a laugh. "I won't say no to that. Shop doesn't open for a few hours. Wanna go upstairs?"

I needed a distraction, and Aziel's offer seemed perfect to me. I'd re-evaluate my stance on paranormal tattoos later. Right now, I wanted a repeat of last night.