Tacet a Mortuis (The Elite King's Club 3)

He froze. “Oh no, nope, fuck off.”

Biker was laughing in the background, and I turned to take the chair Bishop was sitting on. “Behind Blue Eyes” by Limp Bizkit started playing in the close distance, and I nudged my head, a cheesy smile spread on my face. I already knew what I was going to do and I couldn’t wait to see it in person instead of the intricate design being splashed inside my head. Slowly, Bishop started walking to the table, and I leaned into Biker. “He’s had a lot to drink so we might need extra wipes.”

Biker dude’s eyes shot up in shock that I had known that, and then he reached over, grabbing the wipes and handing them to me.

“Guess you’re about to see my work,” I teased, giddy that I was about to leave my mark on Bishop.

Bishop laid back and his eyes came to mine. “Go on then, baby, give me your worst.” Yeah, he was probably hoping I’d do something reckless, but Bishop’s body was a perfectly carved canvas, and I respected art too much to scribble nonsense on him in the name of revenge. Dipping into the ink, I fired up the gun and stretched the skin on the side of his neck. The gun vibrated in my hand, it definitely looked easier than what it was. I totally underestimated artists. Pencils don’t shake. But as soon as the needle struck his neck, it flowed smoothly. My vision became zoned onto the task at hand, and an hour later, I was done.

I sat back, cracking my neck. “Done.”

“Fuck,” Bishop smirked at me.

Biker came in from making himself a coffee and paused when he saw the new ink. “Holy shit.”

“I’m not even surprised, you know I’ll get you back for this, right?” Bishop grunted, getting to his feet and looking a lot more sober than he was a couple hours ago. The time must be pushing close to midnight by now and my weeping muscles would agree with me. Bishop went to the mirror and I watched as his face changed when he took in what I had done. I came up behind him and scanned the crisp new piece. It was a smudged Swan, shaded in a way that made her look silver. She had a crown pressed slightly on top of her head, and shards of broken pieces spraying out everywhere, with a bullet embedded into the metal. It looked peaceful, yet compelling. I was totally taking a photo of this.

“That’s fucking amazing.” His eyes came to mine in the mirror.

I smiled. “Thanks.”

“Hey! Just saying,” Biker called out from behind, breaking our contact. “If you ever need a job, I’m here.”

“Thanks,” I grinned smugly, but I probably wouldn’t take him up on it.

“Or, if you both just wanna come use my shit, I’m cool with that too.”

My grin turned evil on Bishop, and he chuckled. “Bro, don’t give her any ideas.”

We left not long after that, with Bishop handing him a decent stack of cash. I waited outside for him, after learning that biker dude’s name was Malcolm. My phone started ringing in my pocket, so I reached for it, swiping it unlocked.

“You okay?” Tatum called through the phone.

“Yep! We’re good! Hopefully I can drag his ass home now.”

She chuckled. “Dude, he looked so pissed. Nate is taking me home.”

“He’s there?” I straightened. “Put him on.”

There was muffled silence and then Nate’s voice came through. “Hey, Kitty.” He sounded tired, defeated.

“Hey! Are you okay? What’s going on?”

Silence.

“Nate?”

“Yeah, not much, everything is all good. Do you need a ride or anything, since I’m apparently an Uber service.” I could just picture him glaring at Tatum. Poor Tatum. I knew how strong her feelings were for Nate, but unfortunately, his feelings were rooted elsewhere.

“I’m good.”

“You sure?” His tone was suspicious.

“Yeah, I’ll be home later. Maybe.”

“Alright then. Holla if you need me.” Then he hung up. Actually hung up on me.

“Rude,” I muttered, shoving it into my pocket just as Bishop came walking out the door, pulling his shirt over his head. Thank God.

“Home?” I asked, hoping he’d say yes.

“Yeah,” he grunted, suddenly looking tired. He pulled out his phone and sent a text, then looked back to me. “They’ll be here in five.”

“Okay,” I added, my eyes staying on his. I needed to say something. There was so much tension between us, intangible and undiluted tension that I knew the minute we were alone back at his house, hell was going to erupt. He shook his head in disbelief and yanked his eyes away from me, gazing out in front of him.

I went to open my mouth to say something else when the limo pulled up beside us and the back door swung open. Bishop’s smile returned and he slid into the back. I stopped for a second, thinking what the actual fuck I was doing.