“Do you have any tattoos?” Kera asked.

“No.”

“No ‘it’s an exit, not an entry’ tattoo?”

“I never said that was me.”

“Still. A tattoo artist with no tattoos?”

“I’m half-Jewish.”

“So? You, like me, were raised Catholic.”

“I was actually raised to keep my options open. As my mother pointed out, maybe when I’m ninety, I’ll want to be buried in a Jewish cemetery.”

“So you might want to bury your body in a Jewish cemetery while your soul is battling in Asgard? That seems kind of confused.”

“Maybe. Okay.” Erin rolled her chair back, stretched her neck and shoulders. “Take a look.”

“Really?”

Erin grinned. “You’re kind of afraid, aren’t you?”

“More than kind of.”

“Thought you were tough,” she said, her voice dropping several octaves. “A Marine!”

“Oh, shut up.” Kera stood . . . and immediately stopped to stretch her own neck and shoulders. They hadn’t taken any breaks during this session and she felt it now.

Finally, Kera walked over to a large standing mirror near the shop T-shirts that were for sale. And, after a deep breath, Kera turned and looked at what Erin had done to her back.

Using her stainless-steel maw, Brodie grabbed hold of the man by his ass and dragged her screaming, begging prey off behind that stack of boxes.

Jace faced her sisters and said, “I want ice cream.”

“Frozen yogurt’s better healthwise,” Annalisa noted.

Jace cringed. “That’s not ice cream. I want ice cream.”

“Okay, but it’s going to go right to your hips. And that’s not a good thing for you.”

Jace’s mouth dropped open at the insult just as the screams abruptly stopped.

Blood-covered but back to her normal pit bull self, her wings hidden behind fur and thick muscle, Brodie padded over to them and sat.

Jace stared down at the dog and asked, “Ice cream?”

Panting, Brodie’s mouth pulled back in a doggy smile.

“Or yogurt?”

Brodie yawned and looked away.

Jace shrugged. “Ice cream it is then.”

“We can’t take her back looking like this,” Annalisa pointed out. “The new girl is pretty OCD. I’m almost positive she’ll notice the blood and gore.”

Erin adjusted her tattoo gun and tossed a few things out, just to convey an air of nonchalance that she wasn’t even remotely feeling.

She had no doubts about her ability as an artist. She was good. She knew it and the tattoo world knew it. And although she’d been bold in her decision not to consult Kera even the tiniest bit about the permanent markings she was putting onthe woman’s flesh, she was beginning to wonder if that had been the best idea. Because Kera wasn’t saying anything. Nothing at all.

It was completely disconcerting.

But Erin had known from the second she’d seen that tacky script tattooed on Kera’s body exactly what she wanted to do. It was as clear to her as anything.

Of course, that didn’t mean Kera would like it.

As Erin pretended to confidently put her bottles of ink away, she sensed that Kera was now standing beside her.

She glanced up to find Kera just standing there, glaring at her. At least it looked like a glare.

“You’re not going to throw up on me, are you?” Erin asked. “Because every time you get freaked out, you start throwing up.”

Kera’s eyes narrowed even more. “Don’t piss me off when I’m trying to gush.”

“You call that gushing? Because it looks like you were about to start stabbing me.”

“If I did, it would be because of your attitude and not because of the tattoo you’ve given me. Because I love the goddamn tattoo.”

“You do?”

“I do. A lot.”

Erin let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “I thought you might like Filipino tribal art, even though you seem to hate your mother.”

“I didn’t hate her. I just didn’t like her.”

“I had to go bigger to cover up the old piece.”

“Yeah. I’m fine with that.” Kera cleared her throat. “I also appreciate the use of Crows within the lines.”

“You noticed that?”

“Yes. And I like it.”

“Thank you.”

“You need to cover this up with a bandage, right?” Kera asked, motioning to her new work.

“Yeah. But it’ll be healed by tomorrow.”

“It will?”

“Do I really have to keep explaining your new life to you?”

“Again with the tone? And I didn’t realize faster tattoo healing was part of all this.”

“Thankfully it is.”

“Well, I can’t wait to show this off.”

Erin smiled. “I really am glad you like it.”

“Yeah. Me, too!”

As they laughed, Erin’s phone pinged and she glanced at the text message.

“Everything okay?”

“Another job tonight.”

“You seem surprised.”

“There’s definitely been an uptick in jobs lately. It’s kind of weird. I mean, we get an uptick around a vernal equinox sometimes, but this has been extensive. Because, keep in mind, we’re not the only team going out on jobs. And the other Strike Teams have been working more than usual, too.”