Protective Ink (Urban Fantasy) by Misty Simon Read Free Book Online Page A

calmly told her he had to go. She only found out later that he ended up spending twelve hours in a latrine in his boxer shorts and a T-shirt waiting for the air raid to finish and the all clear to sound so he could go assess the damage to his guys.
    “I’ll go make sure everyone’s out of here. Maybe get Dory a glass of water while she helps Garrett.”
    “Sure thing. Make sure Mr. Suit is gone, too. We don’t need any interference.”
    She turned on her heel then thought better of it. Running to the bedroom, she grabbed her bedroom slippers, changed shoes and left the apartment. Cameron met her halfway up the interior stairs.
    “Is everything okay? It looked like maybe something happened to your friend Garrett. Did he drink too much?” he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
    “He’s going to be fine. Just something that didn’t go down right.” She peered past him, listening for any indication of party guests who had overstayed their welcome.
    “Everyone’s gone. It was about that time, anyway.” His smile was all charm, but she had no time to appreciate it.
    “Thanks. I hope no one else gets sick.” She was lying through her teeth, perfectly aware this was nothing so ordinary as food poisoning. Cameron looked like he planned on ascending the stairs with her. That she could not allow.
    She stepped backward and up, putting herself at eye level with him again. “I appreciate everything you’ve done, Cameron, but I think we’re going to call it a night. Get in touch when you’re ready to schedule that tattoo appointment.” Out came the fake smile again, but she could offer nothing else at the moment. A sense of urgency swept over her. Something was very wrong with Garrett and she needed to be there for him. She’d kept her distance from him long enough. It was time to become a part of his struggle instead of letting Jackson bear the weight of being his helper.
    Cameron’s eyebrow shot up. “Are you trying to get rid of me, dear? Perhaps I can be of some help. Or I can at least call a doctor friend of mine to take a look at your friend. I would hate for something fatal to go undiagnosed until it’s too late.”
    Her gorge rose. That was so not going to happen. She’d force Garrett to go to the hospital if need be, but she was counting on Dory to work her magic. “I’m sure he’s going to be fine.”
    “I’d like to see him for myself, if you don’t mind. I have a lot invested in your shop, Lissa. I’d hate for a lawsuit to be brought against us. I’m not sure our liability insurance could handle that.”
    She had to relent. She only hoped Garrett was feeling better. There was no way to signal to everyone in her apartment that Cameron was with her, so she settled for knocking on the door and calling out, “Is Garrett decent?”
    She looked back over her shoulder at Cameron as she opened the door with a slightly shaking hand. He’d probably yank every last penny if he knew about her strange personal life. Dory healing him in front of Cameron would not be a good way to continue keeping that secret.
    When she slowly opened the door, she was relieved to see Garrett sitting up on the couch. His color was still slightly off and his short hair stood on end, but he looked much improved.
    Getting down on her knees at his feet, she took his hands in hers. “I’m so happy that you’re doing better.”
    He gave a weak laugh and attempted a smile, but she knew what the fake ones looked like, and this was one of the fakest.
    “I was fine until I drank a cup of the punch. They were all lined up and I took two. I drank from one and my head started swimming instantly. It was like an evil…” He looked over her head and stuttered to a halt. He picked his sentence back up after a heartbeat, “…hangover after a whole night of binge drinking. Whatever you put in there, I don’t think it agreed with me.” He made more of an attempt to laugh this time and patted her hand. “I probably just have a bug or