might’ve told him more than one of us will get a tattoo tonight.”
Kane slowed his walk even further. Just in case.
His father said nothing at first. Donal merely gave his oldest son an assessing look, then said, “If I come home with another tattoo, yer mum is likely to have something to say about it. Let’s see how yer man is first. And if he’s not good enough, he will not be putting in any ink on ye. Because that is just asking for yer mum to kill me.”
The alleyway reeked, and the tattoo shop was practically a cliché. Tucked in between a fortune cookie factory and an all-you-can-eat Szechuan buffet, Lucky Cat Tattoos’ door was a slender black plank painted with a grinning maneko underneath a pink neon arrow flashing Open with a nearly seizure-inducing frenzy. There were no windows to see inside of the shop, and judging by the three-foot distance between the black door and the two open security doors on either side, there didn’t seem to be much space to walk, much less have a tattoo shop.
As if Connor could read Kane’s mind, he said, “Guy told me there is going to be a long hallway in; then the space opens up to the shop.”
“I am still reserving judgment,” Donal murmured under his breath. “Let’s see what is on the other side of the door first.”
“If we open the door and there is a large blue temple surrounded by clouds with a horned dog screaming Zuul at us, I am closing the fucking door and they can have Connor,” Kane replied to his father’s mostly low whisper.
“Just remember, son.” The older man gave Kane a mischievous wink. “If anyone asks if yer a god, ye say yes.”
“Da, if I’m a god, what does it make you?”
“A fool for letting yer idiot brother talk us into going with him to get inked in a Chinatown alleyway tattoo shop.” Donal shook his head. “Well, if things go south, at least he has armed backup.”
“Unless a giant marshmallow man shows up. Then we’re fucked.” Kane smiled broadly at his brother, who was holding the shop’s door open.
“You two know I can hear every word you’re saying, yes?” Connor gave Kane a light punch on the arm. “I’m standing right in front of you.”
“Really?” Kane teased. “I thought you SWAT guys couldn’t hear over your own awesomeness. Good to know. And if you end up with something that looks like a zombie duck flying over the Golden Gate Bridge, I am going to laugh my ass off.”
LUCKY CAT Tattoos was, for all intents and purposes, contained within a large cinderblock box.
It shared a bathroom with the restaurant, a Jack and Jill situation that led to several confused Asian women opening the connecting door, then apologizing profusely before slamming it shut behind them, disappearing back into the buffet. Its long wall opposite of the hallway to the front door faced the street, a long row of cracked-open jalousie windows letting some of the muggy night air into the closed-off space.
“Did you notice, Da, the windows are the kind that let air in but you can’t jump out?” Kane ducked behind his father’s shoulder, whispering into his ear. “Just in case you are having second thoughts.”
“Keep up with that line of thinking and ye’ll make inspector one day,” Donal replied. “I tried to talk yer mum into putting those kind of windows into yer rooms, but she didn’t like the look of them. Wasn’t worried to too much about Quinn, but ye two got up to some nonsense with Sionn and Rafe that put some of the silver in my hair.”
“Those days are long over, Da. Well, for me at least. Not like I’m Rafe, running around with rock stars.” He snorted, thinking of his younger siblings. “Although Kiki and Riley gave us a run for our money, but Braden… that’s the one that’s going to be giving you trouble.”
“And yet here I am standing waiting for my oldest to get a tattoo in Chinatown by a man named Bear.” Donal scratched at the back of his head, returning a smile he got from a slender man at one of the other stalls. “I hope yer brother knows what he’s doing. He said the man came highly recommended, so let’s see what he’s got.”
“I like the art he’s done, and the tattoos he has in his portfolio are nice. But just a spot of advice, Da, unless you want to have a