take a short nap, but some hooker in the next room kept screaming fake orgasms. So he drove around to check out the tattoo shops, just in case the perfect woman happened to be hanging around one of them. Heâd hit the biker bars tonight.
He drove by three tattoo shops, saw nothing but guys, and kept going. Then he found a shop with two women inside, one of them working on the other. He stopped across the street, wrote down the license plate numbers of the two cars in front of the shop, and then pulled in and killed the engine.
Rap music filled the air.
When he walked in, the woman giving the tattoo looked up.
âHi, Iâm Mia,â she said. âGo ahead and look around. If you got any questions just holler.â
She fit the bill, perfectlyâHispanic, mid-twenties, with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail. She wore a tank top with no bra, showing off strong arms covered in ink. The woman getting the tattoo would work too, although she would be second choice. She was getting the new artwork on her left breast, a small rose or flower of some sort.
âJust looking,â he said.
âBesides the stuff on the walls,â she said, âthereâs books on the desk, too. We can make anything any size you want. We can change the colors, customize them however you want.â
âGreat,â he said.
Pattern pictures covered the walls, hundreds of them.
He walked around.
Keeping one eye on the women.
Trying to not be obvious.
Then something weird happened.
He spotted a pattern he actually liked.
âWhatâs this?â he asked, pointing.
Mia stopped working and turned her cute little face toward him. âThatâs an Indian war symbol,â she said.
He didnât even hesitate.
âI want it.â
She nodded. âThatâll look good on you. Iâll be about another half hour here, then youâre up.â
Perfect.
âSay, would you mind if I watched, and see how you do it? Iâve never had one of these things before.â
The two women looked at each other.
Neither cared.
So he pulled up a chair and watched.
As they chatted he found out all kinds of useful little facts. The woman giving the tattooâMia Avilaâowned and operated the shop. She opened it two years ago at age twenty-two after coming out of the wrong end of a marriage. The woman in the chairâIsella Ramirezâwas married with two kids. The ink on her tit was a birthday present from hubby-face.
Mia Avila would be the one heâd take.
Assuming the opportunity presented itself.
4
DAY ONEâSEPTEMBER 5
MONDAY AFTERNOON
B ack at headquarters, Teffinger sat through a series of afternoon meetings drinking decaf while his thoughts wandered to Davica. He liked her eyes, her voice, and the way she tossed her hair.
He needed to see her again, soon.
If not again today, then tomorrow for sure.
There was something between them, unspoken but yet tangible. He couldnât remember the last time a womanâs pull had so strong a grip on him, especially right from the start.
After the last meeting, he swung by Sydney Heatherwoodâs desk. At age twenty-seven, she was the newest detective in the Unit, personally stolen by Teffinger from vice a year ago. But she had already cut her teeth on two of the scariest guys to ever hit Denver.
âWant to take a ride?â he asked.
She looked relieved at the opportunity.
They were headed to the stairwell, almost past the elevators, when Sydney jumped in front of him waving a bill.
âTen dollars if you take the elevator,â she said.
He stopped.
âWhy?â
âJust to see if youâre capable.â
âI am,â he said, trying to walk around her.
She blocked him again.
âTen bucks says youâre not,â she said.
He studied her.
âRemember, Iâm the cheapest guy on the face of the earth,â he said.
âI already know that.â
He grabbed the bill and pressed