Sandra
The sign over the door to Haunted Ink Tattoo is neon, with a retro vibe. The windows are blacked out, but covered with examples of tattoo designs in all sorts of styles. The artist must be talented, that’s for sure, but I’m still nervous about actually getting a tattoo.
I’ve considered one many times. My ex tried to convince me to let his friend tattoo me a few times, but even when I was young and not making the best choices, I knew that was a bad idea. But I always thought I’d get one some day when I could figure out what I really wanted.
Now I know.
Beast pulls me into a side hug, giving my upper arm a squeeze of encouragement. “Wraith knows his shit. Most of us get our ink done by him. He’s been running this for years. He’ll take good care of us.”
I nod. “I know, it just seems really real now that we’re actually here.”
“I’ll go first, if that helps.” Beast opens the door for me. “So you can see it’s not that bad.”
“Yeah, like you’ll even notice.” I roll my eyes at him as I walk in. “Pretty sure you guys don’t have any pain receptors left.”
Zero guides me through the door with a hand on my back. “You’ll be fine. You’re tough as nails, baby.”
“He’s right, and it’s a simple design so it’ll be over before you know it,” Piston says.
Right.
Wraith is just tying his red-streaked hair back to keep it out of the way when we come in. “Right on time. That’s better than like ninety percent of the fuckers coming over from the club.” He laughs and greets Piston with a slap on the shoulder.
Kaylee waves to me from the corner, where she’s curled up in Tank’s lap. She flips her hair out of her eyes, the red streak in it matching Wraith’s. “Hey! You guys are the last customers today, so there’s no pressure. Don’t be nervous. If I can handle it, anybody can.”
I hope she’s right. “Who’s watching Brooklyn?” Their baby girl’s almost a year and half old now.
“She’s with Summer. The triplets love feeling big around Brooklyn, and she loves their attention. Plus Summer’s got three guys, so they’re still one adult for each kid.”
“You know, I never really thought about that, but I bet triplets are a heck of a lot easier when you have five parents.”
Kaylee nods “Oh, definitely. Even with just the one, it’s way easier to make sure everyone gets a chance to sleep. Still, it’s nice of them to watch Brooklyn for us. It’s still hard to find time when all of us can get a night out together without the baby.” She wiggles her butt into Tank’s lap, until he grabs her hips to hold her still.
“Later, babe.” His voice is a little strained.
I’m pretty sure I know exactly what she’s feeling under her ass, and I’m equally sure that she did that on purpose.
“Alright, who’s first?” Wraith sits onto his stool and wheels it over to the tattoo chair. Everything is ready and set up.
“Me.” Beast peels his shirt off and tosses it to me with a wink. I’ll never tire of seeing that massive torso of his uncovered, already full of colorful ink and wild designs. Compared to most of those, this one will be positively dainty.
He puts his arm out and turns it to expose the inside of his forearm. Wraith gives a spot about halfway to Beast’s elbow a quick shave, disinfects and then puts down a stencil. Then he grabs the tattoo gun and gets to work.
As soon as the needle touches his skin, Beast screams like Wraith just drove the needle through his arm instead. “Jesus Christ, what are you doing? Sawing my fucking arm off?”
I freeze, terrified.
Wraith calmly pulls the gun back and slaps Beast on the head. “You motherfucker. Stop scaring your old lady. I know you can take a needle without a fucking flinch.”
Beast is laughing, probably at the horrified expression on my face. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. You looked so—”
This time it’s Zero who whacks him. “Don’t be an asshole.”
I let my chin wobble a little and drop my head.
Beast looks genuinely sorry. “Shit, I’m sorry, beautiful. It was a fucked thing to do. I didn’t know you were that nervous, I swear—”
I look up and stick out my tongue, blowing a raspberry.
“You little—”
“My woman might be patient, but I reserve the right to kick out all of you assholes and get on with my evening,” Wraith grumbles.
“Alright, alright!” Beast puts his arm back down for Wraith. “It’s barely a tickle. A little bit of a burn, but you’re gonna be fine. See? Watch.”
He doesn’t flinch for the rest of it, and I don’t even think he’s trying to impress me. Wraith finishes up, wiping it off and putting clear sealant over it so it can heal, then gets to disinfecting around the chair and replacing all the stabby parts with fresh ones.
“How’s it look?” Beast holds out his arm for me to see.
“It’s perfect,” I say honestly. After the way he messed around earlier, it makes me all the more determined to do it.
Kaylee hops out of Tank’s lap to come take a peek. “Oh, that’s so cute. I love that idea, but maybe I’m biased. I love couple’s tattoos.” She grins. With a long sleeved top on, the inked names of her men on her body are hidden, but she’s shown them to me before. And they all have her name over their hearts.
“Next.” Wraith is sitting again, ready.
“Do you want to go next or do you wanna wait?” Piston asks.
I have to psych myself up a little, but then I nod. “Yeah. I’ll go.” Now that we’ve started, I think I’d rather just get it done than sit here and get nervous again.
Piston gives me a really disappointed look when I just pull my sweater off one arm. “Not taking your shirt off?”
“Nope. I’m smart enough to wear a T-shirt underneath.”I turn to Wraith. “This is fine, right?”
“Yep. Perfect.” He disinfects the same spot on my arm as Beast’s. It was a spot that everyone had open, so it seemed meant to be.
Zero stands on the opposite side of the chair and takes my hand. “Squeeze if you gotta, but I think you’re gonna be fine.”
“Ready?” Wraith’s hand is rock steady, holding the tattoo gun just over my forearm.
I draw a deep breath, then nod. “Go ahead.”
“Okay, here goes. Let me know if you need to stop. No shame.” And then he touches the needle to my skin.
I suck a sharp breath through my teeth at the initial pain. It burns, like dragging a needle across a sunburn. Unpleasant, but once I get over the initial shock of it, it’s bearable. Worth it. At least it’s not going to be a big tattoo. I can only imagine the pain of some of the bigger pieces the guys have.
A little while longer, and maybe it’s my endorphins kicking in or something, but the constant stabbing turns into more of a dull ache. I look up at Zero and smile.
“Look like you’re doing okay.” He smiles back. I love it when he smiles.
“Yeah. I mean, I think I’m ready for it to be over, but it shouldn’t be too much mo—”
“Done.” Wraith puts the gun down on his little shelf on wheels, and wipes it off before I get the same treatment as Beast.
Oh. Maybe that wasn’t so bad after all. Something to consider. Maybe it’s time to put more thought into getting more. Now that I’m through it, it feels manageable.
I twist my arm so I can look at the tattoo. It’s simple, a dog’s pawprint. What makes it special is that it’s Junkyard’s. We made a print from her paw using a stamp pad, then Wraith turned it into the design. She brought us together, after all. It seemed right. “I want to show this to her, but she’s not going to understand what it means.” I grin up at the guys, feeling very pleased with myself for having sat through my first tattoo.
Piston grins back. “But we’ll know. And even if she doesn’t know the meaning of the tattoo, she knows we love her.”
“I think you’re her favorite,” I say as I give him a hug, then wince when I bump the tender surface of the tattoo against him. Good thing about the protective film. “It’s all the snacks you slip her.”
He laughs as he gets into the chair for his turn. “Nah, she just knows I’m easy to convince. You’re her favorite. When we come in, it’s always you she runs to. And it’s you she curls up with on the couch.”
Beast pulls me in, careful of my arm. “You’re our favorite. Why would Junkyard be any different?” His hug is comforting and warm.
While Piston gets his paw, I walk over to show it to Kaylee. “That’s so cute! Now you guys will be a matched set.”
“They fucking are already,” Tank notes from behind her. “Fuck, you’d think they were glued together at the hip.”
“If we’re connected, it’s not at the hip, I can promise you that,” Zero deadpans.
Wraith has to lift the gun so he can laugh without messing Piston’s tattoo up. He looks my way. “I don’t know how you did it, but good job getting Zero to show a sense of humor.”
“I do my best.”
A short while later, Piston’s paw is done, and it’s only Zero left. Not even a hint of a reaction to the needle. He might as well be lazing at the beach. About what I expected, I suppose. He’s too much of a badass to wince at something little like a quarter sized tattoo.
Wraith finishes working his magic, and then Kaylee insists on getting a picture where we all hold our forearms together. Four paws. “Those look amazing, guys.”
Tank, who comes over to join us, nods. “Look great. Awesome. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we need to go grab Nitro and show Kaylee a good time, with the little slice of freedom we’ve cut ourselves, so…” He trails off, but his meaning is clear.
I’m not ruling out kids someday, but I’m in no rush. For now I’m happy with running the shelter and enjoying life as the four of us. Being a cool aunt is plenty for me for now.
“Then we’ll get going.” I grab Piston with one hand, and Beast with the other and pull them towards the door. I don’t have a third hand for Zero, but he’s not stupid. “Have fun tonight!”
“So what should we do now then?” Beast straddles his bike, and looks at me expectantly.
One of the biggest challenges of being hitched to three bikers is making sure I don’t play favorites with who I ride behind. I rode with Piston last, so I climb on behind Zero to make things even. “Kaylee’s guys are going to show her a good time. What do you think about that?”
“Good for her.” Piston shrugs like he doesn’t see why that’s his business. There’s just enough of a glint in his eye that I know he’s catching on, though.
Zero doesn’t bother to pretend. “There’s a party at the club tonight. What do you think? We can show off the tattoos.”
And maybe the rest of me, too. I think they like showing everyone what they’ve got, and that they’re the only ones allowed to touch. I don’t blame them, I find it pretty hot, too. There’s only one thing I need to check first.
I pull out my phone. “Let me just make sure that Nat isn’t going to be there. We’re close, but we don’t need to be that close.”
(c) Stephanie Brother 2026
