Hale looks visibly stunned by my remark. He runs his hands through his hair, setting it back in its place, and actually lets out a hearty laugh. “Who do you think the cops will believe, Logan?” He takes a step toward me. “Aren’t you on probation? All I have to do is put in a noise complaint and you’re toast. And do you think they would ever listen to you in the first place? You’re trash. Your brother and his friends were trash. This whole shop is trash, and you will end up where all trash ends up: dead or in jail. Do you have any idea the team of lawyers I have on my side? The money my father sinks into that police station. You have nothing, Logan.”

My jaw clicks as I squeeze my teeth together with my fists clenched at my sides. I want to hit him so bad my arms are shaking, but everything he’s saying is true. He has such a head start in this race that there is literally nothing I can do to catch up. One move and I’ll end up in jail, end of story.

“You have until the end of the week, Logan. I want my seven grand, in cash. No product. You sell it all.” He starts to turn away before he flips back toward me. “You know what…why don’t you make it ten grand? And if I don’t get my money by Sunday night, I’ll go to the cops. I don’t need you or the money. I just want you to remember who’s on top around here, Logan.”

Then, he walks away without another word.

I look down at my phone to see that it’s nearly six, which means Murph is going to be busy with a client and hates being in the shop alone. I walk in the back and throw him an apology before walking up to the front to handle the few lingering customers, which consists of mostly college guys looking to get their frat signs on their backs or chests.

The ancient art of tattooing…now used to brand a stupid fucking club on your chest.

I’m in a foul mood for the next couple hours. All I can think about is whether or not Sierra will go to that party with Hale and inevitably end up in a terrible situation or whether she’ll come here to see me. I’m not going to make this about jealousy, but there is a part of me that wants to be sure it’s me she wants, more than him.

All of that aside, I still have that one lingering issue of the ten thousand dollars I have to pay Hale in one week or face jail time. Which really should be the major issue on my mind, but all I can think about is her long blonde hair up in that ponytail and how it exposed the back of her neck and shoulders so that when she gave me that furious look today, all I could focus on was how perfect her skin shone in the afternoon sunlight.