Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and Kurt Sutter owns Sons of Anarchy, but that didn't stop Jax from dropping by and giving me pointers on this Jasper.
For the Etched In Ink Fest. Go check out all the pretty stuff at etched in ink fest . com
Thanks to luvrofink for the kick in the pants. This is for you, bb.
Stmurr, thanks for prereading! Tackle snuggles to AndrewsLove0491 for being the sounding board and dealing with my flailing. Kudos to MarchHare5 for polishing this bad boy and holding my hand.
Friday was always a good day for Eclipse Tattoos. Today was no exception. Spring was coming, the sun was shining, and the strappy sandals had already begun to make their way out of closets everywhere. Emmett was standing by the entrance, "people watching" and drinking a cup of coffee. Everyone knew he was just checking out the skirts walking by. He let out a low whistle while rocking on the balls of his feet.
"God bless sundresses."
"Em, you're such a pig. I can't believe Rosalie puts up with you."
"Shut up, Eddie boy."
Jasper just shook his head. The sparring between the two was a constant. Tattoo gun in hand, he was sitting in his roller chair and hunched over his friend. The outline for the back piece was coming along nicely. "How you doin', Garrett?"
Garrett was laid out, face down on the table. He replied with two thumbs up.
"Good man," Jasper said with a grin as he wiped off the excess ink.
Edward was working on a sketch for a client behind the counter at the backlit table. "Finished," he said, turning to show Emmett.
"What're you working on?"
"Your tramp stamp."
Emmett snorted in his coffee. "Jerk."
All joking was set aside when a tiny woman ran up to the door, screaming. Emmett instinctively reached to his hip as he went on the defensive. She ripped the door open and ran inside the shop. Her eyes were frantic, and she was hyperventilating as she crouched in the corner of the waiting area.
Before anyone could react, a dark-haired man tore through the door.
"I'm gonna kill you!" he bellowed.
Emmett moved in front of him immediately, blocking his path. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Emmett said as Edward rounded the counter to stand shoulder to shoulder with the big man. It wouldn't be the first brawl they'd gotten into together.
Jasper had lifted the gun from his friend at the first screech from the girl. Jasper and Garrett just sat frozen, watching it all unfold as the man tried to get around the two at the door. When she reached behind her and pulled a butcher knife from her pants, Jasper snapped out of it. With safety in mind, he tapped his friend and pointed to the back.
"Dude, you should probably, um—"
"Already headed to the can." Garrett was pretty even-keeled as a general rule. It was one of the reasons he and Jasper got along so well. Rarely did his feathers get ruffled, not even during a bizarre tattoo appointment.
"Sir," Emmett addressed the man in his authoritative voice. "I'm going to have to insist you leave. Now."
"I'm not leaving without her." The man motioned toward the girl with his head. "She's mine." Teeth clenched, he struggled to get around the two sentries at the door.
The man's growing rage wasn't lost on Jasper, but he didn't miss the terror in the girl's eyes, either. Tremors wracked her whole body, including the hand holding the large kitchen knife. Willing to risk the possibility that she'd use it on him, he calmly walked to the middle of the room and turned his back to her, effectively eclipsing her from the man's sight.
"The little lady's not going anywhere until she's good and ready."
The man, who was only slightly smaller than Emmett's hulking form, pushed against him and Edward again, all the while spewing obscenities and filth.
"That's about enough of that." Emmett grabbed the man's arm and spun him, planting him roughly against the door frame. The man groaned and struggled against Emmett's restraint.
Emmett took his caution one step farther, reaching his free hand to untuck the right side of his shirt and unsnapping the holster of the gun he had concealed.
"You split my lip open! I'll sue you for battery."
"Shut up." He switched hands and reached into his back pocket to produce a shiny badge, which he held out far enough for the man to see. "Sergeant Emmett Cullen, King County Sheriff's Office." The man stopped struggling immediately. Emmett flipped it closed and replaced it in his pocket. "From where I'm standing, that girl is scared of far worse than a split lip at your hands. With your grand entry and threatening comment, I've got grounds enough to detain you. I'm off duty, but I'm more than happy to call this little incident in. Or you can leave now. It's your call."
"Fine." He shrugged out of Emmett's grasp, trying one more time to see around Emmett, Edward, and Jasper.
"I don't want to see you around here ever again, copy?" Emmett shoved the man out the door and locked it behind him while pulling his cell phone out.
Jasper turned around when he heard Emmett giving whoever was on shift a description. "Six foot, one-ninety, black hair, blue eyes, dirty white T-shirt, jeans and black boots. He's heading south. Alcohol was strong on him. See if you can get some info."
Garrett came in from the back the same time a blonde bombshell kicked at the glass door. Her arms were laden with lunch and pastries for everyone. Edward let her in, and she took in the scene.
"What'd I miss?"
It didn't seem to faze Rosalie at all that she came to a locked shop in the middle of the day. Her husband and brother-in-law were doubled over trying to catch their breath, her brother was shielding a knife-wielding, dirty, stranger from the door, and there was a half-naked client standing to the side with a half-finished outline.
"Just another day in Seattle's up-and-coming body modification empire," Garrett said helpfully. Rose shrugged and removed her sunglasses when Emmett relieved her of the food stuffs.
"Smells good, Rosie baby," Emmett said as he planted a kiss on her cheek.
Rose wasn't having any of it, though. She batted him away. "Oh, don't even try to butter me up after you've been drooling over all the short skirts all day."
"Aw, mama, don't be that way. You know you're the only one for me."
"Damn right, I am. It's not like anyone else is going to put up with you, you big grizzly bear."
Edward just rolled his eyes.
Jasper had tuned everything out and looked at Garrett. "You okay for a minute?"
"Yeah, bro. Do what you gotta do."
Jasper looked at the dichotomy before him. Though it was dirty and matted, he could tell the visitor's hair was black as the night, but her skin was as pale as the moon. There were a few purple bruises blooming on her arm. The sight made him clench his jaw in anger, his hackles rising. No man had a right to lay a hand on any woman that way.
She was still holding the knife and peering out at everyone from the corner. Her eyes were still fixed on the front door, waiting for the man to come back. She knew he didn't scare that easily.
He crouched down and looked her in the eyes. His voice was soft when he spoke. "Little Miss, he's gone now. You can put the knife down." Something in his chest was tightening.
She shook her head furiously and squeezed even closer into the corner.
"Okay, it's alright," he said, putting both his hands out where she could see them. "My name's Jasper, and this is my shop." He pointed to his right without taking his eyes off her. "That's my friend Garrett. I've known him forever."
Garrett nodded to the girl and waved. Her eyes flicked to him for a moment as she shifted her weight over her bare feet before they came back to rest upon the man before her. She was ready to strike if he got any ideas.
"Back over there behind me is my sister Rose. She's the shop's piercer, and she keeps us all in line around here. She's married to the real big guy. His name's Emmett, as I'm sure you heard. He hangs out here a lot when he's off duty. And the other guy is Edward, Emmett's younger brother. He's my partner here, and he also does tattoos."
Edward leaned over the counter and gave a friendly smile. "Ah, just for clarity's sake. He means 'partner' in strictly the business sense of the word. We don't swing that way. Just sayin'. And it's nice to meet you."
The corner of Jasper's mouth turned up slightly. The girl remained stoic, her eyes boring into Jasper's.
"I don't know who that man is to you, or what he's done, but you can trust everyone in this room. No one here's going to hurt you, so whenever you're ready to come out of the corner and put down the knife, we'll do our best to help you."
Looking around the shop, she studied each face. No one seemed to be a threat. She'd have to take a chance. She nodded once at the man crouched in front of her.
"May I have some water?" the girl rasped. Jasper felt a sympathetic scratch in his own throat. He guessed she had screamed herself hoarse. He didn't even want to think about what could have happened to her.
"Sure thing," Rose said before Jasper could react. She returned, water bottle in hand, and stood next to Jasper. "You got a name?"
"I'm Alice." Jasper winced internally at the croak in her voice.
"You're gonna have to put the knife down so I can hand this to you." Rose was nothing if not matter-of-fact.
Alice stilled, looking from the water to Jasper and back again. He noticed her arm drooping slightly and thought it must be tiring from holding the blade.
"Look, I don't have all day. My next appointment will be here in a few minutes, and Jasper's client is being more than patient."
"Rose," Emmett chided.
She cut him off with a look before turning back. "Either you trust us enough to put that down and take this—" she pushed the bottle toward her slightly, "—or you don't."
Her thirst quickly won out because she flipped the knife in her hand and tossed it, bladeside first, at their feet.
"Good girl." Rose handed the bottle over as Jasper swiped the knife. He watched her struggle with the cap before it finally opened.
Jasper stood up slowly and shared a look with his sister. "Give her my sandwich, and let her rest in my office," he whispered. Emmett was waiting with a bag to collect the possible evidence. Once deposited, Jasper turned to Garrett. "Break's over, pansy. Let's get this done."
His friend laughed then, clearing the air a little.
"Come on back, Alice. I'll show you where the bathroom is, and you can hang out in Jasper's office and have some lunch. Sound good?" Rose offered a bag full of food and another bottle of water. Alice's stomach decided for her and growled in agreement. She rose to her toes slowly, eyes darting between each person in the room. The boys were eating, and Jasper was working. It was like this was any other day to them.
Perceiving no threats at the moment, Alice took the bag with a quiet thank you.
"Bathroom's straight ahead at the end of the hall. Back door is to the right. Edward's private session room," Rose pointed to the left on their way down the hall, "and mine is here on the right. Jasper's got one as well, here on the left. This," turning to her right, "is his office. Come on in." She flipped on the lights and showed Alice in.
"Make yourself at home on the couch. I'll be just next door when my client gets here. The guys are out front, but they can see straight down the hall to the back door. No one's going to come in without them noticing, okay?"
Alice nodded.
"I'll come check on you when I'm done."
Rose left Alice with her thoughts and her sandwich and returned to the front under the guise of checking her schedule.
"Edward, how long till Bella is off shift?"
"About ten minutes, why?"
"Get a hold of her and ask her to bring her med kit home. An IV kit might be a good idea, too."
"Sure thing." Edward wanted to ask more questions, but he was interrupted by the doorbell signaling the arrival of Rose's client.
Rose pointed to the girl. "Industrial?" She nodded with a small smile. "It'll look nice on you, good choice. Let's go."
Twenty minutes later, Bella walked in the back door, duffel slung over her shoulder. "Hey, Garrett," she greeted. Rose was just giving her client the aftercare spiel, and Edward was in the middle of a consult. She looked over to Emmett. "Is there an emergency, or what?"
He waved her over to sit beside him and filled her in on the details.
"Hey." Rose joined them as soon as she was finished with her customer. "I'll go talk to her really quick. I didn't have time to mention Bella before."
Rose walked in the office and found Alice in the exact spot she'd left her. Perched at the far end of the couch, Alice looked ready to take flight at any moment. "Thanks for the sandwich. Sorry I'm such a mess." She was wiping mustard off the corner of her mouth and brushing crumbs off her soiled shirt.
"Don't worry about it. Feeling any better?"
Alice nodded. "A little."
Rose threw a thumb over her shoulder toward the door. "You saw the dark-haired woman walk by?"
"Yeah."
"She's a doctor, and she's married to Edward. I want her to come look you over just to make sure you're okay."
Alice's dark eyes were conflicted. "I don't have any money."
"Don't worry about that. She'll take good care of you, and then we'll get you a shower and some fresh clothes. Sound good?" Rose wasn't really going to give her a choice.
"Okay," came her soft reply.
Rose waved Bella over, made introductions, and left them to their business, closing the door behind her.
"Is she okay?" Jasper didn't look up from the black line he was working on, but Rose didn't need to see his eyes to know he was ready to go on the warpath.
"I think she will be."
He nodded and wiped his friend's back again.
Rose sidled up next to Edward again. He was mapping out a sea life scene for a bicep. Tentacles, starfish, and a deep sea diver were splashed with bright colors and bubbles trailed everywhere.
"Nice," Rose praised. "That's gonna be good."
"Thanks. I'm really happy with it so far. Hey, did Bella say anything?"
"No, I just left them to it."
Everyone was on edge as they set about their duties. Rose went to comfort her husband, still at his post by the door, jaw muscle jumping and back rigid. He was ready for anything.
"What do you hear, Monkey Man?"
Emmett smiled slightly and pulled her to his side with his enormous arm, placing a kiss on top of her head.
"Nothing, yet. I'm glad you weren't here for that. Things got a little hairy."
"I'm sure I could have handled whatever it was."
"Of course you could have. I just kinda like my job, and I didn't want to have to turn in my badge for killing a man that looked at my wife wrong."
"What are you talking about? That happens every day."
"True. I always wanted a trophy wife."
Rose smacked him on the chest playfully, and they shared a giggle. Emmett never failed to bring humor in and defuse any situation. It was part of what made him a good husband and a good cop.
"But, seriously, Rosie. That man was bad news. Whatever happened to this girl..." He didn't know what else to say.
"It's okay, hon. She's in good hands now. Bella's looking her over, and I'm pretty sure Jasper's already hellbent on watching out for her, even if he doesn't realize it himself yet."
Jasper paused to wipe his forehead on his forearm. He noticed his sister over his shoulder. She was leaning in to her husband, and they were speaking in hushed tones, an intimate moment shared in the midst of chaos. It made his heart happy that his sister had found a good man. Rose deserved happiness more than anyone he knew. She'd raised him when their daddy ran out on them and their mama turned to the bottle to kill the sadness. In a way, Rose had raised their mama, too.
Insides aching suddenly, he wondered if his heart would ever feel what his sister had found with Emmett and his best friend had found with Bella.
Garrett hissed as the gun drew over a particularly tender spot on his ribs. The sound cleared Jasper's head, and he returned his focus to his friend.
"Sorry, man. It's gonna suck for a minute or two."
Rose and Edward had full books for the rest of the day, so when Bella reappeared in the hall thirty minutes later, she closed the door quietly behind herself and made a beeline for Emmett.
"How's she doing?"
Bella answered him in low tones. "She's resting now. I started an IV for her dehydration. It's been a couple days since she's eaten anything substantial. Bumps and bruises all over, but no sprains, and nothing is broken."
Though the words tasted like bile on his tongue every time, he had to ask. "Rape kit?"
"She denied one, saying it wasn't like that. It's against my better judgment, but I'm not going to press the issue. I asked her if I could call anyone to come get her. She's got no one, Em. No family. No siblings. No job or money. She says they're not even from around here."
"Does she have ID on her?"
"Yeah. She's carrying a small wallet and a lip balm. Alice Brandon, twenty years old, black hair, blue eyes, four-ten, a hundred pounds. That last number is no longer accurate, but she should bounce back if she takes care of herself."
"Twenty? She's older than I thought. Does she want to press charges?"
"No."
He nodded. "Your professional recommendation?"
"A long, hot shower, dinner, and counseling. She's really anxious about being alone, but I don't fault her for that at all. I'd probably feel the same way."
Jasper's ears had strained to hear any news he could pick up about Alice, but the tattoo gun and the radio drowned out their voices.
"Okay, Garrett. I'm all done on this side. Need a break before I roll on over to the other side?"
"Roll away, dude."
Carefully, Jasper transferred his ink pots over to the table and moved the gun around to the other side. Bella took him gently by the elbow while he scooted his chair around the table with his foot. "Emmett and I are going to take Alice upstairs and get her cleaned up and comfortable."
"Thanks, B."
The rest of the outline went much quicker without all the interruptions. Garrett had been filling him in on the tour he'd just done, and Jasper had nearly forgotten about the events of the afternoon—that was, until Garrett stopped his tale mid-sentence.
"Hey, kitten. You feeling better?"
Jasper froze at his friend's words.
Alice moved into his periphery, and he caught the scent of Bella's strawberry and freesia body wash. He could see that she was contemplating her next move, and his heart broke for her. It was his firm belief that no man should ever make a woman fear him. Jasper wanted to fix it. He wanted to make it so she'd never fear again.
Her eyes stayed warily on the front door, but she was leaning toward the chair. Behind everyone, Emmett took a seat in his favorite spot in the waiting area, legs stretched out in front of him with the latest edition of some motorcycle magazine in his hand.
"Pull up a chair and hang out with us." Garrett never failed to include everyone in whatever he was doing. Jasper put the gun down and shook out his arms. He didn't understand what his insides were doing, but he knew he needed to pull it together.
Alice, still uneasy, decided Emmett was close enough to guard the door in case he came back. She took her seat and drew her knees up to her chin.
Bella had given Alice a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt to wear and some worn Chucks for her feet.
"I think my work is done here for now," Bella said, turning to Emmett. "I'm leaving you in charge so I can go get cleaned up and then get Ren from daycare. Let Edward know if he's done before I get back, please."
"Sure thing." The big man saluted her.
Bella leaned down to Jasper. "She's still in shock. Watch out for her." He acknowledged her with a nod.
Emmett waved Bella on her way when she winked at him over Jasper's head.
Garrett attempted to engage Alice in small talk, but she wasn't up to saying anything yet. Her throat was still hoarse, and she was more interested in the ink on his arms. Black tribal lines wound around his right shoulder and surrounded a pinup below his elbow.
Jasper looked up briefly to see her studying each line with wide eyes. They were clearer now, the color of blueberries. He mentally slapped himself and bent lower over Garrett's shoulder. Now was not the time to think on how glossy her hair was, or about how he wanted to map out every fleck of gray in her eyes.
Garrett was in no position to see any of this exchange, of course, but Emmett caught every bit of it. He hid his delighted grin behind his magazine. He couldn't wait to fill Edward in.
The next couple hours in the shop went by like any other. Rose was busy this afternoon, with an array of people spending part of their hard-earned paychecks on body modifications. Edward finished up an extensive hip piece before a pair of college girls came in to get matching music notes behind their ears.
Alice felt her muscles loosening ever so slightly, like she was blending in to the fixtures of the shop. Her roost was positioned evenly between Edward's and Jasper's stations, and they worked around her silently. Everyone seemed to sense that she needed some time.
It was all so fascinating to her. The colors of the ink, the hum of the needles, the nervous excitement of the patrons, and the clicking of Rose's heels that matched her even gait were all oddly soothing to her frayed nerves. She felt... invisible, like she was cocooned within these four walls. These people had taken her in and cared for her without question. No one had ever treated her that way.
Whenever possible, Alice studied Rose. She admired her red soled, black pumps. The brightly colored candies and pastries that covered the tall woman's arm were like no other ink Alice had ever seen. It was just cool. There were leopard spots that started at her temples and cascaded down her neck and over her shoulder. Finding it feminine and tasteful, Alice had never seen anything like it. Intrigued by the piercing in each cheek, Alice noticed that they brought out her pale green eyes. The woman knew how to put herself together.
"Okay, man," Jasper said, reaching for another paper towel. "You're finally done. Come have a look."
The koi fish took up most of his back as if swimming up a waterfall, its transformation into a dragon nearly complete. Proper manly words didn't seem possible at the moment. Alice watched as Garrett clasped Jasper's hand between them and pulled him into one of those bro hugs.
"Alright, already. I'm glad you like it. It'll be better when it's all healed and we fill it in with color."
"Looks good, bro," Edward said from his table.
Alice did her best to smile when Garrett turned to her.
"What do you think?"
"It's good." She managed a small reply.
"DADDY!" cried a little voice from near the back door.
Edward switched off his machine just in time to catch his little girl as she bounced into his lap. Alice couldn't believe her eyes. The little girl was the spitting image of Bella.
"Hey, baby girl! How was your day at school?"
"Colors!"
Edward placed a kiss on the little one's head and set her on the floor. "Go tackle Uncle Emmett while Daddy finishes up here."
"'Kay."
Alice blushed and looked at the floor when Bella came over and kissed her husband in greeting.
"Looks nice. I like those lines. You picked a nice piece of art." Bella complimented his client sincerely before heading over to chat with Rose behind the counter.
"How old are you, again? Twenty-five?" Emmett loved teasing his niece.
"I two, Unca Em!"
"Oh, right! I forgot. What's your name again? Is it Bob?"
The little girl erupted in giggles before pointing a little finger to her chest. "Ren!"
"Uncle Em is awfully forgetful today." Then he held up one finger to his lips and beckoned her with another to lean in close. Emmett whispered something in the little girl's ear, and she hopped off his lap and brought her coloring page to Alice.
"Hi," she said before climbing into Alice's lap and making herself comfortable.
Alice didn't know what to think. She'd never really been around kids. Putting her arms around the little one as best as she could, she looked to Emmett, and he had to swallow a chuckle. Her eyes were the size of dinner plates.
"Is this okay?"
Emmett nodded and grinned his encouragement at her. Edward glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, sorry. She isn't shy at all. You can tell her to get down if you want."
Jasper finished covering Garrett's fresh ink and reminded him, needlessly, of how to take care of it. "I know you're a pro at this by now, but keep it moisturized."
"Yeah, boss."
The blond man clapped his friend on the shoulder with a smile and turned to clean up his station. His eyes were drawn to the little girl, the apple of everyone's eye. She was nestled in Alice's lap and chatting about the colors and shapes on her page.
"Bwoo!"
"Blue, very good," Alice praised.
It was as if time stood still for Jasper. Everything blurred around the edges. The only focus was Alice.
He knew what infatuation felt like. He knew how he acted under its influence. He'd once had the hots for a girl and followed her around like a little lost puppy, ready to do her bidding. She'd used it to her advantage, used him for her selfishness.
Alice felt him watching her and looked up at him then. A tiny smile played about her lips, and her eyes pulled at him. He didn't know if she knew what she was doing, but he didn't care. Everything in him screamed to go to her. This wasn't infatuation. No, this was much, much bigger. Jasper felt like there were two hands inside his chest cavity, squeezing all the air out of his lungs.
"You okay, man?" Garrett nudged Jasper with his shoulder.
"Yeah, I just need some air. Edward, cover for me, will you?"
Edward knew his best friend inside and out. Everyone in the shop could see the effect the new girl was having on Jasper. They'd all been waiting for it to happen for him. Questions weren't needed right now. He needed to figure it out. Edward could cover whatever Jasper needed.
"Yeah, man," Edward answered. "Mom'll be expecting you for dinner in an hour."
"Thanks."
Jasper retreated to his office and grabbed his leather jacket and bucket helmet. He knew of very few problems that couldn't be solved from taking a long ride on his matte black, custom chopper. He had miles and miles of back roads and quiet suburbs mapped out in his head for when he needed to be outside. He loved his job, but being cooped up inside for hours on end got to him sometimes. The rumble of the pipes and the wind in his face never failed to calm him and bring clarity.
Never failed, that is, until today.
He couldn't get her out of his head. Sure, their first meeting had been traumatic, but he'd felt an overwhelming urge to protect her still. It went beyond typical good manners and chivalry.
Get it together, man. She needs your help. Quit acting like a Neanderthal and show her all men aren't like that monster.
He spent a few more minutes at the top of the bluff overlooking the valley and breathing the fresh air before replacing his helmet. He resolved to look out for her and nothing else.
Part 2 to post on Tuesday :)