Page 20 (2/2)

Silence

"You could do so else Date someone else Start a new life, if that’s what you want I won’t interfere"

I get the three quick beeps that says the call is dead and I look up at herShe paces back and forth a few times, and then her shadow disappears There’s no more movement, but the TV stays on

I sit out there forher get up and occasionally grace oes dark and I walk back to hts

This place isin this shop is all I’ve ever wanted in a bike business There’s six bays with bike lifts, custom tool kits with more than a hundred thousand dollars in equipment The cinder block walls are painted red and black and there are reproductions ofevery inch Blackbirds, rooks, crows, and ravens Everywhere

Ronnie says she traces line drawings on skin Fuck, she could not beTo me, the art onin a hn is the Renoir of the tattoo world

I walk past Rook’s reception area She’s gonna run the showroo calls The showroom is open to the public, but bike appointot the entire year scheduled Everyone had to put up a fifty grand deposit to get a Shrike bike this year and Season Till tape on and off for al We’ll deliver a new bike to one high-profile customer each episode, and we’ll do that twelve times

This is it This is what it looks like

Success

My eyes sweep to my office door and I walk past the reception area towards it My name is on the door, done up in the fancy Shrike Bikes font Yeah, I have my own font People will be able to download it for free from the website I open the heavy ht sensor so I can take a good long look at my future I turn back to my bay, which is even more tricked out with a custom-airbrushed tool chest that has the Shrike Raven painted on the front

I turn back to the office and walk around the massive stainless steel table that’s been custooing This is where I’ve been headed since I turned eighteen and decided I would take this business over This is the pinnacle of my dream

And for some reason, it’s just not that sweet

I drop down into the soft black leather chair It’s so fking luxurious I actually feel ht now Because the only reason I orking so hard towards this future was so I could share it with Ronnie

And she wants out She’s done I see it I’uys ants to force himself on a woman andhim how she feels, how she can’t live without him