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“Outside,” Everly said in a voice that left no room for argument. We trudged into the parking lot, then followed Everly to the building two doors down that housed the firm where she worked. When we entered the lobby, a young woman popped up from behind the reception desk.
“Ms. Hendricks, I’m sorry the conference room is booked,” she said.
“That’s ok, Hattie. I’ll be speaking with Mr. Markis in my office. Everyone else can wait here.”
“The hell we will,” Aiden said. “Ev, I’m not—”
“Going to be a potential witness to the conversation I need to have with Theo. Got it?” She made eye contact with each of them.
Rowan sank onto one of the leather sofas and Cal took a seat beside her. Max leaned against a wall. Aiden wrapped his arms around Poppy and pulled her onto his lap on one of the chairs. A flicker of anger shot through me before she elbowed him in the stomach. That’s my girl. My heart ached. She deserved so much better than me.
“Hands off,” she yelled, squirming.
“Simmer, Hell Cat, before I pop a boner. I’ll let you go once Everly locks her office door.”
Poppy called my name, but I turned and followed Everly. She motioned for me to enter a room at the end of the hall.
“Should I lock this?” she asked, pointing to the door as I took a seat in one of the plush chairs in front of her desk.
“Probably,” I said. “But no guarantees someone won’t pick it.”
She snicked the lock and took a seat next to me instead of behind the desk. “Tell me what happened.”
I blew out a breath. “I tattooed the girl, but she showed me an ID of a nineteen-year-old named Sarah. The picture on the ID was close except the girl had brown hair and a fuller face. I could feel something was off.”
“So why’d you give her the tattoo?”
“The new guy at Marked brought her in, and she already had ink.”
“Aries?” she asked, scribbling on a legal pad she’d pulled from the stack of papers on her desk.
“Yes,” I said. My stomach sank. Finally, that odd wink made sense. He’d planned the whole thing. “I think he set me up.”
“Why would he do that?”
“He was interested in Poppy before she and I got together.”
Everly nodded.
“How bad is this?” I asked.
“It’s a class one misdemeanor. Usually, these are just a fine up to $2,500, but as Officer Stafford said, you’re a convicted felon.” Her eyes softened and I braced myself. “There’s a possibility of jail time.”
“How much?”
“Up to a year.”
My vision swam. I dropped my head between my knees and focused on taking deep breaths.
“I won’t let that happen,” Everly said, rubbing my back. “You checked her ID. I bet she has a sister or a cousin named Sarah who’s nineteen.”
“Sagittarius,” I forced out. “What are the dates for the Sagittarius zodiac?”
“Um, I’m not sure how that relates but let me check.” After a few moments she said, “November 22ndto December 21st.”
I yanked my hair. “The birthdate on the ID was in October.”
“Theo, not knowing the specific dates of the zodiac signs isn’t a crime. Besides you said she already had a tattoo.”