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“It’s an invoice. For a storage unit… What did Ivan keep there?” My fingers drummed on the desk as I pondered the possibilities. The soft hum of the coffee machine and the distant murmur of traffic outside the shop faded into the background as I stared at the page.
Oscar’s muffled voice broke through. “Probably bodies…”
Shaking my head and shushing him, I turned to Ivan’s computer and wiggled the mouse until the screen came to life. Tapping at the keyboard, I navigated through the files and searched for clues. Ivan had always been secretive, but I’d found his digital and physical records in surprisingly neat order. This storage unit was a puzzle piece that didn’t fit.
After a long search, combing through folders within folders and hidden files, I finally found what I needed. My heart skipped a beat as I read the details: the address of the storage facility, the pin number to access the gate, and the combination to open the lock. Curiosity and apprehension stirred in my belly.
“What was Ivan hiding away in a secret storage unit?”
“I already told you. Bodies.”
“Do you think so? I’ll have to call the police.” I knew about his wraithshade and his schemes to defraud the other businesses in the neighborhood and the other tattoo shops in the city. I knew about his terror campaigns. Had he moved on to murder? Would there be corpses packed away there?
“It’s always bodies, Tess.”
“I don’t know…” I couldn’t believe he would do that. Not that he’d murder people. I wasn’t skeptical of his capacity for murder, especially not after having been through the Devil’s Delirium with him. But he’d know to dispose of bodies better than just leaving them to rot in a public space he rented with his name attached. “You think he was that stupid?” I didn’t. It couldn’t be that. Furniture and equipment for the shop I’d know about. “Maybe drugs?”
“Maybe drugs,” Oscar conceded.
I leaned back in my chair, the worn leather creaking softly. The room felt suddenly charged with energy, my nerves buzzing with apprehension. I sipped my coffee, but the moment it hit my tongue, I scrunched up my nose and slammed the cup back to the desk. The bitter liquid was cold now. I’d been too absorbed in my investigations to notice how long it’d been. A fresh hot cup would be nice, but I couldn’t over-caffeinate myself, or it would be impossible to work on my client’s thigh piece this afternoon. For five hundred dollars, I’d have a green tea instead, and I’d like it.
As I boiled the kettle, I thought out loud for Oscar. “The facility’s only a few miles away. It’s a dump, though, super sketchy.” A nondescript place on the outskirts of town. The gates were rusted, and the grounds needed a gardener.
“I thought you had a date?”
A whoosh of shock left me with a pounding heart. “Shit, I forgot all about that.”
“I guess you know where you’re taking your date now.”
I pressed my lips together, not wanting to involve Maverick. “Maybe I could be quick. Leave the shop now, get in and get out. Can I be back by lunchtime?” With no idea what I might find, the idea was daunting. I stirred my tea and glanced at the clock, trying to decide if I could get there and back in two hours. Leaving the spoonon the countertop, I crossed to the window. The sun was higher now, illuminating the streets outside with a bright, unforgiving light.
No, I couldn’t take the chance. If there was anything in that unit that warranted calling the police, I wouldn’t be back in time for my appointments, and I simply couldn’t afford to blow off clients.
I watched the coolness of the morning air revealed by the swirls of steam from my tea. They rose in twisting random paths, dissipating into nothingness. Like me.
“I don’t want to go.”
“So don’t.”
“I have to. I’m responsible for it now.” I sighed. “This field trip might be a jaunt into Ivan’s past, Oscar. It was the only thing he never talked about. I can’t even imagine how dark it must have been to have created a mage like Ivan.”
“Or maybe he had a secret stash of antique love seats.”
“Doubt it. After all these years of blatant depravity, what else could he have chosen to keep secret from me?”
Thoughts too dark for words swirled through my mind. About where he came from, who he really was and what he might have been planning. Nothing about Ivan was good. He may have saved my life, but he also damned it. And he enjoyed every second.
Returning to the computer, I jotted down the details on a scrap of paper, folded it neatly and tucked it into my back pocket. Its weight felt significant; the dark secrets I was surely about to uncover were already weighing me down.
“Go after the immortal sex god, Tess. He protected you before. He’ll do it again.”
I knew he was right, but I couldn’t bring myself to agree out loud, besides a noncommittal hum. With a glance around the shop, I steeledfor the day ahead with admin, social media and preparing for my afternoon client appointment.
Later, when I locked up for the night, I would get Maverick for reinforcements and go explore whatever dark mysteries Ivan had left behind.
Chapter Forty: Ink and Scars
Tess
