Dead Ink(Karma Series Book 4)(3)

He pocketed the piece of paper. "You're lying. He hasn't been at that  location for a week." Lars knew that for certain. He and the guys had  busted into the room he'd used four days ago. It was the closest they'd  gotten to him thus far.

She looked down at the floor as if she were trying to figure something  out. "I guess it was a week ago." Her eyes glanced over at one of the  mirrors hanging on the tattoo shop's wall that was framed by pictures of  people's tattoos. She raised her hand up and tried to smooth down her  disheveled hair some. She certainly looked like she could've been  roaming around for a week and he started having doubts again.

"What were you doing if you left him a week ago?" he asked. He looked at  her as his mind bounced between the possibilities, not feeling  comfortable with either verdict.                       
       
           



       

"I was traveling through the woods to avoid being seen and then I got sick."

"You weren't sick. You're dead. You can't get sick now, only hurt. When  he recruited you, didn't he bother explaining any of this?" he asked,  the contempt leaking out in his voice. Not only was he getting Malokin's  mess but now he had to school her, too?

She stopped fidgeting and straightened. "He might have if I'd stayed longer. And I assure you, I was sick."

Looked like she had a temper lurking under the nervous act.

"You weren't sick," he repeated sternly. "You were transitioning." And  if she was telling the truth, sick was an understatement. He'd seen  humans transition. The process looked closer to torture than a case of  the flu. It wasn't pretty, and to have to do it by yourself, all alone  out in the elements? He thought back to the wet weather they'd been  having but then shook off the feelings of pity. It was probably a  bullshit story anyway. Although her appearance made a little more sense  if she'd gone through it by herself out there.

"Transitioning?" she asked.

"From mortal to what you are now, one of us."

"One of you?" she asked.

She looked like she really had no clue. "Don't change the subject. If he recruited you, why'd you leave?"

"I couldn't stay there with him. He was doing … " She started shaking her  head as if she wanted to mentally rid herself of whatever she'd seen.

"What? He was doing what?"

"He had people, and he was doing horrible things to them. There was nothing I could do for them."

Her face told him everything he needed. Torture. Nothing surprising  there. He'd get more information on that later but let it drop for now.  She was a scattered mess as it was. He could get the details after he  got the more important information. "How did you get away?"

She looked surprised at the question. "I just left. I guess he figured I wouldn't."

He leaned a hand on the counter beside him. "So, you're telling me you just walked out?"

"Yes."

He turned and took a couple of steps away from her as he digested the  whole story. It was so unbelievable that it almost became plausible  again. If Malokin had coached her, given her a story to tell him, this  one was idiotic or brilliant, because he had no idea what to think  anymore.

But he knew she was scared. He could smell it on her, hear it in the  fluttering of her rapid heartbeat. At least that part was something he  could be confident of. You can't fake scared. Pheromones didn't lie.  Still, the idea of Malokin going to the bother of recruiting someone and  then simply letting them have enough freedom to get up and walk out  that easily made his suspicions rise up and stay there.

"Go over there and sit." He pointed to the free chair he used when he  tattooed. She hesitated. He had to give it to her; she had some guts.

He barked out, "Sit," again, but with a bit more force, and it got her  moving. He was scaring her more but a certain amount of fear would be  beneficial to his cause now that he had some answers. He'd get  cooperation easier.

She sat in the chair he'd told her to but was pretty sure it was because  he'd shocked her into action. He barked out, "Don't move," in a deeper  tone. The last thing he felt like doing today was chasing her through  the parking lot.

He dug out his cell phone from his pocket as he kept an eye on her. He  walked to the farthest part of the room he could and still keep her in  his line of vision. He dialed Fate, the reason he was knee deep involved  in any of this shit to begin with.

"Here," Fate said as he answered the phone.

"I got an unexpected visitor you will be interested in meeting," Lars  said and then continued on to tell him everything he'd found out so far.  "I need you and the guys to get over here and figure out what to do  with her, because this is not going to be my problem. I want this mess  out of my shop by tonight."





Chapter Three





Faith was still sitting in the chair he'd pointed to an hour ago, her  heels perched on the edge of the seat and her knees up against her  chest, arms wrapped tight around them. She looked scared.

Only someone with a death wish wouldn't be nervous in this situation. He  knew what they were capable of, while she could only guess. Worse, they  were all standing across the room, eyeing her up as if she were the  main attraction in a circus sideshow, and she looked like she was  expecting the knife throw to start soon.

They might look like trouble but these four guys were solid. He'd been  through thick and thin with them. Most of them had defected out of the  agency that ran the Universe within a short time of each other. Fate was  the only one still working for the agency, doing exactly what his name  implied, helping to shift people's fates. He was going along with the  program but it was more of a ploy to keep an ear out and use any  available inside information to find Malokin.                       
       
           



       

Recently it had been a rougher ride for the guys than it had been in a  long time, and it didn't look likely to smooth out anytime soon. They'd  all known something wasn't right with the Universe for a while, kind of  the way you could sniff gas in the air before an explosion. But things  were starting to get crazy out there. Violent crime rates were  exploding. Stores were shutting their doors and boarding up their  windows.

If it were up to Lars, he'd lie low and let things work out however they  wanted. It was hard enough to keep their own shit together lately. But  his friend Fate had an obsession with finding Malokin, the possible  catalyst to it all. Fate didn't want to ride it out; he wanted to fix  things. Lars was pulled in by association and loyalty.

Lars looked at Fate. "I know you've got this obsession with Malokin.  That you think if we can get to him, the rest of this mess will calm  down. I told you, we should just let the chips fall how they will and  stay out of this mess. You know I've got your back but now this shit is  leaking into my shop." Lars felt his irritation growing with each  sentence.

"I know. What are you going to do with her? You can't let her loose," Fate said, looking at Lars like she was his problem.

Lars loved the guy like a brother but Fate was arrogant as all hell.  "You mean what are you going to do with her." Lars shook his head. "This  isn't my problem. You're the one that got us involved with this Malokin  crap. You're going to deal with her." He tilted his head toward Faith.

Fate threw his hands into the air as he said, "Not unless you want her dead."

"You sick fuck, you'd just kill her?" Lars saw Faith's face go white  even under all that dirt and realized he'd either spoken too loudly or  her hearing had already started increasing with the change. He felt a  moment of regret before he reminded himself she was a Malokin recruit.  She couldn't be as innocent as she appeared and was probably going to  try and kill one of them in their sleep tonight with a knife clenched in  a tiny little hand.

"I wouldn't," Fate explained. "But Karma might. She's been trying to  take out a lot of Malokin's recruits. It's sort of her twisted version  of a bucket list. I'm not sure if this would meet her requirements but  should we really put them under the same roof? I've tried to get blood  out of grout before. It ain't pretty. Why do you think I got my floors  all redone? That shit stains." Fate tucked his hands in his pockets and  his nonchalance was a little alarming.

Karma, Fate's girlfriend-according to everyone but Fate and Karma-had  been forced to work for Malokin not long ago and had been tasked with  keeping certain people from dying. Lars thought about how aggravating it  was that she'd decided to take it upon herself to start chipping away  at Malokin's recruits now, just as he needed to dump one of them.