Dead Ink: A Karma World Romance (Karma Series Book 4) (6 page)

Lars walked over to the window as she continued waiting.

He leaned a hand on the wall as he watched the fight but then spoke to her. “They aren’t going to answer, no matter how long you wait.”

“Why not?”

She thought about how many times it had rung and realized he was right. If they hadn’t picked up by now, they probably weren’t going to. She put the phone back on the cradle and stared at it for a second longer before she got her mind to give up on the police.

She walked back over to where he stood, watching the fight that was still in full swing, minus a few combatants who were lying unconscious on the ground. The sight made her fidgety but he was leaning against the wall still, not a tense muscle to be found. “Doesn’t this bother you?”

He pointed out the window. “As long as they kill each other on that side of the sidewalk, nope.”

“Why?”

He looked at her as if it was obvious but then explained. “Because from the sidewalk in is my land. Nobody fucks around on my land.”

She nodded, deciding to let that conversation go for now. “And this is all because of Malokin?” she asked, even as she got the distinct impression Lars wasn’t in the mood to speak. Or hear her speak? She wasn’t sure which.

“Yes.”

“But how?”

“We don’t know how it works exactly, but his presence here is making people angrier. They aren’t in their right minds anymore. Not all of the humans but enough to cause utter chaos.”

“So him simply existing spreads anger?”

She thought back to what Malokin had wanted, how he’d introduced the other one, and shivered.

“I told you, it’s safe here.”

She nodded. Better to let him think she was scared of the fighting outside than what had really made her shudder.

A black Mercedes, with windows tinted so dark you couldn’t see anything inside, whipped into the lot, parking twenty feet from the fight in progress, and in clear view of the gang. Cutty got out and paused to look at them, unconcerned for his safety, and then strolled into the shop.

He walked in, shaking his head in disgust as he did. “Bunch of amateurs. They don’t even know how to throw a punch correctly.” He looked at Faith. “You ready to go?”

She nodded and grabbed her purse from the back, all the time thinking of how odd this situation was and how weird the guys were.

It was her second night at Cutty’s. She’d gone to the shop again that morning; the only difference this time was there was even less talking with Lars than yesterday. She knew there were two other tattoo artists as well but she hadn’t met them yet. So she’d straightened up some more and tried to appear useful, even though she didn’t feel like she was doing much of anything.

It was a relief when Cutty had pulled up to pick her up. There was a tension between Lars and her that didn’t exist with Cutty or the other guys. She couldn’t figure out if Lars wanted her in the shop or couldn’t wait to get rid of her. When Lars looked at her, sometimes he seemed downright mad about something.

Cutty, on the other hand, was all smiles when he’d picked her up today and brought her back to his house. It might have had something to do with the list of supplies she’d given him. She’d offered to cook and these boys definitely liked to eat.

“You really didn’t need to do this,” Cutty said as he came to stand beside her. “But I do love chicken cutlets.”

She smiled at him as she poured more breadcrumbs onto the plate. “I want to do this. You’re letting me stay in your home while I have nowhere else to go. I need to do this.”

Cutty startled her as he hopped up and sat on the counter next to where she was dipping the chicken cutlets into the egg batter.

He plucked a pretzel out of the open bag he’d carried with him. He popped one into his mouth and didn’t wait to finish chewing before he started talking. “You know, once we figure this situation out, the whole Malokin mess and the world going crazy, all that crap, I can help you get settled somewhere.”  

The fork clanked onto the bowl where she dropped it. “You can?” He’d help her rebuild a life? She’d been worried about how she’d make all the connections she’d need, figuring it was better to take it day-by-day instead of dwelling and becoming overwhelmed.

“Don’t get too excited. There are some drawbacks. It’s not going to be like when you were human. You’re going to have to move every so often. You can’t plant roots down deep because we don’t age. Stay in a place for more than a decade and people start wondering why you still look so damn good, although the invention of Botox has really helped out. Still, you can only milk that for so long. It’s why we all move as a group, the guys I mean. It’s nice having some kind of a family.” He looked at her and smiled. “There aren’t many of us. It would be nice to have someone else around. You get sick of the same faces after a while.”

Should she play it safe and say,
hey, that’s great,
or bring out the elephant? It took her less than a second to decide. “Aren’t you a little worried that I’m a murdering psycho?”

He shrugged his shoulders as he popped another pretzel in his mouth. “I wasn’t until you said that,” he replied and then started laughing at his own joke.

“Your buddies seem a bit more worried than you are.” She knew Lars didn’t trust her and she wouldn’t feel safe if she was alone in a room with Fate. Her connection to Malokin seemed to set him off worse than the rest.

He popped another pretzel in his mouth as if it were the most trivial thing in the world that the other guys thought she might be a super villain. “Don’t worry about those jackasses. They’ll figure it out eventually.” It took her a second to decipher his words past the mouthful of pretzels.

“I’m not used to anyone thinking I’m the spawn of Satan but there’s probably a learning curve to stuff like that.”

He laughed, and looked at her like he was just starting to see her. “You’re funny. Were you sarcastic when you were alive?”

“A bit but I tried to keep it toned down.”

“Sarcasm is considered the lowest form of humor,” he said in mock admonishment.

“Only people who suck at it say that. Everyone else laughs,” she said. “So why are you so sure I’m not going to kill you in your sleep tonight or I haven’t secretly poisoned the breadcrumbs?”

He smiled. “Do you really want to know?”

She smiled back. “Yes.”

“Well, we told you about the agency that runs the Universe. There are all sorts of positions in the agency. There’s Murphy’s Law, Mother Earth, Cupid, every possible rumor or superstition you’ve ever heard of as a human, there’s someone doing that job. They’ve got a leprechaun that controls the amount of four-leaf clovers, a Black Cat Lady who sends out cats before something bad happens. There’s Fate who, if you can’t guess, helps steer people in the right direction. It’s all run and controlled by the agency, technically it’s called Unknown Forces of the Universe but that’s too much of a mouthful to say all the time.”

“Who runs the agency?” she asked.

“Upper management. They’re very reclusive and not usually seen. I’ve only met one myself and that wasn’t until all this shit started happening.

“The guys and I all had jobs there before we quit. Now, there’s a difference between quitting and retiring. Retiring is above board, everyone in the agency knows you’re leaving. The higher ups make all the arrangements and you go on to another life and become a normal human afterward.” Cutty made air quotes when he said normal. “Quitting is on the down low, not agency approved. We didn’t know it was possible until Lars made the discovery. The thing none of us knew when we quit was whatever your job was before, you get to keep the perks.”

“Did Malokin quit?” she asked, still having no real idea who he was.

“No. He’s seems to have formed somewhat organically. We don’t know where he came from, but just as everyone else seems to have inclinations towards certain positions, his gig seems to be straight up anger and hatred.”

Faith flipped a cutlet as she let the knowledge of what that meant soak in. “You’re saying that I was kidnapped by someone whose calling in life is getting people angry?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Cutty shrugged. “Everybody’s got their thing.”

“It’s no wonder everyone is suspicious of me.”

“It doesn't help that Malokin wanted you but I know you’re cool because I used to be Sixth Sense.”

“Really?” Faith dropped a couple of cutlets in the pan and turned to wait for more details.

Cutty continued, “When you’d get those strong gut feelings in your human life? Some of them were from me.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool.”

“I know.” Cutty buffed his nails on his shirt.

“So you know, like on some other level then, that I’m not a bad person?”

He stopped eating his pretzels as if he had to impart some disappointing knowledge. “Well, no, not exactly. I didn’t really get any feeling or knowledge about you. Like I try and explain to everyone, I’m not a hundred sense. I’m Sixth Sense, it’s more of a fleeting type deal.”

“Then you don’t feel confident?”

“Oh, I do. I might not be getting an outright yes or no but I feel it in my gut and I’m never
that
wrong on anything.”

“Yeah, I gotcha.”

“Good. Because a lot of people want that hundred percent thing and it’s just not practical all the time.” His hands started waving around as if the pressure was too much.

“It’s completely understandable.” She grabbed the bag of pretzels he’d discarded on the counter in his state of agitation and put them back in his hand.

“Oh, thanks,” he said, popped another pretzel and seemed to calm down as he chewed.

“So what was Lars?” she asked, trying to move the conversation away from anything upsetting for him.

“You’ll have to ask him. Some positions are kind of personal.” He waved a finger, circling her face. “We should take a picture of you.”

“A picture?” Of all the things she was concerned with, pictures weren’t on the top of her to do list.

“You’re going to need ID. I know a guy. Actually, I know a lot of people. It’s what happens when you’re around for a long time.”

“What’s cookin?” Bic asked as he walked in the kitchen with Angus and interrupting them.

“These are fantastic!” Angus said.

Faith turned to see he’d already lifted a cutlet and taken a bite.

Cutty jumped down off the counter and immediately took a defensive position in front of the food, grabbing the fork lying beside the plate and wielding it in front of him. “Back off the chicken.”

“I can have chicken,” Angus said and then looked at Faith. “Tell him.”

She didn’t have a chance to say anything.

“You’ll get your allowed portion, no more!” Cutty said and then started to count up the cutlets.

She was flipping the last of the chicken in the pan when she realized they were all looking at her. She ran a hand over her shirt, wondering if she’d flicked some raw egg on herself.

“She
made
them,” Cutty said to the other two guys.

“But she’s so little,” Angus said. “She can’t possible eat that much.”

“Angus, just be happy Fate and Lars aren’t coming and you don’t have to share with them,” Cutty said.

“They couldn’t come?” she asked, a little relieved that Fate was missing dinner but strangely confused over how she felt about Lars not coming.

“Not sure what Fate is up to but Lars said he had to go help him out over at his place,” Angus explained, still trying to reach around Cutty for more chicken.

Lars had barely spoken to her over the last two days, so why did she feel like someone had just finished off the last slice of cheesecake when she hadn’t had any yet? She couldn’t possibly be feeling disappointed. She shouldn’t even want this cheesecake. He was definitely the type that would make her sick for sure; way too rich and creamy. She grabbed a stack of plates and walked over to the table, telling herself life was much better without him around. Everybody knew cheesecake was bad for you.

Faith closed the door to the bedroom, took a step inside and immediately jumped back, slamming her spine against the door. Right outside her window was Keith, Malokin’s man, the one person she’d never wanted to see again. His tawny hair curled slightly over is forehead and his pale blue eyes stared at her. No one that bad should look so much like an angel. He stood barely a foot or two away from the window, only glass separating them.

“I wouldn’t scream,” he said. “Or did you already tell them about us?” he asked in the smuggest way possible, guessing she hadn’t.

He was right. She hadn’t said a word. Who would, with the way they’d acted, especially that guy, Fate. He’d looked like he’d wanted an excuse to kill her. What was she supposed to do? Hand him one?

Her hand gripped the doorknob at her back as if it were a lifeline between Keith and the guys downstairs. But he was outside. He couldn’t get in. If he could’ve, she wouldn’t be standing in her room alone. She was still safe here. She could let this scene play out without raising the alarm and bringing more doubt crashing onto her.

“What do you want from me?” She knew some of the desperation she was feeling leaked out into her voice. He heard it. She saw the glint in his eye.

“Why did you leave?” He said it as if she’d committed a crime against him, and not the other way around.

“Because I don’t belong with you. I was killed so that you could have me. Why would I possibly want to stay with you?” He really was crazy. Inhuman and insane added up to a very bad combination. Why was she was trying to speak rationally with someone she knew wasn’t sane? It was pointless, and yet she couldn’t help herself from trying to handle this situation like they were two normal people with an everyday difference. 

“You were going to die that night, either way. I had nothing to do with the man who stabbed you. You were his third victim that night.” His chin went up and his lips pursed. He paused, as if waiting for some sort of reaction from her. Did it matter that her death had been inevitable? No, not to her. He still stole her life. She should’ve moved on from this world. Even if she refused to mourn the loss, he’d still been the culprit. There was also the problem of who he was. She’d rather cease to exist at all then be with him in any way.

She walked closer to the window, feeling more and more confident that he couldn’t get in or he would’ve already.

“Will you come with me now?” he asked, obviously getting the wrong impression.

She dragged both of her hands through her hair in exasperation. “Never. I would willingly slit my own throat before I went with you.”

His eyes narrowed. “You’re making a mistake, and I’m not a patient man. You’ve already put me to a lot of trouble. You were promised to me and you will be mine, however long it takes or whatever the cost.”

Growing braver with each minute that he didn’t breach the room or try to come inside, she walked up to the window and grabbed the Roman shade’s cord. “Bye, bye,” she said, smiled wide and dropped it down in front of him.

She walked away and into the bathroom, telling herself she wanted to take a shower and she wasn’t doing it to hide. And when she stayed in there longer than normal, she told herself it was because the water felt that good on her skin.

By time she dried off and got dressed, she’d worked up the nerve to go back over to the window. Refusing to be a coward, she pulled the shade up. He was gone.

She settled into the bed, still rattled but proud of herself for not screaming bloody murder.

She tossed and turned for a while before she finally fell asleep. She woke to a dream of rain and made up for the screaming she hadn’t done earlier.