Page 111 of The Dark Stranger
Another face.
But even now, I can feel the shift.
It was small. Easy to ignore.
But it was there.
He didn’tcarry himself like everyone else. There was something about him—something that pulled attention without asking for it. Like he already knew what people saw when they looked at him.
Confidence.
But not the kind that felt safe.
The kind that made you curious anyway.
I remember the first time he sat in my chair.
The way he watched me.
Not in a way that made me uncomfortable—but not normal either. Focused. Like he was trying to figure me out while I worked.
“You’re new,” he said.
I didn’t even look up. “Not that new.”
I could hear the smirk in his voice. I didn’t have to see it.
That should’ve been it.
Just a moment.
But it wasn’t.
He kept coming back.
At first, it made sense—clients come back all the time.
But then it wasn’t always for tattoos.
Sometimes he just… showed up.
Sat around.
Talked.
And I let him.
I didn’t question it.
Didn’t see anything wrong with it.
Cody did.
Of course he did.
“You sure about him?” he asked one night after Izzy left, his tone casual but his eyes not missing anything.
I brushed it off. “He’s just a client.”
