Page 95 of Diary from an Inked Throne

It was child’s play to grab his shoulder and pin him back down.

He stared up at me, fear in his eyes for the first time. “I’ll help you. I’ll get my boss to focus on someone else. We can find other suspects.”

I clucked my tongue. “See, thing is, now I don’t believe you. You literally just told me you wanted two million dollars, and now you’re telling me you’ll do it for free?”

He struggled beneath my heavy grip on his shoulder. “Completely free.”

I leaned in closer to him. “Liar.”

“I’m not. I swear! I’ll do it.”

I shook my head. “Sorry. That offer already expired. But don’t worry, I have a new one.”

I shoved the man over onto his stomach.

He yelped as I kneeled on his back and pinned his arms down. He struggled to fight me off, his head turned to one side while he cussed me out, but his attempts were feeble. Easily silenced with my knee digging into his spine.

“You think you know all the things about me. So tell me, Rivera. How did I kill my victims?”

His wide eyes flickered as he tried to crane his head enough to see me.

“Start talking, or I’ll just show you…”

“You stab them! Then carve your calling card on their backs!”

“Sound like a fun way to die to you?” I yanked his shirt up, exposing the naked skin covering his spine.

“No.” There was a sob in his voice as it finally sank in that he was in a very bad position.

Dax watched from his position leaning against the wall, but he didn’t say anything.

I shifted my knee in Rivera’s back. “Lucky for you, I don’t have a knife here.”

Relief made him floppy. The scent of piss filled the air, and I wrinkled my nose at the disgusting tang.

“I swear, I’ll get the guys to back off you. You won’t hear from us.”

“That’s good. Real good. For you. Because see, the thing is, I know I’ve left a trail of evidence. But I don’t want to go back to prison for it.” I traced a claw-shaped mark absentmindedly with my fingernail across his shoulder blades. “So my buddy here, he’s going to give you some new ink.”

Dax raised an eyebrow. “I am?”

I nodded, waving him over. “What color do you like, Rivera? You a black-and-gray sort of tattoo man? Or do you like colors?”

“I…I don’t have any tattoos. I don’t like them.”

“Well, that’s fucking insulting to my friend here. You’re insulting his art. And you’re about to get your first piece. Unlucky for you, it’s going to be a massive back piece. So I really hope you didn’t have any plans today, because those do tend to take a good few hours.”

Dax pulled out his tattoo gun and inks and an array of other equipment, setting up a makeshift station. “What exactly am I inking on this guy?”

I grinned at him. “Lynx claws.”

Dax paused. “Seriously?”

I nodded, then patted Rivera on the back. “Don’t worry. I’m going to show him exactly how I carve them into my victims. And when this is all said and done, I don’t care if you have to use every dirty secret you have on your boss. I don’t care if you have to get on your knees and suck his fat cock every day for the rest of your career, but you’re going to get him to drop this case and never pick it up again. And if you don’t? I’m going to go on a killing spree. I’m going to drop a victim on your doorstep every night, with your exact tattoo carved into their backs.” I leaned down so my lips were right next to his ear. “Get the cops to move on, or I’ll make sure you’re who they’re looking at. How do you think you’d go in prison with all the men you’ve put away over the years? I’m betting at least one of them would be real happy to see you sharing their cell.”

Rivera trembled beneath me. I didn’t get off on it, the way I knew some of the other guys would have.

I just wanted to be left alone. For my past to stay in the past and to pray I could keep it there.