Page 195 of Fatality

This—this is what I’m talking about.

I hear them before I see them, more drones and actual Enforcers.

I throw the Charger into gear, yank the handbrake down, and peel away.

Are they following me? I glance into the rearview mirror.

They are.

I need this shit.

CHAPTER 41

Riven

Wrong – Chris Grey

The buzzing of my tattoo machine is deafening in the studio. Charlie’s at the reception desk, flirting with a client.

I really need to buy one of those little robots that sprays water on dogs and cats and program it to do it to her every time she starts flirting.

The bruises around my throat are fading. They’re no longer purple, just an ugly mix of green and yellow, so I cover them with foundation.

Especially when I go out, whether it’s for work or a party.

Every client I had to cancel while I was in the garage, got a small tattoo for free as an apology.

I dip the needle in the recipient, the red reminds me of blood.

My mind flashes to Kyle and then switches so fast to that night—Liam’s wrist half severed, there was so much blood.

I shake my head and focus on the magnificent piece of work I’m tattooing.

I traced the design with my eyes.

The butterfly's body would become an ornate spine, each delicate vertebra unfolding into sharp, rib-like flourishes that flowed seamlessly into the wings.

Fine ornamental lines and subtle celestial accents framed the piece, giving it perfect symmetry—as if the butterfly had grown from bone rather than carrying it.

Two weeks.

Two weeks with no Liam, no Evren, just me and my girls.

But it’s also been two weeks of waking up drenched in sweat, coughing like someone’s strangling me.

I don’t know why, but every time I open my eyes, I expect those glowing eyes to be there, watching me.

I even started touching myself in the shower, on the couch, imagining he’d show up and take me right there.

That’s too fucked up, so I threw myself into work instead.

I can’t stop thinking about what he said to me.

That I was real to him, that he couldn’t go back to the silence.

He left because I told him to.

That’s what I wanted but he also left me with a fucking enigma my brain refuses to let go of.