Page 4 of Marked By Ink

But now?

“How am I supposed to….”Kill them.“Do my work if I don’t even know who they are?”

“You have all the information you need,” Mr. Red says. “You were given that information previously as a courtesy. I was neverrequiredto give it to you. It wasn’t in the initial terms of the deal.”

“You take those initial terms seriously,” I say.

“I do,” Mr. Red states flatly.

“Then you should remember what we agreed would happen if I refused,” I go on. “If I tell you I won’t kill this person, whoever they are, what happens?”

He sighs, a rare show of concern. Mr. Red’s world is one of killers, thieves, and criminals of every kind, so of course, he rarely shows his mood, but I can hear it now. I can hear the tightness.

“You know what happens.”

“Your ability to act as an anonymous middleman depends on the sanctity of your terms,” I say, quoting his own words back at him. “Since we made the deal, I’ve looked into you, and it’s true. You never break the terms of a deal.”

“I can’t,” Mr. Red snaps. “It’s as you say. My position is a precarious one.”

“So tell me what happens,” I growl.

“If you refuse to do your work, we’ll hire somebody else to deal with the target. You will also be killed.”

“But Yasmin,” I say. “And Felicia…”

“They will not be harmed,” Mr. Red says. “But didn’t you hear me?You’llbe killed. The target will be whether you do it or not. Do you really want to risk it all on your last job?”

I laugh darkly. “Well, that depends. Who’s the target?”

“I’m not authorized to tell you anything except that they have a….”

“What if there’s more than one person with a blue butterfly on their wrist?”

He pauses, probably thinking about how much easier our normal system is.

He gives me the name, I do my research, and then I take the monster out. The types of men I kill have done the evilest things to women, children, and innocents. Unimaginable horrors, at least for most regular people.

“In that case, call me,” he says. “And we’ll figure it out.”

“What if I don’t see them both?” I go on. “I walk in there, see one person with a butterfly on their wrist…and then do my work. ThenlaterI find out it was the wrong person. Use your head. None of this works.”

“It’s a blue butterfly, wings spread, shaded around the edges as though the sun is shining from behind. I find it difficult to believe there will be two identical tattoos.”

“Okay then,” I laugh gruffly. “Let’s take somebody’s life based on your hunch. I’ll go in there and take a look around. I’ll find this person. But I don’t promise anything.”

“If you haven’t handled this by the end of the night, I have to cancel our deal. You’ll be hunted, and so will the target.”

But not my sister. Not my niece, little Felicia, who was named as an homage to me.

“I’ve done a lot in my forty years, Red,” I tell him. “But killing an innocent is a line I won’t cross.”

I hang up and climb from the car, walking across the street.

Running a hand through my hair, I prepare myself to make an effort. I’m not the most naturally social person, but I need to be for this part of the job.

The ingratiating, getting people to trust me before I…do the right thing.

But that’s just it. There is noright thingif the target is innocent.

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