Page 86 of Devil's Delirium

“How so?”

“Never mind. You don’t want to know.” The familiar clutter of tattoo supplies, the organized chaos of needles, inks, and stencil paper, all provided a sense of normalcy that I desperately needed.

“To the contrary, young lady. I very much do want to know.”

My reflection in the mirrored wall behind the counter appeared bedraggled and tired but also content, joy playing at the corners of my lips despite the dark circles under my eyes. “It was incredible. And addictive. He’s a god in bed—”

“Not that I don’t want to know, but what was in Ivan’s storage unit?”

“Oh my goddess. I forgot.” The smell of fresh coffee filled the room, its robust fragrance cutting through the fog in my head.

The anticipation of that first strong sip was enough to start easing the tightness in my chest. I pinched a mug from the shelf, one of my favorites, chipped but dependable, and waited to pour myself a generous amount as soon as the pot had enough to fill it.

“He must have been very good indeed.”

I pressed my lips together in thought for a moment, leaning over the counter as my coffee brewed. “Yeah. The storage unit was packed with—get this— circus equipment.”

“What kind of circus equipment?”

I thought back to when I rolled that door open and first saw the stacks of boxes and shelves. The rolled-up tents and boxes of props. The popcorn cart and ticket box. “Tents and props and costumes and… everything really.”

“What was he doing with that?”

I shook my head. “I have… literally no idea. Maybe it’s all a relic of his past,” I suggested.

I poured my first cup, not caring that it wasn’t done brewing yet. When I took that first sip, letting the hot, bitter liquid awaken my senses, the heat spread through my body. I savored the moment, standing there in the shop, the taste of strong coffee joining with the lingering memory of Maverick’s touch.

I jolted at Oscar’s voice piping up again. “Surely, he would have let it slip if he’d grown up in a circus. It is rather fitting that he’d be a circus freak, though.”

“The alternative is that he… acquired all of it? But for what?”

“Maybe he was going to start a circus,” Oscar suggested.

“What would he start a circus for?”

“He was a clown already. Maybe he figured he’d throw up a tent and get a crowd of people to scare.”

Ivan had been using his clown face to terrorize people everywhere he went. It was only another step or two to decide to find a way to get them all to come to him instead.

Was Ivan planning to open a circus of horror? Oh goddess, that sounded just like him. I plopped down in my seat and flicked the pc on.

“Well?”

“You’re right. That does sound like something he’d do. I need to see if there’s anything in here about his plans.”

I navigated to his emails and clicked on the subfolder “Tits and Ass.” Previously, I thought it was communication with a brothel or something, but now, I took it all in with new eyes. The subject lines suddenly made sense:

“Re: Talent Acquisition” From: Phantom Talent Services

“Payment” Haunted Talent Network

“Cancellation of order” Dark Delights Props

“Negotiation of terms” Spectral Performers Inc.

“Your attitude” Mage Elara

“Tent availability” Grim Apparatus Suppliers

---