Page 5 of Body Tox

Lately, the police had received extra compensation to turn the other way when questioning me. Daddy was speaking the other day about a pending investigation in the back alley of my nail salon. Maybe I was being too blasé about playing with my toys in public. The night couldn’t hide everything.

The police wouldn’t find him. Half his body was likely digested in a grizzly bear by now, and the rest remained drying in my freezer.

Waiting for my father to pet me on the top of the head, scold me one final time about the meeting, and finally leave with his brigade of asshats took too long. I opened the kiln and reached under the drying rack to my hidden patches of perfection.

Remembering how this one screamed when I carved his skin free of his face made my insides flutter. I’d taken time to stitch this piece of human hyde onto my mask intricately. The stitches gleamed under my light, showcasing the different skin textures and tones.

It was funny. No matter what someone’s color was on the outside, we all bled red. I was an equal opportunist with my kills. I had every race, ethnicity, and sex included in my victim profiles.

But, I didn’t fuck with children or animals. The world was cruel enough to them. They didn’t need me to make them understand the viciousness of the world. Unfortunately, that lesson would come to light just by fucking living long enough to see it for themselves.

Once I’d finished adding another layer of skin to my mask, I checked my makeup and outfit before looking at the clock.

I was late by like an hour. Oopsi. Guess the new bodyguard was earning those stellar reviews by being patient with me like a good little boy.

Palazzo was a high-end diner, and the hostess at the front took their time seating me. Must be new. No one ever made me wait.

“I am meeting someone. He was said to have on a white tie and a black iris sitting on the table next to him.” I checked my phone to inform my father I was at the meeting and watched the fish and the array of colors in the aquarium ahead of me.

“Not sure who you want, but you can walk on through. I go on break in a second anyway.”

I narrowed my eyes at the petulant teen. They didn’t even have proper attire to be a hostess. What a shame the establishment has let trash over-run it.

The mermaid in the tank was blowing bubbles and dodging sharks. I saw the tube running from the back of the tank and discreetly took a knife from one of the tables, popping a hole in the air tube.

If the female wanted to play with sharks, then she’d better enjoy the whole experience. I looked around the dimly lit area, seeing a lot of people chortling and carrying on mindless conversation, but no fat second-hand thrift store-dressed ‘guard’ was sitting at the booths.

A single man in the back of the room caught my attention. He was taking up most of the table with just his big body, but he was splayed out.

Pfft…as if he needed to overcompensate.

He had on a very high-priced suit and tie, and his dark hair was shadowing his face as he stared intently down at his hands under the table.

Curiosity took hold, and I walked closer to see what had captured the man’s attention. He was twirling a flower in his grip, his inked fingers showing a gentleness on the black petals, but something told me those hands could be quite brutal.

The realization made me gasp when I saw he was the only one wearing a white tie, and the flower he toyed with sensually in his grip was a black iris.

This was my guardsman?

I stood by the table next to his. A crowd was now gathering over to the struggling mermaid in the tank, making it easy for me to sit silently in the booth across the aisle from where he sat. I wanted to study this man before I made an appearance. He had already been waiting for well over an hour now. It would be fun to see him squirm.

I watched him through a gap in the menu, his hands still hidden under the table. My phone dinged, and I looked down at the screen, seeing an unknown number slide across it.

Unknown: Interesting way to make an appearance, Miss Svenson.

I balked at the message, snapping my head up from my menu and staring at the man. His face was no longer hidden, and he was looking right at me. He had a smirk on his face, an all-knowing dangerous leer.

Who does this asshole think he is?

Another message appeared.

Unknown: Due to the confidential information exchanged, I believe your father would appreciate a closer encounter. Don’t you think?

I glared at the man, which only made his face break into a big smile.

I stood up and abruptly started walking out of the facility. I wasn’t going to be toyed with by this dickhead, and wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of sitting beside me. A new message popped on the screen, but rather than reading it, I swiped my nail across the message and erased it.

The chaos of the mermaid drowning made the restaurant turn into a hushed, frantic crowd that blocked my vision of the smug prick.

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