Page 146 of Stop and Seek
Noah didn’t hate tattoos. He’d thought about getting one before. Theo’s name over his heart. Or one of those minimalist line-drawing ones that looked classy until you realized it was an outline of someone getting railed.
But this shop was different from the places he’d been in before.
The whole thingreeked.
Sweat, antiseptic, that tang of ink and fake floral air freshener. Someone was vaping something fruity behind the front desk, and it clashed hard with the metal-as-fuck vibe the place was going for.
The walls were chaos. Flash sheets stacked edge to edge. Screaming skulls. Naked angels. Snakes wrapped around anatomically correct hearts. A demon in leather throttling a skeleton on a Harley. Cool? Sure. But also, way too much.
Noah rubbed the back of his neck.
“Hey,” he said, trying to make his voice sound casual. Chill. “Is Jagger here?”
The girllooked up. Eyebrow ring. Neck tat that saidGodlesslike it was a religion. “Do you have an appointment? Jag’s off in half hour.”
Fuck.
“Uh. No.”
Pause.
“But I brought cash.”
That usually worked.
It didn’t.
“You want another artist?” she asked.
“No.” He tried again, leaning forward like they were in on something. “I just need to talk to him.”
She gave him a long, slow blink. “Name?”
“Joe.”
Then she stood. “Wait here.”
Noah waited. Patient as hell.
Tracking down Jagger had been easier than any of his paid gigs. Two hours of calling in favors—andbam. William Jaeger. Jagger to his friends. Apparently, he and Theo had been together for four years before it ended. Which, once Noah did the math, was straight-up slimy.
What the hell did a full-grownadultin his thirtieswant from a nineteen year-oldkid?
Fucking. Disgusting.
Bonus round?
Noah found the other guy from the video, too. He’d deal with him later.
One piece of trash at a time.
The water from a sink in the back slowed and stopped. There was muffled conversation. A man’s voice, laughing. That laugh made Noah’s teeth grind together. Same one from the video.
He didn’t even know what he was going to say.
Hi, you traumatized the love of my life and now he won’t even text me?
The door creaked open and out he came.
