Page 57 of The Chemist

“Freaky, isn’t it?”

Zero turned to face Isaac sitting to his right.

“It’s like the damn thing is waiting until I close my eyes before it sneaks up behind me and sodomizes me,” Zero whispered under his breath.

Isaac, Jared, and Levi all laughed.

Apparently, Zero wasn’t quiet enough.

“I know! I never turn off the lights when Bruno is in the room. I don’t trust that creepy little perv,” Levi added.

“Bruno?” Zero asked, wondering who else he had yet to meet.

The three men turned to face Diesel.

“You haven’t introduced him to Bruno?” Levi and Isaac both shouted in unison.

Diesel shrugged his shoulders. “Bruno’s still trying to decide whether to murder the man in his sleep.”

Shocked, the blue-haired skater boy turned his attention back to Zero.

“Bruno is Diesel’s comfort tattoo. It keeps an eye out for danger while he sleeps and keeps him company when he’s alone and lonely.”

Diesel raised his middle finger again.

“What? It’s true. That’s why you insisted on bringing him to life by giving him a name.” Isaac turned back to face Zero. “It’s kind of like that killer toy doll that only seems to come to life when no one is watching.”

Zero glared at the suspicious-looking eyes on Diesel’s chest that now appeared to be following his every move.

Fuck. They were kind of freaky.

Finally having enough of this eeriness, Zero shook his head in frustration. “Okay, take it off. Let’s meet Bruno, the murderous tattoo.” Zero motioned for Diesel to take off his shirt.

“No. You’re not getting me out of my clothes that easily.” Diesel huffed, taking another sip of his whiskey.

“Would you prefer if I put on some music and gave you a twenty?” Zero asked, reaching into his pocket, pretending to fish out some bills.

He wasn’t opposed to slipping Diesel a few bills, especially if it meant seeing the tattooed grump without his shirt on. But Diesel and the group didn’t need to know that.

All the guys joined in cheering and taunting. Finally, Diesel let out an exhausted breath before pulling off his shirt in one fell swoop.

There, sitting over his left pec muscle, was a grinning demon’s face. Yup, the thing was definitely giving off an “I’ll wait till you fall asleep, then murder you in your bed” kind of vibe.

Eyes drifting across his body, Zero took in the number of tattoos inked on Diesel’s skin. His body was a canvas of art and meaning.

Running along the right side of his rib cage were realistic-looking stab wounds rendered with intricate details, making itappear as though they were part of his skin. The design only added to the menacing physique that was Diesel. The man really did play into that “bad boy, I don’t give a shit, fuck everyone and everything” attitude.

Finally, Zero’s eyes landed on the cryptic message scrawled in bold, almost frantic script just above his belly button—“Never Again.” He wondered about the significance of the words. Did they serve as a warning or a reminder?

He had noticed something scrawled on Diesel’s belly while he was down on his knees sucking his dick, but it was too dark to read the writing.

Who are you kidding? You were too distracted with that big hog of a cock to care what the fuck was written on the man’s bloody stomach.

That was true. Big dick? Or belly tattoo. He would choose big dick every fucking time.

“Meet Bruno,” Diesel announced, flexing his chest muscles and bringing the evil creature to life.

Zero watched as the damn thing smiled, then winked, then possibly cast a curse upon him and his family. His family? It was just him and his dad—well, a dad he hadn’t spoken to in over five years. Not since his father was arrested and thrown in jail for scamming people out of their life savings. It was thanks to his father that he spent his childhood pulling cons instead of going to school and learning skills that might actually get him a high-paying job. Instead, he learned how to lie, cheat, and scam people out of their money.Always play on their emotions, his father used to say.

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