Nixx
By the time Benny and I reached the tattoo shop, the street had emptied enough that our footsteps sounded louder than they should have.
The storefronts on either side had gone dark hours ago. A few signs still glowed in distant windows, but this stretch of the block belonged to parked cars, locked doors, and the occasional wash of headlights passing at the far intersection. JJ’s shop sat quiet beneath its black awning, the front windows reflecting the amber glow of the streetlamps.
Benny glanced toward the building before pulling the ski mask down over his face.
“You know, when you said no questions asked, I assumed we were burying something.”
I adjusted my own mask. “Disappointed?”
“Undecided.”
We continued past the front of the shop without slowing, then cut through the narro
