Page 35 of Ink

I hesitate before answering. “I wouldn’t say I care for her, but I am concerned about the stuff I’ve found out.”

“Take my advice and don’t do anything they don’t ask you to do. It’ll piss you off to no end. And nothing is a bigger pain in the ass than a woman you care about not listening to a single thing you fucking say. Trust me.”

If only that was easier said than done.

Chapter

Fourteen

SUTTON

The conversation with Ink in the parking lot of the motel took a turn I never saw coming.

Obviously, I picked up on the fact that he’s nosey. But all of the guys at the shop are. They moan and groan about how the women they’re seeing gossip and don’t stop talking, but they give them a run for their money.

I get this situation isn’t normal, but I wasn’t prepared for him to ask how I got here. What a loaded question. My head is telling me to be smart and thank him for the ride, letting him be on his way. But my heart is telling me the opposite. There’s something swirling in his blue eyes that’s telling me I can trust him with my life.

Why can’t life be easy for once? My head and heart need to get on the same page and do it quick.

Now that I’ve had a few days to sit on his unwanted charity, I am grateful that he gave me my first check early in cash. What I’m not okay with is him thinking he’s entitled to whatever he wants from me. I promised myself the day I left Zach that I would never let a man have any sort of power over me again. No more empty promises that are only there in the first place to manipulate me.

I’m no longer that stupid, naive girl.

That night made me wake up and what a freaking wake-up call it was.

Tonight, I decided to go with what my head is telling me and thank him for the ride. Madame’s Salem’s voice is in the back of my mind the entire time, making me regret my decision.

I’ve never been around a man like Ink before. Maybe the gruff exterior is his way of showing that he cares.

I’m counting down the days until I don’t have to walk into this gross motel again. Rushing past the front desk, I’m thankful that the nasty guy isn’t sitting at it as I make a beeline for my room.

I’m in such a panic to get the door to my room unlocked and inside before he, or worse, Zach, sees me that I didn’t notice the door is already propped open ever so slightly as I turned the handle.

I don’t bother turning the light on. This place is engrained in my brain and will probably continue to haunt me in my afterlife. I toss my bag and hear it land softly on the bed as I make my way to the bathroom. I need a long hot shower to ease some of the tension that feels like it’s taken up permanent residence in my shoulders. Well, lukewarm is the best I’m going to get here.

A slow clap sounds from the other side of the room, making me freeze. A chill snakes down my spine, chilling my bones and making the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I don’t need the lights on to know who it is.

My nightmare always comes in the darkness.

“Well, well, well.” The slow clapping gets louder as he stands up and makes his way toward me. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

My heart pounds in my ears as I say nothing. I can’t bring myself to face him. My hands are violently shaking at my sides. The rest of my body follows suit with small, full body tremors. This is how it always starts out. Soon, the panic will become too much to take, rendering me useless as I let the pressure in my chest and fear consume me.

“Did you think you could just leave me? And that I what? Would just let you be on your merry way like you didn’t make a fool out of me?”

My throat is closing in. Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to focus on my breathing, but the sound of his footsteps coming closer makes it nearly impossible. One, two, three, four. Exhale. One, two, three, four. Exhale. One, tw⁠—

His large hand wraps around my throat, squeezing the breath I’m holding right out of me.

“Answer me,” he bites out. His breath smells like stale beer. Craft beers were always his thing.

A fresh wave of panic flushes my body as my oxygen supply is cut off, snapping me out of the anxiety consuming me as the need to survive wins. My hand dashes up, covering the one he has around my throat as I try to pull it off me without success.

“Did you think you would get away with humiliating me like that in front of our friends? In front of the firm? In front of the whole goddamn town?” His voice rises the longer he rants. The hand around my throat lightly jerks me around. My voice box feels like it’s going to be ripped out.

He’s always been one to talk with his hands.