Ink
In the room’s dim light, his eyes felt gritty as he sat against the wall. He’d convinced everyone to leave a couple of hours ago and said he’d stay to talk to her again when she woke up. He wasn’t under any misguided illusion that she would wake up, realize this was all ridiculous, and move on.
The woman went through far more than most of them realized, and it would be an uphill battle to regain her trust.
Trust him.
He’d spent the last hours racking his brain for a way to fix it, but he’d come up empty. Every option that came to mind was struck down once he thought it through.
Move her to another place on the grounds? She’d feel more isolated and less trusting.
Kill Kayla. They didn’t kill women, especially not for something that hadn’t happened.
Keep Kayla on the grounds so she couldn’t blab. That would go over about as well as having cops patrolling the grounds. Not to mention, keeping her around might give her more ideas than she already had.
Hell, he’d even thought about moving her off the grounds and putting her in an apartment somewhere under his name, but that wasn’t an option either. Someone would see them coming and going, and keeping them housebound for six months would be cruel.
Fuck, the option he could hope would work was to talk it through with her and try to reassure her.
That or take the licks he’d get when Simba and the others returned. Hell, he wouldn’t put it past Taz to kill him just to prove a point.
Taz might be the funny, wild card of the group, but he was just as lethal as the rest and far less predictable. The man took his job seriously and wouldn’t hesitate to slit his throat if he thought Ink put her in danger or hurt her.
A soft grunt sounded, and Ink’s head whipped back toward the closet. Asher was waking, and Ink’s heart pounded. Would he start crying again? He really hoped not. He wasn’t sure he could take the anguished cries the little boy had made earlier. They’d damn near taken him out at the knees.
Once Asher’s eyes opened, his little head turned away from his mother’s neck to look at him. Ink didn’t move, just watched him. Asher stared at him in a way that made Ink feel unworthy, as if Asher couldn’t decide whether he was a threat.
Exhausted, Naomi never even twitched.
Asher pushed up, but Naomi didn’t stir. It concerned Ink, but he waited. Asher eased out of her arms and crawled toward him. Ink didn’t hesitate to scoop him up when he reached him.
“Hey, little man,” he murmured, holding him to his chest. “You okay?” Asher didn’t answer. He shook his head and pointed to his mouth. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?”
Asher nodded. If Ink needed confirmation that the little boy was as smart as his mother, he didn’t anymore. “Will you let me carry you to the kitchen and get you something?”
Asher nodded.
Ink glanced at Naomi again and hesitated. She was still in a deep sleep, but he didn’t want her to freak out if she woke up and found Asher no longer with her. Asher whimpered, so he decided it was a risk he’d have to take.
Carefully, he got to his feet, holding Asher tight as he made his way to the kitchen. “What would you like, Asher?” he asked, setting him on the counter near the fridge. “Would you like some milk or juice?”
“M’k,” he croaked, throat raspy from all the tears.
Ink made quick work of finding a sippy cup and filling it. He made a mental note to pick up more milk since they were running low.
Asher gulped it down, watching him out of the corner of his eye.
Like he still wasn’t sure he could trust him.
Ink eased back, leaning against the island across from him, waiting patiently.
When he was finished, Asher set the sippy cup on the counter and looked at him steadily, unblinking, before glancing toward the living room.
Ink plucked him off the counter and set him back on his feet.
Asher walked out of the kitchen toward the couch and pointed at the TV.
Ink’s lips twitched, but he obliged, turning the TV to a cartoon.
Asher scaled the couch and settled into the corner, wrapping the blanket around himself.
Ink wanted to tuck him in, but he had a feeling the little guy wouldn’t be receptive.
Instead, he took a seat in the recliner, ears tuned for Naomi and eyes fixed on the little boy who looked so small lying on the couch.
Asher fell back asleep within twenty minutes, and Ink felt himself drifting off.
Worried the toddler might roll off the couch, he eased out of the recliner and sat on the floor with his back against the couch.
His eyes grew heavy, and despite telling himself he needed to stay awake, he slipped into sleep.
“Asher!” Naomi blared through the apartment, and Ink’s eyes burst open. He was up and moving, even as Naomi rushed down the hall.
“Shhhhhh,” he rasped when she skidded to a halt, eyes wide. “He’s all right. He’s sleeping on the couch.”
Her head whipped around, zeroing in on Asher, who was thankfully still fast asleep in his sprawled-out position on the couch.
She narrowed her eyes on Ink, so he held up his hands. “He woke up and asked me for a drink. I didn’t want to wake you because you were zonked out, so I put on a show for him and let him fall asleep. I’ve been with him the entire time, making sure he’s okay.”
She stared at him. Then she moved past him to check on Asher for herself. Satisfied, she turned to him, glaring. “Thank you for watching him, but you can leave.” Her tone was tight, stiff, and final.
“Naomi, we need to talk.” He tried to keep his tone calm and reasonable.
“We have nothing to say to each other.”
“Look, I know you’re tired, hungry, and scared, but I really do want to talk to you. How about I make breakfast?”
Her eyes narrowed. “No.”
“No, you’re not hungry? Because I know I am.”
“No, I want you to leave. Don’t play those bullshit mind games on me, Ink. I’m fucking smart for a reason, and you’ll lose.”
“Is that your way of saying I’m dumb?” he joked. “Most will agree with you.”
“That’s my way of saying we have nothing more to say to each other. Go deal with Savage and the others who have probably been blowing up your phone asking what I’ve said and whether you’ve convinced me to forget all of this and just move on.”
He tried not to shift at her accurate statement. Even now, his phone was vibrating repeatedly in his pocket.
“Just go, Ink. You and I have nothing to say to each other. The Devil’s Predators will be here soon. Then you can find someone else to handle your paperwork.”
“This has nothing to do with the paperwork, Naomi.”
Was that really what she thought? That he was using her because he didn’t want to deal with it?
Her expression never changed as she turned and went into the kitchen and grabbed a coffee mug, refusing to look at him.
He followed, careful not to crowd, determination burning in his gut. This was his only shot, and he couldn’t waste it. “Naomi, I know you’re pissed and don’t trust me, or any of us. We deserve that. Scream, yell, call me an asshole, whatever, but we can work this out. I know we can.”
Silence.
“Alright, fine, if you don’t want to talk, you can listen.
I’m so fucking sorry for everything that happened over the last week.
I … I messed up in more ways than one, but I never did it on purpose to cause you any problems. I was just so excited that baby Jett was safe and we got to celebrate.
It’s been a busy few weeks, and I wanted to blow off steam.
All of us did. But that meant we forgot what was important.
You. You and Asher. Your safety. Your comfort.
That’s not an excuse. It’s … it’s an explanation.
It’s inexcusable, and I’m so fucking sorry. ”
She turned slightly, glancing at him, but her eyes were frigid, unyielding.
“I also know none of that changes the fact that you feel we can’t be trusted to keep you safe.
And maybe, on some small level, you’re right, but not completely.
You’re exactly where you need to be—both of you.
We’ve been up against the cartel before and won.
We’ve faced off against other organizations too, and we’ve come out on top with them all.
We have a reputation, and we’ve earned every last drop of it.
“You’re not isolated here. You have people who like you, want to spend time with you, and get to know you. You have the women and all of us to help with Asher if you let us. We’ve fucked up, Naomi, but we can rebuild that trust with you again. We just need the chance.”
“There are no second chances in the cartel. Or with me.”
He bit back a sigh. “You don’t strike me as the cold type, Naomi. I get it. You’re scared, and you’ve wrapped yourself in it like a shield right now, but—”
She whirled, scowling, her face red. The abrupt shift made his eyes widen, and he took a step back on reflex before he caught himself.
He stared down at the tiny woman who looked like she was ready to find another gun and unload it once more.
And she’d make sure he wasn’t walking around breathing this time.
So why did it make his blood boil and his gut tighten with excitement? Yeah, something was seriously wrong with him, or was he relieved to see any emotion from her?
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, Ink.” She practically snarled, glaring up at him. “And don’t presume to know anything about me or what I’ve been through. You don’t know shit.”
“Then tell me. You want me to understand, but how can I do that when I know nothing about what you’ve been through, except that you were used to keep their books?
Or that your father was the one who sold you to them in the first place.
Is it about Asher? Is Diego telling you he wants his son back, and that’s what’s scaring you? We can protect him. Protect you.”
“You can’t do fucking shit if Diego finds out where I am.
You want to know what I’ve been through, Ink?
Fine, I’ll tell you. I was beaten, abused, and tortured into compliance.
I was Diego’s personal pet, kept on a very short leash because he never wanted me to think I had any chance of getting away from him.
He owned me. He owned everything about me, including my brain and DNA. ”
Ink stiffened, dread settling in his gut.
“Oh, it’s finally starting to click for you, isn’t it?” There was a slight sneer in her voice. “Do you know what someone like me is worth? Billions. Because I’m a vault. I can recall whatever they tell me, including whatever they don’t want anyone to know. I pick up on everything quickly.
“But what if they could replicate me? What if they could create more of me to keep this going for generations? Someone to pass everything down to when the new leader will eventually take over? Or maybe more of me to sell? Because people like me are rare, and even if they can get their hands on someone else, there’s a good chance they won’t be as young as I am or as easily controlled. ”
Bile rose in his throat as the pieces started to click. “Asher. They want him to be another you. They want him raised to be like you and then sold off?”
Her eyes burned with cold determination. “They will do that over my dead body. And anyone who tries to get in my way and take my son.”
“So you think they’ll take you back or kill you to teach you a lesson and then train Asher?”
“They’ve been testing him to see if he has the markers of a high IQ like mine, with the same ability to remember things.
He’s still too young, but he’s already showing signs, as I did.
My father noticed it, even when I tried to hide it.
Asher solved a puzzle I gave him, and I didn’t notice he was in my father’s line of sight. ” Her tone was bitter, full of regret.
“Naomi, that wasn’t your fault. You wouldn’t have been able to hide it forever.”
“They took him from me. For a week, Ink. A week when I couldn’t find him, had no idea what they were doing to him.
He was only a year old. A fucking baby. They took him, ran tests, and brought him back to me covered in sores and bruises, with a diaper rash from hell because they didn’t give a shit about his comfort.
They left him sitting in dirty diapers for hours longer than he should have been.
He was a shell. It took me months to get him back to where he felt safe enough to trust even me. ”
Ink’s fists clenched at his side. “And that was the last time they did that?”
“Yes, because I killed one of the guards who tried to take him from me a second time only a week before I escaped.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, but he wasn’t surprised. Considering how hard she fought him last night, he probably should be grateful not to be six feet under right about now.
“You did the right thing, Naomi. He’s lucky to have you as his mother.”
“He won’t think that when he’s older. Not when he’s smarter than everyone, in advanced classes, and socially awkward. But I’ll spare him the horror of being around Diego or his men. And to your other point, Diego probably won’t kill me right away. He’ll harvest me first, then kill me.”
“Harvest you?” He stared at her, bewildered.
“Why do you think I told Karissa and Glitch I don’t know who his father is?
I was beaten, taken to a medical room in Diego’s home, restrained, and forcibly bred using sperm he and his doctors developed.
They kept me in the medical bay for weeks to see if it worked.
When it failed, I was beaten for somehow causing the procedure to fail.
In the second round, I became pregnant with Asher.
Now that they know it worked, they’ll want to make more of him. ”
“So you think they’re going to take you back, take your eggs, and then kill you?” The horror of it made him want to punch something.
“I know they will. They can always find someone else to handle the business part, but having others like me, like Asher? That’s a long-term plan and a risk.
“Now, do you understand why it’s not fucking safe for me to stay here, Ink?
If Diego finds out where I am because of your pissed-off lover, they will take Asher and do unspeakable things to him until he’s old enough and they’re satisfied they’ve broken him.
And any other siblings he’ll have. They will not stop until they have us back, Ink.
And I’m not willing to let that happen. Ever. I will die first.”
Her eyes flashed cold. “And when the Devil’s Predators get here, I’ll make them understand that. You might not have meant it, but you’ve exposed me, and I have no desire for it to happen again.”