23. Ink
INK
There was a storm in her eyes, and he hated seeing it. He wanted to tell her it was over, that all this would be behind her and they’d never touch either of them again, but she wouldn’t believe him. Not fully.
So, he switched the topic. “What about your mother? What was she like?”
“I don’t really remember her. She died when my sister and I were young.
My father said she was like me, with the same kind of memory and smarts.
I’m still not sure how they ended up together, since, from what I understand, they were complete opposites.
She was Ivy League, and he was an other-side-of-the-tracks kind of guy.
“Maybe at one point it was a love story, but he got greedy when he realized just what she could do for him.
“I think he was always like that. Good at hiding his true self.” Her expression darkened. “He certainly managed it well enough.”
“And your sister?”
She sighed. “All I know is that my father got her wrapped up in Diego’s operation, but I don’t know the details beyond that.
We were never allowed to communicate, and she didn’t even try.
My father made a point of telling me how well she was doing without me, saying she had talents beyond her brain.
I don’t know what that means, and I don’t want to know. ”
He had a pretty good idea, and it soured his gut. The cartel had specific uses for women, and if her father sold her to them, as he had with Naomi, it wasn’t for anything good. And even if it wasn’t the worst possible answer, she’d be loyal to them in a way Naomi wasn’t.
Not to mention, if they thought it was possible her sister could carry these children like an incubator … a shiver of dread ran down his spine.
Yeah, he didn’t even want to consider it.
“Done!” Asher declared.
“Good job, buddy,” Ink praised.
“Pway?”
“You can go play with your toys, yes. Ink can play with you soon, once he’s done eating.” Asher nodded, clambered off his chair, and headed back to the living room. “He’ll be busy for half an hour.”
Ink nodded. “He’s very self-sufficient.”
Something flashed across her face—regret, maybe?
—before she nodded. “He’s advancing faster now that he’s not stuck in one room or around other people who want him to keep moving forward.
Scarlett has been great at getting him things to do and read with me from the library.
We’ll be working on his math and writing next. ”
Ink blinked at her. “He’s two.”
Her lips quirked. “By the time I was his age, I was doing both those things. He’s already trying to copy me, and he’s getting pretty good at it.
We also play memory games to see if he can remember where things were after we move them around.
Easy stuff for now, but enough for me to see what I have to look forward to in the future. ”
Ink looked at her in awe. “Shit. I knew you were a genius, but I guess I never really put the pieces together in my head about what that might mean. He’ll be running laps around the rest of us soon enough.
” He was oddly proud of that. “And he seems to like drawing and coloring. Maybe he’ll like doing that as well as the math parts? ”
“He does like to color a lot. I’m good with that too.
I’m not very artistic, so if that’s what he prefers to do, we’ll look into it.
Some people with higher IQs are more adept at instruments and the arts than in logical careers.
He’s too young, really, to decide on that now unless he really shows an affinity for something. ”
“D-did you always want to work with numbers?” He hoped the question didn’t upset her.
She sighed. “I went through phases growing up. I was smart, taking advanced classes in everything, but I just wanted to fit in, be like the other girls. Get the boys’ attention.
I was pretty enough, and I worked hard to learn how to do my makeup just right and got a job to get some nice clothes, but the guys were intimidated by me.
I would talk faster, remember things they did, and they really didn’t like that I could remember where something was.
If they were trying to hide something, they thought I would snitch. It made high school hard.”
“Teenage boys are pricks. We’re only focused on impressing our friends and scoring as much as possible.”
“Yeah, I don’t think they grow out of it either.” Her stare was bland, but the corner of her lip twitched as she tried to hide her smile.
Ink grinned at her. “Probably, but I’d like to think we’ve matured a bit about it and don’t do the stupid stunts we used to. And we’re better at recognizing the smart girls are the hottest ones.”
She rolled her eyes. “You can’t help yourself.” She pushed away from the table, grabbing her empty plate.
“Afraid not.” He got to his feet, took his plate, and followed her. “I got this.” He eased the dishcloth from her hand and gently hip-checked her when she shook her head and tried to take it back. “You made dinner, I clean up. That’s how things work.”
“It’s only a couple dishes and one pan, Ink. I’m not going to strain myself.”
“Don’t care. You cook, I clean. We should make a list of rules for each other. You’ll remember each one, but I’ll memorize them. This can be the first one. I think the second should be that we have pizza at least once a week. I have an addiction to feed.”
He might be pushing this, but damn it, he didn’t want to stop. It was the first night she hadn’t shoved him out and was opening up. He didn’t know what the girls had said to her, but he’d buy them all flowers or something if it had helped her decide to finally give him a shot.
She rolled her eyes. “Ink, we’re not getting into this again.”
“Getting into what? I’m trying to make our lives better, and we’re just chatting. Past that, we can figure it all out later. Oh, and we really should add that I get to kiss you at least five times a day. You know what? Put that at the top of the list.”
“No. No lists. We’re not going there. And five times a day? That’s insane. What, you’re going to make a chart you can check off whenever you complete each task?”
He bit back a triumphant grin. She might not want to talk about it, but it seemed she couldn’t help herself. He could work with that.
“You seem like the kind who’s into organization, so I’d do it for you to show I’m following the rules,” he offered.
“I mean, I’ll probably want to color it up a bit so that we give it some life, but we can compromise on that.
Isn’t that what couples do, compromise? Great way to make sure we’re going to be good at that. ”
“Ink …”
“And is five too few? I’ll change it to more if you want. Ten? Fifteen? I mean, I can probably get in half of those before I’d have to head to the shop, and when I return, we can—”
“Oh my God, stop!” she shouted, throwing her hands up. “You’re impossible. I am not kissing you that many times. Ever.”
“Too few still? Alright, well, we might have to schedule some time to come back and … umph.” He chuckled when she clamped a hand over his mouth, muffling him. Licking her palm, he grinned, making her grimace. She yanked her hand away and wiped it on her pants.
“Was your whole purpose to come over here and annoy me tonight?” she asked. “Because it’s working.”
“Actually, I came over to see if I could convince you to bring Asher for a walk with me. We have a path that goes through some of the buildings and is far from the boundaries, so you’ll be covered if you’re worried about it.
I could probably convince Taz to follow up on the rooftops if you wanted the extra security. But I’m enjoying this too.”
Taz would probably be mouthing off and offering unsolicited advice the entire way.
She stilled. “You wanted us to leave the apartment?”
“Babe, you’ve been cooped up in here, and you really need to stretch your legs.
Asher would probably be happy to play outside for a bit.
It’s getting late, so we can walk before it gets dark.
We’ll have protection. I can probably even convince Karissa and Glitch to come along, but that means their men too, and they’re pains in the ass on a good day. ”
“Did you put the girls up to telling me that too?” Her tone was suspicious.
“Nope. I haven’t seen any of them all day since I left for the shop early.
Which, by the way, is not my norm. I normally don’t show up there until noon, but I promised Tom I’d work with him on a few things.
The kid is freaking amazing at picking things up.
He’s going to be great to have around the shop.
” He winked. “And he’s been very good at keeping all the paperwork organized for you.
He gave me the death glare when I grabbed one from his stack yesterday. ”
“As he should. You don’t mess with a filing system. That explains why the last stack you brought me earlier this week was actually organized and in order. You should take some lessons from him.”
“That’s what I have a prospect for. He does the sh—crap work for me so I don’t have to. Now, about that walk …”
“I-I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I’m not sure it’s safe yet. And Taz probably doesn’t want to follow us around.”
Ink set the dishcloth down and headed for the door.
“What are you doing?”
Opening the door, he called out, “I know you’re listening. You going to cover us?”
“Already figured it out. Karissa will be on lookout on the other side. Tell our girl she’s good.”
“Fuck off.”
Taz laughed, and Ink shut the door. “We’re covered, Taz and Karissa both. Glitch will probably be monitoring the cameras.”
She blinked. “Are they always going to do this? Won’t they hate it? We’re probably ruining their evening.”
“Nope, this is what they signed up for. And their men can suck it up. Now, I’m going to finish the dishes. Do you need to get Asher ready?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I never agreed to this plan of yours. It’s getting close to Asher’s bath and bedtime, anyway.”
“Then we’d better get a move on.”
He wanted her out of this apartment. She needed to breathe and let some of the edge slip away.
Maybe he was an idiot, risking a knee to the balls, but he swiftly lifted his hand, wrapped it around the back of her neck, and tilted her head back so he could press a quick, hard kiss to her mouth.
It wasn’t anything overly deep, but it was enough to make him want to sink into her.
He pulled away quickly, not wanting to push her, and said, “We’ll count that as one toward the total.
We can figure out the exact amount on our walk.
I’m still saying fifteen is a good start. ”
Grinning, he walked back into the kitchen. He wanted her to trust him, to rely on him.
If he was lucky, he’d get to do that later, maybe slower and deeper. He wanted to taste her, savor her, and show her just what he could offer.
Once he finished the dishes, he found her helping Asher into a small sweater and his shoes, avoiding his gaze. It did nothing to hide the flush covering her cheeks.
“Walk. Going for a ’alk, Ink,” Asher chattered.
“We are, buddy. But you have to promise to stick close to your mama and me, okay? It’s getting dark.”
He lost his smile and nodded. “Okay, Ink.” He got to his feet and looked at his mother. “Go, Mama?”
“I have to get a sweater and shoes too, baby. Give me a minute.” Then she was off down the hall, still not looking at Ink.
Ink smirked but kept his attention on Asher as the little boy pointed out all the designs on his coat and shoes. Something about a show with a blue dog. He recognized it from what the other kids watched, especially Ronin, though he wasn’t super familiar with it.
When Naomi came back out staring straight ahead, she easily ignored the hand he outstretched to her. He let his hand drop, unoffended. That was probably a bit much, but Asher took it, and that was fine with him.
“Alright, let’s go for a walk,” Ink chirped.
They left the apartment, and Ink was careful to keep Asher between himself and Naomi; her gaze darted around, fast and sharp, taking in every detail, including the fact that Taz was still on the roof watching.
He guided them through the lot and toward the dirt road that led to where some of the members had built houses. It was a safe place to go, and it wouldn’t be around the main clubhouse, where most of the rest of the club would be.
Asher skipped, grinning. “Look, Mama!” he exclaimed, pointing at the flowers along the path. “F’wers.”
“Yep, those are flowers, baby. Did you want to pick some for home?”
“Yeah!”
“He loves having flowers on the table,” Naomi muttered, her voice distant.
He looked down at her, concerned. Her eyes were sad.
“My room at Diego’s was right by the garden.
It was the only place we were allowed to go freely.
It was small, enclosed, and protected by snipers above.
When Asher was only a year old, I took him out there to teach him how to pull weeds and plant flowers.
It was the only thing I could do that wasn’t numbers.
He insisted on helping me pick them after that. ”
Ink wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her into his side to offer her comfort.
She stiffened but didn’t pull away. “You survived, Naomi. That’s what matters.
And he obviously associates the flowers with something good, because you can see how happy he looks right now.
He thinks he’s going to give you something pretty and to make you happy. ”
She shivered. “I know. Everything makes me think of Diego. It was all I knew for so many years. I wanted Asher to have some peace and a sense of normalcy. The worst was when my father came and saw the flowers. He’d sneer at them, saying I was turning that kid into a sissy or something.
” Her lips twisted. “He never called Asher his grandson. He was just that kid. Someone he could use.”
He really hoped he had a chance to meet the bastard and make him pay for all the hurt he’d caused her. Caused both of them.
“It doesn’t feel like it now, but maybe that’s for the best. He wants no stake in Asher beyond what he could be. That means he doesn’t get to dull any of the shine or joy in your son. He gets to grow up with a mom who loves him, lets him be who he wants to be, and be happy.”
Naomi watched Asher, then finally lifted her gaze to meet his. Her blue eyes swirled with curiosity, wariness, but also something that made his heart trip.
“Mama, look!”
Their moment broken, they turned to Asher clutching a large bouquet of mangled flowers.
Ink chuckled. “That’s one way of doing it,” he murmured, squeezing her. “Great job, kiddo. Want to keep walking to see what else we can find?”
Asher nodded and hurried off.
He took it as an excellent sign that when Naomi eased away to follow, she stayed close to him. He fought the urge to take her hand, telling himself it would happen. Soon.
This was only the first step, but it was a good one.