INK
ONE WEEK LATER
“They found him. Your woman was right.”
Code rolled his eyes. “Look, I know you and Naomi are all happy and sexed up this week, but your brain is still intact from what I can see. Unless you blew it all out with all the loads you’ve been shooting this week. Actually, that might be probable.”
Code shook his head. “I can’t say a damn thing because I’ve felt that way since I made Glitch mine.”
“Ha! You didn’t make me anything, Caveman.
” Glitch scoffed, coming up behind him, though she didn’t fight him when he snaked his arm around her and yanked her into him.
“And the information Naomi gave, they found Diego. He was hiding out at the ranch after all. He was in a hidden bunker they found at the back of the house. He and his men put up a hell of a fight, but they got him. He’s being held at the highest security prison in the country under constant guard and watch. ”
“You think he’ll be stupid enough to try and escape?” Ink couldn’t imagine it would be possible, but it would be weird.
“He’s a cartel leader, so he’s probably got a plan to try and bribe the guards or something,” Code said. “But he’s not allowed any visitors outside his lawyer, and even then, he and the lawyer are both being searched before and after they talk. They’re not taking any chances.”
Ink wanted to feel relieved, but until the son of a bitch was sentenced and put away for good, he wouldn’t let his guard down.
“Naomi will be happy. What about her father?”
They shared a grim look. Ink’s stomach sank.
“No luck on finding him,” Glitch stated. “He wasn’t with Diego at the house or on the grounds, and Diego wasn’t talking. So he’s either dead or on the run.”
“Or he’s the one Diego left in charge in case this happened,” Code suggested.
“Which means we’re not out of the woods yet, but at least we’re making headway.
If her father is running things, then he’ll be busy trying to stay ahead of the Feds and keep things moving and probably not paying the least bit of attention to finding Naomi and Asher. ”
“And there’s been no chatter online about him or them,” Glitch added. “I’m in every dark web chat you can find, but nothing has even come remotely close to mentioning them.”
“Is it enough that Naomi and Asher can leave the grounds without worry they’ll be spotted?”
Code and Glitch shook their heads. “Not yet. We need to give it a couple of weeks to see how things fall. No point in putting them in danger until we know where we’re at,” Glitch said.
He was disappointed but understood. He’d been talking to Naomi a lot this week about showing her the shop, anxious to hear her thoughts. And maybe even convince her to let him tattoo her, though she’d been pretty set against that.
Who knew a woman so smart was afraid of needles?
Still, she’d fallen in love with a few of the designs he’d made up for her, so he was hopeful.
“Alright, I’ll let her know. She’s been pretty calm about it the last few days.”
“You mean she hasn’t gone insane and covered the apartment with papers and random drawings again?” Code snickered.
“I’ve already got a priest on standby in case she tries to murder you that can deliver last rites,” Glitch added, with a saucy grin. “You know, for when you call her possessed again.”
“Brother, I nearly came to punch some sense into you myself when I heard about that.” Code shook his head.
Ink rolled his eyes, unrepentant. Naomi had shared that story with the other women, and he’d been enduring jokes and teasing about it all week. He didn’t care; he just ignored them all.
“I’m going to tell Naomi the good news. See you later.”
“I have a vial of holy water for you if you need it,” Glitch called after him, laughing.
He flipped her off over his shoulder, making her laugh harder.
He’d taken today off from the shop, needing a break, and he was glad. He planned to take Asher out on the bike around the property. It was a hell of a time convincing Naomi it was perfectly safe, and he’d even gotten him a tiny helmet all for him, but she finally agreed last night.
Well, she’d said yes when he brought it up to her after he fucked her hard into the mattress and she was passing out, but it counted, right?
And once she heard the good news, she’d probably be less likely to try to murder him. He hoped.
He found her folding laundry, a look on her face he couldn’t quite decipher. It might’ve been patience, or maybe even barely contained rage, but when Asher grabbed a stack of freshly folded clothes and tossed them in the air like confetti, laughing as they fell over him, he figured it out.
Especially when she snapped, “Asher, that’s enough.”
“What are you doing, little man?” he asked, arching a brow when Asher brushed off a sock that fell over his face, ignoring his mother.
“Help!” he declared, beaming.
He swore Naomi’s left eye was twitching.
Maybe he should have brought that holy water after all.
“I don’t think that’s helping out your mama, Asher. It looks like you’re making a mess.”
Asher blinked, as if shocked to be told such a thing. “No, help.”
Ink glanced at Naomi, who narrowed her eyes. She’d fully embraced him taking on a more authoritative role with Asher. And he was up to the plate. Challenge accepted.
Crouching down, he gave Asher a stern look. “Asher, your mama is working hard, and do you think grabbing the clothes and tossing them around is helpful? It’s not very kind to Mama.”
Asher stared at him before glancing over at his mother. He quickly looked back at Ink, eyes wide. “Mama mad.”
“Yep, Mama’s mad. Did Mama ask you to stop doing that?” He nodded slowly. “Why didn’t you listen?”
He gave a small shrug, but the joy quickly fell from his face, replaced by worry.
Ink tried not to let it affect him, but damn, it was hard.
He didn’t ever want to see Asher sad. “You need to listen when Mama tells you to do something, Asher,” he reminded him.
Asher nodded. “Good. Now, how about you give Mama a hug, say you’re sorry, and then pick up the clothes? ”
Asher didn’t question him, doing as he was told. Naomi gave him an approving smile when Asher bent over to pick up the scattered clothes. Ink smirked and moved to give her a quick kiss. “How’d I do?” he murmured.
“Considering I was close to losing my mind, very good. You get major points.”
“Enough points that you’ll let me take him on the bike for a little bit to show him the property?” He gave her his best charming smile.
She stilled. “Ink, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. He might be too scared of it.”
“Then we’ll come right back, but I think you’ll find he’s going to enjoy it. I take all the kids on rides around when I have time. Fun uncle, remember?” She rolled her eyes. “And I have another good piece of news for you. They found Diego.”
She froze, eyes widening, and absently thanked Asher for bringing her the clothes he’d tossed, but her gaze never left Ink’s.
Ink crouched down again when Asher came over to him and hugged him tight. “Thank you for doing that for me, buddy.” Asher beamed, hugging him back before toddling off to his toy corner.
“W-what do you mean they found him?” Naomi breathed.
Ink sat on the couch next to her, lifted her into his lap, and wrapped his arms around her. “They found Diego, baby. He was at the ranch, like you said. They got him, and he’s in the best maximum-security prison in the country. He can’t hurt you now.”
Trembling, she stared at him in a daze. He waited, content to comfort her in silence. “They really got him?” she whispered, hope filling her voice. It made his chest clench.
“Yeah, baby girl, they got him. I can probably get Glitch or Code to get some security footage of them taking him down or something or in the jail if you want to see it.”
“Maybe. I … I just can’t believe they found him.
All from an offhand comment he made when he didn’t really think I was listening or paying attention.
” She shook her head. “He’s probably so angry, but he wouldn’t believe it was me.
He was so careful except for that one time when he was drunk and in my room.
He’d been pissed about a deal that went wrong and wanted me to run the numbers again because he was sure I’d made a mistake.
When he realized I hadn’t, he hit me, and I went into the bathroom to get away from him. ”
“And he yelled at you about the ranch?”
“No, he called someone. Told them to get to the ranch. And whoever on the other end must have questioned him about it because he called them an idiot and told them the one in New Mexico. The one he called Rancho, because it was so easy that no one would think anything about it. The cartel always came up with elaborate names or something. Then he left. I had had the water running, so maybe he thought I couldn’t hear him.
It was the only time he ever mentioned it. ”
He pressed a kiss to her temple. “And this is why I love your big brain. So damn smart.”
She ignored him, but her lips twitched. “What about my father? Was he there too?”
“I’m afraid not, baby. No one has seen or heard from him in a long time. And Diego isn’t talking. The Feds think that he’s either dead or running Diego’s operation for him and staying underground.”
She frowned. “So he wasn’t at the ranch?” Her eyes went flinty. “So we’re not safe yet? Are they looking for him?”
“They are, but their focus was Diego, so I don’t know how much effort they’ll be putting in to find him.”
“They’ll want him,” Naomi stated, and he could see her mind already spinning. “He’s Diego’s right-hand man, and he’s the one that knows where the bodies are buried. He’d oversee the day-to-day. But I also don’t know that Diego would want him to run the show.”
“Why? I thought they were good friends.”
“I don’t know if you’d call them friends, but they worked well together. But Diego never trusted my father completely.”
“He thought he would try to overthrow him?”
She nodded. “My father never outwardly acted or gave the impression he wanted to run things, but every man wants more power. At least, that’s what Diego told me when I had to attend a meeting between him and someone he was looking to align himself with.
It struck me then that he didn’t just mean that man.
He meant every single one in that room. That would have included my father. ”
“And with Diego in prison, now’s the chance for your father to seize control?”
She nodded. “I need to think about this. My father wasn’t as careful about saying things around me as Diego.
He took for granted that I would have some kind of tie to him and wouldn’t ever turn him over.
Or maybe he thought even if he did, he’d still control me so it wouldn’t matter.
” Her eyes were bright with determination. “I can find him.”
“Baby, I don’t want you going off the deep end over this again.
No, I’m not saying that to make fun of you,” he rushed out when she glared at him.
“I just mean I don’t want you to overtax yourself because of him.
He’s not going to find you here, and with Diego behind bars, you can finally relax. Don’t let them screw with your head.”
“Look, I already admitted I went a bit overboard last time.” He snorted and grunted when she pinched him in retaliation. He grinned at her, unrepentant. Narrowing her eyes at him, she lowered her voice she warned, “Are you trying to cock block yourself, Ink?”
“Baby, if I thought you might actually do that, then I’d be shaking in my boots, but we both know that you love my cock too much for that. Or wasn’t that you this morning trying to muffle your screams as I took you from behind?” She shivered, and his cock hardened at the memory.
Damn, he couldn’t wait to do that again. The two of them were discovering just how well they worked together and how adventurous Naomi was becoming.
“Shhh.” Asher was thankfully still occupied with his toys, so she pressed her mouth to his, kissing him desperately.
He wasn’t going to complain. She tasted so fucking good, and he barely managed to contain the moan building in his throat.
It took all his self-control not to toss her over his shoulder and carry her down the hall. Was it always going to be like this? He really fucking hoped so.
She smiled at him, climbed off his lap, and said, “That will have to wait until tonight.” He gave her a heated stare full of dark promises. “So you and Asher have a fun time, but I’m getting to work on finding my father.”
Nothing like the reminder of reality to douse some of the fire burning in his veins, but there was no use in arguing. When the woman had an idea in her mind, there was no changing it.
“Don’t overtax yourself, baby, or I’m not going to be happy,” he warned her, getting to his feet.
She smirked. He gripped her hair and yanked her head, making her gasp.
Her pupils dilated. “Because we both know what happens when I need to teach you a lesson, don’t we?
” he whispered, nipping at the underside of her jaw.
“I’ll enjoy keeping you on the edge for hours, baby girl.
Until you beg me with that pretty mouth, just like you did last night.
” She shuddered, and he let out a low chuckle.
“I’m taking our boy out for a ride, and we’ll be back in an hour. ”
“Ink, please be careful,” she warned, glancing at Asher.
“Babe, I’ve done this with all the kids, I promise we’re perfectly fine. I also got him a helmet, so he’ll be extra protected. And if he’s too frightened of it, I’ll bring him right back.” With how excited Asher’d been every time he sat on the bike, he didn’t expect that to happen.
She looked at Asher then back at him. “Alright. One hour. And make sure someone is with you. I know you don’t think anyone would come on the grounds, but it would make me feel better.”
“I’ll message and ask Ice to come with me. You’ll be good? Jag is on the roof, but he should be switching with Karissa soon.”
Jag replaced Vulture earlier in the week, and he’d mostly kept to himself, other than the occasional sparring session with Karissa or Glitch. And he never pulled any punches. He was pretty sure Karissa was sporting more than a few bruises after the last one.
“I’ll be fine, Ink. Go and have fun, and don’t worry about me.”
He wished it were that simple, but he had a feeling he would always worry about her. At least until her father was found and behind bars or six feet under.
Then he could focus on convincing her to stay with him forever. Because he was never going to let her go.