Page 78 of Marked

“Thank you.”

“Detective?” he asked.

“Yes?”

“I’m glad the kid’s home. Where are you guys staying?”

Sophia knotted her fingers around Cole’s comforter. “I’m figuring that out as we speak, but neither of us will be at our apartment.”

“All right, good call. I’ll be in touch later.” He disconnected.

Sophia hung up the phone, and her rapidly beating heart slowed simultaneously. She’d ripped off the Band-Aid, but the interrogation into Bella’s return was far from over.

***

Cole laced and unlaced his fingers.

Bella stared at him as though she were an intrigued predator. She plucked a hunk off one of the blueberry muffins and popped it into her mouth. “Why do you have so many pictures on you?”

He furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

She pointed with her sticky fingers to one of his tatted arms. “That. And that.” Her gaze traveled to his other arm. “That one’s scary.”

He didn’t move other than to force a smile. “I like them.”

She cocked her head to the side, sending her long locks into the parfait on the table. “Do they wash off?”

“No.”

“Did you draw them?”

“No. They’re tattoos. Once you get one done, they’re on forever.”

The corner of her lip curled in confusion. “You put a picture someone else drew on your body forever?” She blinked three times. “Why?”

He laughed and scraped his knuckles over his beard. Jesus, kids were hilarious. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Her eyes widened on her muffin as if judging his life choices. “Well, I’m not going to get any.”

“Don’t.”

She tore off another piece of the muffin and passed it to him. “You shouldn’t get any more. There’s no room.”

He accepted the piece and chewed it because hell, she’d probably already wiped boogers on every surface of his apartment. “That’s very observant of you. Are you excited to see your dad?”

She nodded, and a smile lit her face. “Yeah.” Then her lips turned down. “But he sounded really sad.”

“He was worried about you. A lot of people were.”

Her gaze lowered, and she flicked a piece of walnut off her muffin and onto his carpet. “I don’t like that place. I don’t want to go back.”

“You’re never going back.” His words came out with more venom than he’d intended and her blue eyes jerked to his face, as large as saucers. Shit, he hadn’t meant to startle her, but just the suggestion of her being back in that fucking barn, tied up like an animal, seeing Sophia in a state of torment...

He couldn’t—wouldn’t let it happen again.

Over his dead body.

“Are they dead?”

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