Page 25 of Mace

“Oh, that is pretty awful,” Charlie breathed. “Did you catch them together?” she asked.

“No,” he whispered, “I found out when Lena left me a note, telling me that she was in love with Todd, who happened to be the best man at our wedding, and that she was leaving me. I honestly had no clue that she was seeing him. I guess I was kind of blind to what was going on around me at the time, but looking back now, the signs were there,” he said.

“Yeah, I get that. After Zeb started hitting me, I realized that the signs of him being an abusive ass had always been there, I just refused to see them because then I’d have to admit that I made a mistake marrying him,” Charlie breathed.

“Well, I’d tell you that you can’t be responsible for other’s actions, but I’d be the pot calling the kettle black,” Ink said. He handed her some of his chips and she thanked him.

Someone banged on the front door of the shop and Charlie nearly jumped out of her skin. “Oh, God,” she whispered. “What if he’s found me?” It was very possible that Zeb had tracked her down. He always seemed to find her—why should now be any different?

“If he’s found you, I’ll send him away. Just stay back here in my office,” he ordered. “I’ll get rid of whoever is out there. I’m going to cancel my last client for today and you’re going to come home with me,” he insisted.

“What—I can’t do that,” she insisted.

The person outside banged on the door again and she almost wanted to hide under his desk. Zeb had beaten her so badly, two days ago, that she thought he might actually kill her this time. She woke up bloody and sore as hell, and that’s when she grabbed her stuff and left in the middle of the night. If he was at the door, she’d have no choice but to go with him—unless she took Ink up on his offer.

“Stay here,” he said again. She nodded and watched as he left the office, shutting the door behind himself. Charlie walked across the tiny office and pressed her ear to the door, holding her breath to hear any part of the conversation that was going on at the front door. She heard Ink explaining that his shop was closed for the rest of the day due to a family emergency and she was pretty sure that she heard Zeb thanking him for his time, but she couldn’t be sure. The voices were gargled and honestly, all she could hear was her own heartbeat thumping in her chest.

She heard Ink shut the front door again and his footsteps heading to the back of the shop. Charlie stood away from the door as he walked in looking very pissed off. “What happened?” she asked.

“Hold on,” he ordered. Ink sat on the other side of his desk and opened his laptop. “Is this your ex?” he asked, pointing to the screen. He showed her the camera feed from his security system and when Zeb appeared on the screen, she felt sick.

Her gasp filled the small space, and she nodded. “That’s him,” she said. “He’s determined to find me,” she sobbed. Ink stood and rounded his desk, pulling her in for a bear hug.

“Is this okay?” he asked. “I don’t usually hug crying women. Honestly, I have no idea what to do with a crying woman, but you seemed to need a hug.”

“Thank you,” she whispered against his neck. “I did need a hug.” They stood like that for what felt like an eternity, Ink just holding her until she was all cried out.

“He’s not going to get to you, Charlie,” he whispered into her ear. “I won’t let him.” She wanted to believe the pretty promises that Ink was telling her, but Charlie knew from experience that men just couldn’t be trusted. At some point, they always disappointed her. A part of Charlie hoped that she was wrong about Ink, but she worried that she wasn’t. For now, she’d go home with him until she could figure out another way to escape from her abusive ex-husband, because one way or another, she was going to break the cycle.

Ink (Road Reapers MC Book 2) Universal Link->https://books2read.com/u/mqn812

Don’t miss out on what’s coming up next by K.L. Ramsey. You won’t be able to put down Sprite (The Royal Harlots Book 3). Here’s a sneak peek…

Sprite

Sprite tossed her long, pink hair back over her shoulder and smiled at the guy standing in front of her. He was new to the Royal Bastards, and it was their night to use the clubhouse. Savage was good about letting the Royal Harlots use the bar every Tuesday and Thursday, and she was looking forward to the next meeting. They were going to elect a new treasurer, and she wanted to put her name in the hat. It made sense since her day job was working for the top accounting firm in town. She had gotten her CPA and would really like to help out her new club with her skill set. Although she doubted that any of the other women knew what she did for her day job. They saw her as the bartender for Savage Hell and probably thought that was her livelihood.

Honestly, she tended bar for the club to get out of her mom’s house. She was still living at home, at twenty-five, and trying to save money to get out. It was taking forever, and her mother’s slimy boyfriend drove her half crazy. What her mother saw in him, she didn’t understand. Her mother had met the guy at a bar, and they dated for a whole week before he told her that he loved her. He moved into their little doublewide the next day and had been making Sprite’s life miserable since. She tried to tell her mother that the slimeball was using her. Sprite told her that no one says “I love you” faster than a man who needed a place to live, but it didn’t matter. Her mother claimed to be happier than she ever was.

Sprite planned on having enough money saved, by the end of the year, to move out of her mom’s place and get a little apartment of her own. Between her new job at the accounting firm and working at the bar, she was well on her way. Every night, she’d stick her tip money in a coffee tin that she hid under her bed, and it was almost full.

“What can I get you?” she asked the guy who was still standing on the other side of the bar smiling at her. Guys hit on her all the time, but she had one very strict rule while working at the bar—no dating any of the Royal Bastards. If things went south between her and one of the club members, she’d feel weird about going in to tend bar.

“A beer and your number,” the guy said. She had to give him an A for effort. Poor thing was really trying. She was going to hate letting him down about not giving him her number. The guy was hot and just her type if she was being honest with herself.

“I can give you a beer, but my number is something that I don’t give out,” she said. “It’s nice of you to ask though.”

He barked out his laugh, garnering attention from the other guys sitting at the bar. “There ain’t nothing nice about me, honey,” he said.

“Name’s Sprite, not honey,” she said. The guy had the nerve to roll his eyes at her as he took the beer that she handed him. She thought he might mingle with the rest of the guys in the back of the room, but he sat up at the bar instead.

“I’m Chains,” he said as if she had asked. “So, why don’t you give out your number?” he asked. “You do have a cell phone, right?”

“Of course, I have a cell phone,” she said. “I don’t give out my number because I don’t date guys in the club.”

“Why not? You not into bikers?” he asked.

Now it was Sprite’s turn to laugh. “I am a biker and I’m part of your sister club, the Royal Harlots. I do date bikers, just not ones from this club.”

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