Page 5 of Ink

“You know how you and the Blaine brothers came by my shop and hooked the place up with a security system?” Ink asked. He tried to pay the guys for their help, but they all refused. Owen even told him that no money was necessary since they were brothers.

“You need us to come over to your place and hook you up?” Mace asked.

“Yes,” Ink said.

“Let me call the Blaine Brothers and I’m sure that one of them can find the time to stop by tonight with me,” Mace promised. “Are you sure that this is a good idea, man?” he asked.

“Am I sure that taking in a pregnant woman who’s on the run from her ex, who likes to beat the shit out of her, is a good idea?” he asked. It wasn’t and he had known that from the start, but something about Charlie had him throwing his common sense right out the window and there was no going back for him now. He had promised her that he’d help her, and he planned on keeping his promise.

“It’s not,” Ink finally said, answering his own question. “This whole situation is going to turn into a cluster fuck, and I know it, but I’m still going to help her, Mace.”

“Of course, you are,” Mace agreed, “it’s who you are. It’s also one of the reasons why the guys around the club warmed up to you so fast, Ink. You’re a good guy, and if helping that woman is what you want to do, then you have our support. We’ll be over in about an hour.” It was good to know that his brothers had his back no matter what. That was something that he missed about his old club when he moved to town. He was a part of something again, and that made him want to stick around and make his life in this new town work out.

“Thanks, man,” he said. He ended the call and turned around to find Charlie staring him down. She looked both pissed and like she was about to cry all at the same time, and he had a feeling that he was going to have to take on both of her moods before their conversation was over.

“You think that I’m a cluster fuck?” she asked.

“No,” he said, quickly trying to put her at ease, “I said that your situation is a cluster fuck, not you. It’s not your fault thatyou were married to an asshole who liked to hit you.” He almost choked on those last two words as the spilled out of his mouth. The thought of a man hitting any woman pissed him completely off, but there was something about Charlie that seemed so fragile, he couldn’t help but try to soothe her—even if it meant crossing a line.

“I wouldn’t blame you if you just kicked me to the curb,” she sobbed.

“Hey now,” he said, “there will be no kicking of any kind. You’re here and I am glad you are. We’ll figure out how to keep you safe, and in the meantime, how about you meet me in the kitchen when you’re ready and I’ll make us both something to eat.”

“I am hungry,” she sniffled pulling free from his hold. He instantly missed having her in his arms, but that was something that he’d keep to himself. Charlie had enough on her plate. She didn’t need to worry about his overactive hormones or the fact that he couldn’t seem to keep his hands to himself in the two hours since they met.

Charlotte

They spent the rest of the evening with a couple of Ink’s friends from his club. Mace and Owen seemed like nice guys and the fact that they were there to lend a hand with Ink’s home security so that she and her unborn baby would be safe really melted her heart. It had been a damn long time since anyone had helped her—except for her sister. She had almost forgotten what it felt like to have someone supporting her in any way, but that all changed in just hours after she met Ink.

They ordered a tableful of food, and she was surprised that the guys seemed to finish off most of it themselves. Honestly, she wasn’t very hungry since her midday snack that Ink had made her. She ate a little bit for dinner, knowing that she needed to keep her stomach from being empty. That was when the morning sickness seemed to creep in—when she was hungry. Charlie wasn’t sure why they called it morning sickness if she was getting sick all the time. Someone had gotten the name wrong for puking your guts out until you felt ready to die, but she was sure that once she held her daughter, it would all be worth it.

Owen, Mace, and Ink worked on the security around his house while she sat quietly, pretending to read a book. She hadn’t turned a single page, and she hoped like hell that none of the guys had noticed. Charlie was more fixated on watching Ink work because the guy was seriously hot. Maybe it was her pregnancy hormones checking in to let her know that she was still feeling batshit crazy because she hadn’t had sex in the last six months. Or maybe she hadn’t paid much attention to Ink earlier when she was too busy worrying about her ex-husband chasing her down. It was probably the combination of the two that had her sneaking peeks of Ink every time he climbed the ladder to help Owen install a security camera. She noticed each time he bent down to pick up something, giving her a glorious view of his ass, or the way that his tight, black t-shirt strained to cover his biceps.

But none of her dirty thoughts were going to help her when it came to Ink. He was a nice guy, and nice guys did nice things for women, but that didn’t mean that he wanted her the way that she wanted him. Heck, they had only just met, so why would he want anything to do with her? It was better for Charlie to remember that Ink was a nice guy, and he was doing the right thing to help her—not because he wanted her.

“You okay?” Mace asked, sitting down next to her on the sofa.

“I am,” she said, “thank you for asking. How are you?” she wanted to kick herself for asking him that. She was trying to make pleasant conversation. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry that she had ruined his evening, but she didn’t. Every time she told the guys that she was sorry, for about the twentieth time, they insisted that she stop apologizing. That was going to be tough for her since that was her go-to. Every time Zeb picked a fight with her, she’d end up apologizing and begging him for another chance. She was a fool for begging him for anything, butshe was desperately holding onto the idea of being married, and not necessarily the guy she was married to.

“Good,” Mace said, “while the guys finish putting up the cameras, how about you find a picture of your ex and send it to me?”

“Why do you want a picture of Zeb?” she asked.

“So, I know who we’re looking for. Owen and I are going to take turns watching the camera and if your ex shows up here, we’ll know it,” Mace assured. Charlie hated that Ink’s friends were going to be giving up their personal time to help keep an eye on her. It didn’t feel right, and she hated to be causing all this trouble for everyone. But what choice did she have? If she wanted to keep Zeb away from her baby, she’d need all the help she could get.

“Thank you for doing all this for me,” she said. “I don’t know what I would have done if Ink hadn’t helped me. He was a lifesaver. I guess you might think that I’m a little foolish for accepting his offer when I didn’t even know him.” She felt like a fool for trusting a man that she had only just met, but there was something about him that had her believing that he’d live up to his promises. It was something in his eyes, the way that he looked at her, that put her at ease, even when it shouldn’t.

“Ink is a good guy, Charlie,” Mace assured. “I know that you only just met him, but if he’s promised to keep you safe from your ex, he will. You can hold him to his word.” She nodded and pasted on her best smile, but a part of her still worried that Zeb would be able to find her. He had showed up at Ink’s shop, asking if he had seen her, and her ex was a smart guy. He wouldn’t let her go, and his determination and ability to put the whole picture together might just end up getting Ink and his friends into trouble—all because of her.

By the time the guys left for the night, Charlie felt about ready to drop. She had fallen asleep on the sofa in the family room, and when she woke up to Ink standing over her, smiling down, she nearly did a double take. It took her a few minutes for her brain to catch up with the rest of her and when she finally remembered where she was, she allowed herself to relax and smiled back up at him.

“How long have I been asleep?” she asked.

“Almost two hours. I was going to wake you, but you looked so comfortable, and I knew that you had to be exhausted, so I just let you sleep while the guys and I finished up,” Ink said.

“Oh, God,” she muttered, “I’m so embarrassed that they saw me that way. Did I snore? Since I started my second trimester, I think that I snore. I’ve woken myself up a few times with a snort—you know the kind that you make when you’re going to snore? Please tell me that I didn’t snore.”

“Nope, you didn’t snore,” he said. She breathed out a sigh of relief as he helped her up from the sofa. “But the guys did think that the little bit of drool out of the corner of your mouth, was pretty darn cute,” Ink teased.

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