Page 67 of Possession

“I wanted to see if I could come with you, I bought some badass prints for the front of the shop. Chandler called, they came in today.”

“I could just get them, bring them on my way home,” I offered.

“I thought you were taking Paige out tonight?” Liam leaned against the wall.

“I am. That asshole ex of hers is supposed to come by this afternoon, finally give her the papers. I figured she might need to take her mind off shit, so I’m taking her to see a movie at The Broadview Theater.”

“Sounds romantic.” Liam smirked and rolled his eyes as he pulled a set of keys from his pocket. “Come on, Kieran gave me the keys to his truck. I gotta hurry, my next appointment is in twenty minutes.”

Kemper was busy working on a detailed sleeve as we walked to the front where Kieran was talking with the new guy, Bart.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. If my client shows up before I do, let her know I’m running late. I shouldn’t be too long.” Liam raised the keys. “Thanks for letting me borrow the truck.”

“No problem.” Kieran stood and slapped Liam on the shoulder. He was the baby, but the tallest out of all of us. Liam and I were barely six foot tall on a good day, this kid was six-foot-two. “I’m taking Mom to confession tonight, is it okay if I cut out early when you get back?”

“Sure. Bart, you think you could run the desk?” Liam asked.

Bart nodded. “It’s not rocket science.”

I laughed as Kieran raised his hands in protest.

“It’s a lot of work, somebody has to be the charming one.” Kieran’s mouth pulled into a lopsided grin.

“Yeah, yeah.” Liam shook his head with a half-smile. “Come on, let’s go, Dex, before this asshole starts spouting off about what a hard ass his boss is.”

The ride over to The Gallery was only about five minutes. I texted Paige to tell her I was on my way and she responded, letting me know not to hurry. Clark hadn’t stopped by yet and she was worried he wasn’t going to show.

“He hasn’t shown yet,” I said as we pulled into the parking lot behind The Gallery.

“Shit.” Liam put the car in park and shut off the engine. “You think you can handle seeing this fuck?”

“I’m worried he’s not going to show more than anything. She’s off work in fifteen minutes.” I undid my seatbelt and exhaled a harsh breath. “I just want her to be free to do what she wants.”

“She already is.” Liam furrowed his brow. “That chick is at our place almost every night, she’s not tied to him, Dex. It’s just a piece of paper.”

It was more than that, Liam didn’t understand. Clark thought he owned her under the laws of God, and I hated that another man could use anything against her like that.

“I guess it’s the principal then,” I said, as I opened the door and exited the truck.

Liam shut the cab door as he spoke, “I get that. No other man needs to be pissing on what’s yours.”

I laughed, it was a simple explanation but true. “And I love her.”

He exhaled. “And that.”

Liam was just ahead of me as we walked around the building to the front door. The sun had just set, it was still early evening, and the fall air was chilly. We were supposed to get our first snowfall this weekend.

I wasn’t paying attention. My eyes were fixed on the dull gray of the concrete, my head full of Paige when Liam swore under his breath. He stopped dead in his tracks and was staring into the store window. I followed his gaze and every muscle in my body constricted.

“Dex,” Liam warned holding up his hand as if to steady me.

I could see him, Clark, he was standing too close to her, his hand clasped around her upper arm. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide.

“What the fuck?” I pushed past Liam, ignoring him as he called after me, and swung open the door to the store.

Liam groaned, “Shit.”

“Take your hand off of her!” Anger swelled in my chest, my head throbbed, and my jaw ached as I moved closer to where they were standing.

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