Page 158 of Golden Atonement

“Fucker has eyes in the back of his head. Trust me. He will know.”

I groaned. “Why are you here, Ink? Go bug Daphne.”

“Can’t,” the man muttered. “She’s cleaning the house.”

“So?”

He huffed. “So, she kicked me out and told me not to come back until later.”

“Then go take Wrenly and Wick for a walk.”

“They are with Cat.” He sighed, looking bored. “And before you say anything. Karlyn is with Logic.”

Removing the cap off the apple juice, I asked, “How’s that going?”

“Slow.”

Karlyn Ingalls was Ink’s only sister and the biological mother of Wrenly. After Steele, the President of Satan’s Angels, brutally attacked her and left her for dead, everyone thought Karlyn had succumbed to her injuries, only to learn that she’d actually slipped into a deep coma that lasted damn near a year.

I had to give it to Ink, though. He never gave up on his baby sister. Neither did Ravage, who spent many hours by her bedside talking to her. The shy woman barely spoke to anyone and never left the Ingalls’ house. From what I knew, she barely acknowledged Ink.

“Logic said it’s gonna take time, but I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s different, Remi. She’s not the sister I remember.”

“Because she isn’t, Ink. You know what that asshole did to her. She will never be the same again.”

“I know that.” He sighed. “But I thought she would at least accept Wrenly. She doesn’t even look at her, Remi. It’s like she doesn’t even recognize her own daughter.”

“Because she’s not,” I carefully said as Ink looked at me. “What I mean by that is Wrenly will never truly be hers. Aftereverything Karlyn’s been through, her mind won’t allow her to accept the truth. Right now, she’s woken up to a new world she knows nothing about, and considering what she’s survived, everything is scary to her.”

“She won’t talk to me, Remi. She only talks to Ravage.”

“I think you know why, Ink.”

He solemnly nodded. “Because she would have been safe if I hadn’t killed Knuckles. Because of me, I put her front and center in Steele’s line of sight.”

“No, your father did that. Look, Ink, right now everything is a jumbled mess in Karlyn’s mind. She doesn’t know who to trust. The only person who has never left her side and has nothing to do with her trauma is Ravage. She feels safe with him. As for Wrenly, she may never accept her, but that’s okay because in Karlyn’s mind, deep down, she knows you and Daphne will love that little girl as she deserves. Neither of you care how Wrenly came into this world.”

“But Karlyn does,” he muttered.

“Yeah, Ink. She does. Sometimes, survivors of rape can’t reconcile what happened to them. Throw in an unwanted pregnancy and most women will abort the babies. Those who carry the baby to term either find it in their hearts to love and care for their child, while others give them away to loving families. There is no wrong decision. Whatever Karlyn chooses to do, she will do what’s best for her and only her.”

“I just want my sister back.”

“Sweetie,” I sighed, covering his hand with mine. “You have your sister back. She may not be the sister you remember, but she’s alive, Ink. Be thankful for that.”

“Remi!”

Groaning, I hung my head and snarled, “In the kitchen, Smoke,” looking up as I heard the brother walk in, carrying a beautiful flower arrangement with him.

“Got another delivery.”

“I see that,” I said. “Put them on the counter.”

“Card?” Ink questioned, and Smoke slowly shook his head. “Man, Reaper’s gonna lose his shit.”

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