Page 121 of Devilish Ink

Just one light on.

And the silhouettes of a little boy and his father.

“I’m only doing what’s right.”

Isn’t that what my father had said? The night he told me he’d kill Rian if I interfered.

“You’ll protect him by not protecting him, d’ye hear?”

I’d left Rian unprotected to protect him. Was I making the same mistake with Ry?

I couldn’t stop seeing her, the fear in her eyes that she tried to hide as I was leaving, the little step forward at the door before catching herself.

She might have said “go” but she didn’t want me to go.

I heard Rian’s voice as if he were sitting beside me. Not a man like he was today. But nine or ten. “Do I have to stay?”

I looked over at the passenger seat. It was, of course, empty. But it didn’t matter. He wasthere. Rian. Hands wringing. Black eyes ringed with purple.

I knew he didn’t want to sleep in the barn. He shouldn’t have to. He wanted to come into the house with me and I wanted him to. The cold of the night would teach him nothing compared to the heat of our shared bed.

Cruelty has no lesson. It is love that transforms. I knew this now.

“You’ll be grand,” I whispered as I struggled to maintain control of the wheel. It was what I whispered to him that night I left him alone in the barn. It was what I assured Ry with one last weak smile.

I turned my attention back to the dark horizon.

And tried calling Peter one more time.

RY

Perhaps if I had started fighting sooner, it would have made a difference.

But it took me a second to get over the shock. A few seconds where I just lay there, stunned, limbs frozen, gripped in fear as I stared up at the face of my nightmares.

I’d faced Balor so many times in my dreams. Each dream was different but the same.

Sometimes we were in my tattoo parlour, often we were back in his playroom. The worst nights were when he’d show up in my bedroom.

I’d try to force myself to wake up,wake up.

Just like now.

Except this time, it wasn’t a dream.

And this time, I wasn’t just fighting formylife.

I clawed at his cheeks and chest. I threw elbows, drove my knees up, kicked with my heels. Every single martial arts move I’d learned I threw at him.

Balor just laughed. Using his grip on my throat, he smashed my head back against the headboard, stunning me into momentary submission.

For a moment, all I could see was his smile as the rest of the room blurred.

“You know, I was slightly worried that I’d hunt you down all these years…theone that got away…and it wouldn’t all be worth it in the end. That my romantic idea of you would far outmatch who you really were.”

Balor stroked my cheek.

I snapped at his hand with my teeth, bit his finger to the point of bleeding. But he snatched his hand back andbeamedat me, eyes flashing onyx.

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