Page 18 of Ink

“Finished it?” he asked, his brow practically in his hairline.

I nodded and scratched my chin, realizing I hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. My chinstrap would soon be a beard if I didn’t take care of that.

“Damn, kid. I’m impressed.”

I snorted. “You and me both.”

“Well, hopefully, the shit Ace and I have been digging up will brighten your day. But I still need some time to connect some dots.”

“Ash won’t be here until early afternoon, brother. Get some sleep.”

“Yeah, I was headed home when I had a thought and just popped in to check it out.”

“And what time was that?”

Wizard glanced at a clock and swore as he hopped up from his seat and started shutting everything down.

“In trouble with the missus?” I teased.

His expression softened in a way that it only ever did when he talked about his old lady. “Nah. She knows I get lost in my shit and loves me anyway.” He shook his head as he shoved his wallet and keys into his pocket. “She’s too fucking good for me. But I’m gonna keep her anyway.”

I stepped back into the hall as he exited the office, then shut and armed the door.

“You really think you’ve found something?” I probed as we walked toward the lounge.

“Probably, but I wanted to be sure before we head down the road.”

Sighing, I clapped him on the back. “I get it. But just know, if I lose my mind while waiting and end up beating the shit outta you, it’s your own damn fault.”

Wizard snickered and turned toward the front door while I went through the swinging door near the bar that took me into the massive kitchen.

When the sun crested on the horizon, I had pancakes, French toast, four kinds of eggs, fried potatoes, grits, Italian sausage, and a fuck ton of other breakfast goodness ready for anyone who wandered in hungry.

After the first few guys stumbled in to eat before work, I trudged into the lounge and passed out on one of the couches for a couple of hours.

When I woke up, I hurried upstairs, worried that Annika was awake and feeling confined to my room all by herself. But she was still asleep, so to avoid climbing into bed with her, I grabbed some clothes and took a very cold shower.

“Good morning.”

Her husky, sleep-warmed voice greeted me when I came back into the bedroom.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and did my best to keep my eyes on her face rather than perusing her body. “Morning,dolcezza. How are you?”

She shrugged. “I’m not really sure, if I’m being honest. The rest did me some good, but I still feel emotionally drained.”

I nodded and cupped her chin with one hand, brushing my thumb over her plump lips. “I get that. How about you take a shower, then we can snag some breakfast. Hopefully, someone will have something that will at least point us in a direction by then.”

A small smile creased her lips, and she closed her eyes with a soft sigh.

Holy fuck. I made a vow to hear her make that sound again while I was buried deep inside her.

“That sounds wonderful,” she told me sweetly, helping to distract me from the very dirty, very graphic images playing like a picture reel in my head.

While she was in the shower, I got dressed and called King to talk with him about the project I’d completed.

Once we were both ready to go, I helped her put on my spare cut. Then I took her hand, and we walked downstairs together.

After we ate breakfast, I showed her my studio, careful to be vague about certain tools and projects. Since we’d gotten up late, it didn’t feel like too long before Ace knocked on my door.

---