Page 13 of The Inkslinger

Love makes us blind, though, and I was totally oblivious to his faults. But not anymore. I can see him for the asshole he is and not the nice guy he was pretending to be.

“I need you to explain what just happened, Hailey,” Laine says gently as he leads me back into his booth.

I am so grateful that neither Skye nor Alistair were here to witness that scene. Humiliation swamps me and I want to crawl under a rock and die. How the hell did he find me?

“Talk to me,” Laine says. It’s only now that I realize I’m sitting on his tattoo table. He must have lifted me onto the surface and I somehow missed it while I was lost in my thoughts.

“It’s nothing,” I say with a weak smile, trying to brush it off.

“I may have only met you yesterday, but I know what a woman looks like when she is terrified, Hailey. Your ex scares the shit out of you, and I’m not letting you leave until I know what is going on.”

“Laine...”

Embarrassment burns in my veins as I look away from him. How do I just lay out everything for this virtual stranger?

“My sister went through the same shit. She wouldn’t let me help her,” he confesses. “Let me help you,” Laine implores turning my face back to him. “You don’t have to be alone.”

I stare at him, waiting for him to show any sign of insincerity. But there isn’t any and I know why. Laine is one of those rare unicorns you read about in romance novels. He is a genuine, bonafide, good guy.

“I’ll give you the CliffsNotes version. But I’m not going into details without a truckload of booze.”

Laine nods before taking a seat in his chair and rolling between my legs.

“We dated for two years. I thought he was the one, and he thought he could fuck my sister and I would never find out.”

I watch Laine’s gaze harden at the words I say with practiced nonchalance. “I kicked him out, but he became weird. He followed me everywhere, basically stalking me. The thing that finally had me running was when my car broke down and he was waiting on the side of the road. It took his betrayal for me to see who he really is and I don’t want to see what he is capable of if pushed to the limit.”

“Did you go to the cops?” Laine asks.

“It won’t help. He’s one of them.”

“Shit.” He stands, starting to pace the small space. “What’s your plan?” He faces me, pinning me to the spot with his warm hazel gaze.

“I don’t have one. I left. And now he’s followed me here.”

Jumping down from his table, I grab my handbag and start for the door. “I should just get my shit and leave.”

I don’t get far before Laine cages me against the door, effectively keeping it shut. “You’re not going anywhere,” he rasps in my ear. “If you leave now, he is just going to follow you. We need to make him stop now.”

“Laine,” I start but he spins me around and I forget what I wanted to say.

I was not expecting to see the look of determination on his face.

“I’m not going to allow him to scare you anymore. I’m tired of assholes scaring and hurting good women.”

“And what are you going to do about it?”

A smile curves his lips. “I’m going to call a guy I played football with back in high school. He happens to be the sheriff now. Derick is way out of his jurisdiction. And this is Franklinton, not the city. We take care of our own.”

“You don’t even know me,” I remind him softly.

“I don’t have to know you to help you.”

“You can’t follow me around all day,” I point out hoping he will see sense.

“Well, since you basically declared me to be your new boyfriend, I think I can do whatever the hell I want. And when I can’t be there, I have two brothers, a cousin, and a town full of friends to fill in.”

“You can’t be serious!” I glare at him.

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