Page 112 of Ink Deep Devotion

I assess the situation. I can’t take him out here; there are too many people, and I know my uncle travels with guards. If I get away from him, I can take Isabella somewhere safe, but then she will know who I am.

A panic runs through me, making my stomach twist with nausea. I feel like a little boy again, who is clinging to the edge of the bathtub, unsure if I should leave my mother and get help or listen to her and stay by her side.

What do I do! What do I do?

I look at Isabella again, wishing I had never met her. Little did she know she met her doom the day I followed her inside the shop.

“I’m not going to hurt her,” Marcus says as he swings an arm over my shoulder.“Breathe,” I’m so rigid my bones solidify.

“Let’s go talk. The coffee shop is where you usually stalk her, isn’t it?”

He nudges me to move, and I follow. I always liked Marcus. Marcus is the nicest of the Kings, but that doesn’t speak volumes. He forced Dash to go to Initiation 101, but Uncle Marcus tried to save me from my dad.

I’ll never forget that.

“Go sit, and I’ll get us something to drink.” He points to a table, and like a good dog, I obey. I grab my phone, and as I text my cousins, Marcus raises an brow and shakes his head in warning. I don’t press send, unsure if that’s a mistake or something that just spared Isabella.

I look across the street and spot her in the window with another customer. I mentally snap a picture of this, knowing it’s going to change.

Marcus joins me, sliding me a cup of steaming hot tea. Not waiting for his to cool, he takes a boiling sip, never flinching as the swallow burns his gullet.

“What do you want?” I whisper through my teeth so sharply that it cuts my words into wicked tendrils, but Marcus doesn’t bat an eye at my tone.

“I came to see where Mila donates all her art to. Such a thoughtful gesture, and she’s so talented she could sell her art for thousands.”

I swallow hard in warning.Get to the point, uncle!

“She’s lovely too.” He nudges his head toward the bookstore.“I can see your appeal to her. A friendly smile is so rare in our world.” He looks at me with pity.“But it can never be.” His tone dips as if he cares to deliver his blow with tender, gentle care. The wrinkles around his eyes soften.“She’s a nobody and your future is already etched in stone. The price of marrying someone who wasn’t supposed to be yours can be more than blood, sweat, and tears, Damian. Trust me, I know. Leave her alone.”

“Touch her, and I’ll kill you, blood or not!” I hiss in a low whisper that is hot enough to burn.

“I wouldn’t kill an innocent,” he coughs,“intentionally.”

He sits back in his chair and rubs the back of his neck.“You’re not going to drop it, are you? You’re risking her life.”

“Says the man threatening it.”

“A warning isn’t always a veiled threat. Sometimes, it’s compassion laced with concern.”

“What do you want?”

He looks over his shoulder at the wall and then mumbles,“Nothing is as it seems, Damian. Everything is a twisted lie folded into layers of the truth.” His eyes blister with… anxiety, fear, regret, a pleading notion as they sharply pivot to mine.“You’re starting to wonder the same thing, are you not? Titan is, too. Dash already started to realize that there is always a higher power. Always. One of the scariest thoughts a man can ponder is who created God? It’s a ladder you endlessly climb; who is more powerful? Who controls who? Who, who, who?”

“There is always a peak at every mountain, Uncle. Sometimes it’s just that. One peak, one mountain, and everyone beneath you.”

Marcus smirks and nods, as if amused.

“But who created the mountain, Damian?”

“You make no sense. Is old age getting to you, Uncle?” I reply, but I pocket his every word.

“Titan asked you to look into Mila’s roommate, didn’t he?”

How does he know that? Titan and I were alone that day in the woods. Dash doesn’t even know Titan asked me that.

“What does this have to do with Nova?”

“Nothing, everything, and then nothing at all. I didn’t come here to talk about Nova, and if you’re smart, you will not mention this conversation to your cousins at all. Iftheyfind out I talked to you, they will kill us both.” He taps the bag he placed on the table, making the plastic crinkle.

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