Page 147 of Ink Deep Devotion

“I wouldn’t ever tell him it was you.”

“Torture has a way of extracting truth in various forms.”

“He would never hurt me.”

“Stop lying to yourself, Mila. He has, and he will again. Until he respects you, he will walk all over you.”

“I’m ready.”

“Mila, don’t do this,” Blaze whispers sharply.

I look at Blaze and ask Avery,“Are you worried Blaze will tell Dash?”

His jaw clenches.

“No. He owes you a favor. Remind him of that. Time’s up. Dash just parked his car. He’s coming to get you. He will keepyou locked in the house, but he has to let you graduate per your father’s orders in the contract. No more cold feet, Mila.” The line goes dead.

Relief washes over my throbbing ear when I pull out the earbud.“Can you get rid of this for me, please?” I drop the earbud onto Blaze’s easel.

“You just put a target on my fucking back.”

“Dash will question you regardless because you are my friend. You don’t have to tell him about the phone call. Even if you did, you don’t have all the details, which will only piss him off. So it’s wiser to remain tight-lipped.”

“I am your friend. You could have warned me or asked.”

“Asking gives you a choice. I need this Blaze.”

He snatches the earbud.“I hope you know what you’re doing, Mila.”

“I don’t. I haven’t for a long time, Blaze. I let a man heal me, then let him break me. I need to figure out who I am.”

“What if you don’t like what you find?”

I didn’t consider that.“I just want to find it.”

“I won’t say anything to Dash,” He slips the earbud into his pocket.“but I will tell you this: sometimes we surround ourselves with evil because it makes us feel like we’re good. Our deeds are never as dark as those close to us; we can sleep at night. Separate yourself from that scale, and you might find that the monster inside of you should have stayed hidden.”

“Do…do you think I’m a bad person?”

“I think everyone is bad and good combined, Mila. Look at our world. You love a monster; that’s noble of you. You putyourself last; that’s evil to your soul; you’re going to run; that’s both heroic and destructive. You’re both, and so am I.”

“I…”

Blaze and I look atthe door. Loud steps rush down the hall. Dash storms through the door, talking to the guards, but his eyes connect with mine. He’s ghostly white, and as soon as our eyes clash, some color rushes back to his cheeks.

“He doesn’t know,” I pivot to Blaze.

“He’s angry as fuck.” Blaze mutters, stepping back and making the space between us bigger. His hand slips into the pocket with the earbud.

“He’s angry because his uncle just died.”

“What!” Blaze gasps but stops when Dash reaches my easel.

“We’re leaving,” Dash grunts, grabbing my hand and tugging me away so fast I can’t even say goodbye to Blaze.

My body shudders with warmth as Dash guides me down the hall. His touch always burned; that fire was welcomed when we first met. I was numb, and he chipped away all the ice with his heat.

But then he kept burning me—new flesh and all—leaving me with scars carved out by his twisted, deformed love.

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