Page 23 of Diary from an Inked Throne

It was dangerous for me to keep going.

And yet I needed to. Because the thought of that baby out there with my sadistic uncle, and Nyah at home counting on me, was more than I could fucking bear.

I stormed into a service station, flashing them a photo of Enzo, but yet again, they shook their head.

Frustration got the better of me. I slammed my hand against the countertop. The clerk flinched, and then with a shake in her voice, politely asked me to leave. I dropped a twenty on the countertop as an apology and stalked back out to the car.

Lynx was already behind the wheel. I stared at him through the window. “Move.”

“No. We’re going home to sleep, and then we’ll get back to it.”

Panic clutched at my chest. “I can’t go back there without the baby. I made her a promise.”

Lynx’s lips pulled into a tight line. “Then we’ll go to a hotel. Either way, we need to sleep. We’re no good to anyone like this. That woman you just scared the life out of is probably calling the cops right now.”

I glanced back over at her through the window. She had a phone to her ear and was peering through the early morning sun at us.

I was pretty sure she was reciting our license plate to whoever was on the other end. “Fucking hell,” I muttered.

Lynx gave me a knowing look. “Ready to get in now?”

I rounded the car and got inside.

Within seconds of him pulling away, my head lolled against the headrest and sleep dragged me under.

I woke what felt like a second later, but the sun was a lot higher than it had been when I’d drifted off, and I blinked, trying to work out where the hell we were.

An ugly orange motel sign came into focus, its chipped paint making the whole place feel old and dingy.

Lynx was asleep in the seat next to me.

I nudged him. “Hey. Why are we asleep in the car when there’s perfectly good beds just feet away?”

His eyelashes fluttered. “I couldn’t wake you up. Now do me the same courtesy and leave me alone. It’s so warm for once.”

I knew what he meant. The room where we’d been held at the church had been cold and damp. The interior of the dark SUV had heated up nicely over the last few hours, baking in the morning sun with us inside it.

It did little for the smell though.

I shook him again. “No, come on. We’re getting a room. If we stay in here any longer we’ll fry or die from the smell. I’m not down with either option.”

Lynx grumbled but mustn’t have liked those options either because he opened his door and got out. He stretched, his shirt riding up to show off his abs. Interest flickered to life inside me for the first time in weeks.

Even if we hadn’t had Dax in that room, inadvertently acting as a giant cockblock, I doubted either of us had even thought about sex in the days and nights we’d been kept down there.

Nothing like wondering if you were going to be executed to kill your libido.

But for the first time in weeks, neither of us were in any imminent danger. And that was enough for my body to remember how much it liked his.

I forced myself to turn away and walk into the motel, knowing he’d follow.

I asked the woman behind the desk for a room.

She glanced up at us. “Two beds or one?”

“One,” I said before Lynx could answer.

He winked at her. “He likes to spoon.”