Page 91 of Diary from an Inked Throne

I nodded and followed the three of them out into the parking lot. Luca and Nyah got in his car, and Dax headed for his.

Luca paused with his hand on the steering wheel. “You coming with us, Lynx? The meeting won’t take long, then we can get ready for practice.”

I desperately wanted to. I wanted to look Luca’s guys in the eye and make sure they were telling us absolutely everything that was happening out there on the road. And then show up for my team the way I’d promised.

But I knew Luca had it handled and he’d be there to support Nyah through it. I would do what I needed to do quickly, and maybe I’d even get there in time for practice to start. We’d had many of those update meetings, and they were never easy because there was never anything solid to report. Possible sightings and leads that went nowhere. All of it frustrating and upsetting. Each one sent Nyah into a shell that I knew would only get harder and harder to pull her from if we didn’t figure this out soon.

There was only so long a woman could go without her child before she broke.

And Nyah was holding herself together with sticky tape.

It only strengthened my resolve to fix this problem of mine. Nyah couldn’t lose anyone else. None of us could.

“Mind if I skip it?” I asked Luca. “Got a few errands to run.” I glanced over at Dax. “Could I get a lift with you?”

He nodded quickly, pointing at the passenger side. “Yeah, of course. Get in.”

I waited until we’d both shut our doors, he’d started the engine, and Luca had steered toward the exit. Then I turned to Dax. “Can one of your brothers cover for you with Reaper today?”

He frowned while he glanced left and right, waiting for a break in the line of cars traveling along the main street of Providence, people all leaving their fancy homes to go to their fancy jobs in the city, most likely. “Probably. What’s wrong?”

“I need your help with something.”

He pulled into a gap, then looked over at me. “Why does that tone of voice scare me?”

I pressed my lips into a tight line. “Because you have good instincts. And what I’m going to ask you to do you might not like.”

We drove along in silence, and for a second of it, I was convinced he was going to say no. I wouldn’t have blamed him. If I’d been able to do this by myself, I would have.

“Why me? Why not Luca? It’s usually the two of you together.”

I chuckled at that. “Jealous?”

“What?” He shook his head fast. “No, definitely not.”

“Are you blushing?”

“No!”

I laughed, and it felt good to relieve some of the tension. “It’s okay if you are. I was a tiny bit jealous watching the two of you last night.”

He grimaced. “I don’t want things to be weird between us.”

“They aren’t,” I promised him. “I knew it was coming. There’s been something more between you and Luca ever since the church. I could see it even when I was first locked up with the two of you. Something had changed.”

“You could have warned me,” Dax muttered.

I couldn’t help laughing at him. “I’m sorry, I thought that as a fully grown man, you were probably aware when you wanted to fuck someone.”

He flapped a hand at me to be quiet, which was even funnier because it wasn’t like there was any one else in the car. “I don’t want to fuck him.”

“Your hand wrapped around his cock last night and the talk of blow jobs says otherwise.” I poked him in the arm. “So does how pink your cheeks are. And…are you breathing fast right now just thinking about it?”

“Fuck off.”

He so was. But I decided to let him off the hook. “So, you going to help me? All I need you to do is bring your tattoo kit and drive me to a house in Saint View. Hopefully Officer Rivera isn’t on duty this morning.”

“Do I even want to know why we’re going to the cop’s house with a tattoo kit?”