Page 34 of Ink

Cain opens up the top left drawer, pulling out a small humidor. Flipping open the lid, he takes out two Cubans. After cutting and lighting his, he tosses the guillotine and lighter to me.

“Nope,” Cain says on a long drag, blowing the smoke straight up in the air. “Matteo has her down to one day a week. I bet next month she won’t be workin’ anymore. You know how he is.”

Borderline psychotic is what he is.

I’ve never been as nervous to tattoo someone as I was tattooing Wren. Even the first time I was on my own, I wasn’t that fuckin’ nervous. Inking the girl who belonged to the head of the Italian mafia in Ravenna Heights is on my list of things I never want to fucking do again.

“I wanted to see if he had any apartments available. Nothin’ serious.”

“You movin’ into Forest Glenn?” Cain snickers as he pulls an ashtray out of the same drawer, setting it down in between on the desk.

“No.” I roll my eyes, exhaling smoke. “Someone I know is lookin’ for a place.”

“Does this someone happen to be your new front desk girl with the rack that Cyrus hasn’t shut the fuck up about?”

My empty hand tightens on the armrest of the chair.

Cyrus makes it very hard not to kill him sometimes.

“Yes,” I grunt. “She’s been stayin’ at the motel until she finds somethin’ else.”

Cain’s top lip raises in disgust as he taps the cigar, watching the ash float into the tray. “Rats shouldn’t be allowed to stay at that fucking place. I won’t even ride past it anymore. The air around that area smells like nasty pussy and an STD that’s been brewing for a while. She’s new in town, right?”

“Yeah.” Or so she says. I’m still trying to piece everything together. It feels like each day I see her I collect a new piece to the puzzle that doesn’t connect to any of the ones I already have.

“What’s her story?”

I shrug. “Don’t know. She’s not exactly forthcomin’ when I ask a question.”

Sutton avoiding every question I ask is starting to get old real fast. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so reluctant to accept help and that’s saying something considering what everyone went through between Evan and Wren.

“They never are.” Cain snorts. “She ask you to find her a place?”

I take another long drag before answering. “Not exactly.”

“Is this your way of pulling out whatever’s been lodged up your ass the last few months?”

I look up from the spot my eyes were locked on the desk to see Cain’s assessing gaze. “It’s giving me a distraction.”

“A distraction from what?”

“Feelin’ stuck,” I finally admit.

Cain doesn’t say anything as he lets out a long exhale of smoke, this time in my direction. Neither of us says a word until the cloud clears.

I figure this is going to go one of two ways. He’s either going to ream my ass for not telling him I’ve been feeling like this, or he’s going to move on, letting me have this.

“I’ve known you a long time, brother. When I created this club, it was because I never wanted to feel stuck or without a purpose again. I also wanted a sense of family who understood that. Go ride. Go do some art shit. Fuck, I don’t know. Do whatever it is you need to do to not feel like that, but you’ve got to know every single brother here will back you. We all get it. But this asshole you’ve been lately? That’s not you. It’s me and Hash’s grumpy ass. And I’m takin’ it back, so you better get the fuck over whatever it is. If you need to talk it out, I can’t say I want to sit around like a bunch of bitches and listen for hours, but I’ll make an exception for you and give you twenty.”

I snort to cover up the ball that’s formed in my throat that I can’t swallow down. Cain has a reputation of being the biggest asshole around. It’s why very few have the balls to cross him and the club. Very few people get let in enough to see Cain caring about something. Sometimes it’s easy to forget you’re not alone in this life.

“Appreciate it. Sorry I’ve been a fuckin’ dick. Hash already reamed my ass, but I’m workin’ through it.”

“I figured something had happened between you two. You care for her?”

“Sutton?”

Cain raises one eyebrow in a look that says, obviously.