Page 24 of Inked Soul

Chapter Fourteen

Time To Leave

Luke

I glare at the man—no, the waste of space—in front of me. The moment I opened the door to find him standing there I remembered him. He is the dickhead from the day in the hallway, the day Abbi had furniture delivered. The guy who thought I was part of the moving company. I finally understood who he was and all I wanted to do was smash his face in.

I didn’t want to leave her alone with him. I didn’t think he would physically hurt her, but I don’t know him. I do already know he has wreaked havoc on her emotionally. Another part was the fear. I couldn’t help but worry that the woman I had fallen head over heels for would return to her cheating husband. But that fear was unfounded.

It only took me three minutes to decide to return to Abigail’s apartment. I could hear every word she was yelling from my apartment. The moment she said this piece of shit wanted her to abort Tyler, I knew I wasn’t leaving her alone with him for a second longer. Seeing her shaking with rage the moment I walked in cemented the fact that I was doing the right thing.

“You need to leave,” I say calmly.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” he seethes. “I am here to talk to my wife and see my son and someone like you won’t stand in my way.”

“Someone like me?”

“I know men like you,” he says and chuckles. “Preying on the single new mother to get your dick wet. You’re probably living off her right now. You’re a loser and probably a criminal.”

“You don’t remember me, do you?”

“Why would I ever remember someone like you?” he questions with a sneer.

“You self-important motherfucker,” I say with a shake of my head, fighting to stay in my spot and not wring his skinny fucking neck. “Not that you deserve to know a damn thing about me,” I say, stepping closer, losing the battle. A smile spreads across my face as he steps back, fear in his gaze. “But I am a business owner, one of the top ten most sought after and highest paid tattoo artists in the entire United States, and someone who puts family above everything else.”

He opens his mouth to say something, but I silence him with a look.

“I’m not here to get my dick wet. Let me make myself perfectly clear so there’s no misunderstanding between us. I am going to marry that woman one day and if ... if...” I say the word twice to make sure he hears me. “Abbi ever lets you nearher son, our boy, I will respect her wishes. But know this, if you ever speak to my woman with anything less than the highest respect, I will beat your ass. Got me?”

He stares at me before sliding his eyes to the side. I know Abigail is standing there. I don’t know how much she heard but I meant every single word. Darren has a look of confusion on his face.

“Abigail?” he asks.

“There is nothing here for you. Leave, Darren. Forget you ever knew me.”

He straightens his spine with a smirk I would describe as malicious. “I want to see my son.”

I want to kick his teeth in. The only thing holding me back is the small hand that takes mine. “Talk to your lawyer, Darren. You gave up all your rights to him during the divorce,” she says calmly.

My heart hurts at her words. She is calmer now and I know that what Darren did still hurts her. I can hear it in her voice. I can’t believe this pompous prick hurt Abigail the way he has, throwing away a good woman, a marriage, and a son, for nothing. He isn’t man, he’s a piece of shit.

A look of shock blankets his features. I’m assuming he didn’t know or chose not to remember this fact. He probably thought he would just walk back into her life and she would be happy to take him back. That’s not the Abigail I’ve come to know these few short days.

“You can’t be serious!” Darren shouts indignantly. “We can fix our marriage. You don’t have to settle for this asshole.”

“I’ll tell you a secret, it’s not settling, it’s upgrading.” She squeezes my hand, smiling up at me. “Luke is nothing like you and that’s exactly what I need in my life. It’s what my son will need as he grows up. A strong man to lead him in the right direction and teach him how to be a decent human being. Something you know nothing about.”

“Darren, it’s time for you to leave before I throw you out,” I say, sounding much more rational than I feel at the moment. “Our dinner will be here soon, and I don’t want you ruining the rest of our evening.”

With a glare, he stomps around me toward the door. “I will be speaking to my lawyer about my son.”

“You do that,” I say with a wink. “You’re not getting anywhere near our boy until he is old enough to make the decision for himself.”

A moment later the door slams loudly. Abigail sags against my side and I hold her tightly for long moments. “Are you okay?” I ask, for the second time today.

“Better than okay,” she replies, smiling up at me. “I’ve wanted to say a lot of that to him for a long time. I feel like a weight has been lifted.”

I place a kiss on her forehead. “That’s good, babe.”

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