Page 123 of Ink Me Three Times
He parks, gets out, and sees her.
Stops dead.
I see the flicker in his eyes. Recognition. Fury. Restraint snapping like dry twigs underfoot.
“Wow,” Trina says lightly, not moving from her spot. “Just missing Freddie for the full set.”
Mitchell doesn’t respond.
Doesn’t blink.
Just walks up slow, looking coiled.
When he speaks, it’s gravel. “Get. Out. Of. Here.”
Mitchell doesn’t move right away. Just stands there, shoulders squared, fists flexing at his sides. I can see it, his whole body tight with rage, a lit fuse just waiting to find the powder.
“Mitchell,” I say, low, warning.
He doesn’t hear me. Or maybe he does and doesn’t care.
Trina, ever the shit stirrer, lifts her coffee, toasting him. “Hi, Mitch.”
I move fast, get between them just as Mitchell glowers. He twists around, his fist slamming into the brick wall beside the shop door so hard the sound echoes down the block. She flinches, just barely, but it’s enough to let me know she’s not as unbothered as she pretends.
“Say one more word,” he growls, voice of thunder, “and I swear…”
“Mitchell!” I shove him back, grabbing a fistful of his hoodie. “Inside. Now.”
He resists for a second, vibrating with fury, but I twist his arm and jerk the door open.
“In. Side.”
He finally lets me pull him in, breathing deep, a bull about to charge. I slam the door shut behind us and lean against it, chest heaving.
He’s pacing now, hands in his hair, muttering under his breath. “I won’t let her. I swear, if she tries to take Penny…”
“She’s not bluffing,” I cut in. “She said she talked to a lawyer. She’s filing.”
Mitchell freezes. His eyes go wide, then narrow. “Freddie doesn’t know.”
“No. Not yet.”
Mitchell curses loud and vicious. “She can’t just do this. Not after the way she justleft. Do youreallythink she wants Penny back in her life?”
“Knowing her, I doubt it,” I mutter, grabbing my phone. “Until then, damage control.”
I hit Freddie’s name and step into the back room. It rings twice.
He picks up, voice tired. “Hey.”
“She’s here,” I say. “Trina. Outside the shop, waiting for you.”
Silence.
Then: “Fuck.”
“Yeah. You need to take the day off. No questions. Grab Penny, take her out of town. Go to a lake, a park, I don’t care, just get her away from here.”
