Page 108 of Ink Me Three Times
I can’t.
It’s stuck in my brain like a picture I didn’t ask to be taken, and I wonder if I’ll ever be able to shake it off.
I glance around the courtyard again, just to be sure. There’s nothing out of the ordinary now. The crowd’s busy, people going about their day, the hum of casual conversation filling the air.
Still, I can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong.
I’m so damn ready to get out of here.
“Penny,” I say, my voice soft but firm, trying to focus on the moment, “how about we head back to the convention? Get some of that cotton candy I promised?”
Her eyes light up. “Yes, please!”
As I get to my feet, I glance one last time in the direction where the woman had been standing.
Nothing.
But that feeling, that sensation of being watched, doesn’t go away.
Who the hell was that?
Wasshewhy Freddie acted so weird?
I keep my hand firmly on Penny’s shoulder as we make our way through the crowd. I’m more than ready to leave. Something about the air here feels off, and it has nothing to do with the convention. It has everything to do with the way my stomach churns, like there’s something I’m missing.
This con might have been a lot of fun, but I can’t wait to get back to Coyote Glen.
Back to some normality.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Freddie
The car humssoftly as it rolls into my quiet street at long last, but inside it’s anything but peaceful. My hands are clenched on the steering wheel like I’m trying to hold myself together, and every passing second feels heavier than the last.
Ivy’s sitting next to me, the last one here now Mitchell and Timothy have been dropped off. I can feel her eyes on me, and I can’t stand it.
I can’t stand the way she’s looking at me like she’s waiting for me to break. Waiting for me to tell her what the hell’s going on inside my head.
But I can’t. I can’t do it. Not yet.
I glance over at her, just for a split second, and my stomach tightens. She’s worried. I see it in the way she holds herself, the way she’s been watching me out of the corner of her eye since that moment, when everything cracked open.
Man, that woman.
I can’t even think her name without the tension tightening in my chest again.
Ivy’s been quiet, and I appreciate it. She’s not pushing me. But sheknowssomething’s wrong. It’s obvious.
And I don’t know how to explain it to her. How to explain the mess in my head.
“I can put Penny to bed if you want,” Ivy offers as I pull up. “If you need a moment.”
I nod gratefully. “Actually, yeah I could use a moment. Maybe go for a walk.”
She bobs her head just once, her gaze softening as she opens the door to get out.
I watch her head inside, making sure Penny is okay. The soft click of the door behind me feels like the moment I can breathe.
