Hidden Ink (Montgomery Ink #4.5)(27)

“No. I won’t. You’re cold out here.”

“Then you’re cold, too. So go inside.”

“Sloane.” So much depth, so much emotion in that one word.

He wasn’t good enough for her. He was too dirty. Too unclean. He’d let the others die. He hadn’t been enough. Their deaths slid over his skin as if it owned him. He wasn’t what she needed. Regardless that he loved her. He was too rough, too on edge. Too full of guilt and sin.

She wouldn’t leave him, not unless he pushed. And if he didn’t push, he’d shatter her more. He’d have to break her right then.

“It’s over, Hailey. I can’t do this anymore. We had our time and it was fun, but I can’t do it. We’re just too different.”

“Look at my face when you say that. Look at my face when you try to end it without telling me anything at all.”

He turned then to face her. They stood in the middle of the sidewalk, though it was too cold outside for many people to be out and about. The others in the shop stood at the windows, staring, but he had to get this over with. He had to protect her from him.

“We had what we had, but I’m not made for long term. You’re made for so much more than me. So it’s over.”

She pushed at his chest and growled. “Stop it. Stop acting like this. This isn’t who you are.”

“I’m exactly this, Hailey.” He gripped her wrists and pushed her back. “I’m nothing. Don’t you get that? You don’t know me at all and that’s my fault, but f*ck, everything’s my fault. So just walk away now.”

“You’re the one walking away. Not me.”

“Then let me walk.”

With that, he turned on his heel and headed to the alley that would lead him to the parking lot. He had his wallet and keys and didn’t need anything else from the shop. He’d just broken the one woman he’d promised to never hurt, but he hadn’t had a choice. If he’d have stayed, she’d have been marred.

He’d let those close to him down before, let them burn and die and scream.

He couldn’t do the same to her.





Hailey watched him walk away and wondered what the hell had just happened. How could he do that? How could he leave her standing in the middle of the sidewalk as if nothing had happened?

Oh, she’d known he’d do something like this soon, she’d felt it, but she hadn’t known it would hurt this much. It shouldn’t hurt this much. Right? She rubbed her breastbone and tried to keep the tears from falling. She would not cry. If she did, then it would be final, he’d really be gone and she’d have done nothing about it.

For a moment, an agonizing moment, she thought him leaving was truly about her. Maybe it was about her scars, maybe it was about what he’d seen when he’d traced her. But then she mentally hit herself upside the head and pushed those thoughts away.

Sloane hadn’t lied to her about what he felt about her body. He couldn’t fake that. And damn it, she’d spent years learning to love herself for who she was and what she’d overcome. She’d be damned if she let herself tear all that away.

He’d left because of something within himself he hadn’t been able to run from, hadn’t been able to bury deep enough. She knew he’d kept secrets for far too long, had hidden who he was, but she’d thought they’d have longer to figure it all out.

This Jason had been the catalyst for Sloane cutting his ties. She didn’t know exactly what had happened, but she’d figure it out…if she could.

From what she could tell, Sloane saw a man within himself that he thought wasn’t for her. He’d put her on a damn pedestal and thrown himself into the depths of hell.

She saw a man that was worthy. A man that had fought and come out ahead. He put everything he could into his life and who he was, even if he’d tried to keep his past firmly in the past. Yet the man didn’t believe in himself.

“You need to come inside,” Maya said from behind her. “It’s f*cking cold out here, and watching him walk away isn’t going to help.”

Hailey turned on her heel and wrapped her arms around herself. “He left,” she breathed, her voice slightly cracking. “How could he just leave?”

Maya held her arms open, and Hailey moved toward the other woman but not close enough to take the hug.

“If you hug me right now, I’ll cry. Be the bitch I know you can be and get ragey with me.”

Maya grimaced and tugged on Hailey’s arm before dragging her into the shop. “I’ll be a bitch in a minute. Let me make sure you don’t have freaking frostbite or something.”

Callie had a mug in her hand and a frown on her face. “I made you hot cocoa, but it’s not as good as when you make it. And I can never get the chocolate shavings right.”

Hailey smiled despite herself and took the mug from Callie’s hands. “I’m sure it’s wonderful. Thank you, Callie.” She took a sip and let out a breath. “Sugary,” she mumbled. She twisted her mouth. “How many people saw him walk away from me?”

Austin pressed her shoulders and forced her to sit in the front chair. He crouched in front of her, his eyes full of knowing. “Not that many.” His voice was deep and reminded her of Sloane’s.