Boxed Set: The Ink Series Volume 1-5

by Holly Hood

  I stared at K confused. He nodded his head understanding my confusion. “Can you keep a secret?”

  I didn’t answer. K shrugged. “I’ll tell you anyways.”

  My heart raced.

  “Hutch pulls a lot of strings around here in Cherry. I don’t think there’s a person not under his thumb. Like the mayor’s wife. I wish I was capable of that kind of thing.” K rested his arms against his thighs. “Don’t get me wrong I am capable of my own kind of chaos. But Hutch is the fucking mastermind.”

  I heard wrong. “I think you’re confused.”

  “Never confused, Hutch knows what he’s doing.” K nodded.

  “You said the mayor’s wife.” I held back saying anything more. It wasn’t possible.

  “Yep, the mayor’s wife,” he said. “He was the mastermind behind the entire thing.”

  I jumped out of my seat. “My dad—“

  K jumped up to. “Your dad is an idiot. It was almost too easy for Hutch to pull off.”

  I shook my head confused and disgusted. “Why, that doesn’t even make any sense.”

  “What’s done is done right?” K said. “I hope you don’t think you’re going to take off. Hutch might not like that.”

  Hutch appeared in the doorway. K stopped talking and took a seat. Everything was quiet. “Feeling alright?”

  I slowly shook my head. “Everything is fine,” I said.

  K winked at me.

  Chapter 26

  “I think I should go home,” I said. I walked a little quicker trying to put distance between Hutch and I. Anymore I was confused by him.

  “I was looking forward to another one of our little sleepovers,” he said hiccupping. He stumbled and regained his footing proving he was drunk but still coordinated.

  “That wouldn’t be a good idea,” I said.

  “Why the sudden change, doll?”

  I wasn’t sure if telling Hutch that I was afraid of him was the right idea. This might have been the one time being honest would bite me in my ass. I didn’t know what to do.

  “All this time I have been trying to help you. Did I do something wrong?” Hutch tilted his head to the side. “I’m drunk.”

  I didn’t know where to begin. I stopped walking. “You would never do anything to hurt me would you?”

  Hutch’s fingers grazed his five o’clock shadow. He looked up at the stars as he considered his response. “I don’t understand why you would even think that. I would think I proved that already.”

  It was hard to believe him anymore, but as I looked into his eyes I wasn’t sure what to think. He raised his hands. “If you want to go home by all means, go.” He backed away.

  “I don’t get you.” I took a step forward. “One minute you’re almost threatening and the next you’re the sweet guy I’m used to.”

  Hutch clutched his chest for dramatic effect. “Ouch.”

  K’s words replayed in my mind over and over again, until I wanted to burst from the thought of not saying anything. I didn’t know anything about K, but if he was being truthful it wasn’t good.

  I needed to find out.

  “Does this mean you’re coming back to my house?” Hutch said following behind me as I headed down the boardwalk to his part of the neighborhood.

  “Yeah, why not.”

  “I’m sorry if I came off as aggressive back at the greenhouse. It’s been a bad couple of days.” He put his arm around me. “Can we forget about it?”

  “Of course.” I squeezed his arm and painted on a sweet smile. “We’re all entitled to a bad day.”

  Hutch seemed to be pleased. It was the perfect time to ask.

  “I’m worried about those bodies.” I followed him up the stairs to the front porch. He fumbled with his keys trying to get inside.

  “I’m sure there is nothing to worry about,” he told me.

  I studied him. If he was lying he was good at it. He didn’t seem nervous at all to be talking about it. “If anything ever happened to my dad I don’t know what I would do.”

  Hutch let me go inside first. He shut and the lock the door. “Everything is going to be fine.”

  He brushed my hair away from my neck. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “My dad means the world to me. I came all the way to California because of him,” I told him.

  I moved around Hutch and made myself comfortable on the couch. Hutch pulled his shirt over his head; he walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He took a seat and opened the bottle.

  “Do you think anyone is happy with who they are, Hope?” Hutch asked.

  I couldn’t help but notice he called me Hope, not Doll like he normally did.

  “I don’t think so.” I grew very uncomfortable. “Why do you want to know that?”

  Hutch took a sip of the whiskey. “I’m not an idiot. I can read you like a bad romance novel.”

  I stiffened. Why was I so stupid? Of course he knew what was going on at all times.

  “I’m growing rather tired of you not believing me when I say I have your back. Why is that so hard to believe?” Hutch waited for me to answer.

  I stared at the floor. “Because if what I know is true I don’t think I can believe that anymore.”

  Hutch smoothed his hair down. He sighed and dropped back against the couch. I wondered if he was growing more aggravated with me.

  “I don’t want to think you would do anything to hurt me, but if you did something to my dad than you already have.” There, I told him it was out in the open.

  “Your dad made the decision to sleep with the mayor’s wife, I used it to my advantage and to yours,” he said.

  I couldn’t believe it was that simple to get him to confess. How did he not think it was wrong to do what he did? “What did you do?”

  “I knew the mayor would cover up such a big controversy. This puts you in control, don’t you see that?” He set the bottle of whiskey down on the coffee table. “If you’re working with him he can hardly bite you in the ass.”

  I stood up. How could he do such a thing? Who did he think he was to go around and play god? “I can’t believe you risked my dad’s life, his freedom, to help me. What part of that was a good idea?”

  “What other choice do you have?” He wouldn’t look at me. “Every choice isn’t going to feel good.”

  I didn’t understand why he needed to do anything. I wasn’t his problem. I was just Hope, the girl that sometimes came around. The girl stupid enough to sleep with him and think it meant something.

  “I could have figured something else out.” I said, running a hand through my hair frustrated. “Killing people that is never okay, no matter what happens.”

  “The mayor has your entire life hanging from the balance. He could make a lot of things happen if he wanted to. This is your security, a way to live like normal people do.” Hutch turned around. “You said you weren’t this girl, that you wanted nothing to do with the supernatural. I tried to help you.”

  I shook my head. “You made things worse.”

  “No. Slade made things worse. He always has.” Hutch informed me.

  I refused to believe that. It wasn’t Slade who chose to throw my dad into my mess.

  “I want to go home,” I said looking at Hutch.

  He walked to the door opening it. “You mean the one you’re not allowed to stay in because everyone knows who you are?”

  I ignored him.

  “You have no home because of him,” Hutch said, he smirked. “But by all means run away from the one person who is trying to save you.”

  I couldn’t believe he was trying to guilt me. No part of what he did was right. “Do you think this is romantic? You try to use my dad as a tool to help me. If that was even what you were doing.”

  “I care about you,” he insisted. “So much so I used a couple of useless woman to help you help yourself.”

  “At one time I would have believed that. But now it just seems you’re like all the rest.” I walked th
rough the door. “You’re looking out for yourself.”

  Hutch came out on the porch. “How do you figure? If I was anything like you seem to think I am you wouldn’t be leaving here so easily.”

  “Because you want someone to live with regrets just like you do. That’s why you run Hutch. I won’t be like that,” I headed down the porch steps.

  “I thought I understood you, but I was wrong. Not to mention the greenhouse and K,” I told him. I learned a lot of very unimpressive things about Hutch. And I was grateful I was outside about to head home. Because knowing what Hutch did and was capable of I didn’t want to be anywhere near him.

  I was glad to be walking back down the boardwalk back to my home—even if it was only temporary.

  Chapter 27

  I was angry.

  More than I ever was before in my life. I tried to think of anything else to keep from freaking out, but it was so hard. There were two dead people because of me. Because of what Hutch did. And he thought I was supposed to use this to my advantage.

  “Hope stop with the noise,” Dad said from his spot on the couch.

  I dropped the pen on the table and sat up. “Sorry.”

  Dad nodded. “It’s alright. You seem upset.”

  I sure was. But I couldn’t say the reason why to my dad. At one time he would have been the person to talk to about all my big issues. But this big issue was off limits.

  “What’s so interesting?” I asked pointing at the newspaper on Dad’s lap.

  He lifted it up. “Just reading the local news, I can’t get over all the deaths in this town lately.”

  He was referring to the mayor’s wife and Sara. I couldn’t believe Dad would risk having an affair with the mayor’s wife. Or what would be the reason he wanted to.

  “I met her one time but she was rude to me,” I told him standing up.

  “Typical Cherry woman,” he said back with a smirk. He wasn’t about to tell me what he did. And I was sort of glad.

  My phone chirped in my pocket, it was Hutch and I wasn’t about to answer. I already ignored him for days and if I had it my way I would for the rest of my life. I didn’t want to talk to him.

  I needed to talk to one person. And so I waited until I knew the coast was clear and headed out. I wasted no time to make it to Henry Park. I slipped through the chain link fence and hurried through the empty lot. There parked in the back like always was the RV.

  I knocked on the door. Only a couple of seconds passed before Slade stood before me.

  “You’re alive,” he said. “Do you want to come in?” He moved out of the way letting me enter.

  “Yeah, I’m alive.” I took a seat around the table squeezing into the booth. Slade didn’t sit. He shut the door and then leaned against the counter in the kitchen.

  “You know, I hoped we were past the silent treatment,” he informed me. “But here we are all over again.”

  I sighed; staring at the old pizza boxes instead of him, this wasn’t the time to make me feel bad. “I already feel bad. That’s why I am here.”

  “Why? Because you thought I was somehow involved in killing the mayor’s wife and some girl I never seen before?” He shook his head. “It’s nothing new. The difference is I thought you didn’t believe all the hype.”

  He was harsh, but I knew I deserved it. “I’m sorry.” I couldn’t make the situation any better with words.

  “Why are you sorry?” He crossed his arms. “Because you realized how stupid you were to assume such an idiotic idea.”

  I scrambled for words. “Because I figured it out.” More like I was told by K what the truth was.

  “Seems an easier way to do that would have been to talk to me,” he raised an eyebrow. “I was the one you thought was going around killing girls.”

  I closed my eyes. I was miserable. “I’m sorry.”

  Slade’s hand slipped past my face moving to my hair. His fingers soothed me. I opened my eyes. He dropped down bringing himself to my level. “I don’t blame you.”

  “But I should have known better,” I said. I shouldn’t have fallen for Hutch’s crap. “He was going to let me think that you killed those girls.”

  Slade searched my eyes, confused by me. “Who?”

  I looked away. “Who do you think?” I didn’t want to say it.

  Slade took off for the door. I jumped up and grabbed him by the arm. “No. Do not go after him. Just leave him alone.”

  “God, I wish one time you would just let me pound his face in.” He sighed, settling on kissing me instead of violence.

  He stopped our lip lock, lifting me from the ground and planting me on the countertop. He moved between my legs, I wrapped my arms around him.

  “It doesn’t matter anymore,” I insisted.

  Slade worked his fingers along the back of my neck. He stared up at me. “Why’s that?”

  “Because I have the answer to this whole mess,” I nipped his lip making him pull away from me. “I’m going to kill the mayor.”

  Slade’s eyes grew big. He backed off trying to wrap his brain around what I told him. “I think I just heard you say you were going to kill the mayor.”

  I jumped down from the counter. “I know it doesn’t sound logical. But he is the source of all our problems. If he isn’t here than we have none.”

  Slade shook his head disagreeing with me. “The whole town believes the same way the mayor does.”

  I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “The mayor could ruin my dad’s life.” I couldn’t believe I blurted it out. Slade stared at me. “My dad was with his wife the night she died.”

  He didn’t get it and I knew it would take a lot more than that to make him understand. “I agreed to help the mayor to save my dad.”

  “But why?” Slade didn’t finish his sentence; he was lost in thought trying to weave the crazy story together.

  “Because of Hutch, for some reason Hutch knew about the affair between my dad and the mayor’s wife. And he thought if he did what he did that I would have the mayor where I needed him. I would have dirt and be able to use it against him,” I said.

  “Jesus, Hope,” he couldn’t believe it. “What part of that makes any sense to you?”

  “I didn’t know at the time it was Hutch. I thought Dad was drunk and crashed with her in the car. The mayor called me that night.” If I had known it was all orchestrated by Hutch I would have never done a thing.

  Slade brought his hands to his head. “And you believe this bullshit he’s feeding you?”

  I never thought about it any other way. What else made sense? “Well, yeah I guess I do. What else should I think?”

  Slade laughed. “That he’s trying to come up with a way to keep you around. He knows things will never work out the way he wants them to, so why not blackmail you?”

  I made a face.

  Slade gave me that look that told me he couldn’t believe I didn’t get it. “He likes you, he wants you for himself.”

  I couldn’t believe it was that simple. But Hutch even said so himself. He said love was the cause of every problem. And there I sat soaking it all in not aware like usual.

  “I can’t believe I didn’t see it,” I said.

  “Don’t go getting a big head about it,” Slade said, pushing me. “So the guy killed a couple people for you. But why the other girl?”

  I pushed him back. “This is not the time to joke. What am I supposed to do?”

  I failed to mention the spell I placed on Sara. And I was a little ashamed, so I kept it to myself. And another part of me was afraid to ask that question myself, for fear the answer was as simple as Hutch killed Sara because she was of no use to anyone.

  “Kill the mayor,” Slade told me. I studied him in his black t-shirt, with that wicked little grin on his face knowing it was a joke. I knew he would never agree with me on what I wanted to do.

  I came closer, running my fingers along his tattoos. “If anyone could help me do it it would be you.” I kissed him, moving closer. “
It’s justice.”

  Slade went along with my kiss, his tongue toying with mine. He cupped my head in his hands, our kiss deepening in intensity.

  But then he stopped. “This isn’t going to work. As much as all of this drives me crazy it won’t make me want to kill the mayor.”

  I sighed. He brushed his fingers against my jawline watching my disappointment. “But I do know something that would work out better.”

  Hope slipped back into everything. “What’s that?”

  “You run away with me,” he smiled.

  I rolled my eyes. “You always said this was your home and that you couldn’t go anywhere.”

  “What if I said I could?” he kissed my neck. “Would you come?”

  I trailed a single finger along his chest and down the muscles of his stomach; looking back up at him. “Where would we run to?”

  “Anywhere we want,” he said with a smile.

  Chapter 28

  Waking up next to Slade Andrews was incredible.

  It was the moment I waited for, the moment where it was just me and him. No drama, no girl’s busting into the RV, no emotional battle in my own mind on whether or not I should be there.

  I rolled over and smiled. He was hot when he slept. I ran a hand across his bare chest. He was more than I ever imagined when I thought about the guy I would sleep with for the first time. Most girl’s slept with an average boy, and Slade was so not that.

  I gave myself a pat on the back for bagging such a hot guy. And rested my head beside his and touched his hair. His eyes fluttered but he continued to sleep, one arm behind his head, the covers almost not covering what lie below.

  I wondered if he saw me like I saw him. Was I the best thing he ever laid eyes on? Was I everything he expected me to be?

  Was I the kind of girl he was used to I thought as I stared at his lip ring and his tattoos covering so many parts of his body, the stars and the skulls, the flames and the darkness that exuded from his skin.

  But nobody understood him like I did. And I knew that sounded story book and that many others said the same thing about their boyfriends. But I believed it. I understood Slade in a way nobody else did.