Page 54 of Inked Desires

I grab my backpack and leave the keys in the ignition. Maybe some other lost soul like me will need them more. They’ve served me well, after all. A sharp sting hits me as I walk away, but I quickly look away. No time for nostalgia.

The imposing red brick building towers before me. I exhale slowly and stride inside. It’s time to leave Wisconsin. To start over.

In front of the departure board, I freeze. Where to go? What place could offer me a moment’s peace before Jace finds me? I have no plan. Just an urgent need to disappear.

A sigh escapes me. My hand nervously runs through my hair as my eyes scan the schedules. A train leaves for Minnesota in fifteen minutes. Not the furthest destination, but a first stop. The ride will give me time to think about what comes next.

I approach the ticket counter, where a clerk peers over her glasses.

“Hello,” she grumbles.

“One ticket to Willow River,” I say.

I slide a hundred and twenty dollars through the slot. She takes the money and hands me my ticket.

“Thanks,” I murmur.

I climb the stairs leading to the deserted platform. Sitting on a weathered bench, I stare at the rails gleaming in the last rays of the sun.

Everything feels unreal. I’d found a place where I thought I could settle. A semblance of home. A moment of respite. And even someone I almost believed in. All shattered now. Maybe it wasn’t meant for me. Maybe I was just an intruder in a life that wasn’t mine.

My jaw tightens. I refuse to give in to weakness now. I can break down later. But not here. Not now.

I close my eyes for a moment, exhausted. The idea of running again and again eats at me. All I want is a break. But I know it’s not possible. Jace won’t let this slide.

A faint sound startles me. Someone sits beside me. My body stiffens instantly. My hand grips my bag. I open my eyes slowly, ready to spring.

A familiar silhouette takes shape in my view. I don’t need to turn my head to know who it is. My heart races.

“Did you really think you could run?” comes a calm, almost amused voice.

My shoulders sag. Maybe I’d hoped for a bit more luck.

“Was worth a try, at least.”

Robert taps the bench’s backrest with his fingers. His gaze drifts somewhere ahead.

“We were watching you,” he explains calmly.“Jace suspected something. At first, he thought you were having an affair with the tattoo shop owner, but you wouldn’t have left like that after stealing his money.”

A bitter chuckle escapes me.

“Congrats, Andrew. You just saved a life,” he adds.

Robert isn’t the worst of Jace’s men. At least he never treated me like dirt.

“Am I going to die?” I ask quietly.

He doesn’t answer right away. Then, after a pause, he says:

“I’ll have to tell him where you’re headed.”

A breath of relief escapes me. So not just yet. I still have some time.

“Enjoy the ride,” he advises.“Watch the scenery, relax.”

I look at him for a moment. Robert was never like the others. He used to smile sometimes. But now, he seems extinguished. His green eyes are empty, his messy hair betrays unusual nervousness.

“That’s it? Just a few hours?”