Page 24 of Diary from an Inked Throne

She covered her smile by rifling through a drawer full of door keys. “Room twenty-three. Just out the door and to your right.” She grinned at me. “Enjoy the snuggles.”

Lynx laughed, and I rolled my eyes at both of them.

But I envied their laughter. I knew Lynx was hurting no less than I was, but maybe because he hadn’t been down there so long, maybe because he hadn’t had to walk over his father’s dead body, he seemed to be handling all of this better than me.

Maybe it was just because he wasn’t an asshole like I was.

He took the key from my hand and walked ahead, opening up the room. I realized at some point during the night, I’d started limping, though I was only really feeling it now that the adrenaline had worn off.

Lynx squinted around at the peeling, faded wallpaper, and the ugly orange-brown carpet that probably hadn’t been replaced since the eighties. “Well, she’s not pretty but she’s a hell of a lot nicer than where we slept last night.”

I agreed. I leaned against the wall, trying to take some of the weight off my weakened body.

Lynx’s eyebrows furrowed. “You all right?”

“Fine.”

Except I wasn’t. I slumped down on the edge of the bed and dropped my head into my hands. “Fuck.”

Lynx didn’t say anything, but I felt him there, watching me. Then he walked into the bathroom, turned on the shower and, within a few seconds, steam wafted out into the main room.

“You’re going to set off the fire alarms,” I warned him wearily.

“Don’t care. Get in here.”

I didn’t have it in me to verbally spar with him like I normally would have. I was too fucking tired and broken and sore and, right now, someone else telling me what to do felt good. “Okay.”

He blinked, like he hadn’t expected me to agree so easily either, but he moved aside to let me into the bathroom and then closed the door behind us. I just stood there, like my body had forgotten how to get into the tub.

It had been so long since I’d seen one that maybe I had.

Lynx took pity on me and undid the shirt that would probably need to be incinerated it was so dirty. I cursed myself for not getting clean clothes either at the house or at some point during the night when we’d been in and out of stores.

But all I’d been thinking about was finding the baby and bringing him home.

Lynx undid my pants, and I managed to toe off my shoes so I could take off the rest of my clothes.

Lynx grimaced at me.

I made a face at him. “Not exactly the expression someone wants to see when you’re naked. Wow.”

But he shook his head at me, his fingers reaching out to trail down my arms gently. “You’ve lost so much weight.”

I dared to inspect my reflection in the mirror over the sink. I couldn’t see my whole body but enough of it to know Lynx was right. I’d been fairly lean to begin with, so any weight loss would be dramatic. My face was pale, my collarbones stuck out, and my beard was in desperate need of a trim.

I scraped a hand through my disgusting hair then instantly regretted it. “I look like shit.”

Lynx was only marginally better. Bigger than me to begin with and not held captive as long, his body hadn’t suffered as much as mine and Dax’s had.

He stepped in closer behind me and stared into the mirror over my shoulder. “Nothing time and a couple of burgers won’t fix.”

I wasn’t even hungry. I was pretty sure my stomach had given up on telling me to eat when there had been no food to give it.

Lynx put his hand to the back of my neck and guided me into the tub, the shower running into it. “Come on. Get clean. It’ll help.”

He went to help me in, and I gave him a glare that could have withered plants, so he stepped back, hands up, and let me get in by myself.

The first splash of clean, warm water on my back felt like heaven. It rolled down my skin, chasing away the dirt and grime and memories of the last few weeks. I squeezed my eyes shut tight and tried to breathe, fighting off the panic of claustrophobia that hadn’t been a problem until I’d forgotten what sunlight was.