Stranger in Tattoo

ZAYLA

The rain came out of nowhere. A few soft taps on the windshield.

One moment, I was driving under a sky bruised with clouds —the next, it felt like the sky had been holding its breath just to spit all over my escape.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. The wipers swiped furiously, but they fought a losing battle. Headlights carved a narrow tunnel through the darkness ahead, everything else swallowed by the storm. I could barely even see five feet ahead.

But I didn't stop. I couldn't.

My phone vibrated on the dashboard, lighting up the storm dark car.

LUGARD. FUCKING. BLADE.

My fingers froze around the wheel. My stomach twisted. For a long second, I just stared.

I should’ve let it ring or even smashed the phone out of the window. But it wouldn't hurt to answer it, right?

So, I answered.

“Running away, sweetheart?” His voice was smooth, edged with that sugary tone that made my skin crawl. Like he’d already won.

“For now? Yes.” I replied, my voice sharp.

“You really think you could disappear on me, Baby? Be a good girl and come back. Let’s not make this worse than it has to be. You know what happens when you push me.”

That part of me that used to tremble under his voice twitched… but I don't shake. Not this time.

His audacity was questionable. To think he owned me?

Asshole.

I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat, and held the phone close to my mouth and whispered, “Go fuck yourself, Lugard.”

I ended the call before he could answer and turned the phone off completely. Then tossed it in the backseat, and pressed the gas harder.

Let him rot.

I kept driving. For four long, relentless hours. No hotels. No apartments. No lights. No signs of anything living, except trees and just endless roads. The storm, and my heartbeat screaming in my ears.

I don't know where I was. I don't care. I just knew I was far away from that goddamn city.

Just then — the car sputtered.

“No, no, no. Not now—” I muttered.

It coughed. Jerked, and Stopped.

I let out a scream so raw it scraped my throat. “Shit!” I slammed my fists against the steering wheel.

Rain lashed the windows like fists. I threw open the door and stepped into the storm, instantly drenched, my heart pounding.

I pooped the hood, and stared into the engine like it could magically fix itself. I had no clue what to do. The gas meter had already told me the truth.

Empty gas tank.

I could've laughed if I wasn't on the verge of crying. “Brilliant, Zayla. You escaped just to get stranded in the middle of nowhere in a damn storm.”

Fear clawed up my spine. What if Lugard had already sent men after me? What if they were close?

My breath came fast and shallow as I dove back into the car, my heart hammered like it could escape my chest.

Back in the car, I tried to breathe. Think

I scanned the road, through the fogged–up windows.

Just then, I saw the flicker of a light. In the distance.

I blinked through the blur on the windshield and really looked. It was indeed a house. An apartment. A family home maybe. Not too far off the road. One light was still on.

I didn’t think—I didn’t have to. I grabbed my backpack and jumped out again, into the rain.

Each step in the mud was a slap. Rain soaked my hair, my clothes, my bones. By the time I reached the door, I was shaking. My teeth chattered.

I knocked. Once. Twice. Five times.

There was no response.

My heart sank. I was about to leave, when…

Click.

The door swung open behind me.

I turned. And my heart just… stopped.

A man stood in the doorway. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Shirtless. Dripping in tattoos that curled down his arms like stories written in ink and silence. His face was shadowed—half hidden in the darkness. But I saw his eyes. They cut straight through me and captivated me.

It was dark. Sharp. Watching me like a riddle he didn't ask for.

“You lost?” he asked, voice low and rough like gravel.

I froze. This was not the family home I had hoped for.

I took a step back. Every survival instinct I had screamed danger.

“I— ” I stammered. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. I thought maybe– it's fine. I'll go–” I was a blubbering mess. And he just stood there, watching me, like I was an idiot.

But I don't move.

Because I couldn’t go back to the car. Couldn’t risk staying out in the open—Sleeping with one eye open and the other watching for headlights. Not if Lugard’s men were looking.

So, I turned to him. Pride, bitter on my lips and I swallowed it—Hard.

“I… I ran out of gas,” I said. “My car’s just there. I’ve been driving for hours, and I don’t know this area. I just need somewhere to stay. Just for tonight.”

The man blinked once. “You want to stay here?”

“I don’t have anywhere else,” I said, my voice barely above the rain—now pleading. “Please.”

He stared at me. Long and Hard.

Then, a deep sigh. “I live alone. You sure about this?”

No. Absolutely not. But nothing in my life was safe. Definitely not the monster I was supposed to marry tomorrow.

So, I nodded anyway. “I’ll stay on the couch. Floor. Anywhere. I just…” My voice cracked. “I just need to not die tonight.”

He stared at me a beat longer. Something in his face shifted, barely— and then, without a word, he stepped aside.

He didn't say yes. He didn't say no. Just opened the door wider.

My feet moved before my brain could argue, and I stepped inside. The warmth of the house kissed my rain-soaked skin. It was jarring. My clothes stuck to my skin. My shoes squelched. I was a mess.

But I was in.

My heart thudded louder than the thunder outside.

I don't know who this man was. Or what I’d just walked into.

But it didn't matter. I was alive. And for the first time since I woke up from death… I felt like I might be okay.

At least for tonight.