Wicked Games (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 17)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “You hate it when I eat the onion rings.”

  “That’s because they make your breath stink. However, I’m willing to take one for the team tonight.”

  “Oh, you really are the perfect man,” Ivy teased, grabbing the onion rings container from the bag. Her smile slipped as she studied Jack’s weary profile. “How did Maryann and Stan take the news?”

  “We only saw Stan. Maryann was upstairs. He ... didn’t want to believe us. He didn’t give us much — just said Sasha was dating someone, but he didn’t know who — and then he went up to give his wife the bad news.”

  Ivy swallowed around the lump in her throat. “I’m sorry. They’re a nice couple. Sasha was always a nice girl.”

  “That seems to be the general consensus. We’re going to dig deep trying to find this boyfriend tomorrow. We don’t know who he is, or where Sasha might’ve met him.”

  “He could have ties to the golf course,” Ivy offered. “It’s kind of a snooty place. Most of the men who have memberships there are pretty well-to-do. That might’ve appealed to Sasha. I mean ... she was always talking about traveling. You can’t do that without money.”

  “We’re definitely heading to the golf course tomorrow,” Jack confirmed. “We’re trying to track down friends, too. Brian said he was going to have his wife put together a list because she would probably know as well as Maryann. We don’t want to bother them unless we absolutely have to.”

  “That sounds like a good idea.” Ivy cocked her head. “What’s bugging you? I mean, other than the obvious.”

  “I don’t know.” Jack rolled his neck until it cracked. “It’s just ... we’re not even sure if this death was purposeful or accidental now. It could honestly be some tragic accident.”

  “You don’t feel that’s true, though.”

  “I don’t,” he agreed. “I have a hard time believing someone hit her and didn’t realize it.”

  “They might’ve thought she was an animal or something.”

  “You sound like Brian.”

  “I’m just saying it’s possible. It’s dark out there. The driver might’ve only seen a shadow or a hint of movement out of the corner of his eye. Maybe you should wait for a ruling from the medical examiner before you get all riled up.”

  “Maybe.” He let out a sigh and turned to her, ready to put the heaviness of the day behind him … if only for a little while. “So, just so you know, I don’t care if the onion rings make your breath stink. I’m going to be kissing you senseless while rubbing your feet tonight. You’ve been warned.”

  That elicited a genuine smile. “It’s a hardship, but I guess I’ll have to power through for you.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  4

  Four

  Jack woke before Ivy the next morning. That wasn’t unusual. She was a heavy sleeper and more of a night owl than morning person. Still, he kept glancing at the clock. He knew he couldn’t let her sleep so long she risked being late to her community service — that wouldn’t go over well — and yet it went against every instinct he had to wake her.

  “You need to stop worrying,” Ivy muttered as she stirred next to him. He had her tucked in at his side, her head on his chest, and she managed a smile as she opened her eyes.

  “I’m not worrying,” Jack reassured her quickly. It was a lie, of course. He’d done nothing but worry since she’d been assigned to community service. In a weird way, he almost wished she’d been locked up in the county jail for a weekend. It would be over and done with so much quicker. Of course, the danger she faced there would be worse.

  “You’re worrying.” Ivy traced her fingers over Jack’s strong chest. The scars above his heart, the ones that required surgery because his own partner had betrayed and shot him in Detroit, stood out against his skin. They were part of him, though, and they never bothered her ... except when she thought about how close she’d come to never meeting him.

  “What are you thinking?” Jack asked, studying her face. He could tell she was having a rough morning. Still, he didn’t want to push her. The community service was going to be difficult for both of them.

  “I’m thinking that I’m lucky to have you.”

  “What are you really thinking?”

  “That we might not have met under different circumstances.” Her fingers continued to skim over the scar. “What if you’d decided you didn’t want to come north after you were shot? Do you ever think about that?”

  “No. I knew I needed to get away from the city. I was always going to leave.”

  “You weren’t always going to come here, though. What if you’d gone somewhere else? We wouldn’t have found each other.”

  “I don’t believe that.” He brushed his lips against her forehead. “Some things are meant to be. This is one of those things.” He tightened his grip on her. “I don’t believe there was ever a chance of us not crossing paths.”

  “No.” Ivy smiled as she tilted her chin to stare at him. “That’s kind of nice, huh? I like to think fate plays a part in our lives.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Of course, if you think things are meant to be, that leaves no room for things to change,” she noted. “I mean ... if you can’t change into a better person, or save someone from danger, what’s the point?”

  “Oh, geez.” He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “I didn’t realize you were going to be in a philosophical mood this morning. If I had, I would’ve woken you with kisses and not given you any room to speak.”

  “Ha, ha.” She pinched his flank, causing him to squirm. “I’m just ... thinking about things. I don’t believe that’s necessarily a bad thing.”

  “It’s not,” Jack agreed. “Thinking is awesome ... unless it makes you ruin the few minutes we have together in the morning. Then it’s stupid.”

  “Oh, well, that’s rational.”

  He tickled her ribs, causing her to gasp. “Focus on me,” he instructed. “There’s a moratorium on deep thoughts until your community service is finished.”

  “I don’t remember that being a rule.”

  “Well, it his.” He rested his cheek against her forehead and sighed. “I just want to get through this. The faster you’re finished, the faster we can focus on the wedding. That’s what I want to talk about.”

  “I don’t have much to report about the wedding. We’re still on target for the big day. It’s only a few weeks from now ... and I’ll be totally done with community service by then.”

  “That’s exciting.”

  “Yes. We’re both excited for that.”

  Jack was silent for a beat as he rubbed his fingers up and down her narrow back. “I can’t wait to be your husband,” he whispered, moving his mouth to hers. There was a neediness in the gesture and it stole Ivy’s breath as they sank into the exchange.

  When the finally parted — which was difficult for both of them to manage — they were breathless, eyes wild.

  “We really don’t have time for this,” Jack groaned as he stroked his hand through her hair. “How I wish you weren’t a criminal.”

  She elbowed his stomach and laughed. “What a thing to say to your future wife.”

  “You’re already my wife in my heart, Ivy,” he offered. “I can’t wait until it’s official, though.”

  “Yeah.” She pressed a kiss to his scar and then rolled to her back to stretch. “I need to get ready for community service. I don’t think it will go well for me if I’m late. Greg doesn’t strike me as the understanding sort.”

  “Greg is a jerk,” Jack agreed, propping himself on his elbow as he watched Ivy move toward the bathroom. “If you want, I can drive you to your rendezvous today. That way you don’t have to worry about your car on the highway. I can drop you off and pick you off.”

  “Oh, well, that sounds ... nice.” Ivy hesitated near the bathroom door. “That’s not fair to you, though, especially if you have to be somewhere else to get information for Sasha’s case.”

  Jack narrowed his ey
es. She was a terrible liar. That was one of her claims to fame. “That’s not why you don’t want me to drop you off.”

  She let loose a heavy sigh. She couldn’t withhold the truth from him. They’d promised never to utter big lies to one another. It was a hard and fast rule ... that stuck. “You’re bad for my street cred.”

  He didn’t know whether to laugh or glare. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me.” She wasn’t in the mood for a fight but she recognized she needed to hold her ground on this one. “Those people don’t trust me now that they know my fiancé is a police officer. I don’t want to remind them in case ... well, in case they decide to make my life hard or something.”

  Jack’s heart did a hard roll as he watched her stare at her feet. She was embarrassed she’d brought this into their lives. He understood the emotion, but it was completely unnecessary. “It’s going to be okay,” he reassured her quickly, forcing a smile he didn’t really feel. “We’re going to get through this and then it’s going to be nothing but a funny memory, a story we tell our kids eventually.”

  “Oh, we’re never telling this story to our kids.” Ivy was adamant. “It will give them ideas. I mean ... what if they say things like ‘Mom has been arrested so it’s okay for me to be arrested’? I don’t like that idea one little bit.”

  He barked out a laugh, amused despite himself. “Fine. I’ll never tell.”

  “Good.” She rested her hand on the door, considering. “I’m going to park at Max’s lumberyard today. The spot where we’re meeting is only a quarter of a mile from there. I think it will be convenient.”

  Jack nodded. Max Morgan, Ivy’s brother, would be close enough to keep an eye on her today. That made him feel better ... even if his fiancée didn’t know Jack had put him on the job. He liked that idea. “Okay. I’ll try to leave messages with him if anything important comes up.”

  “That would be nice. I’m actually going to take lunch today. I can’t make it through an entire shift without eating again.”

  “I think it’s smart to take food.” He searched her face for signs of fear and found nothing but resignation. “It’s only a few weeks, honey. We’ve been through a lot worse than this.”

  “I know. I just wish we were already on the other side of this.”

  “We both wish that.”

  “HEY, JAILBIRD.”

  Max was behind the front desk in the main office when Ivy parked at his lumberyard. She was expecting him to make fun of her so the taunt glanced off her shoulder without sticking.

  “You should be nice to me,” she chided. “I’ve been hardened by the system. I now know how to shank people.”

  Instead of laughing, Max frowned. “Please tell me people aren’t threatening you.”

  “It’s been fine ... other than finding a body yesterday.”

  “That was you?” Max’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t be serious.”

  “It wasn’t technically me,” she clarified. “It was my group, though. One of the guys felt the call of nature and found her.”

  “That’s ... lovely.” Max made a face. “They should at least have respectable facilities for you guys to use.”

  “I’m pretty sure, when you’re on probation, respect goes out the window.” For a moment, Ivy considered wallowing in self-pity. That wasn’t who she was, though. She wanted to take her punishment with as much dignity and respect as she could muster. Besides, if she whined to Max, he would say something to Jack. It wasn’t that he was a tattletale as much as a worried brother. He would assume Jack could do something to fix things — which he couldn’t — which would result in Jack ultimately feeling worse than he already did. Ivy didn’t want that.

  “I’m fine,” she reassured Max. “Honestly, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. There are some women there who are actually kind of funny.”

  “Criminals.”

  Ivy shot him a quelling look. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m a criminal.”

  “You saved Maisie’s life. The fact that you were even charged under those circumstances makes me furious.”

  “Yes, well ... it is what it is.” She held her hands out and shrugged. “I have to do what I have to do.”

  “I guess.” Max didn’t look convinced, but he cracked a smile. “It’s really upped my street cred to say I have a sister in the system, so thank you for that. People all over town are afraid of me.”

  That was enough to pull a genuine smile from Ivy. “How lovely for you. I used the term ‘street cred’ with Jack earlier. It must be a family thing.”

  Max snorted. “Yes, we’re total geeks.” He sobered as he regarded his sister. She wore khaki pants and a staid shirt, so different from her normal wardrobe of ankle-length skirts and peasant blouses. She didn’t look like herself. “I really am sorry this is happening to you.”

  “I know. It’s okay, though. I really do like the women I’m working with. They’re even entertaining at times.”

  “They’re not violent, are they?”

  Ivy shook her head. “Pot, credit card fraud, and drunk driving.”

  “Well, I guess it could be worse.” His smile was back. “You should carry pizza in your pocket. That way, if the pothead becomes violent, you have something at the ready to distract her.”

  “Oh, what a good idea.” Ivy rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I’m here for a reason. I have to meet my crew about a quarter of a mile down the road. I was hoping I could leave my car here so I don’t have to park it on the shoulder and risk it being hit.”

  “That’s fine.” Concern etched Max’s face. “Can I bring you lunch or something? I mean, is that allowed? I’ll go all out and get you whatever you want.”

  “That’s sweet, but I’m technically not allowed to interact with people outside the system while I’m working. There was a big thing when Jack turned up on the scene yesterday.”

  “Oh, geez.” Max shook his dark head. “Now they know you’re engaged to a cop, huh? They’re going to give you endless grief over that.”

  “They’ve already started, although I think it’s going to be worse now that everyone has had a night to think it over. It will be okay, though. I think my crew chief is more upset than anybody else.”

  Max didn’t like the sound of that one bit. “Maybe you should ask Jack to make a call. Maybe he can get you transferred.”

  “I’m pretty sure Jack has called in every favor owed to him as it is. Actually, I’m fairly certain that Brian has called in a few, too. That’s how I got off so light in the first place. Neither of them have said anything — they wouldn’t want that getting out — but it’s become fairly obvious.”

  Max was horrified. “You mean it could’ve been worse?”

  “A lot worse. As for lunch, I brought my own.” She held up the small bag she had clutched in her hand. “Just peanut butter, but it will be enough to get me through the afternoon.”

  “That’s not enough food,” Max complained. “Let me pick you up something. I can hide in the bushes and give it to you when nobody is looking.”

  The picture Max painted in her mind was enough to make Ivy laugh. “Yeah, then you’ll end up working right beside me.”

  To Max, that didn’t sound like a bad idea. “Maybe we should try that. I mean ... it can’t hurt, right? I’ll get in minor trouble and then we’ll be chain gang siblings. Mom and Dad will be able to lord it over all their friends in Florida. No one else will be able to claim that about their kids.”

  Ivy pinned him with a pointed look. “Um, no. I think you should keep your nose clean. In a few weeks, this will be nothing more than a funny story we tell when drunk at Christmas.”

  “I guess.” Max rubbed his chin, thoughtful. “People are saying that it was Sasha Carmichael. Is that true?”

  Ivy nodded, grim. “It was. Jack thinks she might’ve been hit by a car, but they’re not certain. They have to wait for confirmation from the medical examiner.”

  “That is a complete and total bummer. She was alway
s a nice girl. I was considering dating her before I met Amy.”

  Before Max met Amy, he dated pretty much everyone. Ivy was certain that trend would continue forever when the pretty blonde appeared out of nowhere and knocked her brother for a loop. Now they were inseparable, and Ivy was fairly certain they would stay that way. Hearing her brother mention his previous dating habits seemed somehow jarring despite the fact that he’d only been with Amy for a few months.

  “I think we’re all glad it didn’t come to that.” She clapped him on the shoulder. “I need to get going. I don’t want to be dinged for being late. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Yeah. Um, Ivy?” Max was unnaturally serious. “If you need help down there, don’t hesitate to call.”

  “My phone is locked in my car. I can’t have it with me for work.”

  Fury lit Max’s handsome features. “Then scream. I’ll have my superhero hearing on. I’ll know if you need me.”

  It was a ludicrous thing to say, but Ivy smiled all the same. “Thanks for that. Somehow I think I’ll survive, though.”

  “I’m your brother. I want to make sure of that.”

  “You’re a good brother.”

  “I am.”

  Ivy chuckled. “A good brother with a teeny-tiny ego.”

  “That’s the best sort of brother to have.”

  JACK AND BRIAN WERE AT THE MEDICAL examiner’s office right when it opened. Danny Brady, one of the chief pathologists on the county’s team, was barely two sips into his first cup of coffee when they pushed into the lab.

  “I should’ve known you guys would be here with the sun,” he complained, shaking his head. “You know what? If you’re going to be here so early, the least you could do is bring me a doughnut or something.”

  “We’ll remember that for next time,” Brian said dryly. “We need an update on Sasha Carmichael. You didn’t send a report last night.”

  “That’s because I wasn’t ready to send a report,” Brady replied. “I wasn’t ready to deliver a determination.”