Wicked Fog (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 6)
Page 20
Brad made a ton of noise as he barreled through the trees, causing Ivy to shrink back as he grew closer. Jack waited until the exact right moment and then he extended his arm, clotheslining Brad and causing him to gasp as he flew back in the other direction.
Jack was quick as he moved forward, pressing his foot to Brad’s wrist and making sure the knife could go nowhere as he leveled his gun on the disoriented firefighter and pursed his lips. It took Brad a moment to realize what happened.
“You,” Brad muttered. “How did you find us?”
“It wasn’t hard,” Jack replied. “I simply followed my heart.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Of course you don’t,” Jack said. “You don’t understand what it means to love someone.”
The sound of voices on the road caught Ivy’s attention and she hurried in that direction, waving her arms when she caught sight of Brian flashing a light into the trees. “Down here! Jack has him. Come quick.”
Brian broke into a run when he saw her, giving Ivy a cursory once-over before hurrying to his partner’s side. He widened his eyes when he realized exactly who Jack had on the ground. “Seriously?”
“It gets worse,” Ivy volunteered. “Karen is in the woods. She’s his partner and the baby is his.”
“I … .” Brian worked his jaw and then nodded. “Okay. We’ve got this. Ivy, go down to the nursery. Your father and Max are about to have a fit. We’ll handle this and then … well, I have no idea what. It’s definitely going to be a long night, though.”
Ivy cast a worried look at Jack. The last thing she wanted to do was leave him.
“Go, honey,” Jack prodded. “You’re cold and need to warm up. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Do you promise?”
“I promise.”
MAX poured two mugs of hot chocolate into Ivy and wrapped her feet in his gym socks – which she did not appreciate – before Jack made his way back to the nursery an hour later. After news spread about what happened in the woods, everyone packed up their kids and left. The only ones remaining were Max, Michael, and Ivy.
The second Ivy saw Jack, she broke away from Max and raced toward him. She threw her arms around his neck and relished the way he tugged her to him. He lifted her off the ground as he petted the back of her head and locked gazes with Michael.
“Thank you for watching her.”
“She’s my daughter,” Michael said. “I think that’s my job.”
“Well, I’m going to relieve you of your duty for the rest of the night.”
Michael widened his eyes. “Don’t you have to go into the station?”
“Brian is handling it,” Jack replied, refusing to relinquish his grip on Ivy. “We’re not going to question them until tomorrow, so I actually have plenty of time. I just want some time alone with Ivy, if that’s okay, I mean.”
“I understand,” Michael said, smiling. “She’s been a real pain since being separated from you. We tried to get her to go back to the house, but she refused. She wanted to be close and knew you would come here first.”
“That’s why she’s my girl,” Jack said, smiling as he rubbed his cheek against Ivy’s soft skin and not speaking again until Max and Michael were out of earshot. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Ivy said. “He didn’t touch me other than to drag me through the woods. He took such a weird trek I kind of got lost.”
“Well, thankfully for you, he wasn’t good about covering his tracks,” Jack said. “I saw his car hidden in the trees. I played a hunch that he would come out of the woods there. I guess it paid off.”
“I guess so.” Ivy pressed her eyes shut as she basked in Jack’s warmth. The night air was cold, but she didn’t care. “Thank you for coming after me.”
“I love you, Ivy,” Jack said. “I will always find a way to you.”
Ivy sucked in a breath at the words. She heard him when he was by the trees, but it didn’t sink in until they were separated. She couldn’t believe he was saying it twice in one night. “I love you, too.”
“I know you do,” Jack said, rocking her gently. “I’m sorry this happened at your favorite time of year. Now you’re probably going to have bad memories.”
“No. Now I have the best memory ever thanks to you. I wasn’t sure if you felt that way and then … .”
“Oh, honey, I’ve felt that way since the beginning,” Jack said, pulling his head back so he could stare into her eyes. “I worried you didn’t feel it either. Looking at you now, that was stupid. I guess we were stupid together, huh?”
“I like to think of myself as a genius.”
Jack chuckled. “That’s because you’re an amazing woman,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to her mouth. “Do you want to go home?”
Ivy nodded. “We can celebrate our love.”
Jack grinned. “That sounds like the best thing ever.”
“But … what about Brad and Karen?” Ivy was torn. “Do you have all of the answers you need?”
“Karen pretty much owned up to everything because she wants to cut a deal and blame Brad,” Jack replied. “This whole thing is going to take some time to sort out. It’s not going to happen tonight, though. Tonight is for you and me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Honey, I’ve never been more sure of anything in my entire life,” Jack said. “I love you. I want to be with you. We’ll leave the rest of the world until tomorrow.”
“You had me at love.”
“We both have each other to love,” Jack clarified. “Nothing is going to change that … and I refuse to be afraid to say what’s in my heart. From now on, I’m going to tell everyone I see that I love you.”
Ivy giggled. “That sounds nice.”
“Good,” Jack said, hoisting her up so she had no choice but to wrap her legs around his waist. “Let’s go be in love, shall we?”
“And that’s why this is still my favorite time of year.”
“Mine, too, honey. Mine, too.”
Ivy still had no idea if the new ability was tied to the Blood Moon or if it was something that would fade now that Brad was in custody, but she found she didn’t have the energy to worry about it. Jack loved her. She loved him. They were in love with each other. That was the most important thing.
Jack was right. The rest could be dealt with at a later time. For now, all they needed was each other.
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Acknowledgments
I’m a romantic at heart. A true romantic. I love the idea of a happy ending, so much so I have trouble writing a sad one. The world is sad enough. I like escaping in fiction. That’s just me. I like sarcasm and snark – but I’m not sure a sad ending is in me. If you’re looking for an edge like that, you’re probably looking in the wrong place. Just FYI.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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