Recovering Ivy

by Riley Edwards

  “And Erin? Where is she now?”

  “When I left the White House, Gerald was sitting on her.”

  “What does Tom want you to do? And has he seen these?” I asked and held up the file.

  “Fuck no, I didn’t show him those. I don’t think either of us want to see him impeached and charged with murder. He wants me back in DC to babysit.”

  I watched Colin closely. He was the most laid back, earning him the nickname Cool Breeze. But he didn’t look laid back now; he looked conflicted.

  “Jesus Christ, this is a shit sandwich. Do you want me to send in Declan so you don’t have to deal with her? I’m sure she’ll fixate on him in no time and you’ll be off the hook. Hell, Dec hasn’t been laid in years, being undercover and all. Maybe he can tame her ass so she doesn’t feel the need to run out and get some strange…”

  “Don’t fucking say it, LT. Swear to Christ, I’ve had it with the woman. She’s driving me crazy. The last thing she needs to do is fuck Declan…”

  “Who shouldn’t fuck me?” Declan asked, walking in on Colin’s outburst.

  “No one,” Colin seethed. “I’ll go back up to DC this afternoon if you don’t need me on the Forester case.”

  I almost felt sorry for the guy. Erin had him tied in knots. I wished I could tell him to go for it; he obviously cared for her. The line between lust and hate was razor thin, and I didn’t think Colin knew which side he fell on. Unfortunately for him, Erin was the President’s daughter. I didn’t think Tom would take kindly to one of my men banging his beloved little girl.

  “You good?” I asked.

  “Five by five,” he answered.

  There was nothing fine about him. I wondered if I should call and brief the President about Erin’s infatuation with Colin, but I thought better of it. Better to let the chips fall where they may.

  20

  Ivy

  I was elbow deep in the refrigerator when the door to the kitchenette opened. The first thing that happened was goose bumps had raised on my arms, and it had nothing to do with the cool air from the fridge. The second was my body caught fire at the smell of his cologne.

  Damn, my man smelled good.

  My man.

  I’d never thought of any guy as mine before; I liked it.

  “What are you doing?” Zane asked.

  “Cleaning out the science experiments,” I told him. “For as healthy as you all are, you’re all slobs. I don’t think anyone is interested in eating moldy cantaloupe.”

  “It’s not your job to clean up after the guys. I have a cleaning crew,” he informed me.

  “Well, they suck at throwing away old food. Besides, I’m bored, and I don’t mind pitching in.”

  His hand went to my lower back before he caressed my ass. The food was forgotten, and I stood to face him.

  “Sorry we’re here on a Saturday.” He closed the refrigerator and pushed my back against it, caging me in. “I’ll only be a few hours, then we’ll get out of here and I promise to make it up to you.”

  This morning when he told me we had to come to the office I didn’t bother protesting. After seeing my mother yesterday, I didn’t want to take the chance of another run in, especially after what she said about Forester wanting me. We still hadn’t fully discussed what she’d said, and I didn’t want to. I wanted to pretend Sarah hadn’t swooped in and shattered my heart again.

  “I understand. You have to work,” I told him.

  “I’d rather be home, alone with you.” His mouth lowered to mine and, just like every time he touched me, it hit me like a tornado. My heart thundered, and my mind was lost in the whirlwind of emotion. I thought I’d been doing alright strolling through life, but after the first time Zane kissed me, I realized I spent my life numb and unfeeling. “I love your mouth. You taste like heaven,” he whispered against my lips. “You’re dangerous, Ivy. You make me want to forget the world and get lost in you.”

  My pounding heart skipped a few beats before it resumed the fast rhythm. I wanted Zane to see me, the real me, not the trash my mother had convinced me I was.

  “I feel the same way. I feel alive when you’re near. For the first time in my life I feel something other than defeat. I’m scared.”

  “What scares you?” he asked, not taking his hands from my hair where he’d tangled his fingers through the strands.

  “You. Us. Disappointing you. You figuring out I’m not worth it and leaving me. Falling in love with you.”

  “I need you to open your eyes and look at me.” I hadn’t realized I closed them, and now I was afraid to open them. When I did, Zane’s face was free of the social mask he normally wore. “Together, we’ll figure this out.” He pulled his right hand out of my hair and grabbed my hands. Bringing them to his chest, he held our intertwined fingers over his heart. “Honest to God, I’ve never felt anything close to what I feel when I’m with you. When I touch you, Ivy, everything makes sense. When I touch my lips to yours the demons quiet, and when I slide inside of you… Jesus… my heart finally beats. I’m fucking crazy about you. Relax, and let’s enjoy where we're going. Just let it happen.” His hand tightened and he dropped his forehead to mine. “Fall in love with me, baby. I’ll catch you.”

  “It’s a long fall, Zane. I’m scared I’ll never recover if you’re not waiting for me,” I admitted.

  “I’m waiting. Take a chance. Go big or go home, sweetheart. We can do this.”

  This was it, I had to jump. Take a chance and believe Zane would be there.

  “My ride or die, huh?”

  “Ride or die, sweets. I’ve got you.”

  “I’m ready,” I whispered and came up on my tiptoes so I could reach his mouth. “Please catch me.”

  He didn’t answer verbally. Instead, he took my mouth in one of his sin-soaked kisses that made my knees weak. It was a good thing he was holding me up, because I was ready to melt into a puddle of lust on the floor in the kitchenette.

  A throat was cleared and Zane broke the kiss and took a breath.

  “What?”

  “Sorry to interrupt, but Olivia and Violet are here to see Ivy,” Garrett said from the doorway.

  Now it was my turn to ask, “What?”

  “Fuck me,” Zane muttered. “I can tell them to leave if you don’t want to meet them.”

  “Why are they here?” I asked.

  “Because they’re nosey…” Zane let the statement hang before he continued. “Because I’m sure Leo and Jaxon called their women and told them about you and they’re curious. I wish I could warn you away from them, but the truth is they’re good women. Except Loose Lips, she still has some shit to make up for, namely calling me cute.”

  “I said your dimples were cute, asswipe,” a woman said.

  “Nice.” Zane chuckled before he looked over his shoulder. “Glad to see you’re finally coming out of your shell, Violet.”

  “Well, I figure if you get to have a nickname for me, I should have one for you. Asswipe seems fitting. Though I will admit I had plenty of more colorful ones for you when we first met.”

  Zane laughed and turned, tucking me into his side.

  “Ivy, this is Violet, Jaxon’s woman.” He pointed toward a beautiful brunette woman and then to a pregnant blonde and continued. “That is Olivia, Leo’s wife.”

  My God, could these two be any more stunning? I was plain and average looking on my best day but next to these women I looked like a gutter rat, especially in my ripped-up jeans and plain black fitted tee. They were both in stylish outfits, complete with accessories and hair done nicely. If I’d known there was going to be a meet and greet I would’ve at least tried to look halfway decent.

  “Sorry to barge in on you. We were at some hoity-toity luncheon thing for my father and thought we’d stop by and see if you wanted to go to the mall with us,” the blonde one, Olivia, asked.

  I didn’t know who her father was, but if they had to dress to the nines to go to lunch with him she had to come from money. I hated to
sound like a reverse snob, but I had nothing in common with rich people and tended to get tongue-tied and sound like an idiot.

  “Jesus, that sounded pretentious. I hate having to get dressed up and put on the whole dog and pony show. I promise we both have a change of clothes in the car. I am in desperate need of greasy mall food and an extra-large Coke.” Olivia smiled.

  “Water. Tesorino, you’re not supposed to drink soda,” Leo said, entering the conversation.

  “The doctor said I could still have one a day, Mr. Bossy. I plan on having one. Besides, after lunch with the DC crowd I deserve an alcoholic drink, but I’ll settle for a soda,” she said, placing her hand on her hip.

  “A small,” he countered.

  “A medium.”

  “Fine. Come here and give me a kiss. I gotta roll.”

  She walked over to Leo and gave him a soft lip touch. “I love you. Be safe.”

  “Always, Tesorino.” Then he looked at Zane. “I gotta lead. I’ll call you from the road.”

  “Roger that,” Zane said.

  “Anyway.” Violet rolled her eyes and said, “So the mall? You up for shopping?”

  “Negative,” Zane answered for me.

  “Zane! Don’t be rude.”

  “Baby, you’re not going to the mall.”

  I knew I couldn’t go to the mall with Sarah lurking around. I would die a thousand deaths if she found me and had one of her episodes in front of Olivia and Violet, but I didn’t like being bossed around.

  “Says who?” I asked.

  “Says me. You can go to the mall and shop ‘til your heart’s content after the douchebag and his sidekick are behind bars. Until then? It’s a no-go.”

  “What if Garrett or Linc goes with us?” I was grasping at straws but I wasn’t ready to concede without a fight.

  “Garrett has work to do and Linc doesn’t know what the inside of the mall looks like.”

  “What if…”

  “No,” he cut me off.

  “Stop talking over me. You don’t even know what I was going to say. You’re being unreasonable.”

  “About your safety and mental wellbeing - goddamn right I am. Just no, Ivy. I’d prefer not to spend a few hours in lockup on a Saturday afternoon while my team gets bail money together. And that is exactly what would happen if that bitch comes around you again.”

  “Ahh, I knew under all that gruff there was a sweetheart hiding,” Violet said. “I’ve changed my mind. Your new nickname isn’t asswipe - it’s sweetcakes.”

  “Jaxon!” Zane billowed.

  “Yo.” Jaxon walked into the kitchenette, grabbed Violet around the waist, and kissed the top of her head.

  “Get your woman out of here. And if she ever calls me sweetcakes again, I’m shooting someone. Probably you because you can’t control your woman. Christ, I knew it was a bad idea when my men started collecting women.”

  “Stop being an ass.” I smacked him on his stomach. “And don’t threaten to shoot people. It’s not nice and makes you sound like a dick.”

  “Baby, I am a dick,” he told me.

  He kind of was. Especially now, telling Jaxon he couldn’t control his woman.

  “Did you call Zane sweetcakes?” Jaxon asked, laughing.

  “Sure did.” Violet smiled.

  “Jesus, woman, you’re loopy.” Jaxon may have been teasing Violet, but the look of affection could not be missed. “Colin wanted me to tell you he won’t be by for dinner tonight; he had to go back to DC.”

  “Well, damn. I invited the girl I’d met at the gym over to meet him,” Violet pouted. “She would be perfect for him.”

  “Baby, I think Colin has more on his plate than he can handle. Let’s chill on the matchmaking,” Jaxon told her.

  “Fine. But if he doesn’t spill his guts soon about this mystery woman that has him turned inside out or quit refusing dates, I’m gonna parade strippers in front of him until he breaks.”

  “Fuck,” Zane huffed.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Nothing.” Then he leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I’ll tell you later.” Then addressing the people in the room again, he said, “Ivy cannot go in public without a guard. Everyone has shit to do. The sooner that shit is done, the sooner she’ll be free to go out alone. So, I’m not pulling one of my men off the case. But if you want, I’ll drop her at our house and the two of you can meet her there.”

  “Our house?” Violet asked before she smiled. “Nice.”

  “Don’t start, Loose Lips,” Zane said.

  “I’ve never been to Zane’s penthouse,” Olivia commented. “I wanna see it.”

  “Jesus. Now people are gonna think they can just come by for a stop and chat,” he grouched.

  I suddenly realized I had yet to address either of the women directly.

  “Hi, I’m Ivy. It’s nice to meet you both,” I said. “I’d love some company if you wouldn’t mind putting your mall plans on hold.”

  “Sweet. We’ll grab takeout and meet you there,” Olivia said. “We need your address.”

  “I know where they live,” Violet happily supplied.

  “Christ,” Zane muttered.

  “You use the Lord’s name in vain a lot,” I complained.

  “And…” he prompted.

  “And nothing. Merely an observation.” I smiled.

  “This is so awesome.” Violet turned to Jaxon. “See you at home later?”

  “Absolutely.” He winked and kissed her forehead.

  It hit me as I was standing in the small space, something I’d never experienced firsthand before. Adoration and respect. Seeing the way Leo had been with Olivia, loving and protective. Jaxon was tender with Violet. Even Zane, for all of his wicked sharp edges, was sweet to me and in his own way had shown me over and over how much he cared, a stark contrast to the dealers and addicts my mother had brought around. Their idea of affection was another hit of dope.

  21

  Zane

  Declan and I had scoped out the warehouse Forester had rented. It was in a shit area and I was happy to see he’d gone the extra mile and set up security cameras on the outside of the building. It had taken Garrett two-point-five seconds to hack into his system and disable the feed after he’d downloaded the last months’ worth of footage.

  “Ready for a little B and E?” I asked.

  “Hell, yeah.”

  We made our way around the building to a side door and had both the deadbolt and the door lock picked in under a minute.

  “Fucking amateur,” Declan said when I opened the door.

  The many windows that ran along the wall near the ceiling provided enough light we didn’t need to turn on the overhead fluorescent fixtures. The warehouse wasn’t very big, a single story with one open floor. There was a palate of backpacks and one with corrugated boxes.

  “Something's not right. He’s not making his drugs here. There’s not even tables,” Declan noted.

  I walked to the stack of boxes and found one that had been opened. I reached in and pulled out a clear plastic tube of tennis balls. “What the fuck?”

  “Tennis balls?” He peeked in the box before he stopped and counted. “Twelve boxes of tennis balls? Something's not right.”

  My phone vibrated in my pocket. When I pulled it out and entered my security code, a message from Garrett appeared.

  “Time to roll. Inbound. ETA three minutes,” I told him.

  “There’s nothing here anyway,” he said, grabbing a plastic tube of balls and following me to the door.

  Declan and I made our way out of the building, not bothering to lock the deadbolt. We watched from behind a nearby dumpster as Forester exited his car and a woman dressed in business attire stepped out of the passenger side. This woman was well put together, nothing like his normal companions. They made their way into the building and disappeared inside.

  “Fuck, it smells back here,” Declan complained. “I sent Garrett her picture.” he told me and pocketed his phone. “
If I had to guess, I’d say she’s the pimp, way too classy to be his woman.”

  “I’d say you’re right, only she’d call herself a madam or some shit equally as…” Before I could finish my sentence, Forester and the woman came back out of the warehouse at a fast clip, both carrying boxes. Neither spoke and neither looked happy.

  “They’re in a hurry,” Declan whispered. Once the boxes were loaded into the back seat, they got in and Forester pulled out of the alley. “What the hell was that?”

  “Fuck if I know. Come on.”

  We jogged out to the street where we left my car. By the time we got in, Garrett had sent Declan a workup on our mystery woman.

  “Barbara Chase, forty-nine, priors include: solicitation, pandering, possession. And those are only in the last ten years. Before that she has: theft, B and E, assault, and grand theft auto.”

  “Isn’t she a gem?” I commented. “Did he find a connection to Forester?”

  “Not yet. Garrett is still working on it. Home address is in Grasonville. She has a business registered, Illusions, LLC, office address is in Edgewater. Pulling up the website now.” After a few beats Declan continued, “It says they are a fantasy fulfillment agency. Only thing listed is a phone number to book your illusion.”

  “Well, if that doesn’t sound like a call-girl service I don’t know what does.”

  I pulled away from the curb and headed in the direction of the office before I changed my mind and flipped a U-turn.

  “I think we need to have another chat with Destiny.”

  “What the fuck? We can’t just show up at her house. Forester might have someone on her and her kid is there.”

  “Do I look like I’m wet behind the ears?”

  A few minutes later we pulled into a nice, quiet, well-kept neighborhood not far from where Linc and Jasmin lived. The houses in this area would be far out of the price range of a single working mother.

  “Who pays for the house?” I asked Declan.