Watercolor Hearts

by Sutton Shields

  “Excuse me,” said Blake, approaching the doctor. “You’re the physician tending to Ivy Raynott, yes?”

  “Dr. Jonas Mirran,” said the doctor, extending his hand to Blake and myself. “Friends of hers?”

  “We’re family,” I said quickly and truthfully. We had become every bit the family, warts and all.

  “Ah, so you must be the love-struck jerk and little gnat I’ve heard so much about,” said Doctor Mirran.

  Blake grinned and nodded. “I suppose that’s a semi-accurate description of me,” he said, slipping his arm around my waist.

  “And I’d be the gnat.”

  “Nice to meet you both,” said the doctor. “Lucky for you, I don’t own a fly swat.”

  “Good to know.” I quite liked this hot doctor, and though my matchmaking skills weren’t exactly stellar, if I could get Ivy to comply, I’d set her up with this man in a heartbeat. “Is Ivy going to be okay?”

  “She will be, yes. Miss Raynott suffered significant bruising to the face, two fractured ribs, and a fractured foot. Despite these injuries, I hear she put up a helluva fight. I imagine her attacker didn’t figure Ivy for a fighter.”

  “Ivy has been a fighter her whole life,” said Blake.

  “That I can believe,” said Jonas. “Within five minutes of meeting her, I knew I’d have to ratchet my brain up a notch and wear protective armor.” He paused for a moment, his eyes full of intrigue and admiration for our fallen member. “Anyway, you’re free to go on in, if you’d like. Just a few minutes, though. She needs rest.”

  “Thank you, doctor,” said Blake.

  Blake and I headed into Ivy’s room. I took a deep breath before rounding the corner in an effort to keep from gasping or making any noise that might upset Ivy. Unfortunately, my attempt at keeping the sound effects under control unwittingly disarmed my facial expressions.

  “You can erase the horrified look off your face any second now,” growled Ivy.

  Ivy’s beautiful face had suffered so badly that one eye was completely shut. There had always been an infallible quality to Ivy, and to see her so vulnerable shook me to my core. Although, I had to admit, even with her swollen, bruised face, elevated foot, and busted lip, Ivy rocked the hospital look with that rare combination of grace and ferocity.

  I glanced over at a mess of glass and plastic on the floor clear across the room from Ivy’s bed. Pointing to it, I said, “Temper tantrum?”

  Dismissively waving her bandaged hand, Ivy said, “That bastard doctor had the gall to bring me a mirror so I could see my glorious new look your face finds so horrifying. I didn’t prefer.” After just the right amount of pause-time, she added, “And Jesus Christ and all things that will send my soul to hell, what in the name of God are you wearing? You’re offending my working eyeball.”

  “Uh, just wearing a t-shirt and…pajama bottoms,” I said. Ivy couldn’t have groaned any louder. “When we heard about what happened, we just wanted to get here straight away.”

  “Clearly, and with little-to-no thought given to the headache polka dots and inferior fabrics would cause me.” Ivy clenched her good fist and focused on her boss. “Now, Blake, I need your help with a tiny little matter.”

  “Anything,” replied Blake, his jaw tight.

  “Get me out of this germ-breeding cesspool of death,” she said, her voice just shy of panicked.

  “It’s a hospital,” I said. “Sanitary is kind of mandatory.”

  “Which is exactly why I want the hell out. Everyone knows you’re more likely to catch some murderous germ in one of these hell holes than in the middle of a biological warfare apocalypse thing,” she said, emphatically believing every extreme thought worming about her mind.

  “Who’s everyone? The underground people who commune with the aliens?” I teased.

  Giving me at least one good stink eye, Ivy muttered, “Aren’t you hilarious?”

  “Ivy has a hospital phobia,” Blake supplied.

  “It’s not a damn phobia if it’s real. Once you’re under the control of the white coats, they make it their priority to drain you or your insurance company of as much money as possible. Don’t you find it a little odd that a woman goes in to pop out a bawling brat and ends up with the flesh-eating disease and a future of crappy diapers? The whole thing is a conspiracy,” said Ivy.

  “You sound like a lunatic,” said Blake.

  “Well, thank you…now get me the hell out of here.”

  “I will as soon as I can. Until then, Ivy, what happened tonight?” asked Blake.

  “Hmm, let’s see, where shall I start? Isn’t it obvious? I got the crap beat out of me,” groaned Ivy.

  “Details, Ivy,” Blake softly demanded.

  “Left the party. Fooled around with Mankazian’s nephew. After that, the limo dropped him off at his place. Of course, he wanted me to come up for a little more of, well, me. But, to be honest, he’s got the most pathetic technique.” Blake cleared his throat, and I stifled a laugh. “Anyway, I turned him down and the limo took me home, as usual. When I unlocked the door to my apartment, some jackass jumped me from behind.”

  “Did you see him or remember anything specific?” asked Blake.

  “Didn’t see a damn thing. It was a dark mess of flailing limbs. As far as anything specific, there’s nothing I can recall.” The shadow of a small smile tried to curl the less bruised side of Ivy’s face. “At least I got a few good shots in and one really classic kick in the nuts. I do know one thing, I will find the son of a bitch who succeeded in putting me in this godforsaken place, rip off his balls, and donate them to the local polo club.”

  “You know, I believe her,” I said.

  “From what I hear, Pike had a similar encounter,” said Ivy.

  Whoa. What? “Pike? Pike was attacked?” I asked, alarmed.

  Blake exhaled loudly. “Happened just outside his apartment building. Greg informed me earlier on the phone. I didn’t want to worry you any more than you already were.”

  “Aww, isn’t that sweet. I might vomit,” muttered Ivy.

  “Blake…if someone’s targeting the team…” I said, knowing in all likelihood it would be due to my presence. I mean, what are the odds I would see the man who killed my parents, get assaulted within minutes, then learn that two more of us were attacked, all on the same night? The correlation was simply too strong.

  Blake didn’t respond, but in his eyes I saw deep contemplation, concern, and a lurking rage I found myself hoping to see unleash on whoever was behind these attacks.

  Ivy, not picking up on the underlying communication between Blake and I, said flippantly, “I’d be more concerned if Ty or you had been attacked. Greg, of course, wouldn’t be in harm’s way since the little vampire never sees the sun.”

  Blake was about to break the news of my attack to Ivy when a plump, older nurse with a kind smile and bright red hair popped into the room. “Well, how are we doing tonight?”

  Ivy wasn’t having any of the nurse’s cheer. “I can’t see out one eye, breathing is a struggle, and then there’s the negative thread count of these bed sheets to deal with, so…what do you think?”

  The nurse maintained her happy countenance. “They told me you were a challenging little thing!” She chuckled merrily. “I’m Nurse Ann, and I’ll be taking some blood from you tonight.”

  Oh, poor Nurse Ann. She was about to get a full dose of Ivy-isms. “Nurse Ann, is it? Right, well, one of your demon cohorts already stabbed and sucked my veins earlier, so here’s a thought: use the blood you already drained from me.”

  Despite a slight hesitation, Nurse Ann maintained her sunny disposition. “Oh, I know it isn’t fun, but I promise it will be quick and over with before you know it. And tomorrow you’ll be on the road to better things. You just focus on tomorrow, and I’ll get this all done.”

  Ivy smiled. To Nurse Ann, her smile was a sign that Ivy was about to cave; to anyone who knew Ivy, that grin was a big, flashing, fluorescent warning sign to either slap on
some armor or run for your life. “Maybe I’m not making myself clear.” With some difficulty, Ivy pushed herself up a bit, fixing her pillows to better support her back. “There will be no more blood taken from this body for the duration of my stay. To my knowledge, I still own my body and therefore call the shots on what is and isn’t done to it. If you insist on arguing, I keep a wonderful attorney on retainer. He’s meaner than a rabid dog on steroids. Interested?”

  “But Doctor Mirran ordered…well, I…not especially, dear,” said Nurse Ann, flustered.

  “Then I suggest you take your sunshiny tomorrow b.s. and trot on out of here, Annie, before you find your bottom dollar being snatched up by my lawyer,” said Ivy as pleasantly as you could imagine.

  Nurse Ann, completely crestfallen, muttered, “I’ll have to get Doctor Mirran.”

  “Yeah, you do that,” said Ivy as Nurse Ann waddled from the room as fast as she could.

  “Jesus, Ivy, the poor woman was only trying to do her job.” As hard as Blake tried to sound reproving, he simply couldn’t, not with Ivy, and especially not with her in such a state.

  “She’ll get over it. People who insist on shining sunlight out their asses always bounce back. It’s annoying as hell. When someone like me gets the rare opportunity to snuff out someone so cheery, you don’t pass it up. Now, then…gnat, get my mind off being in a hospital—what the hell happened to you tonight? Were you afraid of the dark again? Must I attach inflated glow-in-the-dark condoms to Blake’s head everywhere we go? Or maybe you have a hidden fear of fake thunder and lame candy rain.”

  “Uh, none of the above,” I said, sneaking a glance at Blake. I wasn’t ready for everyone to know my history, not yet.

  Recognizing my hesitation, Blake quickly said, “Maggie was attacked at the party.”

  Ivy was silent for a long moment, staring at me. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I was just…rattled,” I said.

  “I didn’t hear you being attacked.” Ivy’s tone was bordering on guilt. “Did you hear anything?” she asked Blake.

  Blake shook his head. “No. The screaming guests, coupled with Blair’s ‘storm’ drowned just about everything out.” Even Blake sounded guilty.

  No way was I going to let these two brave friends feel guilty on my accord. “And I was too shocked to actually say anything or call for help. Look, Blair’s faux storm made it nearly impossible for any of you to hear what was going on around me.”

  Ivy growled, “Effing Blair.”

  You know how the giggle bug always seemed to bite at the most inappropriate moment? Yeah, well, it just bit me. Blake observed me with an amused smirk, while Ivy drummed her fingers on the bed.

  “Enjoy the laughs while you can, doll,” Ivy warned.

  “Is there a sudden shortage of laughs I’m unaware of?” I asked in between chuckles.

  “In a way,” said Ivy. “I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet.”

  “Figured what out exactly?”

  Pointing to her face, she said, “You’ve just been named our new lure.”

  And just like that, Ivy’s words eviscerated the giggle bug.

  Ivy released a satisfied sigh. “I never tire of being right all the time.”

  *****

  Headquarters. Blake and I left Ivy in the midst of another spirited argument with her handsome doctor and headed to Manx headquarters. Upon arriving at the hub—taking care we entered separately, through different buildings on the block—we found Greg practically killing his keyboard, his hair sticking up in all directions, Ty pacing, and Pike holding an ice pack on his left cheek, while another sat in his lap.

  Blake stopped cold when he saw Pike. With a furrowed brow and narrowed eyes, he carefully studied his battered cohort’s injuries. “Pike,” said Blake expectantly.

  Pike removed the ice pack, revealing a decent size cut just above his left eye and some reddening of his cheek and jaw. “Male, skilled fighter, about Ty’s height. Once he realized I was a more skilled opponent, the dude fled. I chased him as far as that pizza joint down the way from my apartment, but I lost him up an alley. Figured it’d be a bad idea to follow him, just in case it was a trap and he had help hiding around there.”

  “Smart decision,” said Blake, turning to Ty. “And you didn’t have any trouble?”

  Ty crossed his arms. “No, but then I didn’t go home. I met up with Vanessa…came straight here when I got the call from Greg.”

  Pike snorted and shook his head. “Jesus. Lucky break for you, hooking back up with Vanessa…tonight of all nights.”

  Ty frowned at Pike, cocking his head.

  “Greg, any video surveillance from Ivy’s building or Pike’s?”

  Being a fairly even keel guy, Greg was not one to show panic, but one couldn’t deny the fright in his eyes. “The cameras were either shut off or repositioned. I caught nothing from any of the attacks. Every camera mounted on every building with the potential to catch something either wasn’t working or was aimed in a useless position.”

  Blake, Pike, and Ty exchanged severe looks, causing my heart rate to escalate.

  “Narrate those looks, guys. What does the camera tampering mean?” I asked.

  “Greg? Care to clue Maggie in?” directed Ty.

  “It means that whoever had Pike and Ivy attacked has a hacker working for them, and a damn good one at that,” replied our resident hacker in a foreboding tone.

  “It means there’s a group after us,” Blake added. Bowing his head and pressing his hands against the interactive table, Blake continued, “Check footage from the party, Greg. Focus on anyone watching or shadowing us, with special attention on Maggie, Ivy, and Pike.”

  “Maggie?” asked Ty. “Why Maggie?”

  “I was attacked at the end of the party,” I supplied.

  “This isn’t good, Blake,” said Ty.

  “No. No, it’s not. We’re being targeted, one by one,” said Blake, scribbling something down on a piece of paper.

  “Any ideas who might be behind it?” asked Ty.

  “Perhaps,” said Blake. He walked over to Greg and handed him the paper. After reading the note, Greg looked up at Blake and nodded. Blake then glanced at me, his eyes telling me he was on top of the situation and not to worry.

  I couldn’t be sure what the note said, but I was willing to bet it had something to do with the tattooed man. If Greg could find him in the video feeds from the party, maybe we could track his movements, or at the very least identify who he interacted with throughout the evening.

  “Because Ivy will need time to heal, she can no longer be our lure,” stated Blake. “That role will be filled by Maggie.”

  The distress emanating from him should have sent me into tilt, but it did quite the opposite. In fact, I was mad as hell and more determined than ever to fill Ivy’s shoes with equal grace and grit. Besides, I had to protect my friends from the danger I may have brought to them, and I would do whatever I must to see that no harm ever again comes to anyone I care about. Ever.

  Chapter Sixteen

  In the weeks leading up to turkey day, Pike and Ty made certain to test every tool, readying them to go; Ivy worked with me over the phone, giving me tips on how to scour a venue for anyone who might play the role of spoiler, various methods for distracting potential foes, and the ins and outs of the technology she typically used for all sorts of purposes during a heist; Blake and Greg, meanwhile, had their private little powwow going on, one Blake insisted on keeping strictly confidential. If Greg had found anything on the tattooed man, either from party footage or subsequent research, I wouldn’t know.

  No matter how many times I asked, Blake wouldn’t budge, always responding with an infuriating, “Manx-only business. I’ll tell you eventually, but it’s nothing for you to worry about.” Not even my best sexy moves—and some additional tricks Ivy clued me in on—made a dent. As annoying as his evasiveness might have been, the fact that there had been no further acts of violence on our members since Hal
loween night provided both an unshakable calm and growing uneasiness.

  On the eve of Thanksgiving, Blake knocked on my door. He was cradling a big plush turkey with a red bow tied around its neck.

  “Well…a stuffed turkey,” I said, crossing my arms and grinning. “I can’t tell if you’re being ironic or if it’s some latent sick humor coming to the surface.”

  “Sometimes I like my irony with a side of twisted, wrapped in an endearing package.” He handed me the turkey, which, admittedly, was pretty darn adorable.

  “When you called and said you had a surprise for me, I didn’t expect a new fiberfill friend,” I said, letting Blake inside.

  “He’s only step one of the surprise,” said Blake, taking off his coat.

  “What are you up to and why?”

  Sinking in my old recliner, he said, “Two things: One, I know you’re pissed at me for keeping you out of the loop regarding the research Greg is doing for me. Trust me when I say, it is for good reason, but you will know all in due time. And second, it’s clear you’ve been beating yourself up over the attacks, and we don’t even know for sure the attacks are related to this tattooed man and your past.”

  I pulled a face. “You know as well as I do that the timing of me seeing my dad’s murderer and three of us getting attacked is a little too suspicious to be mere coincidence.”

  “It’s certainly peculiar. Even if there is a connection, Maggie, this is not your fault.”

  “Right. You think Ivy would so easily forgive me if she knew I single-handedly put this bull’s-eye on everyone’s back? I mean, what if this ends up outing you as the Manx?”

  “Ivy’s quick to slam anyone and everyone. It’s her Zen place. Granted, if you had told me the truth from the beginning, I might have been able to stay one step ahead, but even that’s not a given. I’m not worried about being named the Manx. We have precautions in place, should that threat become a reality. Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving, Maggie. I want us to just enjoy it, our first holiday together.”

  I really wanted to melt and say something exceedingly sappy. Instead, I opted for the following: “Hence, the stuffed turkey surprise.” So, not the most syrupy thing I could’ve said, but in the world of Blake and Maggie, it had just the right amount of filtered sap.