Chapter 17 #2
“It’s bad enough you killed Boyd. If Campbell’s dead too, the least you can do is tell me.”
“Sir, do you have a real estate issue?”
The man emitted a low growl. “Bitch, you’re the one with an issue. There’s tracking on his truck. I’m gonna find it, and when I do, I’ll find you.”
That was an empty threat and we both knew it.
I leaned forward and whispered in Ivy’s ear, “Ask if his name is Rusty.”
“Should I call you Rusty, Mr. Huntington?”
“How the fuck do you know my name? Have you got Campbell with you? That must be why they said you aren’t going into the office today.”
Jesus. Ivy’s coworkers needed to stop sharing so freely.
I reached out and tapped the red button to end the call.
“Ryan! Why’d you do that?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“First, that was a fishing expedition and I didn’t want you giving anything away. Second, your damned coworkers have to stop sharing your schedule.”
Her head twisted an inch to the side. “Good luck with that. It never pays to be cagey with clients.”
I leaned toward her. “It never pays to tell criminals where you are or when you’ll be back either.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it. Except she recovered and said, “You’re right, but my coworkers had no idea about my problems. I’ll take care of that, now.”
My hand curled around my neck to ease my building tension. “How are you gonna do that? If you tell them about the abduction, it raises the question of why you never reported it.”
She put a hand on my chest and rubbed gentle circles there.
“We have a system, Ry. I’ll let my boss and Shayla know that this guy is a potential problem.
I’m not going to pass him off to Bill or Anderson because that will only cause more issues.
So, don’t flip your lid when I underplay this with my boss. ”
“Ivy.”
“Ryan. I need to play it cool at work or one of my male colleagues will horn in on what they think is a potential client. Sales is very cutthroat, and I can’t have them doing that in this instance especially since this guy would love to throw me under the bus.”
“I still don’t like it.”
She nodded. “He wants to find the truck. Is Lark planning to leave it to be found?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I’m not sure. But now that he’s made contact, I need to tell the brothers and they’ll decide or call a session of church.”
Her hand had paused on my chest. She put pressure there, went up on her toes, and brushed her lips against mine. “You call them while I let my boss know I followed up on a potential client.”
This driving need to protect her surged through my whole body. I’d never felt like this before, and I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I pulled my phone from my back pocket and acted as though I was going to make a call.
She chuckled and it sounded almost melodic. “You’re not gonna call anyone until you listen in on my conversation, are you?”
I looked up from my phone to her. “What makes you think that?”
“You’re not that difficult to read, mister.”
“Make your call, Trouble.”
She shook her head but called her office.
Whoever she spoke to took her word that this man was a problem.
I called Volt. He didn’t answer and I tried Lark instead.
“Talk to me, Nickel,” he answered in his gravelly voice.
“Rusty – the man Boyd and Campbell were reporting to – called Ivy through her real estate office. He wants the truck and has threatened to come after me and her once he finds it.”
“Put her in a safe house and let the asshole come to us,” Lark said without a moment’s hesitation.
I didn’t like the idea of being away from Ivy, but I knew having her around the bar wouldn’t work either.
“The club doesn’t have a safe house, Lark. There’s navigation on that truck, why don’t we go to them?”
“That’s not my call, and a safe house doesn’t have to be owned by the club, Nickel. Have her stay with that friend of hers – he’d do anything to help her.”
I ignored his suggestion. “Do you want me at the bar earlier than normal?”
Lark hummed so low, I almost missed it. “Nah. You sound like you’re ready to go off half-cocked. That won’t help any of us, so get here at three.”
He ended the call and I saw Ivy was on the phone again with a humongous smile on her face.
She looked up at me and her smile dimmed by a degree. “Listen, Chad, you’re the one who told me I have to roll with whatever punches life throws at me. Same goes for you, so let Kristen know we aren’t meeting at the bar tonight. Maybe she can meet for lunch today, even though it’s Wednesday.”
Shit.
Every Wednesday, Mickayla insisted on having lunch with me and Killian.
Ivy had gone quiet again while she closed her eyes and shook her head. She opened her eyes and looked at me. “Well, you’re gonna have to make a table for four because I have a feeling Ryan isn’t leaving my side.”
The moment she ended her call, I crossed my arms on my chest. “What’s going on?”
“We have a lunch date with Chad and our friend Kristen. And if it helps any, we’re going to Kickback’s, so at least that’s something to look forward to in a couple hours.”
I nodded. “We’ll be a table for six because Mickayla has this standing lunch date with me and Kill. I’ll text her, so she can get us a table.”