Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
~SHANE~
“ Y ou really should go with him,” Annika insists for the third time, but Ivie just shakes her head stubbornly.
“I’m needed here ,” she says. “I have a job and a life to see to. I can’t let them win.”
“Staying safe ,” I insist through gritted teeth, “isn’t letting anyone win. It’s being smart.”
“I’m not trying to be difficult,” Ivie says with a long sigh. “Honestly, I’m not. But I almost lost this life, and I love it. I’ve worked hard for it. And, damn it, I want to get back to living it.”
“Nothing says that you won’t be back at it in just a few days,” Carmine points out. “In the meantime, hang out with Shane until all of this can get resolved.”
Ivie firms her lips, and I decide that I’d like to tie her up and carry her to my place myself.
But I don’t think she’d like that either.
“Fine. If you won’t go, I’ll stay.” I stand and shove my hand through my hair. “I’ll stay with you.”
“Shane—”
“Did you really think that after what happened to you over the past twenty-four hours that I’d just walk away?” The outburst is unusual for me, but I can’t hold it in any longer. “Because the answer to that is fuck no. You come with me, or I stay with you. That’s the way it’s going to be. You choose.”
Her little chin comes up, and she meets my eyes. “Fine. I have a spare bedroom.”
“Fine.”
“I think you’re both tired,” Nadia says and pats Ivie on the shoulder. “Go get some rest. Fight in the morning.”
“Good idea,” Annika agrees. “I’m so, so relieved that you’re home. And I’m sorry that I let you down.”
“Stop apologizing,” Ivie insists. “You didn’t know. I’m just glad you listened to the message and sent the cavalry in to save me.”
“Oh, this is Uncle Igor,” Annika says as her phone rings. “He’s been worried sick. Hello, Uncle. Yes, she’s here. She’s safe. The Martinellis are with her. I’ll let her know.”
“Your family is the best,” Ivie whispers.
“They love you,” Nadia says with a shrug. “Was Papa angry?”
“Livid,” Annika confirms. “And very concerned. We all have been. We’re just relieved that she’s safe.”
Tired hugs are exchanged. Once outside, I pull Rocco and Carmine aside.
“I would rather be at my place. I can protect her better there.”
“I know,” Carmine says. “We’re going to stick close for a few days, just in case.”
“I’ll be around, as well,” Rocco says and gestures to the two additional vehicles on the street. “I had these delivered. Figured we’d go our separate ways.”
“Appreciate it,” I reply with a nod. “I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
“Same here,” Carmine says, and the three of us go to our separate vehicles to drive away.
“How did these cars get here?” Ivie asks after she buckles up.
“Rocco had them delivered.”
She frowns at me as I back out of the driveway. “How?”
“We have people, Ivie. In every major city of this country, and several around the world. All we have to do is make a phone call, and certain things happen.”
She chews her lip and then frowns when she realizes that I’m headed right for her house.
“How do you know where I live?”
“I dropped you off there one night, remember?”
“I’m surprised you remember.”
I have an excellent memory when it comes to things I want.
“Are you mad at me for not going with you?” she asks.
“Yes.” The answer is short and simple. “I’m frustrated because it would be easier to keep you safe at my home. I feel blind this way. But I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do, so we’ll try it your way.”
She blows out a raspberry through her lips and then lets out a gasp of surprise when I turn into her driveway.
“My door is open,” she says. “I know I didn’t leave it like that when I left for work yesterday.”
“Stay here. Lock the doors.”
I jump out of the car and immediately pull my sidearm from its holster. Before rushing inside, I make a quick loop around the house to see if I can detect any movement.
From out here, it looks empty.
When I make my way back to the front door, I ease it open farther and step inside, raising my weapon when a figure walks across the living room and snaps on the light.
“For fuck’s sake, Ivie, I told you to wait outside.”
But she’s not listening to me. Her eyes are trained on the destruction in her home. The place has been ransacked, turned over and destroyed.
“Oh my God,” she breathes.
“Stay with me,” I order her, my voice sharp. “Do you hear me? Ivie.”
“I hear you.” She slips her hand into mine, and I lead her through the house, to each room, with my weapon drawn in case anyone is still here.
“We’re alone,” I say at last when we’re standing in her bedroom.
She slips her hand from mine and hurries over to her closet. I follow her over and see her stumble over clothes, then peel back the carpet in a corner, open a hidden spot on the floor, and pull out a small box.
“They didn’t take it,” she breathes in relief. “My mother’s wedding ring. It’s the only thing I have from her, and I could never replace it.”
She hugs the box to her chest and allows her gaze to roam over the mess.
“I guess you’re getting your way,” she says at last.
“It’s not a competition.” I take her hand and pull her to her feet. “Honey, I just want you to be as safe as possible.”
“Well, it doesn’t look like that’ll be here. I’ll try to pull some things together and be ready in a few minutes.”
I nod and step out of the room so I can text my brothers, letting them know about the change of plans. I also call my father to keep him posted. We’ve been feeding him information since all of this began.
When these assholes took Ivie, they pissed off two powerful mafia families in the process.
They’re fucked.
“I’m ready.” Ivie has a small suitcase that’s seen better days, a tote filled to the brim, and a purse, which she retrieved from Annika earlier. “The bastards ruined my Louis Vuitton handbag. It was a gift.”
“It can be replaced.”
“Do you know how much those things cost?” she demands. “Anyway. It’s just a purse. But it pissed me off. I’m taking the few valuable things I have with me, some clothes and toiletries, and that’s about it.”
“That’s all you’ll need,” I assure her. I can feel the sadness and despair radiating off her as we walk through her little house to the front door. She locks it as I put her bags in the car, and then we’re off again. “We have a bit of a drive ahead of us.”
She just nods and stares out the window. So, I decide to let her be. A lot has happened. She’s exhausted.
My questions can be answered tomorrow.
“So, you live way out here in the middle of nowhere,” she says when I turn onto my dirt road.
I let my caretaker know that I was on my way, and the make and model of the car we’re in, so the gate automatically swings open at our arrival.
I imagine Curt is sitting in his little cabin, watching the monitor.
“Yes. I do.”
It’s dark now. I think this has been the longest damn day of my life. We’re quiet, as we were the entire drive, as I navigate the Lexus past the helicopter landing pad, my shooting range, a barn, and an underground bunker—all of which is out of view in the darkness.
I pull up to my house and cut the engine. Several lights are on, also thanks to Curt.
“Is someone else here?” she asks, then turns to me with wide eyes. “Oh my God, do you have a girlfriend?”
“No. No girlfriend.”
“Why are the lights on?”
“I have a friend who lives in a cabin here on the property,” I begin as I open my door, then hurry around to open hers. I take her hand and help her out of the car. “He’s an old Army buddy. He likes to be alone, and he’s damn good at his job. So it works well for both of us. You might meet him.”
She nods and follows me up the stairs to my back door. I set her bags down and open the door, then gesture her inside.
This entrance leads right into my kitchen. “When I built this house, I wanted it to look like an old farmhouse. To blend in and look rustic at the base of the mountain.”
“I love it,” she breathes, looking around with tired, sapphire eyes. “It’s modern and beautiful, but also has that old-fashioned vibe to it.”
“Bingo. Come on, it’s not a huge place. I’ll show you around. This is the living area. TV and all that jazz. There’s a sunroom over there, but I’ve never gotten around to furnishing it.”
I swing into the guest room and set her bags on the floor, switching on the light. “This is your room. Make yourself at home. There’s a bathroom through that door. Walk-in closet here. When the sun’s up, you’ll have a great view of the mountains.”
“Thank you.” She runs her fingertips over the comforter on the queen-sized bed. “Where will you be?”
“Down here,” I reply and take her hand, leading her just down the hall to my bedroom. “This is my room. Nothing too fancy, but it’s home.”
She takes in my king-sized bed and the chair in the corner.
“I have another bathroom through there. If you go up the stairs by the front door, there’s a loft and another guest room. If you’d rather have that one?—”
“No, the one you’ve given me is great.” She offers me a forced smile. “It’ll be perfect.”
Seeing her like this, distant and sad, tears at my heart, so I pull her to me and wrap my arms around her. I bury my lips in her hair and kiss her gently.
“Besides the obvious, tell me why you’re miserable.”
“Because you don’t want me here, and I feel like I’m crashing into your life, and?—”
“Whoa.” I pull back and stare down at her. “I’m the one who told you that you’d be better off coming here with me.”
“Only because you’re feeling overprotective,” she insists. “I’m just a burden, and I hate that.”
“Let’s get something straight.” I tip up her chin, making her look me in the eyes. “I don’t do much that I don’t want to in this life. If I didn’t want to be with you, I’d have put you in a safe house and staffed it with security. I want you here, Ivie. Hell, we’re friends. We’ve spent time together. And God knows I think you’re the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
She lets out a snort, and I narrow my eyes.
“Is something I said funny?”
“You don’t have to lay it on so thick.”
I don’t reply. I simply step into her and lay my lips on hers. Gently. As far as first kisses go, it’s not the way I’d planned to do it, but it works. She tastes like sin, and the little noise she makes in the back of her throat as she melts against me would make a weaker man lose control.
But I end the kiss and smile down at her.
“Does that feel like you’re a burden?”
She shakes her head.
“You’re here because I care about you, I want you safe, and I’m the only one I trust to do that correctly. I get the bonus of having you with me pretty much nonstop for the foreseeable future.”
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“Are you hungry?”
“Yes, actually.”
“Good. Me, too. I’ll fix us something.”
I lead her back out to the kitchen and get her settled on a stool while I set about making us a couple of omelets. Nothing fancy but full of veggies and nutrients to get us through until morning.
“So, was it your caretaker who stocked your kitchen for you?”
“Yeah. Curt keeps this place running when I’m gone. I haven’t been here in...” I stop, lean on the counter and think about it. “Fuck, I haven’t been home in two weeks.”
“Where were you?”
There’s no way I’ll ever tell Ivie about the horrors I see when I’m out on a mission. So I just smile at her and shrug a shoulder. “Here and there.”
“I have questions,” she murmurs.
“That makes two of us.”
She swallows hard and then nods. “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”
“That works for me. I haven’t slept in at least three days, and you look like you’re ready to drop.”
“I don’t remember ever being this tired before,” she admits.
“Are you finished there?” I gesture to her half-eaten plate.
“Yeah, I’m done.”
I clear our dishes and then kiss Ivie’s forehead. “Let’s go to bed, then.”
I escort her to her door, and after she closes it, I pad to another room that I didn’t show her. This isn’t as big as the operation I have in the basement, but it’s a convenient space where I have monitors set up to show me the security cameras around the property.
With roughly a thousand acres, there’s a lot of ground to cover. I shuffle through the live feeds, satisfied that everything looks calm tonight. After I send a note of thanks to Curt, I shut down everything and head to bed.
But at least an hour later, after a shower and some reading, I can’t get comfortable. It’s not like me to toss and turn like this after an exhausting operation like the one I just finished. Add to it the adrenaline of looking for Ivie, and my body is just about ready to quit on me.
But I can’t get comfortable. I wonder how she’s doing down the hall. Was she able to settle in and get comfortable? Is she having nightmares after her ordeal?
Does she need anything?
I’m just about to get up and go check on her when there’s a light knock on my door.
“Come in.”
The door slowly opens, and there’s Ivie, standing in the moonlight.
“Can I sleep in that chair?” she asks, pointing to the chair in the corner of the room.
“No.” I shift to the side and peel back the covers. “You can come sleep here.”
“Really?”
“Come on, honey.”
She closes the door behind her and turns to walk my way. Suddenly, she trips and lands on the bed, hard.
“Sorry, I didn’t see the floor there.”
I chuckle and tuck her in next to me, spoon up behind her, and breathe her in. She, too, had a shower, and her hair smells amazing.
But I don’t want to ravage her. I want to hold her. Another new emotion for me.
“You’re naked,” she says, glancing over her shoulder at me.
“Yes, ma’am. Do you want me to put something on?” I kiss her hair, still breathing her in.
“No, it’s okay. Just another surprise, that’s all. I was scared,” she admits with a whisper.
“No need to be,” I whisper back. “I’m right here. I’ve got you. Just sleep, baby.”