CLINT
I was a little worried I couldn’t chill out for the day. My normal routine involved constant movement. I regularly hit up the Sorority House, my parents’ house, and various businesses. I would drop by the condo a lot to check on Hanzee before returning to my motorcycle and the Little Memphis roads.
However, today, I let Ivy take the lead. After breakfast, we watched several old paranormal shows. Ivy kept looking at me to make sure I wasn’t bored. Having never watched them before, I was entertained. They were goofy stuff I wouldn’t watch on my own, but I liked knowing more about Ivy’s tastes.
When the three dogs needed to use the courtyard, Ivy asked to bring along the soccer ball and practice. She’d been fascinated by my family kicking the ball around the other day. Learning how to play would help her feel included.
In the courtyard, we found Crimson Guard members, Ben and Nine. After a quick introduction, the dark-haired brothers watched Ivy and me kick the ball back and forth. At one point, the three dogs tried to stop the ball, only to get flustered and bark at it instead.
Before we went upstairs, Ivy dribbled the ball around the courtyard with the dogs chasing her. I stood with my club brothers and mentioned the upcoming meeting with the Black Rainbow.
“Tricky’s got another new guy jumping through hoops to join the Jokers,” Nine said and shook his head. “That’s the fifth guy in three months.”
Rubbing at my beard, I muttered, “If his club gets too big, I’ll politely order him to move them to Little Rock. I’m sure he’ll comply.”
As the guys grinned at my veiled threat, I told Nine, “Rowdy was supposed to go to the Black Rainbow meeting. If he isn’t back from Reno by then, I want you to take his place.”
Like Rock, Ben and Nine grew up in Rawlins. Their dad Glitch was a member of the Heretics while their mom Clove ran with the Everything Nice Crew. Assholes tended to underestimate the brothers. If the Black Rainbow club started shit, they’d never see Nine coming until he had them bleeding on the ground.
My guys and I watched Ivy kicking the ball around bushes and benches. I heard their unspoken concern about my sudden move toward domestication. Would I lose my edge when I had a woman waiting for me back home?
I didn’t dare nurse such concerns as I headed to my condo with Ivy and the dogs. Once inside, I ordered lunch delivery while Ivy changed her clothes after getting sweaty. The dogs supervised her every move. Their jingling collars signaled her return.
“Is this condo filled with more of your guys or Tricky’s?” Ivy asked and joined me on the couch, where I checked my messages.
“Mine. The first floor has a few normies who work a lot and never use the courtyard. Whenever a unit opens up, I move in one of my people. The building feels more secure that way.”
Ivy glanced at my phone. “Are you worried about Lula?”
Setting the phone on the side table, I explained, “I just want the situation dealt with, so you can have what you deserve.”
Ivy’s smile grew as she straddled my lap. I noticed her shirt was unbuttoned enough to show off her scar. Yesterday’s worries hit me again.
Reassuring myself, I recalled how she ran around in the courtyard. Ivy might have been naturally athletic. She picked up the footwork quickly. Ivy never seemed exhausted despite her running with the dogs and keeping up with me.
“I want to learn to fight for real,” Ivy said later as we ate lunch in the living room. “I learned kickboxing online, but it doesn’t feel like a genuine skill.”
“The foxes can teach you. Fighting as a woman is different than fighting as a guy. I know they’d love to show off their moves to a new person.”
Ivy smiled at the thought of going to the Sorority House this weekend. She’d been using my photos as homework to link faces with names.
I noticed Ivy treated situations like they were projects to complete. That made sense since she spent most of her time alone. People were more ideas than living, breathing creatures.
I learned a lot about Ivy as we spent the afternoon together. She taught herself how to speak Spanish, French, and Italian and knew how to write in the first one. She was well-versed in world history and had read thousands of books. She was afraid of bees but not spiders. Ivy could walk on her hands across the room. That one was especially sexy, though the dogs thought she was broken. The three of them barked wildly until she flipped back onto her feet.
Before we headed to my parents’ house for dinner, I learned something Ivy likely didn’t know about herself.
“Your girlfriend is loaded,” Lula texted while I was in the courtyard with Ivy. “That’s the real reason her uncle wants her back. He’s been living off her monthly trust fund payments. She also owns the mansion. Did she happen to mention any of this to you?”
I looked at Ivy running around with Hanzee, Goblin, and Boa. If she knew she had the money to live her own life, she wouldn’t have stayed hidden for so long.
“No,” I texted to Lula. “How does she have all this money?”
“Her grandmother was a rich as fuck German socialite. Abigail Humphreys left most of her estate to Ivy. The mom and uncles got a smaller allowance out of a trust each month. But Ivy is the one paying all the bills out of her bigger portion.”
“What’s happening with the uncle?”
“He showed up at court, whining about his dead bro and acting concerned about Ivy. I asked the judge to request information on the men with Linus on the day of the attack. Oh, boy, shit got real. The judge threw a fit about how this case was too complicated and she needed more time. Feels like maybe the uncle pulled strings to get this bitch, and she’s afraid of what she might have to do to protect him.”
A chill washed over me when I considered Ivy having the option to leave Little Memphis.
When she squealed with amusement over the three dogs chasing her, my fears crawled back into the shadows. Ivy’s problem was never money. She needed someone to introduce her to life. I was that guy. Besides, did I want her to only stay with me out of necessity?
“What happens next?” I texted Lula.
“We contact the local cops and see about them speaking to Ivy. I also plan to have my assistant call around to local loan sharks to ask if they are familiar with the name Linus Humphreys. Basically, we squeeze his ass until he folds. The guy is a spoiled bitch.”
“Keep me informed. Ivy is nervous about you being there. She worries you’ll get hurt, so regular updates will help.”
Lula sent a heart emoji, but I knew sweet thoughts weren’t on her mind. She likely hoped Ivy’s uncle would put up a fight so she could tear him apart legally. If he got killed by his criminal buddies, even better. Lula didn’t fuck around once she put a target on someone.
“Lula said the court thing might take more time to iron out,” I told Ivy when she returned from the other side of the courtyard with the dogs.
“I want to complain.”
“I see that on your face,” I said and stroked her cheek. “But let me ask you something.”
Ivy shuffled closer, pouting over how Lula was in Reno. She didn’t understand how people were willing to suffer—or, in this case, be mildly inconvenienced—for others.
“Do you know you own the mansion?” I asked, studying her reaction.
“That’s not true.”
“It is.”
“It belonged to Grandmother Abigail. She gave it to my mom and uncles.”
“Not based on what Lula found. It’s your house. You also have plenty of money to return to Reno and live however you want.”
Ivy stepped back and startled me by letting out a wail as if in pain. I didn’t know what her reaction meant. She looked around and then at the dogs for help. They just barked at the wailing woman.
Finally, her gaze found mine, and something clicked in her gaze. Her wailing turned off as she grabbed my wrists.
“Why are you doing this?” Ivy demanded before grabbing her chest. “You think I’m defective.”
“What do you think is happening here?” I asked calmly as if a fox were freaking out on me.
Ivy went still and looked around. Her expression reminded me of when we met at the gas station. She was lost, and I gave her direction. This time, when she was lost, I just stood around like a dipshit.
Sweeping Ivy into my arms, I walked past the barking dogs and sat on a bench. She gripped my shirt, nearly shaking me as if wanting to knock some sense into me.
“I want you to stay with me,” I said while she stared wide-eyed. “You get that, right?”
“I want to stay, but you made it sound like I should go back.”
“No, that’s only what you heard. I never want you to go back there. But I want you to know you have the power to go wherever you want.”
“It’s up to me?”
“Of course.”
“No, not of course . I’ve spent my life having no say.”
“You have a say now.”
“Well, I want to stay here with you.”
“Well, I wasn’t keeping you here as an act of charity. I want you to be with me.”
Ivy’s face raced through many emotions—irritation, relief, uncertainty, grief—before landing on lovestruck.
“I didn’t understand what was happening,” she admitted. “You can be difficult to read.”
“I forget I need to show you what’s hiding behind my mask. I’m spoiled from spending my life around people who know me. But you need to understand that if you wanted to go back to Reno, I wouldn’t give you up without a fight.”
Ivy stared at me with an unreadable expression. I knew this woman was mine, but I was still figuring her out.
“I’m sorry I screamed,” she said finally.
“If you hadn’t been genuinely upset, your screaming would have been the funniest shit I’ve seen in a long time.”
Ivy broke into a smile. “I don’t know why I did that.”
“The foxes do wilder shit than that. No one cares. You’re not rolling with people focused on appearances.”
“I want to keep rolling with you.”
Smiling, I kissed her throat and hid my face in her soft hair while my brain and heart got back on the same page.
Ivy stroked my head, breathing easier now. As excited as she’d been all day, I also sensed she was waiting for something bad to happen. She acted almost hyper, even when we watched TV together. All her pent-up energy exploded outward with her panicked screaming.
In my arms, Ivy felt relaxed. Yet, her kisses were overly affectionate as if she needed to prove she trusted me. I met her passion with my own. Even when Hanzee started barking again, thinking I was attacking his person, I shooed the dog away and stayed focused on Ivy.