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Instantly, my thoughts go back to that bonfire. To her dancing. To a promise she broke so quickly it made my head spin.
And then I’m angry again because she turned down whatshouldhave been.
Damon helps Emily down from the Jeep when we reach Priest’s shop, but before we leave, she calls Ivy and puts it on speaker. My ears almost bleed from the high-pitched voice on the other end of the line.
“Hi, Daddy!”
Emily snorts and lets Ivy continue while Damon and I glance at each other in disbelief.
By the time Ivy starts talking about clowns and balloon animals, I’m biting my cheek not to laugh, only because I can imagine what Gabe’s face must look like to hear this shit.
Emily ends the call and we all laugh as we’re climbing into the van to head to the park. Damon offers to let Em have the front seat while he takes the back.
It sucks for me because it means I have to fight that much harder to keep from reaching over to touch her.
She’s like a drug, this woman. One I want to rub up against because she somehow soothes all the rage inside me.
We reach the park and step out of the van to wait for Ivy’s car.
Fortunately, it doesn’t take long for a black Lexus to roll up, the windows heavily tinted and the chrome accents gleaming. The car comes to a stop, and the driver steps out, my skin bristling the instant I see him.
That son of a bitch moves like he’s snapped a neck or two and enjoys doing it. I don’t miss his guns for arms or the way he narrows his eyes on Damon and me while rounding the car to the back passenger door.
Keeping my eyes locked on the obvious threat of Ivy’s driver, I lean against the side of the van with my arms crossed over my chest to watch as the driver rips the door open, leans inside to cover Gabe’s head and then jerks him out by both ankles to drop him on the ground.
I have to admit the speed in which he accomplished it is impressive. Gabe is not a small guy, but the driver just tossed him around like a small child.
When Gabe starts to immediately fight, Damon and I rush forward, careful to stay quiet as we help pin him down.
I look over to see Ivy step out of the car, an evil grin on her face, which makes me wonder what the hell she’s planning.
On the subject of Ivy, I’ll say this:
We’ve gotten alongoncein the entire time we’ve known each other. But I have always respected her style.
Like Emily, Ivy backs down to no one, except where Em will shoot off at the mouth and clench her little fists with the promise of tearing down walls, Ivy will fuck up your world with the pranks she pulls, which has always made her insanely entertaining.
Gabe is struggling like a motherfucker, and it takes coordinated effort between Damon, me and Ivy’s driver to hold him in place.
Stepping up to us, Ivy shakes her head and says, “I honestly thought you would see past that.”
Gabe fights again, and it’s a struggle not to laugh. But we have to stay quiet to keep him from knowing we helped.
“I’m going to kill you for this,” he mumbles from inside the bag over his head.
“Oh, Gabe, I know. Which is why I have to make this as enjoyable as possible.”
They continue their verbal jabs back and forth as Ivy begins to strip him down. I look away because the last thing I need to see is Gabe’s cock.
After he’s naked, Ivy has us flip him to his stomach so we can tie him up and she can write a message on his back.
“Take him to the van.”
Fucking gladly. Carrying him isn’t easy, but eventually we toss him in back and climb in, Damon and I remaining as quiet as possible while Emily talks to Ivy near the Lexus.
When Em comes running over, she rounds the front and opens my door to yank me down and whisper against my ear.
“She said to dump him at Tanner’s.”