Page 19 of Reckless Forever (Jennings Mafia Family #3)

Ivy

The alarm clock rang for the second time after I hit snooze, and I almost cried.

I peeled myself away from Judah, and I slowly trotted toward the bathroom to take a shower and do my morning routine.

I smiled as I noticed the layout of the counter; he had given me my own side of the sink, and it made me beam.

He really made me feel at home when I arrived.

My entire body felt like noodles, but in a relaxed way.

I spent the better part of the night having things done to my body that you only saw in the nastiest of porn, and I was spent.

But today was the first day of the conference, and no matter how tired I was, I wanted to be in attendance.

I turned on the shower and waited for the water to reach the desired temperature, while brushing my teeth with my eyes closed.

If not for wanting to meet my favorite meteorologist, who was on the panel, I would definitely be in bed snuggled against Judah’s chest.

The steam slowly filled the bathroom, letting me know that the water was nice and hot.

So, after swishing the mouthwash and gargling, I stepped inside.

I splashed some water on my face to wake up, then grabbed the sponge and body wash and started showering.

Through the glass, I could see that Judah had also come inside and started his morning routine.

I tried to focus on showering, but we had both fallen asleep naked, and his “morning wood” was on full display as he stood in the mirror. Then he came over to the shower, pulled the door open, and stepped behind me, pulling me back to him.

“Good morning,” His voice cracked as he nestled into the crook of my neck and planted soft kisses on it.

“Good morning, handsome,” I stepped out of his embrace, only to place two kisses on his lips and then resume my shower.

We showered for the most part in silence.

I know that we were both running on fumes and motivation because neither of us had the energy to do anything.

When I last looked at the clock, it was just after 3 a.m., and now we were back up at 7 a.m., attempting to be productive. It wasn’t going to be a good day.

Stepping onto the mat, I grabbed the towel and dried off, then went in the direction of the closet space that he had given me.

I took a step back, and I was almost knocked off my feet when I opened it.

When he told me about it earlier, I had never gone inside, but now as I stood here, tears just fell from my eyes before I could stop them.

He had me an entire closet space, fully loaded in his home, and coordinated by color.

I scoffed as I wiped the tears that fell down my face rapidly.

It wasn’t about the materialistic things; it was about the intention and the effort that he was making.

I felt like he was integrating me into his life, and it was overwhelming in the best way.

I hadn’t even been able to take a step into it and look at everything.

I was so emotional, but I managed to pull myself together and try to find something to wear.

A teal blazer and matching slacks immediately caught my attention.

I loved all shades of blue, so that one would be my choice for the day.

I found my makeup bag, which he had unpacked, and sat at the vanity against the wall, quickly applying a light face of makeup.

I also curled my hair as best I could, given the time crunch, before getting dressed.

I walked back into the room with a pair of heels in my hand, and I saw Judah in the mirror, fixing his shirt.

I know black was a “boring” color in a sense, but it was my favorite color on him. And the way he kept switching up ways to wear it just elevated it. He turned to me when I walked back into the room, and the way he stared at me through the glass made me feel so exposed.

“You look good as fuck,” He complimented.

“Thank you, so do you,” I said as I fixed the button that he had been struggling with and then smoothed his collar.

He threw on some jewelry and then took his phone from his pocket to check the time.

“It’s twenty minutes to the hotel, in this traffic, that could be an hour, Ma. We need to go if you’re going to be on time,” he said as he stuffed it back into his pants.

“I nodded and went to sit on the chair in the corner of the room to put on my shoes.”

“Nah, get up.” He said as he grabbed my hand and stood me up. I hopped up quickly, thinking I may have sat on something.

Then he took the shoes from my hand and knelt down and put them on my feet. As I stepped into each one, I was confused. Because who was this man? He had told me that this isn’t what he does, yet he did it so effortlessly.

“Thank you,” I said lowly.

He didn’t acknowledge it, just kissed me on the forehead and walked over to a smaller room that I assumed might have been a linen closet.

I took a step over, and my eyes widened.

It definitely wasn’t linen. Unless you want to reference the type of suits people wear at funerals.

It was an artillery closet, and he grabbed not one but two guns and tucked them underneath his jacket.

“Let’s go,” he said as he grabbed my hand and led me down the stairs.

There was a black truck waiting for us, and a man stood outside it. His face was blank, and his jaw was tight.

“Ma, this is going to be your security detail, Hollow. This is my girl, Ivy.”

“What’s up, Mrs. Jennings?” the man spoke. He made my chest tighten, both by the reference and the fact that Judah was handing me over to a man named after ammunition.

He felt me tense, “Get it in, baby, my truck is going to tail us to the hotel. I’m riding with you right now, but when we make it, I’m getting out and leaving.

I got a lot of shit to handle before you finish here.

Hollow is going to stay with you; he’ll be your security, and he’ll bring you back to me. ”

“I can’t have security at the conference,” I countered. Still trying to process everything.

“They made accommodations for you. I’ve been speaking to them for weeks. You said yourself this is Jennings’ territory. Hollow will be your wingman today, aight?” He doubled down.

I nodded. Maybe I had underestimated Judah and his actual reach. Once he spoke, it was easy to mistake him for just being fun. I can’t say that I didn’t like this business side. His covering all bases so I didn’t even have to think was something that I didn’t know I would like, but I did.

Grabbing his hand, I laced our fingers together and rubbed the back of his hand. He switched his phone from one hand to the other so that I could hold it. The entire time, I just stared out the window. It was so different here than back home, and I couldn’t wait to explore it all.

We pulled around a back alley behind a large building that I assumed was the hotel, and both trucks came to a slow stop.

I almost jumped out of my damn skin when I realized that there were two people at the back waiting for me. My favorite meteorologist and the CEO of SkyWatch.

“Judah! You didn’t!”

He chuckled, “When you’re with a Jennings, your life changes. Give me a kiss so I can go give the niggas at the office hell.” He leaned over, and I put two quick pecks on his lips, so I didn’t smear too much of my lip combo.

“Mr. Jennings, thank you so much for your generous donation. Nice to meet you.” The CEO said as he and Judah shook hands.

“The pleasure is mine. I’m glad I could support your cause. Thank you.” Judah surprised me with the code switching. Heat ran through my body.

“Ms. Montana, I’ve heard wonderful things about you. Welcome, tell us about Bolivia.” My favorite said as they opened the door.

I mouthed “thank you” to Judah before he got into his truck, and we all disappeared through the back entrance with Hollow behind us.

We all chatted for maybe thirty minutes about my contributions in Bolivia and my passion for what I did. By the time we had parted ways, I was offered so many different opportunities here in the States that made me second-guess moving here for real.

Just as the conference was about to start, I took out my phone to text Emilio.

Me: I’m downstairs at the conference.

He had thought that I had been staying here at the Hotel.

I gave him a story that I made up on the fly about how we couldn’t be seen together and how he would go to prison in the States for carrying weapons like he did back home.

If he were high enough, he’d believe anything.

Why Padrino continuously chose to send his most distracted soldier with me, I have no clue.

Maybe he had been too occupied with the harem to notice that Emilio was not who he used to be.

He used to be ruthless, always on alert and trained to go.

But the drugs he dabbled in had run him down.

Now every time I saw him, there was a glossiness in his eye that let me know that he was high.

Him: Vale (Okay)

“Hi, my name is Russell Matthews from the Sky at Six. You are stunning. Have you ever thought about doing television?” A man approached me, holding a microphone from a news channel. We conversed for a bit, and we exchanged contact information. Hollow stepped in as soon as we parted ways.

“Mrs. Jennings-”

“Ivy,” I corrected him. I liked to hear the title, but it honestly made me a bit anxious.

Hollow’s eyes or face didn’t soften, not even the slightest bit.

He leaned down to me close; his voice was cold, and it actually made me stand up straight.

“Judah made it clear to me that you are to stick to networking only. No deals, no interviews, no extras without proper clearance. If it’s not in his orders, it’s not happening. Fair warning.”