Page 17 of Recovering Ivy (Red Team #4)

Zane

Something had shifted after our talk in Ivy’s apartment.

I was raw and numb all at the same time.

My temper was holding on by whatever was thinner than a thread at this point.

I wanted to strangle Ivy’s mother with my bare hands for what she’d done to her.

I had seen a lot in my day, a lot of horrific, downright disgusting things.

I knew firsthand what men were capable of, but for a mother to behave in such a manner was a whole new realm of revolting.

I’d seen the pain. I knew it was in Ivy, coiled and dormant, waiting to detonate.

I’d misjudged her; she was a lot like me.

Living a daily struggle, we both lived behind walls of our own making, keeping those around us at a distance.

The difference was I deserved to be locked in the cage I’d built for myself; Ivy, however, needed to live in the light. She deserved happiness.

Ivy had just come back into the living room when Declan knocked on the door with our food. I opened the door and took one of the large bags from his hand.

“How’d things end with Amy?” I asked.

“Goldsborough let her go with an order to appear. It was the best he could do when she refused to turn state’s witness.

She was offered protection for her testimony, but she refused.

She’s scared as shit Forester will get his hands on her kid.

She actually wanted charges filed in case Forester found out she was picked up; she’d have proof she hadn’t turned,” Declan informed me.

“Who’s on her now?”

“Linc. He’s taking the first shift. When I leave here, I’ll head over and relieve him so he can get home to Jasmin. I swear to God, he thinks his wife is the first woman in history to give birth. She’s gonna chop his balls off soon.”

“I told him the same thing.” I laughed.

My brother was going crazy. I was a little worried he was going to drive Jasmin to commit murder if he didn’t relax soon.

“I think it’s sweet,” Ivy chimed in. “He loves her.”

“He’s smothering her,” I told her.

“No. He’s taking care of his wife. And if you’d stop being such an ass to him you’d see it. He doesn’t want anything to happen to her or the babies.”

Was I being an ass? Probably. But Lincoln was being over-the-top with Jasmin.

“He’s acting crazy,” I informed her.

“It must be a family trait,” she snarked and put her hand on her hip. “I think I’ve called you crazy a time or two or five million.”

She had a point.

“Yeah, well, you’re in actual danger. Jasmin’s not. All she has to do is grow a couple of humans then pop them out.”

“Oh. Right. That’s all she has to do.” Ivy shook her head like I was stupid and started unloading the bags Declan and I had placed on the counter.

“One more thing. Garrett was watching the feed from the camera I planted in Forester’s office. Sarah Long, formerly Sarah Matthews, showed up today asking for Ivy,” Declan shared.

“What the fuck!”

“She walked right in and demanded to know where Ivy was,” he continued.

“Ivy or Susan?” I asked.

“Ivy.”

“Fuck! No goddamned way is that woman coming near Ivy!” I exploded.

“How did she know to find you there?” Declan asked Ivy.

“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her since Joey’s funeral. And before that it had been years. I don’t keep in touch with her, I promise.”

Ivy had stopped fiddling with the takeout containers and was now shaking.

“Everything will be okay,” I promised and pulled her into my arms.

Damn, she felt good pressed against my chest, her arms snaked around my back and she’d dug her nails in.

“I don’t know why she’d go there,” she semi repeated.

“It doesn’t matter. She doesn’t exist for you.” I kissed the top of Ivy’s head before turning to Declan. “Do you know where she’s staying? Her home address is in Pensacola.”

“No. I’ll call Garrett and ask him to check around. All we have is her going into Forester’s office demanding to know where Ivy is. Forester said she’d called out and Sarah stomped out.”

“Look at the shittiest motels first. She won’t have any money. More than likely she’ll need to score, too,” Ivy mumbled.

I hated this for her. Ivy had enough on her plate, she didn’t need her mother in the same airspace as her as well .

“Nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about. All you need to do is get settled and eat dinner. We’ll sort the rest out.”

“I wish it were that simple. When Sarah is on the warpath, she’ll stop at nothing to get to me. She probably just needs money. I’ll give her some and she’ll be on her way.”

“The fuck you will. Does she do this a lot? Search you out and ask for money?”

“No. Not always money. Sometimes she’ll come looking for me to remind me I’m her daughter.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Declan asked, beating me to it.

“You know, she comes by my job or bangs on my door until I open it and tells me I’m nothing but a spoiled bitch who forgets where I come from. Or her favorite is to tell me I’m too big for my britches and I think I’m better than everyone else when I’m just really trash.”

What.

The.

Fuck.

“No fucking way. Get that woman out of this city. Do not give that bitch money either, but make it known she’s leaving. Take Leo with you. You tell him what she just told us, and he’ll gladly drive her back to Florida.”

“Zane. It’s fine. If I just talk to her she’ll leave. There’s no reason to put everyone out.”

“Not a chance.” That was from Declan. He was pissed. I didn’t know much about his time growing up in the foster care system, only he hadn’t had the best experiences. “I’ll handle her.”

“Appreciate it.” I gave him a chin lift before he moved to the door .

“I’ll call you later.”

I waited for him to close the door behind him before I pulled back from Ivy so I could see her face.

“Stop saying you’re putting people out. You’re not.”

“I feel like I am. And if I…”

“No. You’re not meeting with her,” I cut her off.

“I’m not comfortable with this.”

“You’re gonna have to get used to it.”

“I’m not sure that I can.”

She would. I’d make sure of it.

“Let’s eat before the food gets cold. I’m not gonna let that bitch ruin a perfectly good steak.”

Ivy’s lips twitched. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?”

I had been tossing and turning in the guest bed when there was a knock on the door. Before I could give a response, the door opened a crack.

“Zane? You awake?” Ivy whispered.

I should’ve pretended I was asleep and ignored her. But I was weak and answered.

“Yeah. What’s wrong?”

“I… I can’t sleep.”

Fuck.

I sat up and switched the lamp on and I realized I really should not have answered.

Ivy was standing in the doorway in a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top that left nothing to the imagination.

If the cotton material wasn’t already short enough, she had them rolled at the top.

The fabric was ugly as sin, but the toned thighs they showcased looked like heaven.

I wanted nothing more than to lose myself between them .

Off limits, I reminded my cock as it started to stand up, taking notice of the sexy woman who was now walking farther into the room.

“Do you mind?” she asked when she stopped next to the bed.

Mind what? Her crawling into bed with me? Hell yes, I minded. There would be zero chance my cock would cooperate and calm down.

“Before you touch that sheet, baby, I gotta warn you, I don’t sleep with clothes on.”

“Oh.” She dropped the sheet but remained next to the bed. “Is that a problem for you?”

Was she crazy?

“Problem for me? No. But I didn’t want you surprised.”

She remained standing next to the bed in silence.

What the hell was I supposed to do now? It wasn’t like I had experience with women wandering into my bedroom in the middle of the night, telling me they couldn’t sleep.

As a matter of fact, that had never been an issue.

If a woman was in my bed, she was either busy or she was drifting to sleep due to exhaustion.

“Tell you what. I’ll go with you back to my room and sit in there until you fall asleep.”

“If you’re sure. I don’t want to…”

“So help me God, if you say put me out one more time I’m bending you over my knee and spanking you,” I cut her off.

She humphed and cocked her hip out. “I was going to say, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” She tilted her head to the side and smiled. “And what do I get to do to you every time you cut me off with an incorrect assumption? Do I get to spank you?”

I threw my legs over the side of the bed and tossed the covers off, uncaring I was completely naked.

There was nothing Ivy could say or do that would make me uncomfortable.

Actually, that was a lie. If she started talking about feelings and shit, I’d bolt.

But this? Being nude? There was nothing uncomfortable about it.

“Ivy, sweetheart, the chance of you ever spanking me is zero. Not my kink.”

Her eyes had homed in on my chest and as hard as she tried not to, they shifted lower before she forced herself to look me in the eye.

“Then what is your kink?”

“Ivy,” I warned. “Let’s get you into bed.”

“What’s wrong? Uncomfortable?” Fuck me running. The woman was calling me out. This was a conversation we should not be having.

The sexy smirk. The damn near see-through tank top. The sass. All of her silky hair piled on top of her head.

I couldn’t take it.

I snapped.

I stepped toward her; she stepped back. We did this several times until her back hit the wall and she had no place to go. With my naked front pressed up against her barely covered one, my hands went to the drywall above her head, and I lowered my mouth to her ear.