Page 32 of Ivy’s Poison

There was a long pause… then a determined voice. “I didn’t confess during a beat-down so they believe me now.”

“You still healing, too?”

She exhaled a tired breath. “Yeah, but my lip is scarring up nicely, and it no longer hurts too bad to laugh.”

Motherfuckers. I’m going to burn that whole goddamn motherfucking place to the motherfucking ground… “So, you running may not be a good option. Good to know.” I started pacing again. “All right, if they’re sellin’ Ivy again, is it safe to assume you guys are not being guarded?”

“Correct. They’ve, uh, been busy searching for yours truly.”

A twisted chuckle escaped. “Search on, motherfuckers.” Then I got back to needed details. “Are you two allowed to venture into the city together? With Jade, of course.”

“Yes, one guard shadows on mani and pedi days.”

My face scrunched up. “Who the fuck is Mani? And I will be killing motherfucking Pedi.” I pulled the cell from my ear to stare at it when female laughter burst into my eardrum. Beth was laughing in the background, complaining I made her ribs hurt.

Still giggling, Ivy got back on the phone. “Manicures and pedicures, dumbass.”

I never knew name-calling could feel so fucking good! “Babe, you talkin’ about those pretty little toes of yours?”

And, I never knew you could hear a smile. “Yeah, Champ. I like my hands and feet in tip-top shape.”

“Well, all right then, sounds like we got us a plan.”

* * *

It took a couple of days to work out the kinks and possibly needed back-up plans. I reserved vehicles in preparation for taking the girls back to my place. I wasn’t risking buying them plane tickets that could be traced. Since carrying suitcases to mani-pedi day was a bit obvious, I told the girls they’d have to leave their shit behind. Only items that couldn’t be replaced were hidden under diapers in Jade’s diaper bag.

After flying into Nebraska with one fake identity, I switched to another to pick up my first rental. On the outskirts of town, I went to a local convenience store to pick up supplies like water and more diapers because, well, I wasn’t sure how many were needed for a fifteen-plus-hour road trip. I had previously mapped out that store due to it not having surveillance cameras like big chain stores would. It was imperative that I left as little to trace as possible so that Stain had practically nothing to go on once he realized his daughter was gone.

It was early in the morning, but I was already headed to the nail salon to scope it out firsthand. While driving the SUV, my burner vibrated. Only one person had this number. I grinned, wanting to read any text from Ivy. When a picture of her pussy appeared on the phone, I ran over a curb. “Jesus, Ivy!” It was mostly bare but had a little strip of that incredible red hair of hers.

I instantly hardened then laughed as I read: Just want to b sur u kno what yor missin if u flake out today.

When Ivy, Beth, and Jade finally arrived, it was obvious to me that Ivy was trying her best to hide her nerves as she entered the nail salon. From the start, our plan had been altered. The bastard, AKA shadow, had stood right in front of the wall to wall shop window, keeping his eyes open, glancing inside periodically. It was too high risk for Ivy, Beth, and Jade to sneak out the back door and meet me.

Despite being completely frustrated over the complication, I was still worked up over Ivy’s delicious text and wanted inside that sweetness pronto. Hence me wanting to march past the poor excuse of a man and claim what was mine, but I stayed across the street in a rented SUV, disguised in a ball cap and sunglasses, annoyed this biker didn’t completely suck at his job. I could’ve killed him, eliminated the problem altogether, but I was concerned the murder would tip off Stain to who was involved when he realized the girls were missing.

At the nail salon, the streets had many visitors and locals walking about. The chance that there would be witnesses to a throat being sliced on the sidewalk was, uh, plausible. But, if the girls just up and disappeared, without me murdering people in the streets, the president could be free to accuse any of his many enemies.

Ivy was with Beth and had a playful little Jade on her hip. The sight tugged at heartstrings I was still very new to. The only time I had ever seen Jade awake and been able to see her face, she had been crying. Now, she was beaming, carefully examining a toy in her hand. Her tanned skin contrasted against her mama’s paler tone.

The biker waiting outside spoke with them. He looked a tad annoyed when Ivy pointed to a restaurant a block away, our backup plan, but he finally nodded.

My backup plan got even better when the guard answered his cell and became too distracted to remember to follow the girls. Pulling from my parallel parking spot on the street and re-parking in the alley behind the restaurant, I fully expected to see the girls racing out the back door. Meanwhile, I scanned for cameras. There were none.

When the girls didn’t show, I became alarmed and got out of the vehicle. Within a few seconds, an employee opened the back door to throw two bags of trash in the big dumpster, so I slipped in, not bothering to remove my sunglasses.

The kitchen was full of the lunch-hour hustle and bustle, but there was still no sign of Ivy. Busy employees took no notice of the assassin in their presence. Walking past cooks and a dishwasher, I grabbed an abandoned apron and tray. I startled a waitress when I stalked past her, growling because I was worried about what the hell was holding up Ivy.

Leaving the kitchen through a small hallway, I heard a male voice holler, “Corner!” I was wrapping an apron around my waist to blend in and had no idea what the announcement meant until face to face with a chipper waiter. “Oh, hi. You new?”

His eyebrows rose with concern while watching my nostrils flare. Once again, I was being detained from the creature I wanted to fuck, due to her recent sex-text, and it was pissing me and my dick off. Too big to fit through the tight spot without running this kid over, I pondered whether or not if it would be an issue to leave boot tread marks across his face.

Aware I had no time for a scene, I, well, growled. My voice lowered three octaves as I fought the desire to kill the interference. “Move.” His mouth gaped open as he stared at me like I was the scariest SOB he’d ever seen. “Now.”

The little dweeb did a side-step that resembled more of a stumble before pushing his back against the wall to give me a wide berth. “Y-Yes, sir.” My shoulder still brushed him as I stormed past. It’s not my fault the building wasn’t designed for normal sized men.

Scanning the overflowing-with-customers establishment, I finally found the girls. They were sitting at a table! The fuck? It may have been rude to plow through patrons and staff, but I had no time. I knew the biker would be checking on them as soon as his phone call ended.