by Nicole Banks
Otto pulled up to Ivy’s apartment building. She was grateful she didn’t see any of the usual guys hanging out front, though with the way her mind had been going since this morning, she doubted sleep was going to happen for her. The car ride had been unusually quiet on the way over, and she was thankful for it. Ivy didn’t have the energy to pretend right now.
It was funny how much not talking to her sister had affected her. She was internally ready to beg for help to get her and her sister out of this situation, and as Ivy looked at Otto out of the corner of her eyes, she was willing to tell him everything. She could taste the words forming on her tongue—they came at her like a freight train, but she quickly swallowed everything she was so desperate to scream, hoping someone would have the answers for her.
If she told Otto what was going on, there was a possibility he’d tell her to fend for herself or it would somehow tip Bruno off. She couldn’t deal with either option because they both left her and her sister dead and everything she did would have been for nothing.
Ivy put her hand on the car door wondering if Bruno was sitting in her apartment again and if Otto was going to stay in his car all night to watch her building. She didn’t pay attention to much after Sofia told the girls at Tres they would all need a bodyguard of sorts. She didn’t say why, but Ivy knew the truth and that she was partly responsible for it.
Ivy hated that she had to always pick between someone else’s life and her sister’s or her own. It was easier when they were strangers and she didn’t let her mind wander to the people who would miss them when they were gone, but then there were people like Mary. She’d been kind to Ivy, and it almost killed her knowing she was one of the women Bruno would probably target to get his point across. Ivy pictured that sweet woman beaten and bound to the stage as Desiree had been, and Ivy had to wrap her arms around herself to keep from sobbing out loud.
You’re never going to make it to the end of this if you don’t get a handle on your emotions. Eve needs you to be stronger than this.
“Are you okay?” Otto’s deep timber and the way his hand landed on her knee, giving it a tight squeeze, sent a different kind of sensation through her body. This man and his uncanny ability to touch her without pain but only reassurance or even pleasure sat at odds with what she was accustomed to. It made her want to lean on him, her body practically begged for it, but the more she stayed wrapped up in his orbit, the harder things were going to be for her.
He asked her if she was okay and she wasn’t. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been okay, and she didn’t know if that was something she’d ever be able to feel again. But that didn’t stop her from fixing her lips into a small smile and nodding her head. “I’m okay.” Ivy had been lying so much the words no longer tasted bitter on her lips.
OTTO GRIPPED THE STEERING WHEEL with one hand while his other stayed on Ivy’s knee. He heard the lie in her tone, and after his brief conversation with Sofia, he was starting to wonder what else she was lying about and why.
Sofia told him about the background checks Smoke had done on all their employees. She said nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but it looked almost too clean for a background check. Sofia told Otto everything they found on Ivy, and the one thing that stuck out for him was her file had no mention of any family.
Otto could come up with excuses for the discrepancy, maybe the sister she had told him about wasn’t a sister by blood or didn’t share the same last name. There were a dozen reasons for the discrepancy, and yet as he drove her home, that nagging feeling that had been at war with the part of him that wanted to dive into her—with no life jacket—had been persistent that something wasn’t right with Ivy.
He tried to hold onto that feeling for self-preservation, but the second he felt her mood shift in the car, the only thing he wanted to do was comfort her. It was pathetic when he actually thought about it. Nico had been quick to call him a sucker because his ex had easily wrapped him around her finger. He wanted to be the good guy for her and save her when she hadn’t needed saving.
A shrink would have a field day with him. They’d probably call it white knight syndrome and it probably stemmed from being the only boy in a household full of women and not saving his mother from herself. Whatever it was, it had him stuffing that nagging feeling into a box, knowing he was probably going to regret it later, to focus on the sad eyes and lying mouth staring back at him.
“You know you don’t have to lie to me and say you’re fine if you’re not. There was a lot to deal with tonight. I’ll still think you’re a badass if you tell me that none of what you heard and saw tonight was okay. It’s not supposed to be okay.”
Ivy placed her hand on top of his, and they intertwined their fingers together like it was the most natural thing in the world for them.
“You’re a good man.” She squeezed his hand right when he was ready to call bullshit at the idea. A good man wouldn’t put the people he cared about in danger.
“No offense, Ivy. You don’t know me well enough to make that statement.”
“I feel like I do, though,” she whispered the words, looking down at their intertwined hands. Hearing her say that made him glad he wasn’t the only one wrapped up in whatever was going on between them, though he wondered who was more at risk of getting hurt from it.
Otto lifted their intertwined hands and reached for Ivy’s chin, turning her to face him. “I feel like that too, sometimes,” he whispered into the silence of the car, and the air thickened around them. He had no idea why he was laying it out there for her, but hearing her voice what he’d been feeling made him feel less crazy for feeling the way he did about her.
They both started talking at the same time, and it caused them to laugh together. Otto nodded toward Ivy for her to speak first. “I think it’s time for me to go. Are you going to walk me in again?” Her tone was light and teasing, making him remember the kiss they shared the night before.
“Yeah, it’s getting late, come on.” Otto unlocked the doors and reluctantly pulled his hand out of her grasp. They both stepped out of the car and Otto was quickly at her side, hand on her low back as they walked toward her building. “It’s quiet tonight,” Otto commented.
“Yeah, guess the chill of the night air has everyone inside.” She looked up at him. “So how does this work? Do you sit in your car all night? Am I supposed to invite you in to crash on my couch?”
They stopped in front of the elevator, and Otto leaned into her space, remembering the words he painfully uttered to her last night. The last thing either one of them was going to do was sleep if he stepped foot inside her apartment where he didn’t have to worry about appearances and the outside world. He’d be able to touch her and find out if she tasted like honey.
“Do you want to invite me in, Ivy?” The elevator door pinged open, but neither one of them moved, and the doors closed behind them. The energy shifted again, sucking them into a vortex that only allowed them to exist. Otto’s body was hard, and he could feel her coursing through his system like she’d always been there.
“Don’t do that,” Ivy whispered up at him.
“Do what?” he hedged.
Her hand came up to grip his shirt, and she pulled him in closer, licking her lips. “Don’t tempt me. You know there’s a million reasons why we shouldn’t do this.”
He wrapped his hands around her hips, knowing she was right. He needed to tuck her safely inside and walk away, but that wasn’t an option for him. He leaned in, his lips an inch from hers. “Tell me to stop, Ivy. You know what’s going to happen if I put my lips on yours.”
He waited and prayed she’d tell him no—that she didn’t want this as much as he did—but she never said the words. She pushed up on her toes and sealed her lips against his. He groaned into her mouth and pushed her up against the wall crowding her body with his.
Her nails dug into his shoulder and bit his bottom lip. He grunted and kissed his way down her jaw to her neck. “My poison Ivy,” he murmured in be
tween kisses. He was getting drunk on the little sounds she made when he sunk his teeth into her neck and the way she squirmed in his hold.
She moaned his name and he brought his head up to look in her eyes. She was breathing heavily, her lips were swollen from his kiss, and her eyes were closed. There was a nice flush coating her perfect skin, and it made Otto’s cock twitch. “Is this okay?” he whispered, making sure he didn’t push her too hard or too fast.
He was fully aware they were still downstairs on the first floor of her building. They still hadn’t made it upstairs, and he knew if he did, this night was going to end with him buried inside of her.
Ivy nodded, still breathing heavily. She slowly opened her eyes and a small smile left her lips. “See, I told you, you’re a good guy.” She patted his chest. “I think,” she let out a breath and the elevator doors opened up, letting out a couple. Ivy shot her hand in the door to keep it from closing. “I think we should call it a night.”
As disappointed as Otto was by hearing those words, he knew it was the right thing to do. He kissed her again because he loved the feel of her lips against his. “Sleep well, Ivy.” He pushed off of her and let her walk into the elevator. The doors were getting ready to close when he put his hand in to stop it. “Let me get your cell phone.”
Ivy pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it to him. Otto quickly put his number in her cell phone and handed it back to her. “Text me when you get into your apartment, and call me if you need anything. One of my guys will be watching the place so you should be safe.” He stepped into the elevator with her but kept his hand in the door to keep it from closing. “I mean it, Ivy. Call me if you need anything or don’t feel safe. I’ll be here for you.”
He kissed her on her forehead and quickly stepped out of the elevator. As soon as the doors closed he scrubbed his hand down his face, letting out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. He waited there until the numbers on top stopped at the sixth floor. He pulled his phone out and waited like some lovesick puppy to see if she would text him.
His phone pinged instantly, and his face lit up when he saw the number and message across his screen: I’m inside, safe.
Otto: Good, sweet dreams.
He put his phone in his pocket before he turned into a teenage boy with a crush and kept texting her. Nico was right about him, he was a sucker when it came to women. Ivy had her claws dug so deep into his skin he didn’t even care if they were tipped with poison. He just needed to figure out what it was she was hiding. He hoped it wasn’t anything that had the potential to hurt the Council. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to save Ivy from Sofia’s wrath if she did.
Bruno came out from behind the stairs on the first floor of the building Ivy was staying in. He had seen everything that went down between her and Otto and smiled at how fast that girl had worked her magic.
Bruno knew from experience Otto had a soft spot for women, and he knew the perfect payback would be to watch him get hurt in the same way his ex had hurt him. How Otto survived in this life with the heart that he had was impressive. It could have been why Otto never dated or brought women around. The man had so many weak points it was almost pitiful to go after him first. But Bruno wanted to hit Sofia where it hurt, and he started with the guy who’d be blinded by some pussy.
Bruno trooped it up the six flights before pulling out his cell phone. He dialed a number that picked up on the first ring. “Hit ‘em. Try to keep them alive though.” He hung up and pulled out a set of keys. He put the key in the lock and quickly opened the door, closing it behind him loud enough to startle Ivy.
“What are you doing here, Bruno?” she snapped at him and his knee-jerk reaction was to smack the taste out of her mouth, but instead he started applauding her.
“I think this is the quickest you’ve worked. You must really want you and your sister’s freedom badly.” He walked further into her apartment, and there was defiance in her stare and it amused him. As soon as he got close enough to her, he wrapped his hand around her throat and pulled her toward his body. “You were always my fave, Ivy. It was rough in the beginning for us, because you had this disgusting hope that you had a shot at surviving this.”
He pushed her up against the nearest wall, and when she didn’t wince or flinch in pain he did it again, but harder. This time she winced, and as quickly as his smile spread from her pain, it quickly died when he saw that defiance hadn’t gone anywhere. “Don’t get cocky on me now. You don’t succeed, neither you nor your sister will be set free.”
That put a little fear in her eyes, and it left Bruno feeling satisfied. “Do they still have gentlemen’s night on Thursdays?” She nodded. “Good, after that little display of affection I saw downstairs, something tells me performing on Thursday is going to set our dear Otto on edge, and by then, my sweet Ivy, we will be at the end of your part and you’ll be scott-free.”
“What about my sister? How will I get to her once this is all over?”
Bruno shook his head. Love was such a silly and wasteful sentiment. It’s only use in his life was to bend people to his will. He’d been able to play Ivy like a fiddle because of her love for her sister, and when Otto worked for him, Bruno was able to use his love for his sisters to keep him in check.
Until Otto betrayed you.
Bruno ignored that thought and focused on the woman who was going to bring Otto to his knees. “The devil’s in the details, sweetheart. Once we’re in the final stages, you’ll get the information to meet up with your sister, and you two can ride off into the sunset. You have my word.”
But Bruno knew that wasn’t entirely true. Both women would get their freedom, but it would come at a cost, one that Ivy or Eve or both of them would have to pay.
SMOKE PULLED HIS BIKE INTO a parking spot in front of Gia’s building. He was bone tired from riding straight through with barely any stops and desperately needed some shut eye, but he wanted to see Gia first. He hated that he had to leave her in the first place with everything going on, and he’d been anxious to get back to her as soon as he left.
He walked to the front of the building, noticing one of the guys from Otto’s crew was watching her building. He was grateful her brother had the foresight to make sure she was looked after, but Smoke didn’t think anyone could protect her like he could.
He pulled out his phone and dialed her number. She picked up, and the sleepiness in her voice made him think of having the privilege of waking up to her in the mornings. “Hi, Smoke,” she yawned into the phone.
“If you were asleep, why’d you pick up?”
“Because the ringing in my ears wouldn’t go away. Where are you?”
He moved two feet over so he was directly under her window. “Outside your bedroom window like a perv.” She laughed into the phone, and it made him smile. God, he was turning into a sap.
They fell into silence, and he wasn’t sure if she fell back asleep or not. He wanted to ask her if it was okay for him to come up, but he wasn’t sure how to formulate the words. He never second-guessed himself before, he just took what he wanted, but with Gia things were different.
He heard the rustle of sheets over the phone before he heard a pssst. He looked up and saw Gia’s face with sleepy eyes and a messy hair-do, sticking out the window. “You’re right, definitely like a perv. Hi, Smoke.”
Smoke hung up the phone and just stared at her. It was ridiculous the way the little black space where his heart should have been twisted into a knot at the sight of her. All at once he felt the anxiousness seep out of his body, and he felt the weight of his exhaustion hit his shoulders.
“You look tired. You want to come up?” She asked the question he had wanted to ask but felt too nervous to do so. He nodded his head not trusting his voice, and she threw her keys out the window for him to get in.
He caught them and headed upstairs to her apartment. She met him at the door with an oversized shirt that hung off one of her shoulders. She was all bare legs, and morning sun and
all he wanted to do was fall asleep wrapped around her.
He reached for her neck and pulled her into him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, making sure not to touch his cut. He stared down into her sleepy eyes, wondering if this is what it felt like to come home to someone, because he liked the way she was looking at him now.
Gia yawned. “Let’s go lay down. You look like you’re about to fall asleep on your feet and I’m tired.” She grabbed his hands and led him through her apartment, and Smoke realized then he’d probably follow Gia anywhere.
Ivy walked into Tres early as usual. Otto wasn’t there to drop her off, but one of his guys was. They rode the entire way in silence, and she was perfectly fine with that. It let her stew on the predicament she was in with Otto and Bruno.
Otto kissed her again last night, and it was better than the first time. The heat that scorched through her body left her in a puddle at his feet. His touch had ignited pleasure in her when she was so used to feeling only pain. She desperately wanted to continue their night together to see if she could hold on to the feeling, but Bruno had come by like a cold shower reminding her she couldn’t be that woman. She spent the rest of her night hating Bruno and hating Otto too.
She hated Otto because he tasted like freedom to her—freedom to live how one wanted. He was unapologetic, and when he wanted her, try as he might, he couldn’t hide it or shy away from it. As much as it drew her in, she hated him more for it because her life choices led to the shackles on her feet, and even if she managed to escape, she’d always have to look over her shoulder.
Her so-called freedom would come at a cost, and she’d be trading one pair of shackles for another when she hurt Otto and helped Bruno destroy Sofia.
