Wicked Times (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 3)
Page 19
Ivy cut off Brian’s colorful swearing and disconnected her phone, powering it off before Brian could call back. She pocketed the device and squared her shoulders before moving toward the front door. “I’m coming, Jack.”
“I WON’T let you hurt Ivy,” Jack said, glancing around the basement for a hint of something he could use as a weapon. He had no idea how he was going to get out of his bonds, but he’d been shifting his wrists and managed to loosen them, although only marginally.
“What is it about that chick?” Marcus asked, twirling around the floor-to-ceiling beam. “I mean, she’s hot. I can see that. You’re hopelessly in love with her, though. I can’t remember ever seeing you like this with a woman.”
“Ivy isn’t like any other woman in the world.”
“Is it the pink hair? Is that what does it for you?”
“The whole package does it for me,” Jack replied. “You need to stay away from her.”
“Oh, we both know I can’t do that, Jack,” Marcus said. “You ruined my life and I’m going to ruin yours. The truly sad part is that you won’t be alive to see Ivy die. Maybe I can keep you alive long enough to figure out a way to get her, too. I would love to watch you try to save her. That’s my idea of fun.”
“I will kill you,” Jack seethed, yanking against the ropes as he tried to throw himself forward. “Don’t you even think about touching her!”
“I’m going to touch her, Jack,” Marcus said, grinning. “I’m going to touch her in every way possible. Granted, it won’t be as much fun as a woman, but I’m sure I can figure something out to give us both a thrill.”
“That sounds fairly disgusting,” Ivy said, appearing at the bottom of the stairs.
Marcus jumped at the sight of her, flustered, while Jack’s heart rolled.
“Get out of here, Ivy!” Jack screamed. “Run!”
Ivy ignored his outburst. “How’s it going, Marcus?”
Marcus stilled. “What did you just call me?”
“Marcus.”
“How did you know that?”
“Well, I spent the afternoon with your sister,” Ivy replied, keeping her hand on the stair railing and her eyes on Marcus. She wanted to reassure Jack that help was coming, but tipping off Marcus didn’t seem like a good idea. “She’s approached me a few times. Today we finally got to have a chat.”
Marcus narrowed his eyes. “How is that even possible?”
“How is it possible that you’re inside of her body?”
“I have no idea,” Marcus answered. “Does she know? Has she figured it out?”
Ivy pursed her lips. “She’s figured out a few things,” she conceded. “She knows you killed your mother. She knows you killed Mark Dalton. She figured out what you had planned for Jack and me. She’s the one who told me about this place. She’s been following you.”
Marcus glanced around the basement, narrowing his eyes. “Is she here now?”
“She is.”
“Why can’t I see her?”
“I can’t see her either,” Ivy admitted. “I saw her briefly this afternoon, but I can hear her. She’s been bending my ear a lot today. It seems you’ve been a very bad boy.”
“Ivy, if you don’t run, I’m never going to forgive you,” Jack ordered. “You have to get out of here, honey. Please.”
“I’m not leaving you, Jack. Stop telling me to leave you. It’s not going to happen.”
“Yeah, Jack. Shut up,” Marcus said, mocking him. “If Laura is still here, what is she doing?”
“She’s waiting for the perfect time to get her body back,” Ivy replied. “She knows you’re too powerful to wrest control away from you. She needs to sneak back in when you’re not in control … like maybe if you were unconscious or something.”
Marcus jerked his head back and checked the empty space behind him before returning his gaze to Ivy. “She can’t have this body back. It’s mine.”
“You should’ve died that day on the freeway,” Ivy countered. “That was your destiny. Instead you stole your sister’s life. That makes you about the lowest life form I’ve ever met … and I’ve met some real jackoffs.”
“Ivy!” Jack struggled against his restraints. “I’m going to … .”
Ivy forced herself to remain calm and focus on Marcus. Brian would be here soon. “You should run now, Marcus. This is your last chance for escape.”
Marcus sneered. “Why? Are the cops coming for me? I have trouble believing that since you’re here alone.”
“The cops aren’t coming,” Ivy lied. “They think I’m crazy. I told them you took over your sister’s body and now they’re worried I need to be committed. In fact, they probably don’t even know I’m gone yet. I climbed out my bedroom window and stole my father’s car.”
“Ivy,” Jack whimpered. “How could you be so stupid?”
“You’re brave. I’ll give you that,” Marcus said. “Jack is right, though. You’re a moron. Why didn’t you call the police and tell them where we were before coming down here? That would’ve been the smarter move.”
“You heard Jack,” Ivy replied. “I’m not known for my brains.”
“You’re definitely a looker,” Marcus said. “I have plans for that cute little body of yours. Tell me, are you into pain?”
Ivy made a face. “You’re a sick individual, Marcus,” she said. “You feed off fear. Did you make your mother beg before you killed her?”
“No. I just popped her in the head twice and called it a day.”
“Did you say anything to Mark Dalton before you killed him?”
“I asked him for directions to distract him,” Marcus replied. “He didn’t even see it coming. If it’s any consolation, he was dead before he realized it. I didn’t have time to play with him because I knew you and Jack were close. I couldn’t have fun like I wanted.”
Ivy needed a little more time, so she heaped on more questions. “Why didn’t you kill me that day in the park?”
“I didn’t want you dead yet,” Marcus explained. “I wanted Jack to worry himself sick over you first. It worked, too. You two were miserable for days before he found his backbone – and I’m guessing another bone – and won you back. That was a little annoying because then he didn’t leave your side for two days, but it worked out in the end.”
“You know you could’ve gotten away with this if you hadn’t been so bent on revenge, right?” Ivy asked.
“Jack deserves to die. He ruined my life.”
“You ruined your own life,” Ivy shot back, refusing to mince words. She knew a little something that Marcus didn’t, and while he’d kept his attention on her she’d noticed a distant flash through the window behind him. “Do you know what your problem is, Marcus?”
“No. I have a feeling you’re going to tell me, though.”
“You’re your own worst enemy,” Ivy said, taking a step away from the bottom of the stairs to clear the way. “You never know when to take the win and shut your stupid mouth.”
Marcus lunged in Ivy’s direction as she covered her head and turned toward the wall. Jack’s scream was anguished until he saw Brian appear out of the darkness, gun drawn. He had an army of police officers behind him.
“Laura, you’re going to want to put your hands up and turn around,” Brian ordered, his voice deadly. “If you put up a fight, I don’t have any qualms about shooting you.”
“You can’t do that,” Ivy whispered. “Laura needs her body back.”
The look on Marcus’ face was chilling. He was out of moves. If he stepped toward Jack, Brian would kill him. If he stepped toward Ivy, the outcome would be the same. There was only one victim he had left to torture.
“Well, I guess that’s that,” Marcus said, his eyes locking with Ivy’s. “That was well played. You’re smarter than you look. I take it you lied about not calling the cops.”
“Jack may think I’m an idiot sometimes, but I try really hard not to live up to that reputation,” Ivy shot back. “Just … go. Let Lau
ra back in.”
“Oh, no,” Marcus said, reaching behind his back and retrieving his gun. “What fun would that be?”
Multiple cops started screaming at Marcus to put down his gun … and then they started firing. So many rounds went off Ivy lost count as she huddled close to the floor and covered her ears. When she risked a glance up a few moments later, Marcus was dead on the floor … and so was Laura. Ivy looked around, desperate for a hint of the woman in question, but Laura was gone. Ivy had a feeling the consciousness clinging to this world passed over when Laura’s body exhaled its last breath. She could only hope Laura found peace on the other side. If anyone deserved respite, it was her.
Ivy jolted when a pair of hands landed on her arm, twirling her. Jack was at her side, Brian cutting him loose before Ivy could take notice, and his face was murderous. Ivy ignored the glare and threw her arms around his neck. “I thought I lost you.”
Jack rubbed her back and burst into tears, taking Ivy by surprise. “You’d better prepare yourself,” he murmured, crying into her neck. “You’re not going to be able to leave your bed for a week.”
“I can live with that.”
Twenty-Five
Ivy woke to a solid wall of muscle and Jack’s arms holding her pressed tightly against his chest. She sighed, relieved that it was over and momentarily sad that Laura lost everything due to her brother’s twisted mind.
“Honey, I’m still going to kill you,” Jack murmured into her hair. “Before that, though, I want to hold you and then eat breakfast. We’ll schedule your killing for after noon if that works for you.”
Ivy snickered, pressing a soft kiss to one of Jack’s scars. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Ivy wrenched her head back so she could fix Jack with a dubious look.
“Okay, I’m going to be fine,” Jack corrected. “I’m a work in progress.”
“You’re my work in progress,” Ivy said, running her finger down Jack’s cheek. “Wait … you don’t want to take off now that I’m safe, do you?”
Jack growled. “No.”
“That’s good. I was going to have to kill you if that was the case.”
“We’re not going to be apart again,” Jack said. “I’ve learned my lesson. This is where I want to be.”
“In bed with me?” Ivy asked, her eyes twinkling.
“Every minute of every day,” Jack answered. “For now I’m going to take hunkering down in this house with you for the next few days and call it a victory. We’ll work on the bigger picture down the road.”
“Few days? What about work?”
“I talked to Brian last night,” Jack said. “Technically Bellaire is going to take the lead on this one. Marcus kidnapped me, but Mark Dalton’s case is bigger. They took Laura’s body into custody last night and they’re handling the bulk of the paperwork.
“Brian said he would handle the stuff from our end and he told me to take the rest of the week off and spend it with you,” he continued. “Since that was exactly what I wanted to do, I didn’t put up much of a fight.”
Ivy did the math in her head. “That means we have five whole days together.”
“It does.”
“I’m definitely not going to be able to walk,” she mused, causing Jack to chuckle as he pressed his lips to her forehead.
“Well, as much fun as that is, I thought we would only spend today in bed,” Jack said. “I believe you mentioned something about a hike and a picnic, and I wouldn’t mind taking a drive over to Traverse City one day. How does that sound?”
“That sounds like the best offer I’ve had in … well … ever.”
“Good,” Jack said, kissing her forehead again.
“You know we’re probably going to be forced into a meal with my parents, too, right? My dad was hopping mad about me stealing his car last night. I’m going to have to smooth that over.”
“Yes, well, I’m going to enjoy watching him yell at you,” Jack said. “Why don’t we host a barbecue here? I can grill steaks for Max and me, and you can make weird vegetarian stuff for everyone else.”
“Really? You want to barbecue together, too?”
“Honey, there’s absolutely nothing I don’t want to do with you.”
“What about riding a horse?” Ivy asked.
“Except that,” Jack conceded, rubbing small circles on her back as he moved his uncovered feet against hers on top of the mattress at the end of the bed.
“Can I ask you one thing before we start our day of bliss?”
“Yes.”
“Do you really believe that Marcus was in Laura’s body, or are you just saying it because you don’t want me to feel like an idiot?” Ivy was afraid to ask the question in case Jack decided she was crazy in the light of day.
“That was definitely Marcus,” Jack replied. “I don’t know how he did it. I don’t know how any of it happened. I don’t understand how Laura came to you. I do believe it happened, though.”
“What’s the report going to say?”
“That Laura lost her mind and tried to avenge her brother,” Jack said. “I’m sorry, honey. We’ll both get locked up if we tell the other story. I … you know that, right?”
Ivy nodded. “I hope Laura found peace.”
“I hope so, too,” Jack said, tightening his arms around Ivy and rolling so he was on his back and she was settled on his chest. “We’re going to have a fight at some point about you walking into that basement. Since I’m feeling lazy and snuggly today, I need you to pick a time later in the week.”
Ivy laughed. “You want to schedule a fight?”
“Friday is good for me,” Jack said. “How is it for you?”
“Do we get to make up the same night?”
“That’s a must.”
“Then Saturday is better for me,” Ivy said. “I want to go to Traverse City on Friday.”
“Deal,” Jack said, kissing her softly. “Now, do you want to play here or in the kitchen first?”
Ivy rested her head on Jack’s chest, listening to the soothing beat of his heart for a moment. “I want to play here first.”
“That was a really good answer, honey,” Jack said. “Now, let me explain the game to you … .”
“Oh, no,” Ivy countered. “We’re playing my game today. I’m the boss.”
“Aren’t you always?”
“Maybe we can share the title,” Ivy suggested. “I want to be the boss first, though.”
Jack pushed Ivy’s mussed hair away from her face. “Okay. Just tell me when it’s my turn.”
“You’re on.”
Acknowledgments
I’m a romantic at heart. A true romantic. I love the idea of a happy ending, so much so I have trouble writing a sad one. The world is sad enough. I like escaping in fiction. That’s just me. I like sarcasm and snark – but I’m not sure a sad ending is in me. If you’re looking for an edge like that, you’re probably looking in the wrong place. Just FYI.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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