The line went dead.
I tossed the phone onto the passenger seat and focused on the road. Don't get distracted. Simple enough. Except I could still smell Ivy's perfume, something light and floral that cut through the stale beer and cigarette smoke of the bar. Could still feel the weight of her eyes on me, the accusation in every syllable.
You left for work, you said. Big opportunity, you said.
I had lied. Not about the opportunity, that much was true. Just not the kind she'd thought.
Six months. That's how long we'd been together before Daniel died. Just over six months of pretending I was normal, that I could build a life separate from my family's business. Ivy had been working at some club back then, earning enough to afford a decent rental and still managing to light up every roomshe walked into. She'd had walls a mile high when we met, defenses built from a lifetime of disappointment.
But she'd let me in.
Slowly, carefully, like she was testing whether I'd hurt her. She'd told me about her parents, about the drugs and the neglect. About Elena's mother taking her in, giving her a place to belong. About the men who'd used her and the scars they'd left behind.
And I'd held her. Promised her I was different. That I wouldn't leave.
Then I did exactly that.
I pulled into the hotel parking garage, killed the engine, and sat in the silence. My reflection stared back at me from the rearview mirror. Dark eyes, harder than they'd been four years ago. Face a little more lined, body carrying the weight of too many choices I couldn't take back.
Ivy had been right about one thing. I'd made my choice.
I'd chosen family. Duty. The life I'd been born into, whether I wanted it or not.
But seeing her tonight had cracked something open. Some part of me I'd buried deep, convinced it was dead. The part that remembered what it felt like to wake up next to someone who wasn't afraid of me. Who looked at me like I was more than just a weapon.
I'd met Elena too, back then. Ivy's sister in all but blood. Quiet where Ivy was loud, careful where Ivy was reckless. They'd balanced each other, and I'd liked that. Liked watching them together, the way they moved around each other like they shared the same orbit.
What were the odds Elena was here too?
What were the odds Ivy was still in touch with her, still close? Considering what I knew about the pair, I doubted they'd ever part ways.
I climbed out of the car and headed for the elevator. The hotel was nice enough. Clean, anonymous, the kind of place that didn't ask questions. My room was on the fifth floor, a corner suite with a view of downtown.
I poured myself a drink from the minibar and stood at the window, looking out over the city lights.
Ironstone sprawled beneath me, a web of streets and shadows. Somewhere out there, Ivy was driving home. Probably cursing my name. Probably trying to forget she'd seen me.
I should've let her.
I should've stayed silent when Jordan grabbed her, should've let her handle it like she claimed she could.
I honestly hadn't even realized it was her at first. I'd been raised to respect women.
But the second I'd seen his hand on her wrist and registered his intent, something in me had snapped.
No one touched any woman like that. Not while I was breathing.
And then I saw her face, and the need to defend her became even more necessary.
Old instincts. Protective instincts I had no right to anymore.
I downed the whiskey in one swallow, savoring the burn.
Four years. I'd been operational for four years now, fully embedded in the family business. I'd negotiated deals, eliminated threats, climbed the ranks until my father trusted me with assignments like this one. I'd learned to compartmentalize, to shut off the parts of myself that hesitated or second-guessed.
But Ivy had always been the exception.
Even when I'd cut her loose, even when I'd convinced myself it was for her own good, I'd thought about her. Wondered where she'd ended up. Whether she was safe. Happy. Whether she'd found someone who could give her the normal life I couldn't.
