That was an empty threat and we both knew it.
I leaned forward and whispered in Ivy’s ear, “Ask if his name is Rusty.”
“Should I call you Rusty, Mr.Huntington?”
“How the fuck do you know my name?Have you got Campbell with you?That must be why they said you aren’t going into the office today.”
Jesus.Ivy’s coworkers needed to stop sharing so freely.
I reached out and tapped the red button to end the call.
“Ryan!Why’d you do that?”she asked, her eyes wide.
“First, that was a fishing expedition and I didn’t want you giving anything away.Second, your damned coworkers have to stop sharing your schedule.”
Her head twisted an inch to the side.“Good luck with that.It never pays to be cagey with clients.”
I leaned toward her.“It never pays to tell criminals where you are or when you’ll be back either.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it.Except she recovered and said, “You’re right, but my coworkers had no idea about my problems.I’ll take care of that, now.”
My hand curled around my neck to ease my building tension.“How are you gonna do that?If you tell them about the abduction, it raises the question of why you never reported it.”
She put a hand on my chest and rubbed gentle circles there.“We have a system, Ry.I’ll let my boss and Shayla know that this guy is a potential problem.I’m not going to pass him off to Bill or Anderson because that will only cause more issues.So, don’t flip your lid when I underplay this with my boss.”
“Ivy.”
“Ryan.I need to play it cool at work or one of my male colleagues will horn in on what they think is a potential client.Sales is very cutthroat, and I can’t have them doing that in this instance especially since this guy would love to throw me under the bus.”
“I still don’t like it.”
She nodded.“He wants to find the truck.Is Lark planning to leave it to be found?”
I shrugged a shoulder.“I’m not sure.But now that he’s made contact, I need to tell the brothers and they’ll decide or call a session of church.”
Her hand had paused on my chest.She put pressure there, went up on her toes, and brushed her lips against mine.“You call them while I let my boss know I followed up on a potential client.”
This driving need to protect her surged through my whole body.I’d never felt like this before, and I couldn’t wrap my head around it.I pulled my phone from my back pocket and acted as though I was going to make a call.
She chuckled and it sounded almost melodic.“You’re not gonna call anyone until you listen in on my conversation, are you?”
I looked up from my phone to her.“What makes you think that?”
“You’re not that difficult to read, mister.”
“Make your call, Trouble.”
She shook her head but called her office.
Whoever she spoke to took her word that this man was a problem.
I called Volt.He didn’t answer and I tried Lark instead.
“Talk to me, Nickel,” he answered in his gravelly voice.
“Rusty – the man Boyd and Campbell were reporting to – called Ivy through her real estate office.He wants the truck and has threatened to come after me and her once he finds it.”
“Put her in a safe house and let the asshole come to us,” Lark said without a moment’s hesitation.
