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I don’t know why I didn’t lie, I’d done it easily just a few seconds ago, but it didn’t feel right. Out of the two men in my life, Knox treated me better, which was a really fucking low bar, but that had earned him more loyalty. It was a fucked up competition, but there it was.

If only Mom were here to guide me, I thought, but shoved that thought down because if she were here, she might not have let it get this far. That’s what I liked to believe, but maybe she would’ve backed up Rex. The point was that I didn’t know and couldn’t remember.

“I gathered,” Knox replied, his tone was gentle. “You wanna talk about it?” He didn’t push and he didn’t pressure me to answer, which was the only explanation for why I chose honesty.

“Nothing to talk about really,” I answered easily. “But…” I laughed, a short and helpless sound. “Apparently, I was supposed to be spying on you.” I shook my head as I replayed the absurd conversation I just had. “He’s angry I didn’t read his mind and figure it out on my own.”

Knox’s expression didn’t change much. It sobered and settled, his eyes steady on mine. He nodded once, slow as if he was letting the words sink in. “Is that something you plan on doing?”

I laughed. “If so, I wouldn’t have told you.”

That seemed to please him, and I watched as something shifted in his expression that looked a lot like relief. “Okay,” he answered simply. “So what’s the plan?”

I laughed again, shrugging like a fool. “I have no idea what anybody’s plans are, yours or his.” I met his gaze head on, and the steadiness of it, the lack of malice in it, pressed down on my chest in a way that left me breathless. “I’m just trying to get through this one day at a time.”

Knox stared at me for so long that I had to resist the urge to squirm under his scrutiny. His gray eyes stayed locked on my face and his right arm folded over his left, showing off that inked sleeve, before his body finally relaxed. “All right then. Let’s have a drink.”

It was just that simple to him and I felt something chip away at the walls I erected to keep myself safe.

Chapter Nine

Knox

Iwas up at five. Hadn’t slept for shit. My brain had been running laps from the moment my head hit the pillow, circling back to Ivy no matter how many times I tried to shut that shit down. What I overheard of her conversation with Rex had convinced me there was no love lost between them. She was like another person on the phone with him, her tone flat like she was reading a map. She gave Rex nothing. He’s just like you. Doesn’t tell me anything.

I’d heard enough of her side of the conversation to know what her father wanted her to do. My mind had gone back to earlier when I’d defended her to my club brothers. It was a relief when she told me what her father had asked, without any prompting, like she’d already decided whose side she was on, and it wasn’t his.

What kind of man talked to his kid the way Rex had? Even when I was a shithead teenager stealing cars, pulling stunts, and sneaking around with older girls, shit that should have put Hatchet through the floor and still he never spoke to me like that. Not once.

She was honest with me about the spy thing, which confirmed, for me at least, that she had no plan to go through with it. But it also meant Rex was expecting something, which was information I could use. Feed him the wrong intel. Let him think he knew what was happening inside the MC while we controlled every word of it.

That was a problem I could work with. If only my fucking brain would clear long enough to actually work on it.

I jackknifed out of bed and paced the length of my room, keeping my feet quiet so I didn’t wake Ivy through the thin wall that separated our beds. Instead, I headed downstairs before I wore a track in the hardwood.

A run, that’s what I needed. A run to get me the fuck out of my head. Get some fresh air. A run would clear my mind, at least enough that I could deal with one fucking thought at a time.

“What’s wrong?” Ivy stood in the kitchen doorway with her arms folded. She stared at me with worry in her eyes. I hadn’t heard her get up. I guess it wasn’t just me having trouble sleeping.

I turned too fast and stood up straight. “Who says anything’s wrong?”

She grinned and motioned at me with one hand. “Um, let’s see. The fact that you’re up at least two hours earlier than usual. You didn’t hear me come downstairs. Or call your name. Three times.”

I hadn’t heard any of that.

She sighed. “So, is there something you want to talk about?”

Fuck no. “Not yet.” I looked at her for a second before I came to a decision. “Wanna go for a run with me?”

That brought her up short. “A run?” She said it like I’d suggested we mud wrestle alligators. “For fun.”

“Yeah, for fun.” I laughed, rolling my eyes. “I know a nice trail in the mountains. It’s pretty easy,” I added, hoping to entice her. “You can say no, but I thought you might want some fresh air and sunshine. If you don’t wanna run, you could always walk it.”

“Yes! I mean… yep. Give me five minutes.” She took the stairs two at a time, like she was racing herself.

I headed off to fetch my shorts and running shoes. I figured I’d be waiting for at least twenty minutes for her to get ready. She jogged back down exactly five minutes later, and I immediately had a problem.

Bra top. Skintight yoga pants that clung to her curves. She had long legs and a trim waist with curves that the black dress from our wedding night together had only suggested. My mouth went dry. I realized, too fucking late, that those perfect tits and kind smile, were going to be a major fucking problem.