Fighting Back (Harrow #2) (20 page)

‘A child needs a mother too,’ Ivy said. ‘Ray sold him off to the fighting circuit when he was eight… I guess looking after a child that wasn’t his took its toll on Ray too. Mauri didn’t find him until he was thirteen.’

‘Mauri told me,’ Carina said, twisting in her seat to reach over and put a hand on the arm of Ivy’s chair. ‘He told me everything that he knew… Mauri found out that his wife was cheating, I don’t think that he ever knew who her lover was, if he did then I suspect he’d have turned his back on Bruno too. Trystan was only five or six when she died.’

‘How did she die?’

‘Mauri didn’t tell me,’ Carina said. ‘But it wasn’t long after he discovered her affairs… read into that what you will.’

‘You think that Mauri…?’

‘I know that he was a ruthless man in his hey-day, even Bruno feared him, and he had a reprehensible reputation of his own.’

Would Mauri have killed his wife for having an affair? It was a possibility and one that Ivy would have to ask Dax about. There was only a year between him and Trystan, given that, he wouldn’t have been in the Stark mansion when Mauri’s wife died, so he might not know anything about what went on.

‘Wait,’ Ivy said aloud. ‘There’s only a year between Dax and Trystan…’

Carina said nothing to the unspoken question and it would be impossible to know if Bruno had knocked up two women a few months apart. Now she had a secret of her own, Ivy would have to tell Dax, she couldn’t know all of this and not tell him. If it turned out that Trystan was his half-brother then Dax would go into self-destruct mode, he hated the guy.

But now that she thought about it, Trystan was nothing like Mauri and Brad, they were both dark haired and had a similar build and work ethic. Trystan was an anomaly, but maybe that came from being the youngest, he was spoiled. She had no idea what Mauri’s wife looked like, what her colouring was, or her upbringing, but Dax might.

‘I have to call Dax,’ Ivy said, Carina caught hold of her.

‘He’s been through so much…’

‘Yes, he has,’ Ivy said. ‘But he has to know the truth.’ Except with this bounty hanging over their heads now perhaps wasn’t the time to split his focus.

‘I’m glad that he found you, that you two… that he has a woman in his life who loves him for who he is.’

‘I do,’ Ivy said. ‘None of this explains why you came back now.’

‘Dax was in his teens by the time I heard that he was staying with the Starks. I thought about approaching him, but I was too afraid of Bruno and what he would do if I tried to get into Dax’s life. I didn’t know what they had told him about me… The Starks are quite a force to reckon with, and if they decided that I wasn’t allowed to have contact with Dax, then they had the means to keep us apart.’

‘You were worried for your safety but didn’t consider Dax’s?’

‘Mauri has so much money and… he could give Dax a life that I couldn’t. I didn’t know anything about how he was raised or where he was living. I knew that the Stark mansion was impenetrable, what should I have done?’

‘I don’t know,’ Ivy said.

She didn’t know what she would do in that scenario. Ivy had struggled to encourage Dax to stand up to Mauri when he was a fully grown man with nothing to fear. As a teenager, Dax would have been ensconced in the Stark ethos, and if Mauri had told him to cast out his mother, then he probably would have.

But in spite of that, Ivy tried to imagine what it would be to have a child in that place. If Mauri took her child from her and Dax, she wouldn’t just walk away from him or her without a fight. But she also wasn’t the type of woman to leave her son with a random boyfriend when she got bored of raising him.

‘So you knew he was there, and you never tried to contact him?’ Ivy asked.

‘I thought it was easier, that he had the life he wanted,’ Carina said, resting back in her seat and closing her eyes. ‘There are so many things I would have done differently, that I should’ve done differently. But Mauri made me think… he told me that now was my time to mend those mistakes.’

‘He got in touch with you?’

‘I was surprised at first when I got the phone call. I was working in an accounting office, and Mauri just called me up and told me that he wanted me to visit. I shouldn’t have been surprised, after a few more calls I agreed. I just got into town this week. I had dinner with Mauri, and he told me that he’s been tracking me for a while.’

Tracking her, it made her sound like prey being hunted, but Carina didn’t seem to be affected in the same way that Ivy was. ‘How long is a while?’

‘I don’t know. But he knew about my life, about things that have happened to me through the years. I don’t know if he was watching me then, or if he somehow found out more recently. Mauri isn’t the type of man to leave things to chance, he has full faith in what he does and likes to be prepared.’

‘Were you ever married?’

‘A couple of times,’ Carina nodded.

‘Did you have other children?’ Dax could have siblings out there that he might like to seek out.

‘No other children,’ Carina said. ‘If I couldn’t support my first child, it seemed wrong to… I couldn’t bring myself to…’

Ivy supposed that was sensible. ‘I understand.’

‘You have to believe that it was never my intention to hurt anyone. And when I came back here, Mauri said that Dax was married, he told me about his life and I… I was just desperate to meet him, to tell him how sorry I am. I do want to be a part of his life.’

But how would Dax feel about that. It took a lot out of him to admit his feelings, Ivy was blessed that he chose to be with her when it could easily have gone the other way. If it had then she would be married to Trystan by now, watching as Dax stood on the side-lines accepting Mauri’s commands and carrying on with his life as though they hadn’t fallen for each other in the way that they had.

‘I don’t know if that’s possible,’ Ivy said. ‘I’ll talk to him, but… when Dax makes up his mind…’

Carina’s smile faded in again. ‘Just like Bruno and Mauri too… he’s been surrounded by strong men who believe men shouldn’t embrace their feelings or give in to any kind of weakness. Bruno used to say that caring made a man less formidable.’

‘One word of advice,’ Ivy smiled. ‘If you do talk to Dax or he does decide to let you be a part of his life…’

‘Yes?’

‘Don’t compare him to Bruno, he won’t take that as a compliment.’

‘No. Mauri told me that Bruno was never on board with taking care of Dax. He wanted to leave him with the fighters.’

‘He was probably worried that having Dax back meant the possibility of you coming back into his life, and if you held his secret about the affair…’

‘Yes, maybe,’ Carina said.

The reverberation of a car engine broke the air, and Ivy sprang up. Though they were at the back of the house, the sound carried around to them from the driveway at the front.

‘Is that Dax?’ Carina asked.

God, Ivy hoped so. If he knew he was going to be back, then he probably wouldn’t have bothered calling. Ivy would rather that Dax got his work done and came back to her than he interrupted what he was doing, which would cause him to take him longer in completing his task.

Dodging the table and Carina’s legs, Ivy went back into the house and through the kitchen. When she got into the living room the front door was swinging shut, but there was no one in the room. ‘Dax!’ she called out in case he’d gone upstairs, but even he couldn’t move that fast.

Shooting across the room, Ivy opened the front door to see a convertible with its top down swinging a U-turn in the drive, and there was her sister in the passenger seat waving her hands in the air.

‘Rosie!’ Ivy called, rushing out onto the paving stones. But she was struck dumb when she caught a glimpse of the driver: it was Trystan Stark.

‘Vegas here we come!’ Rosie screamed and waved at Ivy, who watched the red of their tail lights grow smaller as they disappeared down the drive.

Trystan was the guy that Rosie had met, and he was coming to get her. He would have no trouble getting past the security men his father had posted there because he knew them all. Trystan loved to mess with people. Going for Rosie was his way of attacking Ivy and Dax at the same time. Vegas would be a party for Rosie alright, but Ivy knew how Trystan Stark partied there.

‘What’s going on?’ Carina asked, coming into the living room from the kitchen as Ivy came back inside.

‘Trystan fucking Stark is what’s going on!’ Ivy said, determined that she wasn’t going to take this lying down.

Going to Vegas with Trystan was the most stupid thing that Rosie could possibly have done. Ivy had no idea what Trystan had promised Rosie in order to get her to take the trip. Whatever Trystan had offered had to be better than the financial incentive Mauri had spoken about using to get Rosie here. By leaving the beach house, Rosie could be forfeiting.

‘What has he done?’

‘He’s taking Rosie to Vegas,’ Ivy said.

Marching to the stairs, she went up into the bedroom and into the closet. Tossing her and Dax’s things into their suitcase, she also retrieved the wad of money that she had hidden under the ottoman during her first stay here. Brushing her hair, she pulled it back and then stuck her feet in her shoes.

Almost ready to leave, she returned to the bedroom to see that Carina was in the room waiting for her. ‘What are you doing?’ Carina asked.

‘I’m going to get my sister back before she does something crazy… crazier than running off with a stranger anyway.’

‘They met at Mauri’s party,’ Carina said. ‘They were dancing later in the evening. Maybe they’re friends—‘

‘Trystan Stark doesn’t have friends,’ Ivy said, checking her purse then throwing it over her shoulder. ‘He has worshippers and groupies. If Rosie tries to deny him—‘

‘Do you think that he would force her into…?’

‘He will force her to do anything he thinks that she should do. She hasn’t used drugs while she’s been here and going there with him… he’ll get her hooked again and then when he’s bored he’ll just abandon her.’

‘Maybe he cares about her,’ Carina said.

‘Trystan cares about nothing except himself.’

Carina exited the room. Ivy lifted the case onto the bed and unzipped it. She grabbed what she needed from the bathroom and brought it back to the case, then she pulled a few bills from the wad of cash and moved them into her purse. If she needed money, then she couldn’t whip out a ten grand bundle and hope it would be inconspicuous.

With her purse on her shoulder and the case on its wheels, Ivy headed for the exit. Unsure if she should leave Dax a note or not, she hesitated at the bedroom door. Without any idea of whether or not Dax would come back here, Ivy chose not to leave evidence and instead decided to text him from the road. If she called or contacted him now, then he would tell her to stay put and that wasn’t something Ivy could do with her sister in possible peril.

Departing the bedroom, she got downstairs to find Carina waiting at the front door.

‘We don’t have a car,’ Carina said.

‘We?’ Ivy asked. ‘No. I’m going alone. If you want to leave here then do it yourself, tomorrow, Mauri will send a car and—‘

‘I came here because I wanted to get to know Dax. You said it yourself that you can be an ally. I want to show you that I can be trusted. If you leave here now, then you might not come back and… I’ll lose Dax all over again.’

‘Ok,’ Ivy sighed, she didn’t have the time to fight anyway. ‘Come if you want, but you have to do what I say.’

‘I will,’ Carina said, picking up her bag from the floor. ‘How do you plan to get there?’

Opening the front door, she clocked the single car in the driveway: the security guys’ vehicle. Making a beeline for it, Ivy opened the door and climbed in, happy to find the keys in the ignition. Pulling her case over herself she got it into the back seat at the same time that Carina got into the passenger seat holding her luggage.

‘This isn’t your car,’ Carina said.

‘Mauri’s men won’t call the cops,’ Ivy said, turning on the engine but keeping the lights off as she reversed and started to drive away from the house. ‘Keep your head down.’

The security men wandered around on the property and only checked in at the house periodically. She hadn’t seen anyone for a while; Trystan may have called them off so that he could stage his little escape with Rosie.

‘How did you know the keys would be in the car?’ Carina asked.

‘If someone came onto the property Mauri’s men would want to be able to chase them away, and then chase them down, so they’d want quick access,’ Ivy said. ‘They all arrived together, so this is a Stark company vehicle.’

‘I don’t understand why Mauri sent security, do you think that crime is a problem out here?’

‘Kidnap at least,’ Ivy said, switching on the lights when they got onto the road. But even if security saw them leave, they had no vehicle to follow. ‘Mauri isn’t worried about crime.’

‘So why—‘

‘There’s a bounty on my head,’ Ivy said, thinking that maybe she should have told Carina that before the woman got into a car with her.

‘A what?’

‘It’s why there’s security at the house and why Dax has been gone all day, he’s trying to find out who wants me dead.’

‘That’s awful… But why…? Why would someone want you to be killed?’

‘That’s sort of what we’re trying to figure out,’ Ivy said.

‘You have a full life,’ Carina said, hugging her bag closer to her chest. ‘You and Dax must have quite the adventures.’

‘Not really, it depends what coast we’re on,’ Ivy said. ‘We prefer to keep to ourselves. But when we’re out here the trouble seems to seek us out.’

‘Are you afraid?’

‘No,’ Ivy smiled. ‘No one will be looking for me in Vegas, and I have friends out there who can help us. Rosie doesn’t have much of a head start, and Trystan Stark won’t be hard to find in Vegas. He’s a creature of habit, and he likes to make an impression. As I said, I have friends who should be able to help us locate him. I just hope we can before Rosie does something stupid.’

‘Like what? Marry him?’

‘Oh, God,’ Ivy groaned. She hadn’t thought about that, Mauri did want Trystan married and maybe if he got high enough he would be up for it. Rosie would probably say yes because her sister believed that any action taken in the name of a good time was justified. ‘Yes, like that.’

‘Weren’t you supposed to call Dax? Will he worry when you don’t phone him?’

‘I’ll phone him when we get there,’ Ivy said. ‘I’m more concerned about the welfare of the person who tells him we’re not at the beach house anymore… I was supposed to be there laying low.’

‘So he’ll worry for your safety,’ Carina said. ‘Maybe you should call him now.’

‘Wait until we’ve crossed state lines, that way we’ll be too far away for him to drag me back by my hair.’ Carina said nothing, so Ivy glanced over at the woman’s wide-eyed expression. ‘He’s a worrier… when it comes to me.’

Dax would be furious with her, but she hadn’t been thinking about that when she packed to go after Rosie. No one would find her in Vegas, the friends that she had would protect her if they had to. All she wanted to do was find Rosie, and once her sister was away from Trystan Stark, they would all return to the beach house. That was Ivy’s plan, and she’d do everything in her power to make it happen as quickly as possible.

Daylight was breaking by the time they got to Vegas. Ivy had tried to call her sister, but Rosie never picked up and after the tenth time of trying the phone started to go straight to voicemail without ringing first. Either Rosie had turned off her phone or the battery had died, and there was still a chance that Rosie had left her cell at the beach house meaning that calling was pointless anyway.

Rosie and Trystan would be at the GoldSpring Hotel because that was where the Starks always stayed when they were in Vegas. Ivy wanted to drive straight there to snatch her sister up, except she’d need a key-card or an invitation, neither of which she had. To get a key-card, Ivy would need to book a room, which would require a credit card. She couldn’t risk using her credit card or being seen in the hotel because anyone who might have tailed them from LA would find her in no time.

Trying to consider the bounty and be sensible about not walking into danger, Ivy drove to the next safest place, Saul’s house. Pulling into his driveway, she ran her fingers through her hair and checked to make sure her eyes weren’t too bloodshot in the rear-view mirror; the last thing Ivy wanted to do was scare the guy she was about to ask for help. Satisfied that her appearance passed muster, she reached for the door release.

‘Stay here,’ Ivy said to Carina and got out of the car.

She had to knock on the door a dozen times before Saul answered, but this was Vegas, the party had probably only ended for him a couple of hours ago. His hair was a mess, and he was wearing only boxer shorts. Ivy grinned when he opened the door, trying to act as though this was just a cordial visit.

‘Hey,’ she said.

‘Ivy…’ he said and cleared his throat a few times. ‘I thought you were… I didn’t know you were… didn’t you leave?’

‘I did,’ Ivy said, patting his chest and edging him aside. ‘I have a helluva story to tell you, can I come in?’

She was already inching around him, so he backed off while nodding. It was good to get him while he was still in a daze because it took him longer to realise that this was an inconvenient intrusion.

Working her way through the house to the kitchen at the back of the property, Ivy started making coffee to offer the pick-me-up as an olive branch. She was a good half-minute into the task before Saul came through to join her. Seating himself at his breakfast bar, he finger-combed his hair and coughed.

‘What’s going on? Why are you here so early?’ he asked.

‘I just got in,’ Ivy said, scooping more coffee than usual into the machine. ‘I just drove in from LA.’

‘Why? And where is Harrow?’

‘Still in LA,’ she said, closing the coffee machine and spinning around to smile at him again. ‘I sort of need a place to stay, just for a day.’

‘A day?’

‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘I was staying in LA with my sister and she did something crazy… She took off with this guy, who is bad news, and came here to Vegas.’

‘Your sister?’ he asked. ‘You never talked about her.’

He kept blinking and yawning, following the conversation must be difficult when you were still half asleep. ‘No, because I haven’t seen her for a while.’

‘Then why do you care about what she does?’

‘This particular guy could get her into a lot of trouble, and I just can’t let that happen. So I had to come here and stop it.’

‘Why didn’t you go to a hotel? You did that last time you showed up.’

‘That’s the thing,’ she said, creeping across the kitchen. ‘There’s a bounty on my head.’

His eyes landed on her, the yawning and blinking stopped. Ivy smiled, hoping to encourage his understanding, but it still took a few seconds for him to react.

Licking his lips, Saul spoke in a dull tone. ‘Let me get this right,’ he said. ‘You were staying with your sister?’

‘Yes.’

‘She took off with a creep, and you followed her here to Vegas?’

‘Yes.’

‘But you can’t go to a hotel because there’s a bounty on your head?’

‘That’s right,’ Ivy said.

‘Hmm,’ he said and pushed up to his feet. ‘I’m going back to bed.’

‘What? No!’

‘This is obviously a dream or I’ve slipped into a coma or something.’

‘No!’ Ivy said. Leaping past the breakfast bar to grab his arm, she pulled him around to face her. Just then a tiny brunette wearing a man’s tee-shirt entered.

‘Oh,’ the brunette said. ‘Who’s she?’

‘This is Ivy,’ Saul said, pushing Ivy’s hand away from his arm. Realising that touching him didn’t look good, Ivy let go and moved away. ‘Ivy, this is…’

No need to worry about breaking up his deep and meaningful relationship if he couldn’t even remember the girl’s name. ‘Brittany,’ the brunette said.

‘Right,’ Saul said. ‘This is Brittany, Ivy, Brittany.’

‘Nice to meet you,’ Ivy said, reaching over to shake the girl’s hand. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt your morning, but I… Saul and I are old friends.’

‘Whatever, I’m going to shower,’ the brunette said wearing a scowl, then she spun around and disappeared back the way she’d come.

‘She’s cute,’ Ivy said.

‘I have great taste in women,’ Saul said.

Ivy laughed. ‘Yeah, I suppose that you do.’

‘Look, Ive, I’m sorry that you’re mixed up in some shit, but Harrow will kill me dead if he finds you here.’

‘I imagine that he’s already on his way,’ Ivy said. She hadn’t checked her messages, but had read Dax’s name twice on her phone screen, so he’d certainly texted her. Ivy hadn’t gone so far as to open the texts because she was sure they weren’t just random, “thinking of you” messages.

‘Exactly my point,’ Saul said and tried to walk away, but Ivy put herself in front of him.

‘He’ll be grateful,’ she said, and he glowered at her. ‘No, really, Dax knows about the bounty, he’s been trying to figure it out. I can’t go to a hotel because it’s not safe, but if you kick me out, then that’s where I’ll have to go. If Dax finds out that you’ve sent me into danger, how happy do you think he’ll be?’