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“Smart man.” I glanced at the waitress, who wiped her hands on her shirt, and it got my mind going. “Is Ivy wearing a silk shirt?”
“Silk? You’re asking me about the material of the shirt she’s wearing? You mean like fabric?” His face dropped. “I mean, I can tell you if it’s like a shirt, or a dress, or even a pantsuit.”
I eyed him, and he rolled his eyes and nodded.
“Fine.” He leaned to the side slightly. “It looks like polyester.”
I smirked. She didn’t wear silk.
“I’m glad we have satisfied your fabric fetish.” Mark raised an eyebrow and shook his head when I didn’t give him anything. We sat in silence and picked at the nachos. There was a table of six to my left and four to my right. My leg bounced under the table, as restless as the rest of me. I could hear a mix of voices—
“I got your six.” His sensed my unease with my back to everyone. I gave a quick nod.
“You have to give me something, Mark.” I twisted the bottle in my hand.
“He’s touchy,” he began to give me a little feedback, “but she doesn’t lean into him. He’s working for it, though.”
Jesus, I felt twitchy.
“I can tell he just put his hand on her leg, and she laughed.” He squinted. “Ugh. He’s got this fucking thing where he twirls the front of his hair over and over with his finger. It’s disconcerting.”
I stilled, and Mark caught it. My blood froze as I got to my feet. Mark mirrored me.
“Beckett?” Mark slipped into Blackstone mode while I slipped into murder mode.
I spotted him, and every fiber in my body twisted into white hot rage. I didn’t have to study his face because his body language told me exactly who he was. I plowed toward him with hate building inside me at every step. I could taste blood in my mouth. When I got close enough, I pulled back my arm and drove my fist as hard as I could into his face. He fell backward with his chair.
“Ty!” Ivy screamed as she jumped to her feet. I quickly tucked her body behind me. I wouldn’t let Hill get anywhere near her. Mark was suddenly next to me on the phone while Hill rolled about on the floor with his hands to his nose. “Oh, my God.” Ivy held tight to my arm as she looked down at him. “Carson, are you okay?”
“His name isn’t Carson,” I hissed and felt dangerously close to losing all self-control.
“What?”
“Stay the fuck away from her,” I seethed and wanted to snap his neck right off. “The next time, I’ll punch right through your skull.” Mark gathered Ivy’s things while Hill made eye contact with me, and for a split second, I saw his smile. It took everything in me not to kill him right there and then, but a cough made me look up, and I could see everyone’s eyes on me. Some even had their phones out, and I knew it was time to leave.
“Mark?” Ivy began to step away, but I shot her a look and she stayed where she was.
“Let’s go.” Mark hurried us out the door. Once outside, I felt my head pound. All the images of Brown’s head exploding and Hill’s lies swirled about inside to the point of pain. I spun around. I needed to end this shit right now. Mark got in my face.
“Beckett, Beckett, listen to me. I got this guy. Remember I have your six.” He held up his hands. “He’s not going anywhere. I’ve got him,” He repeated. “I need you to get Ivy home.” I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. “Get her home, Ty.”
“All right, all right.” I held up my hands and turned and walked toward Ivy. She looked rattled.
“What the hell was that? Ty?” she asked once I got close enough.
“Come on.” I put a hand against her lower back and gave her a nudge toward the car while I pressed the button to unlock the doors to the SUV. I opened hers and waited for her to get in.
“Can you fill me in why you attacked my date?”
“No.” I couldn’t. Not yet.
“Ty.” I felt like an asshole but what had happened was a hit to an open wound, and there was no stopping what I might say next. “Hey.” She reached out and placed her hands flat to my chest. I could see her study my face.
“Please, Ivy,” I needed to get out of there, “get in.” Her hands fell away, and she slipped quietly into the front seat. With a quick look over my shoulder, I yanked my door open and got in beside her.
The dark night made the trees blur into different shades of black and gray as we drove. I scanned the mirrors and was on high alert. For what, I didn’t know. All I knew was the battle inside.
My mind dipped to dangerous places and taunted me to lose my temper. Brown’s look when the bullet drilled into his skull repeated over and over until I squeezed my eyes shut for a quick second. Then there was Ivy. How did he know her? How did he find me? What was I missing? Did I lose my touch because I was distracted by her?
