Page 57 of Recovering Ivy

“I thought I’d gotten through to her. When you guys went to Africa with Violet, I had a come to Jesus talk with Erin about her slipping her detail. I reminded her about what happened to Olivia and how that did not end well for her. She was taking ridiculous chances with her safety, ditching her protection detail more and more. It stopped for a while.”

Christ! I’d thought Tom was being over the top when he’d asked if Colin and Leo could stay behind and follow Erin. It seems he was right to worry. Even as far back as when Olivia, Erin’s best friend, was taken, he was worried about Erin. The first daughter traipsing around town unprotected and now being photographed could pose a threat to national security.

“What changed?”

“I told her no.”

“What?” I wasn’t racking how Colin telling Erin no would lead to someone getting pictures of Erin.

“She kissed me. More like a fucking sneak attack. I stopped her and explained all the reasons she was off-limits to me. She didn’t like my answer. I mean, really didn’t fucking like it; she threw a goddamn lamp at me and called me a coward. Before she left, she said there were plenty of men who’d love to fuck her. I warned her spoiled ass not to do it. She told me I had no right to tell her who she could fuck; then this happened. A goddamned charity event, with her personal detail at the event. One second, she was dancing in her fancy ass dress in the ballroom, the next I couldn’t find her. Her detail didn’t know where she went. I checked the perimeter and the guesthouse. Some fuck stick had his camera pointed in the window and caught her getting undressed.”

I blew out a breath and wasn’t sure where to begin. Erin was for all intents and purposes an adult aside from someone photographing the exchange, she could indeed have sex with who she wanted. Tom would be pissed as any father would I suppose, but Colin was angrier than a man who’d been given the slip by the person he was in charge of protecting. There was something going on there and I didn’t want to know what that something was. The pictures were the issue I needed to concentrate on.

“Any more photographs floating around?” I asked.

“There better not be,” he barked before he tried to relax. “Not that I’ve found. The photographer ran after I took his camera. I didn’t bother going after him. When I got into the room where Erin was, I told her to get dressed, grabbed the guy’s cell phone, and took her home. His phone was clean, so they hadn’t taken any pictures.”

“And Erin? Where is she now?”

“When I left the White House, Gerald was sitting on her.”

“What does Tom want you to do? And has he seen these?” I asked and held up the file.

“Fuck no, I didn’t show him those. I don’t think either of us want to see him impeached and charged with murder. He wants me back in DC to babysit.”

I watched Colin closely. He was the most laid back, earning him the nickname Cool Breeze. But he didn’t look laid back now; he looked conflicted.

“Jesus Christ, this is a shit sandwich. Do you want me to send in Declan so you don’t have to deal with her? I’m sure she’ll fixate on him in no time and you’ll be off the hook. Hell, Dec hasn’t been laid in years, being undercover and all. Maybe he can tame her ass so she doesn’t feel the need to run out and get some strange…”

“Don’t fucking say it, LT. Swear to Christ, I’ve had it with the woman. She’s driving me crazy. The last thing she needs to do is fuck Declan…”

“Who shouldn’t fuck me?” Declan asked, walking in on Colin’s outburst.

“No one,” Colin seethed. “I’ll go back up to DC this afternoon if you don’t need me on the Forester case.”

I almost felt sorry for the guy. Erin had him tied in knots. I wished I could tell him to go for it; he obviously cared for her. The line between lust and hate was razor thin, and I didn’t think Colin knew which side he fell on. Unfortunately for him, Erin was the President’s daughter. I didn’t think Tom would take kindly to one of my men banging his beloved little girl.

“You good?” I asked.

“Five by five,” he answered.

There was nothing fine about him. I wondered if I should call and brief the President about Erin’s infatuation with Colin, but I thought better of it. Better to let the chips fall where they may.

20

Ivy

I was elbow deep in the refrigerator when the door to the kitchenette opened. The first thing that happened was goose bumps had raised on my arms, and it had nothing to do with the cool air from the fridge. The second was my body caught fire at the smell of his cologne.

Damn, my man smelled good.

My man.

I’d never thought of any guy as mine before; I liked it.

“What are you doing?” Zane asked.

“Cleaning out the science experiments,” I told him. “For as healthy as you all are, you’re all slobs. I don’t think anyone is interested in eating moldy cantaloupe.”