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I don’t regret it either. Maybe I’m supposed to. But not telling her left the door open for a conversation we desperately needed to have. Sure, she almost passed out on me while we talked about the break up. We couldn’t get into the nitty-gritty of why she kept Alec a secret. But the weight I’ve been carrying around for the last few weeks is lighter now.
And the marriage thing. Well, I probably should have mentioned it last night, but I got distracted by our phenomenal chemistry when Ivy launched herself at me. The sex had been mind-blowing in a whole new way. The connection… I want it all. With every fiber of my being. I want Ivy as my wife for the rest of my life.
Marty raises one brow. “Aren’t secrets what came between you in the first place?”
“Uh. That’s not fair.” We made a lot of progress last night, not that Hollywood Juice’s top billing reporter needs to know everything. I’m trusting her to keep what we find about Ivy a secret as it is. “I think this is a little different, don’t you? I’m just…”
“Protecting her?" She slots the book back into its space on the shelf and turns to me. “Like she was trying to protect you. And Rebel was trying to protect you. Just like you’re doing now by not bringing her into this.”
“You and I both agreed.” I cross my arms against my chest.
“And I still believe it is for the best.” Her tone turns gentle and quiet. “Until we find something there is no point in adding this to what she is already going through.”
“So we still have nothing?” How can that be? It’s been weeks.
“No, not nothing.” She side-eyes me like I’m being dramatic. “It takes time to gather enough intel to put the truth together. And we’ve had little to go on other than a timeline discrepancy.”
“What about what I texted you last night? That her dad was probably planning to divorce that devious bitch.” If he’d had an ounce of sense in him that’s definitely what he was doing. I’d texted Adira to see if he could confirm, but haven’t heard back from him yet.
“I found a few images of them around that time where the body language was off,” she says. “But there’s nothing written about them that suggests they weren’t a happily married couple.”
“That can’t be—”
“I did, however, get my hands on the police report for the accident that killed him,” she announces over top of me. “You read as many of those as I have and you start to get a feeling about what is accidental and what has a stink to it. Now perhaps the guy was only running a red light, but he was driving in the same direction as Ivy’s dad, which means they both went through the light at almost the same time to collide so soon after. And the way they hit… the images show that the other car ran into the front on the driver’s side of Richard’s vehicle. So did Richard lose control? Or was he forced into a spin by the other car?”
“You think the guy was chasing him?” I lean in closer and lower my voice. “Why didn’t the cops pick up on this?”
“It could be nothing.” She shrugs. “The driver confessed. He had narcotics in his system. Maybe they didn’t feel the need to look any closer. It’s possible they were paid not to. Do you have any clue what Richard Love was worth when he died?”
“Can’t say I’ve thought about it.”
“Billions,” she whispers. “Put you and both of your brothers’ financial worth together and you don’t even have half of what this guy was worth. What he left to his family.”
“Let me guess, it’s all run through Nicole, correct? She has the money to buy a whole hospital wing and bribe the cops that were called out to the accident.”
“It seems that way,” Marty says.
“Fuck.” And Ivy doesn’t see any of her dad’s money unless she dances to Nicole’s tune. It’s why she was practically penniless when we met. No one would choose to drive that piece of crap she kept patching with duct tape. It’s why every time I go big with a gesture she wants to know what it will cost her in the long term. I saw her questioning the rings when she put them on. It was written all over her face. When all I want her to feel is that she is loved.
“So she could have afforded to hire a hit man to do the job.”
“Or pay somebody who is desperate enough to be willing to do the crime and take the time,” Marty says. “Like Bob Wilson. That’s the name of the guy who hit Ivy’s dad. I’m going to go to Phoenix. I want to look into him. Speak to him, if I can.”
“You truly think Ivy’s dad was murdered?”
“Maybe. I can’t be certain.” She stares at the shelf in front of her for a long moment before turning to me. “Just another thing to keep from your wife I guess. Until we know more. Because if someone killed her father…”
“There’s every chance they’ve already tried to kill her.” Adira was sure that Ivy hadn’t hurt herself and now this? I’m as certain as my next breath that Ivy was attacked. “Alec already tried.”
“Do you have evidence?”
“No.” I don’t know if that means he had help. If he’s behind what happened in Phoenix, he might not have attacked her himself. “The break-in at Ro’s. The dead mouse on the pillow. The homeless guy they arrested. Alec has an MO.”
Her gaze flits to the front of the store. To the old man at the counter. “We need to be careful. Ivy especially. He could try again if given the opportunity.”
“I won’t be giving him the opportunity.” I clench and unclench my fists. “I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her from that evil bastard, even if I have to take Ivy and hide her on the Heart Ranch or something until he’s behind bars permanently. Either for what he did to Ro…”
“Or we find evidence that ties him to Richard or what happened to Ivy.” Marty nods.
