Tossing them aside, she put her hands in the bag again, this time to push out the sides and give the bag its shape back. Then she went into the closet to retrieve some of her folded clothes from a shelf. She carried them to the bedroom and put them in the bag.

She was back in the closet picking her underwear out of Dax’s top drawer when the front door opened. Digging out the last of her lacies, she grabbed a pair of Dax’s socks, and closed the drawer with her elbow.

Quickly dropping the apparel into the bag on the bed, she hurried through to the kitchen intent on talking to Dax about her trip during lunch. But when she got there, it wasn’t her husband plating up lunch that she focused on, it was the giant standing at his side.

‘Ivy,’ Dax said. ‘You remember Serg?’

Her forced smile couldn’t be confused for genuine, but Dax carried on pulling containers from the brown bag he had on the kitchen counter behind the hutch that concealed the specifics of what he was doing.

Serg rose from the stool on the living room side of the hutch and came toward her with a hand out, but Ivy took a step back. ‘Don’t come over here,’ she said and Serg stopped.

Dax looked up at her, then cast his eyes to Serg and brought them back to her. ‘You don’t have to worry about Serg,’ Dax said.

She wasn’t worried, but she also wasn’t an idiot. The guy was nearly seven feet tall, and his ice blonde hair and narrow eyes were designed to set a person on edge. ‘Who is worried,’ she said without taking her eyes away from Serg. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Catching up,’ Dax answered for Serg and brought three plates around to the dining table.

If Ivy had superpowers, she’d be reading Dax the riot act through telepathy. To say she was pissed right now, was an understatement. This apartment was supposed to be a safe space, and as much as Serg had not done her direct harm, that didn’t mean that she trusted him.

Dax sat at the head of the table and began to tuck into his food. Serg picked up a bag from his feet, then sat in a chair next to Dax and pulled out a pile of ledgers, which he pushed over to Dax before tossing the bag aside and tucking into his lunch.

‘This is everything?’ Dax asked, Serg nodded. ‘Where’s the little green—‘

‘In the front,’ Serg said, leaning down to pull a small dark green, leather-bound book from the front pocket of the bag on the floor.

He handed it over to Dax, who pushed all of the larger books aside to focus on the little green one. Dax opened it and put it next to his plate. He read a bit and took another mouthful of food. She was still looking at Serg, who glanced up at her and their gazes locked. Dax must have felt the connection because he had been reading, but he looked up at her too.

‘Are you gonna stand there all day?’ he asked. ‘Want me to get you a knife from the kitchen? Will that make you feel safer?’ She didn’t appreciate his sarcasm, which she hoped that her glare conveyed.

‘You married a lethal weapon,’ Serg said. ‘I might be a big guy, but size doesn’t matter to Dax. I’ve seen him take down guys bigger than me.’

She trusted Dax to protect her if he had to. But he and Serg were friends and possibly future-colleagues, Dax wouldn’t be pissing off Serg any time soon.

‘What is that?’ she asked, nodding to the book that Dax’s hand was open on.

‘The unofficial operations log,’ Dax said. ‘This is where we keep track of who owes us what and how long they have to pay it.’

We. Us. She couldn’t help except to read into what Dax said. He didn’t speak of his life with the Starks in the past tense; he was in the present and very much a part of what Serg was showing him. His eyes went back to the book, and she crept around the table to where he’d put her lunch on the opposite side of the table to Serg’s.

Now that there was a person in their home whom she considered an intruder, she wasn’t in the slightest bit hungry. But her thoughts jarred, this wasn’t her home. Dax had lived here, but she had spent very little time here herself.

‘I’ll leave you men to it,’ she said, lowering her hand to pick up her plate. But Dax snatched her wrist, and she was surprised to see the anger in his eyes when he regarded her.

‘Sit down,’ he said, squeezing his grip on her wrist to bring her into the chair perpendicular to his. When she was down, he turned to Serg, but didn’t let go of her. ‘This is a fucking mess.’

‘Yeah, things have gone to shit since you’ve been gone,’ Serg said, still eating his lunch. ‘I don’t mind admitting that I’ve struggled to keep it together. We’ve lost three guys since you left.’

‘Who?’

Serg gave three names, and she forked some salad leaves into her mouth. Dax still held her wrist, pinning her arm down and rendering it useless, meaning she had to eat her lunch and drink her water with only one hand.

Not that either of the men noticed her discomfort, they kept talking while eating. Dax was interested in what Serg was saying about who owed them money. Some of the names Serg relayed peeved Dax to the point of raising his voice because apparently it was some big affront when particular guys tried to take advantage now that Dax was out of the picture.

‘Got a few places to hit this afternoon,’ Serg said. ‘Wouldn’t mind company.’

Raising her chin, she held her breath in anticipation of Dax’s response. Neither of the men paid her any attention.

Dax pushed his plate away and nodded. ‘Sure,’ he said, and her mouth dropped open. ‘I could use the exercise.’ The men rose from the table and because Dax had a hold of her, she was forced to stand up as well. ‘Take care of this mess, will you, Minx?’

When he let her go, she immediately took her turn to snatch hold of him. But when her action drew the focus of both men, her words slipped back into her throat. She couldn’t chastise Dax in front of Serg. The last thing they needed was for the Starks to think that there was tension in their relationship. Ivy wouldn’t give Mauri the satisfaction of knowing that he had the power to cause conflict.

If the Starks took it upon themselves to use a wedge to pry the couple apart, then they might be successful, she’d seen it before. So instead of speaking, Ivy moved around the corner of the table and slid her hands up his chest and brought his mouth down to hers.

‘Be back by bedtime,’ she murmured and touched his lips with her fingertips.

‘Start without me,’ Dax said. ‘Creeping up on these guys in the dark is sometimes the best approach.’

So he was telling her that he wouldn’t be back all night? If the men were going to do their enforcing under the cloak of night then there was no need for Dax to leave at lunchtime, which meant there was something else on the cards for this afternoon – be it business or pleasure. Ivy wasn’t sure that she wanted to know what they had planned, but that wouldn’t stop her from asking Dax when he got home.

Maintaining her smile when Dax smacked her ass, Serg grabbed the bag and books, and she remained stuck in the same spot while the men vacated the apartment. Lowering her attention, the lunch mess was still on the table waiting for her to clear it up. Except after Dax’s show, the last thing that she felt like doing was playing the dutiful housewife.

If he was sliding back into his old life then revisiting hers had become more urgent. Leaving the lunch plates untouched, she went into the bedroom and finished her packing. If Dax had no intention of coming back tonight, then Ivy had no intention of sitting here waiting for him.

Grabbing her purse, she checked for her passport and her credit cards. Dax had made sure she was covered which included getting her a cell phone, so if he wanted to chase her then he was welcome to. But if she could get to the airport fast, he might never notice that she was gone.