‘What kind of message is that?’ she asked before he had a chance to speak. ‘Are you being a dick?’

‘I just got some information,’ Dax said. ‘There’s trouble.’

‘What kind of trouble?’

‘The kind that means you have to stay inside.’

‘Since you asked so nicely and all—‘

‘I mean it, Minx,’ he said, throwing a leg over his bike he kicked away the stand. ‘Just stay inside.’

‘Tell me what happened,’ she said.

‘I can’t. I don’t have all the facts yet. I’m going to find out what’s going on, and then I’m going to come home, hear me?’

‘Dax,’ she exhaled. In bed, she could say his name like she was worshiping an idol of pleasure. But that breathy whimper was absent now, this was a wife with a gripe she wanted to complain about.

‘Yeah, I know you’re pissed, babygirl. But I’m keeping you safe, I’ll explain everything when I get home and then you can bitch at me all you want.’

‘We didn’t talk about what happened last night, and now you’re giving me more questions without any answers. We can’t keep going like this, you have to trust me and hear me out. You can’t just issue orders and expect me to follow them without any kind of explanation.’

‘Yeah, I can,’ he said. ‘Because I’m not going to give you half of a story, which might scare you, while I’m not there to reassure you. I don’t care how pissed you are. I’m telling you to stay inside for your own good. I could’ve said nothing at all and just assumed that you’d stick to what you told me earlier, but I wanted to let you know that something serious was going down… I will explain, babygirl. Just trust me, stay in the apartment and don’t let anyone in.’ When she didn’t say anything, his concern burgeoned. ‘Ivy?’

‘Ok, I’ll stay inside, but when you get back here we are not doing anything else until you fill me in on everything, and I do mean everything, Dax Harrow.’

‘Ok. You got it.’

She didn’t hide her anger, but that was one of the things that he loved about her. When Ivy was happy or aroused, she just glowed. But when she was pissed off, like she was now, she made no secret of it.

She accepted who he was and had never tried to change him, although she had. The changes that he’d gone through had been those he chose for himself, and he preferred the man he was now to the one he’d been before. Except without Ivy, he wasn’t sure there would be anything left of himself worth saving.

Chapter Thirteen

Dax didn’t wait to be announced. He went into the mansion and up the stairs to head for Maurice’s private suite. The old man liked to be the man behind the curtain, so even if there was business to conduct he would leave Brad to deal with it. Mauri only came out for the important matters, and it had been that way for a few years now. That didn’t mean that his influence was any less, he still pulled all the strings. But he didn’t tire himself by dealing with those lower than him, which included pretty much everyone.

Security was tailing after Dax through the house, they were paid to take down any threat to Mauri. But it had been so long since anyone had threatened this man in his own home that security had become complacent about their role. As a result, Dax was able to enter the outer room of Mauri’s suite, with its fireplace and red upholstered armchairs, while the two security men were still running toward him along the corridor he’d just traversed.

‘Mauri!’ Dax called out.

If he had to go into the bedroom, then he would. But if he went in there he was likely to end up murdering the man, and he couldn’t do that, at least not until he’d called his dogs off Ivy. The security men burst in at his back, and Dax spun around to defend himself. Taking one out with a punch, the other lunged at him and he got hold of the guy’s arm, twisting it around and up his back, using it to toss him back out into the hall. The first security guard got up again, but Mauri’s voice stalled the action.

‘No more!’ Mauri declared and despite a few growling glares, the security men receded, closing the door to give Mauri and Dax their privacy.

‘You—‘

‘I heard,’ Mauri said. ‘We found out about the bounty an hour ago, and we’re doing our best to trace it.’

Mauri was calm, but Dax couldn’t hear himself think beyond the blood gushing at high speed through his body. ‘You expect me to believe that you had nothing to do with this?’

‘What would we gain? You lose your wife and blame me for the rest of your life? I want you with us and that means working together.’

‘Convenient.’

‘If this was my order then I wouldn’t be making you the offer that I’m about to,’ Mauri said. He stayed where he was in front of the bedroom door and for now Dax was happy to keep his distance and maintain his position near the exit.

‘What offer?’

‘Take Ivy to the beach house, she will be safe there, no one will approach it without us knowing. I can post security outside, they will make sure that she is safe.’

‘And she’s supposed to live the rest of her life there?’

‘She can remain there until we uncover who is behind this. We neutralise the threat and then she can move freely again. You know yourself that it will take a day or two to trace this to the real source, chances are he’s using a middleman, we find that middleman and then we coax the information we want out of him.’ Dax would enjoy the coaxing part. ‘Once we know, we take him out.’

‘It will take time to spread the word that she’s not to be harmed,’ Dax said. Once the word of a bounty was out there, it spread, and putting the genie back in the bottle was no easy feat.

‘She can stay in the beach house for as long as she needs to. You know that we can easily stock the place, and she can hole up there for months if she has to.’

Ivy would despise the idea of being back there and of hiding out, but Dax couldn’t come up with anything better. Moving her to Nevada or North Carolina wouldn’t necessarily mean her safety, it just meant that it would take longer for the crooks to find her. Until they could stop the threat at the source, it would remain. They didn’t know the threat’s motive for wanting Ivy dead or if he could be reasoned with. It was just as possible that whoever had started this would rather die than retract the bounty.

‘I can hide her,’ Dax said, trying to think of where he could take her and look after her alone while still trying to trace the threat.

‘You can’t do it alone,’ Mauri said. ‘You can’t hide the girl and ensure her supplies remain fresh, you will lead the hunters directly to her. You’re not naïve. You will be the first person others try to get to in order to find her. If she’s at the beach house, then you can stay with her. It doesn’t matter how many people follow you there, my security will keep them out.’

Mauri had resources and manpower, which were two things that Dax didn’t have. ‘I have to find out who is doing this.’

‘And you can do that while my security men keep her safe. If you stick her in a cabin in the woods, you can’t stand sentry twenty-four hours a day alone. You can’t keep her in your sight and find out who has put up the bounty at the same time.’

‘No, I can’t,’ Dax said, his rage was cooling. Every word that Mauri said was correct, these were thoughts he’d had himself.

‘You will have all the men that you need to look after her, and you can use my help in uncovering who this heathen is. You know that Starks stick together. We’ll find out who is doing this, and we will take them down, together.’

‘She won’t want to go,’ Dax muttered. Mauri was coming closer, but he posed no physical threat, so Dax remained loose while he considered his options.

‘I appreciate that the location may not hold happy memories for her. But you two found your love there, didn’t you? She may appreciate a chance of a break and some peace, it is certainly preferable over the alternative of being on the run or hidden somewhere alone. This is just like the vacation I suggested to you last night, you can sell it to her that way.’