‘You said she used drugs.’

‘The last time I saw her, she was staying with my aunt again, and she was with a guy… Rosie is always with a guy, but, yeah, this guy was bad news, and he got her mixed up in all sorts.’

‘Do you think that she’s cleaned herself up? She looked healthy enough last night.’

‘If she has, then being part of a family whose product is her vice might cause some problems. I can’t see the Stark world being good for her.’

‘I’m not sure it’s good for anyone,’ he said. His tune had changed so much in the time that they’d known each other, Ivy had to smile. ‘We’ll keep an eye on her.’

‘What about Bruno?’ she asked.

‘What about him?’ Dax asked.

‘Trystan said that he and Mauri had a fight, then Bruno took off. Do you think that’s true?’

‘I don’t give a fuck about him,’ Dax said. His form grew more rigid, so she encircled him in her arms.

‘Use this time with your mom, tough guy, see if her story matches Mauri’s. If we’re going to be stuck there anyway, then you might as well gain something.’

‘You see it as gaining something. I see it as nothing more than another hassle we have to deal with. My focus is on finding out who wants to hurt you, then I take the guy down, simple.’

‘You know… you can’t discount that Mauri is the one behind this.’

She didn’t like to be pessimistic about Mauri because she knew how much Dax respected him, so she was always expecting a negative response when she said anything less than favourable about the man.

‘I haven’t. I’m going to be keeping my eye on him. As long as you’re safe at the beach house I’ll keep investigating.’

‘He wanted us there, and now he’s getting what he wanted.’

‘Yeah,’ Dax agreed. ‘But if he wanted you dead he’s had plenty of chances. He could have done it last night, at the party, or while we were alone in the drawing room. He told his man to threaten you but not to harm you.’

‘Which was before we left there in the middle of the night without a word.’

‘He knows where I live, and he knew that we’d be here,’ Dax said, she closed her hands together at his spine. ‘He could have sent someone here as soon as I left to meet Serg, before either of us knew there was a threat. Putting out a bounty isn’t his style, there are plenty of guys on his payroll who would do that kind of work for him. He doesn’t need to put the word out to the world, he’d keep it quiet and get it done… if that was what he wanted.’

‘I trust you, Dax,’ she said. ‘But you are the only one I trust. You’ve trusted Mauri before and look how that turned out. If he was as reasonable as you thought, if he had been as understanding, then he would never have asked you to share me with Trystan, would he?’

‘What?’

‘Trystan told me. Why didn’t you tell me that piece of tantalising information? You didn’t trust me to deal with it?’ she asked.

No longer feeling like she wanted to be this close to a man she trusted with her life, she tried to walk away, but he caught her shoulder and brought her back. ‘Babygirl—‘

‘Don’t,’ she said, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. But her writhing prompted him to throw his arms around her and haul her body into his, giving her no choice but to accept his embrace because he was far stronger, so she had no way to free herself. Releasing her weight, she made no attempt to hold him as he held her, she just hung there in his arms letting him kiss her hair.

‘I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to upset you,’ he said. ‘What does it matter? I told them that was never going to happen. You’re mine, you know that. I don’t care what Trystan said, you know I would never share my female with another man.’

‘Do I get a say?’

Now his embrace did relax, he stopped trying to squeeze the life out of her. ‘You wanted to spend the night with him?’

‘No, of course I didn’t. But we’re supposed to make decisions together, I… I don’t know why you keep withholding information from me. What else aren’t you telling me?’

‘You know everything else,’ he said. ‘We don’t have to deal with Bruno or Trystan anymore, and I guarantee you that after I’ve dealt with this mess, you will never have to deal with Maurice Stark or Brad ever again.’

‘You’re so sure?’ she asked, trying her best to lean back and look up at him. ‘That you don’t want to take over Maurice’s enterprises?’

‘No,’ he said. ‘We’re going back to our lives on the East Coast as soon as this is over.’

She probably shouldn’t be pleased to hear that, but she was. Dax had a chance to get to know his mother, to find out where he came from, but whether or not his mother would be a part of their lives after this mandated vacation remained to be seen.

Dax would dedicate his time to getting rid of the person who had made Ivy a pawn in a very dangerous game. It might be selfish of her, but she was looking forward to returning to the life they’d built together. Though at the moment, that life seemed incredibly far away and in more than just distance.

Chapter Fourteen

The first time Ivy had come to this beach house, she had been carted there in the trunk of Bruno and Dax’s car. When she was hauled out, she’d been bound and blindfolded. So this was her first chance to get a good look at the place, except it was dark, and there were internal lights blazing, which obscured the façade.

The waves crashed against the cliff far below, reminding her of how secluded the property was. Set out on a clifftop, they were surrounded by the ocean on three sides and were so far from the road on the other side that it would be a trek just to get there. During her first stay, the isolation had terrorised her, it kept her prisoner, away from the world, against her will. Now it was a blessing, and she needed the seclusion to keep her safe against those who wished her harm.

They’d been chauffeur driven to the beach house this time. The motion of the car, coupled with the drama of the day, sent Ivy rocking to sleep in Dax’s arms during the journey. But when the car stopped, and she was jolted awake, the crashing reality made her extremities tingle.

They exited the vehicle, and she stood beside her husband on the driveway while the chauffeur gave Dax their suitcase, and then they turned toward the house.

‘You want me to knock this guy out and steal the car?’ Dax mumbled into her hair as the driver went around to his side and got back into the vehicle.

‘Why? So we can run off together and get married? We’ve already done that, remember?’

The lights that were on downstairs in the house displayed an empty room, and the light upstairs came from behind a curtain, so as yet, they didn’t know who was here or where the occupants were located within. But she would assume that her sister and Dax’s mother were already present because they would have been brought here straight from the Stark mansion after the party.

‘He shouldn’t have picked this place,’ Dax said. ‘He has a place in Washington too.’

‘Are you kidding?’ she said. The car that had driven them here reversed and turned, leaving them alone in the moist sea air. ‘He picked this place on purpose.’

‘Yeah, does it bring back memories?’

Recalling her first arrival here hadn’t been a pleasant memory, but Ivy didn’t want to bring Dax any further distress by telling him that. ‘It makes sense for us to be here,’ she said. ‘It’s close enough to LA for you to do your digging and still come home to me every night. I wouldn’t want to be isolated from you that wouldn’t make me feel good… Do you think Rosie and your mom know what’s going on?’

‘Let’s get inside and find out.’

The nearer they got to the property, the tighter his arm around her shoulders became. Dax couldn’t protect her from her own mind, but his tight hold reminded Ivy of what they were now in spite of what they were then.