‘Well, where is he? Bring him in.’

‘He’s not here,’ Ivy said. ‘He got called out to work.’ She wasn’t going to be the one to tell Rosie and Carina about the gangs of people possibly looking to cause her harm. Mauri might have let them know, but until she talked to Dax about the merits of full disclosure, she was keeping her mouth shut.

‘To work?’ Carina said. Something about the shift in her shoulders told Ivy that she knew exactly what Dax did, or rather had done, for the Stark family.

‘He’ll be back tonight,’ Ivy said, tidying up the mess she’d made.

‘Do you know that for sure?’ Rosie asked, polishing off the last of Ivy’s breakfast.

Yes, Ivy was confident in Dax’s return, he wouldn’t want to leave her alone with all these variables floating around. He was also aware that he wouldn’t get laid for a month if he abandoned her here.

‘How do you know your way around this kitchen so well?’ Carina asked.

‘I’ve spent time here before, with Dax… and Bruno.’

Ivy didn’t have to wait long for Carina to react. The woman left her stool and took a hand to her chest. ‘Mauri said that I wouldn’t have to see him.’

‘You don’t have to see him,’ Ivy said. ‘He’s not been around, he wasn’t in the mansion. Trystan said that he and Mauri had an argument.’

‘Trystan is cute,’ Rosie said, taking the empty bowl to the sink to dump it there.

‘Don’t even think about going there,’ Ivy said. Rosie went back to her stool. ‘You don’t want to get mixed up with him.’

‘Could be fun,’ Rosie said. ‘He’s a rich guy with class, I could do worse… hell, I have done worse!’ Rosie laughed. Carina was polite enough to smile, but the mention of Bruno’s name had rattled her.

‘How did you and Bruno meet?’ Ivy asked, crossing to the sink to wash up the dishes.

‘I don’t… I’m not sure that I should talk about that… should I?’ Carina asked.

‘I met my last serious boyfriend in a public restroom,’ Rosie said, pulling the jug of freshly squeezed orange juice from the fridge. ‘And yes, that story is as distasteful as it sounds. Where did you meet Dax?’

‘Vegas,’ Ivy answered honestly. ‘Why were you in Dallas? I thought you were staying with Auntie Jo?’

‘I was until she got this letch of a boyfriend, yuck, he thought he owned the whole place, and Jo just let him take over. I was out of there as soon as he started laying down rules like I was some dumb kid.’

Some dumb kid was exactly how Rosie came across. It was a bit rich of Rosie to pass judgement on how Jo was with her boyfriends because Rosie was exactly the same. She let her boyfriend’s rule the roost and would let them get away with anything as long as they gave her attention. Rosie and Jo were just the same, their self-worth was directly tied to how much attention they got from the opposite sex.

Carina was tough to get a read on. She seemed kind of classy but was uneasy around others, and uncomfortable with direct questions, something Dax could be guilty of too.

‘Have you heard from her recently? Is she ok?’ Ivy asked.

‘Last I heard, yeah,’ Rosie said, pouring out a full glass then putting the jug on the island while she sat on a stool and slurped from her glass. ‘I want to hear more about Dax.’

‘You’ll hear about Dax from him,’ Ivy said.

It was unlikely that Dax would come back tonight and open up to a room full of women, but Ivy wasn’t going to give away information about him when she knew how private he liked to be. They were married now, and his secrets were her secrets, which was just the way she planned to keep them.

‘What’s downstairs?’ Rosie asked. Ivy’s hands went limp in the dishwater, and she drew in a breath at the reminder of what she’d endured in the space beneath their feet.

‘Yes,’ Carina said. ‘Rosie and I had a look around last night, and we couldn’t find the basement entrance.’

‘I think it’s that door by the stairs,’ Rosie said. ‘It’s the only one that wouldn’t open.’

‘It is,’ Ivy said. ‘Dax will have a key.’ Though there was a chance that door was locked for a reason.

‘It’s weird that they’d lock us out of just one place,’ Rosie said. ‘What do you think is down there?’

Possibly another woman who inhabited her cell, though Ivy prayed that wasn’t the case. ‘Last time I was here it was just a gym.’

‘A gym? Well isn’t that monumentally disappointing? I was at least hoping for the family fortune, or maybe a private nightclub or something,’ Rosie sagged and dropped her head into her hands. ‘Can we even get down to the beach?’

‘Not from here,’ Ivy said. ‘But talking of the beach, I think I’ll go for a swim in the pool, then I’ll whip up something for lunch, does that suit everyone?’

She was draining the water from the sink and drying her hands, but didn’t wait for responses. Ivy went back upstairs to her bedroom and flopped face first onto the bed. This experience was draining her already, and Dax had only been gone for an hour.

As soon as Dax got into the car, Serg updated him. Late last night, Mauri had called Serg to fill him in on their new arrangement. Having Serg on the case was reassuring, Mauri had chosen a point man who Dax could trust. On the downside, Serg didn’t excel at taking initiative, so Dax would have to drive this wagon.

That being said, when they pulled up outside an apartment block about an hour after leaving the beach house, Serg spoke with authority.

‘Winlow’s in there, top floor,’ Serg said, leaning forward to peer out of the top of the windshield. ‘Least that’s what we’ve been told.’

‘Told?’

‘He’s wanted by the law,’ Serg said, sitting back. ‘No one’s seen him in the flesh for a while. But you know Winlow, if there’s a memo going around the ganglands, his name will be at the top.’

‘What do the cops want him for?’

‘Knocked up some bitch then beat the kid out of her, that’s what I’ve been told anyway. Her body was found in the park a few blocks down, she was fucked up.’

So he’d killed his girlfriend and the baby she carried. Too many men in his acquaintance were pricks to the women in their lives and it made Dax sick. Then again, he could go and find himself a fight if Ivy was getting on his nerves, maybe that was an outlet that he took for granted.

‘Let’s sit for a minute, see if anyone goes in or out,’ Dax said.

Winlow’s associates were recognisable, if they were going in or out then Dax would have confirmation that Winlow was present. Taking his time, he wanted to be sure there weren’t a dozen guys up there ready to ambush him. Although Serg carried a weapon and Dax was one, he didn’t feel like working up a sweat on his first meeting of the day, and he planned for this to be the first of many.

He’d talk to all the scumbags that he had to in order to find out who had Ivy in their sights. The sooner they could eradicate the danger, the better.

‘How is Ivy doing?’ Serg asked. ‘Is she dealing or are you stuck on the couch?’

‘The couch? My female doesn’t pull that shit.’

Ivy had never kicked him out of their bed, she would call him out on whatever issue she had with him before she would sulk and refuse to share her body or her bed with him.

‘Lucky guy, I know a lot of women who would punish their guy for getting them into a mess like this.’

Dax didn’t need the reminder that this was his fault. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure it was because of their relationship that Ivy was in the crosshairs. She had no associations of her own in this part of the country, so that left it on his shoulders. If he didn’t figure this out, he could lose her, and he’d have no one to blame but himself.

‘Come on,’ Dax said, unclicking his seatbelt. ‘Let’s just get this over with.’

Dwelling on how they’d gotten here didn’t solve anything, and he was more in the mood for a fight now. Striding toward the apartment entrance, Dax walked inside and ran up the stairs taking them two at a time. Usually, he saved this kind of zeal for when he was being paid. But the payment he wanted today, his wife’s safety, was far more valuable than any green.