Page 35 of Clay

He let go almost reluctantly, then moved to the door quickly as a bit of embarrassment nipped at him. He looked up and caught Agnes’s gaze. It was filled with sympathy and an understanding only moms and grandmas seemed to know.

That feeling of nostalgia, of wishing he could talk to his nonna, washed through him again. He pushed it down because thiswasn’t the time or place. It hadn’t been the time or place for over fifteen years.

He and Ivy buckled into the SUV, and he nodded goodbye to Cali.

The drive was comfortable, silent but comfortable. They were about five minutes from the casino when Ivy’s phone rang.

“It’s Katie!” she said excitedly.

Clay pulled over to the side of the road and put the SUV in park, then turned to her expectantly as she put the phone on speaker.

“Oh my God, Katie, are you okay?”

“I need you to stop, Ivy,” the woman said, and Clay heard her voice for the first time. Her tone was firm but laced with an exasperated kind of kindness.

“Hamilton’s here, he’s looking for you.” Ivy said, cutting to the chase.

“It was just a matter of time, that’s why I ran,” Katie said quietly. “It’s why I need you to stop looking for me. He won’t find me where I’m at. I need to recreate myself. This time for good.”

“Screw that,” Ivy said, her voice filled with animation. “We’ve got friends looking for him, people who know how to handle a guy like him. Now I’ll ask it again, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, and what friends?”

“St. Michael’s Solutions,” she answered. “They’re helping me look for you. Katie, they’ve got safe places where you can hide. They’ll find Hamilton before he finds you.”

“Never heard of them and I’m not interested in their help. I’ve got this covered.”

Clay knew, before the next words were even spoken, that they would hurt Ivy.

“I need you to butt out. I need you to put away your savior complex and let me go.” Katie’s voice was quiet, almost mournful, but the tone was firm. She meant what she said.

Next to him Ivy had gone pale. He’d been unfortunately correct, and her best friend had just hurt her. It made him want to interject, to tell her that she didn’t need to worry, that they could hide her. But then Katie was speaking again.

“I love you Ivy, and I know you love me. You’re the sister I never had, and I need you to let me go. Guys like Hamilton don’t give up. Ever. He’ll see me dead before he gives up. He’ll hurt whoever stands between me and him. I can’t have that on my conscience. I won’t. Let me go,” she said again, and disconnected.

Ivy dropped the phone into her lap, her fingers trembling just a little bit, her face pale. Clay wanted to reach over and pull her into his lap, just like he had less than an hour ago. But first he needed to get her to safety, so after a quick scan of their surroundings he pulled back into traffic. He didn’t say a word and neither did she until they were back in the penthouse.

Chapter Nine

The mother had been a complete waste of effort, and he was tired of hiring incompetents. Tired of waiting for Ivy Foster to lead him to Katie. He was done screwing around with Vegas and he was heading to Mexico, tomorrow if he could swing it. He'd done some more sleuthing, found a perfect spot to make an exchange. And if he got to exorcise a little bit of his frustration while he waited, so much the better.

He looked at the map on his computer. At the comments in the Reddit thread. People were so helpful when it came to talking about their adventures in the Nevada desert. Theories of who was buried where were rampant, as were suggestions for what equipment to take for a successful day trip. Where a helicopter had landed before. Where a car could be stashed. Of course he didn't put it that way, he asked questions about operations and history. Nothing excited geeks like questions about the history of the thing they loved most.

He just needed a few things, and then he could start his new life. With Katie on her knees beside him.

~

Katie’s words had pierced her straight to the heart. Let her go? No, she couldn’t accept that. Couldn’t let the girl who’d been her best friend since right before her fifth birthday disappear into the mist.

She turned to tell Clay just that.

He was right next to her, his expression one of sympathy. Not pity, but sympathy. And then he was wrapping her up in his arms, crushing her against him as he murmured soothing words against her hair.

Unlike an hour ago when she disengaged from him, this time she took his offered strength. Felt it bolster her, felt it began to soothe away some of the hurt.

She steeped herself in him and his scent, and his strength. And as she did, her need to be comforted turned to something else, a desire that swirled in her belly, ten times stronger than it had been at her place the day after they met.

Because now she’d seen the different layers of him, had witnessed the almost wounded look on his face when her mother pulled him in for the hug. Knew that there were depths to this man she couldn’t even imagine. And so when he began to pull away, she went up on her tip toes and kissed him. The feel of his mouth on hers was like coming home, but with a dark, needy edge. He pulled back, his lips still ghosting over hers and whispered, “We can’t, you’re still under my protection.”

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