Page 43 of Melt For Us, Daddy
“Safe.”
“Did he… did he say anything about my sisters?”
“Not that I know of, but you’ll have a chance to ask Cordelia soon enough.”
Cordelia
* * *
What the hell was taking so long?
Pacing the length of the conference room Holden had stuck her in along with a man he’d only referred to as Hawk before he’d left, she glanced up at the clock at the far end of the room again. Only two minutes had passed since the last time she’d checked, but it felt like twenty.
One of Holden’s tech guys, a tall, beefy man with a thick beard who didn’t look anything like the stereotypical geek from the movies, had taken her phone almost as soon as she’d finished her call with Ivy so she couldn’t even text. Couldn’t check in with her babygirl to make sure she wasn’t scared or upset.
Of course she’s fucking scared. Anyone would be. And it’s all your fault.
Guilt was an indulgence she couldn’t afford right now. Maybe later, when it was all done, she could have a meltdown over the danger she’d put her girl in. But not until she was safe. Until they all were safe.
She turned to pace again, and movement on the other side of the glass wall caught her attention.
Ivy.
Yanking open the door, she ignored the shouts from her guards and ran toward her babygirl, looking so small and scared, still clutching the pink stuffie she’d gotten from the gift shop.
“Dee!”
Her name was a sob, and when her arms came around Ivy, her babygirl was shaking, her breathing ragged. “Shh, baby. I’m here. Everything’s okay. Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine. But they wouldn’t tell me anything. What’s going on? What happened?”
“Give me a minute. Just a minute.” Clutching Ivy even closer, she buried her face in her neck, inhaling the scent of her, letting it soothe her own frayed nerves and pounding heart.
When she finally felt steady again, she pulled away, her heart breaking at the fear on her babygirl’s face. What she had to tell her was going to be hard, so fucking hard, but they didn’t have any other choice. “I ran into Harlan Redding today.”
The color drained from Ivy’s cheeks. “He found you? What about Jacob? Is Jacob okay?”
Oh, her sweet babygirl. “Yeah, baby. Holden has him, they’re on their way to safety.”
“So what does that mean? More guards? What?”
“In a sense. They’re moving us to a safe house. Just until the danger’s passed or Harlan’s in custody.” And as shaken as she was, she was thankful she hadn’t had to fight Holden to move them all to the same location. Jacob wasn’t hers, not the way Ivy was, but he was still her responsibility and she took that responsibility as seriously as Holden took keeping them all safe.
“A safe house?” Taking a step back, Ivy shook her head, her expression turning fierce. “No. I’m not going to a safe house. I have a job, we have the club. We have people watching us.”
“And he still found me. Found us. He knew your name, Ivy. If it was just me, I might be willing to risk it. But I am not taking chances with your safety.”
“We can’t just leave.”
“It won’t be forever, baby, I promise.”
Jerking her chin up in a rare gesture of defiance, Ivy narrowed her eyes. “It won’t be at all because I’m not going.”
“Yes, you are. And if I have to tie you up and gag you to get you in that car, I will, Ivy Mae. This isn’t a game.”
“I know it’s not a game, Dee. I’m not stupid. But I can’t just drop everything and leave like this! It’s not fair!”
Her babygirl was spiraling. Taking Ivy’s arm in a firm grip, she glanced up at Blaze, who was either entirely unaffected by the drama playing out in front of him or doing a rather admirable job of pretending to be. “Bathroom?”
