Page 9 of Mercy (The Sins Trilogy 3)
True. Her Escalade is bigger than my Audi convertible, and I don’t feel like calling TJ on his day off. “All right. Lead the way.”
We go down to the garage and pile into the Escalade.
“When are you going to release her from the contract?” Ivy asks, her voice barely a murmur in the car.
“When you aren’t in danger anymore,” I answer.
“Don’t you think the killer could be dead? It’s been a long time.”
“No. Sam’s death proves that.” If it were just Jill, then I could’ve convinced myself that it was an isolated incident. Bad luck. But both of them dying on the same night?
“The police think it was just an accident. People here drive badly in the rain anyway.”
I shake my head. I’m not ignoring my gut feeling, not when it means risking Ivy’s safety.
She sighs. “So if we never catch the killer…”
The possibility is unthinkable. “Then she’ll be with you forever, but that’s not happening.” I’m calling in all my favors…and will owe whoever I need to owe if it means catching the guy.
“Why not?”
“Because I’m going to catch that bastard. I’m not letting you live in fear.”
Ivy is meant to soar freely. Live her life with carefree joy.
“Just…be careful,” she says. “I don’t want to see you hurt. You keep saying I’m the one in danger, but if I’m really a target, and you’re in the way, so are you.”
I smile a little, touched and hopeful. She’s worried. That means she’s closer to forgiving me, isn’t it? “I can take care of myself.”
“Still.”
“And I have TJ. But most of all, I promise I’ll live forever for you.”
She gives me a small grin. “I’ll hold you to that.”
The mood between us is considerably lighter by the time we reach Julie’s luxury apartment past the fancy gates. I follow Ivy into Julie’s place, braced for a battle. There’s no way I’m waiting in my car, not knowing what awful shit about me Julie could be saying.
I know I made the right decision when we walk inside and see not just Julie, but Byron Fucking Pearce. What the hell is he doing here?
Doing my best to hide my hostility for Ivy’s sake, I stare at his disgustingly pretty face, the sandy-brown hair that’s been recently cut and styled, unlike my shaggy mane. He’s in a casual shirt and slacks, exuding the kind of entitled elegance born of indifference to most concerns of the world.
Ivy comes to a stop, then smiles. “Hi, Byron.”
“Hi, Rizzy.” His eyes shoot death at me. If he could, he’d skewer me and toss me into a bonfire. “What’s he doing here?”
Before I can shoot him a sarcastic response, Ivy says, “To help me get my things.”
“I can do that too,” Julie says.
At the same time, Byron says, “So you’re just going to go back to him?”
Ivy sighs. I bare my teeth, a wolf guarding his territory.
“She’s made her decision, Pearce.” Shut your trap or I’ll break your jaw the next time I see you.
Julie takes Ivy’s wrist and tugs her toward another room, leaving me and Byron behind. “Behave! The property manager’s a dick, and he’s going to deduct everything you break from my deposit!” she says, shutting the door behind them.
If I could give Byron a pair of black eyes, I wouldn’t mind paying three times her deposit. From the feral expression on his face, the feeling’s mutual.
