visit or whatever, just let me know. There will always be room for my Tampa brothers.”
“All right, man, I’ll let Nycto know you called, fill him in on what’s happening. And hit me up anytime. Whether you’re in Tampa or Australia, you’re always my brother.”
A sense of pride fills me when Spark ends the call. He’s come a long way. I’ve been with him ever since he prospected in. Now he’s a VP like me. Knew he fucking had it in him. Not to mention he’s found himself a woman.
As I sit pondering what the hell the next three days is going to look like for Ivy and me, I swallow down another four cookies. The rush of sugar hits me hard, so I slide the tray away because I need to get up and move. I start pacing the living room, my fingers running through my hair as my eyes shift to the rear door.
She’s not back.
It’s been at least fifteen minutes, and she’s outside doing God only knows fucking what.
This is fucked.
Ivy can’t stay mad at me forever.
I should go find her.
My feet pound heavily as I make my way to the rear door. I yank it wide open, expecting her to be on the back porch. But, of course, she’s not fucking there. A sinking feeling creeps through my veins as I edge out of the house, looking through the trees of the back yard.
“Ivy?” I call out.
Nothing.
Racing out the door and down the stairs, I turn left, my chest squeezes with anxiety as I rush around to the front of the house.
The pickup’s still here.
She hasn’t taken off back to Tampa.
So, where the fuck is she?
“Ivy!” I scream louder, racing faster around the back as I head toward the tree line.
My adrenaline spikes, my head twisting from side to side with every snapping twig, with every bird that sings.
My mind starts going places I don’t want it to go.
What if while I was too fucking busy on the phone, my father found us?
What if he’s aware the one thing holding me back from joining him is Ivy?
What would he do to get her out of my way?
“Fuck’s sake, Ivy, this isn’t a damn game,” I yell, causing a flock of birds to flurry out of the trees above me. I duck, pulling out my gun—anxiety becoming too much to bear. I pant for breath as I turn, and spot the creek in the distance.
I pause.
Taking a second to gather my thoughts.
If my father is here, it’s definitely where he would take her.
Each step I take is harder than the last. My breaths are short and shallow as I enter the clearing, and the sight almost knocks me to my knees.
Ivy’s floating on top of the water with her eyes closed.
Her arms out like a starfish as she floats aimlessly.
Her usually tanned face, a little paler.
I can’t tell if she’s alive or something much, much worse.
My stomach lurches into my throat when suddenly, I see something moving in the trees on the other side of the creek. I stop dead still, watching, my head snapping up to see a flash of white, then Ivy’s eyes shoot wide open. She turns her head in the water, looking right at me, then she shifts to standing, fully clothed in the water, watching me while I practically fall apart on the bank of the creek. “What’s wrong?” she asks, confused.
My feet don’t fail me as I take off into the cold, murky water. Fully clothed, boots, fucking everything as I rush toward her in frantic movements. She scrunches her eyebrows when I finally reach her, pulling her to me in the tightest of fucking embraces I’ve ever given anyone in my whole damn life.
She holds me, water running down our bodies as her hands smooth down my back.
“Don’t you ever… ever scare me like that again. What the hell are you doing out here?”
“Just recharging my energy.” She holds on while I try to soothe my racing heart. “I get this is stressful for you… but it is for me, too, Void.”
I pull back, my hand comes up to caress her face. Leaning in, I kiss her like I fucking mean it. My tongue collides with hers, desperate to let her know how much I care about her. Even though the water’s cold, I’m heating up like a raging inferno.
Pulling back, I lean my forehead against hers, staring into her eyes. “I’ve never been as petrified as when I saw