I nod. “Do you need anything from us?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” she says, shrugging. “I don’t really know what to do.”
I nod, scrubbing my jaw as I try to think of the best way to protect her. The problem is once she gets to Maryland, I’m not sure how much we could do to keep her safe.
“Let me talk to Blaze and we’ll figure something out, okay? Like I said, we’re not just going to leave you hanging.”
Relief sweeps over her face. “Thank you, Chance. I don’t want to be a burden to you guys…”
“Hold up, right there, Darlin’,” I interrupt, holding my hand up. “You are not a burden to us. This is what we do, and if you need anything, all you gotta do is call. I mean that. This is a long and ugly process, and you have our support through the whole thing.”
Tears well up in her eyes and I stand, opening my arms for her. She hugs me quickly before taking a step back and wiping her eyes. “I’ll reimburse you guys for all the hotel costs, too.”
“Nah, no need for that.”
She huffs, looking annoyed. “You have to let me find some way to thank you all for everything you’ve done.”
“If you really want to thank us, you can pay it forward and donate money to help someone else.”
Dina sighs again, looking down at the floor before she meets my eyes. “Well, all right, then. I guess if y’all won’t let me do anything else.”
“No.” I laugh, making my way toward the door. “We won’t. Listen, I’ll go talk to Blaze later today, and we will figure out a plan, okay?”
“Yeah, sounds good,” she says, opening the door, and I offer her a smile before ducking out. “See you later, Chance.”
“Make sure you lock this door behind me,” I tell her, and she nods again. I wait until the door closes and I hear the lock click into place before I head back down to the lobby, eager to get back to the clubhouse and come up with a plan to keep her safe.
Chapter Four
Carly
I stifle a yawn as I step onto the elevator, wiping the sleep out of my eyes, as I press the button to take me to the top floor because nothing but the penthouse in the most expensive building in the city will do for my mother.
“Hold the elevator,” a familiar voice calls and I stick my hand out to stop the doors from closing. Ivy runs into the elevator, out of breath. She turns to flash me a friendly smile and her eyes widen before she laughs.
“Oh, it’s just you.”
I scoff. “Just me? I’m hurt, Vi.”
“You know what I mean,” she replies, shoving me as the doors close and the elevator ascends. “I take it you also got summoned.”
I nod. “Yes. Woke me up and then chewed me out for still sleeping at six thirty in the morning.”
“The nerve,” Ivy quips, laugher in her voice and I nod.
“What do you think she wants?”
She shrugs, yawning. “Maybe she’s found her next ex-husband.”
“Oh, that poor bastard,” I whisper with a shudder and Ivy throws her head back, laughing.
“We should probably warn him.”
I shake my head and reach out to grab her arm in a dramatic fashion. “And risk angering the Wicked Witch of the West? I don’t think so.”
“What’s she going to do?”
“To me?” I ask, pointing a finger at my chest. “Nothing but I’m not the one using the trust fund she swindled out of number three for us.”
“She wouldn’t,” Ivy gasps, her mouth forming an O. I don’t touch the money, but Ivy has no qualms about using the trust fund to her advantage. She was smart and used the money to build her jewelry design business to the success it is today.
“You know she would in a fucking heartbeat.”
With an adorable pout, she crosses her arms over her chest and leans against the back wall of the elevator. “I guess the schmuck is on his own then.”
“Nice to know where your priorities are, baby sister,” I tease her and she sticks her tongue out at me.
“Hey, I don’t owe him anything, and he’s a grown man… hopefully.”
I gag, covering my mouth with my hand. “Please never insinuate mother will become a cougar ever again. It’s bad enough when the men are her age.”
“Sissy, I’m certain if she ever found herself a teenage billionaire, his age wouldn’t even cross her mind.”
“You mean, eighteen, right?” I ask and she shrugs.
“Hopefully.”
I shake my head. “So gross. She’s got to be almost a billionaire on her own by now, right?”
“No clue but she likes to spend it as much as she likes to make it.”
“You mean steal it,” I point out and we both giggle as the door slides open to reveal our mother. She arches a brow and stares at us as we try to get ourselves under control.
“Well, aren’t you two in a good mood today,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest and said good mood takes a nosedive.
“Or delirious. You called us over here at the ass crack of dawn.”
“Yeah, Mother,” Ivy adds, checking her watch. “You can’t invite us to brunch and tell us to show up at seven-thirty. That’s just breakfast.”
“Are you done?” she snaps and I sigh as I peek over at Ivy as she bites back a smile.
“Yeah, we’re done.”
With a sharp nod, she turns and walks away from us, her heels clicking against the marble floors. “We’re eating on the deck.”
“Seriously,” I whisper to Ivy as we follow behind her. “Who is in full makeup, a dress, and heels to walk around their house at seven-thirty in the morning?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “Satan?”
I bite my lip to keep from laughing and Ivy nudges me, grinning. Mother peeks over her shoulder at the two of us and lets out an annoyed sigh. She wasn’t always like this. There was a time, back when both Ivy and I were still little, that she was happy, but everything changed. Maybe I was just too young to realize what happened but to five-year-old me, it came out of nowhere. One day, she was my Momma and the next day, she was cold and unreachable.
“You’re gonna get me in trouble,” I hiss and Ivy shakes her head, pressing her hand to her heart.
“No, no, sissy. I’m the good one and you’re the bad one.”
“Since when?”
Her “duh” expression says it all. “Always.”
Mother guides us over to the private elevator that leads to the top floor and rooftop deck, and after we all cram inside, she presses the button for the deck. The silence is awkward, and I spare a glance at Ivy, whose eyes widen in a “say something” gesture but I’ve got nothing. It’s too damn early for me to navigate the minefield that is Grace Mills.
When we get up to the deck, Mother steps out first and we continue on behind her as Ivy pulls out her phone and smiles.
“Is that Julian?” I whisper and she nods.
“Yeah. He wants to know what was so urgent with Mother.”
I flick a glance in her direction as she struts over to the dining table on the far side of the deck. “Tell him it’s a toss-up. It’s either the end of the world or she’s planning to redecorate and felt we needed to have this information.”