“No, but if I ever do, I’ll contact you.”
“You should. Seriously.” He turned as Ivy approached, her expression slightly pinched. Not that it did anything to take away from how gorgeous she was. The woman was walking sex appeal, his every fantasy come to life.
“Are you done?” he asked.
She nodded and flicked a curious glance at Theo but Nash slid his arm around her and pulled her close as he made a quick introduction. Oh yeah, he was staking a claim and not being subtle about it. At least not to Theo.
As Theo strode over to his partner, Ivy melted into Nash as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He loved that she trusted him, turned to him.
“They said I could pack a bag and do a more thorough check of my things,” she said.
Good. He wanted to check for bugs. Sure, there was a chance that this could be part of some B and E ring operating in the area but he really did not like that it was happening now when they’d just broken into that warehouse. When she was hunting down violent killers. Nope, didn’t like it at all.
As the police cleared out, Nash motioned for her to wait on the porch with him. He didn’t want to go inside just yet.
“The detective seems to think it’s a local crew operating around here,” Ivy said as she leaned against the porch railing. “He said they’ve had some break-ins, but never when people are at home. Except once. I sent him the video in case they can use it. Hopefully we can get something off it, but I doubt it.”
“Maybe.” Nash glanced at the unmarked cars as the detectives pulled away. There were a couple neighbors across the street who’d been watching everything unfold, so he raised a hand to let them know everything was okay. The man waved back, then he and his family headed inside.
“Yeah, I know it’s a long shot. Before we leave and before I pack anything, I want to check my place for bugs.”
“We’re on the same wavelength,” he murmured, a smile tugging at his mouth despite the situation. He wasn’t letting her take anything from this place without thoroughly checking it first. Once he was done, he was getting her out of here and back to his place. And he didn’t think he was letting her go.
She wrapped her arms around herself and he wanted to pull her close. “This shouldn’t freak me out so much but—”
“Of course it should. These guys are freaking animals. Violent murderers.” They’d “allegedly” killed two innocent people for monetary gain. If they thought Ivy was getting in their way of a payoff, they would handle it one way. “I think you need to tell your family what’s going on.”
She watched him carefully, a pause stretching between them before she finally nodded. “You’re right. I’m going to call Sebastian and tell him first. He’s really good at mitigating situations. And I think I should do it now. If there’s even a tiny chance they’re in danger, I need to warn them.” She sighed and pulled her cell phone out, the exhaustion in her face clear.
He wanted to smooth it away—to take her away from here. To make her just quit this whole job. But he already knew it would be a losing battle. So he would do whatever it took to keep her safe while she finished this. “Give me a minute before you head inside. I’ve got some equipment in the back of my SUV. I’ll do a quick search for any type of bugs or cameras.”
She nodded but the look in her eyes as she watched him… It made him wonder if tonight she’d be sleeping in his bed.
He welcomed that. And if he got her in his bed, he was keeping her.
* * *
Ivy stepped back into the cute little bungalow with green shutters and colorful hanging plants on the porch. She’d let Nash do his thing even while fighting the tension punching through her, and he’d cleared the bedroom and the back half of the house. She hated that this had happened, hated how close this had hit. Most of her jobs, she had layers of distance between her and her targets. They never even knew she was the one who retrieved the art they’d stolen. This job was turning out to be completely different. And Nash was involved now too, which made things even worse.
If those guys had figured out her identity and knew she was after their painting, they could easily target her family…or Nash. A shiver skittered down her spine, the little tendrils digging in as she stepped into the bedroom. Most of her stuff had remained untouched, though it was clear someone had rifled through her things.
Ivy sat on the edge of the comfortable queen-sized bed, her fingers gripping her cell far too tightly as she called her brother. Nash had already cleared this bedroom of bugs though so she knew it was safe to talk in here.
Sebastian picked up on the second ring. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Hey. I’m going to jump straight to it.”
“Oh my God, are you getting married?”
She blinked and burst out laughing despite everything going on. That was his first question? The thought of marrying Nash wasn’t making her break out in hives but… Oh my God, she had to focus. “No. But that’s certainly a random thing to ask.”
“I just assumed.”
Instead of responding, she said, “I’ve got some news. I’m working a job right now. To keep things as short as possible, I might have made some enemies, though I’m not completely sure.” She quickly recapped what she could, stressing how violent these guys were and that they might have realized who she was and that she was after their painting.
When she finished, her brother sighed. “Well, this isn’t good news at all but I had been planning to take Maika home for a surprise trip to see her parents. Soon she’ll be too pregnant to fly. I’d planned to spring it on her next week but I can move the trip up. I’ve already got work covered so we’ll leave tomorrow instead.”
Ivy shoved out a breath, her relief palpable. Nash stepped back into the room as she was talking with her brother, and picked up her suitcase before quickly ducking out.
She did her best not to check his ass out as he moved around the room, and to focus on the conversation. It was really hard when he had such a bitable ass. And now they were going back to his place? They’d had a moment earlier and she wondered if they could have more than that. Like an entire night of hot, sweaty sex. Well, more than one night. All the nights.
“I can take Mom with us too. She loves Maika’s mother anyway, so it’ll be perfect.”
She flopped back on the bed. “You are the best brother ever.”
“This is true. It’s also why I’m your favorite.”
“I don’t know about all that.”
“I’m hurt,” he mock pouted.
“Yeah, I’ll just bet. Look, I need to tell Ezra and Jordan too.”
“Let me conference them in,” Sebastian said. “We can knock this out right now so you don’t have to make separate calls. I’m pretty sure Jordan has a work thing anyway so he’s going to be out of town. Before I conference them in…what are you doing to take care of yourself? Are you going to cancel this contract?”
Annoyance hit her. “Would you ask that question to Ezra?”
“Yes, I would—especially if you were Ezra, I’d ask. I want to know you’re going to be safe.”
“Fine. And no, I’m not.”