He scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck then pulled out his cell phone. “I’m texting you everything now.”
She glanced at the incoming text, scanned the information. “If I find out you lied to me—”
“I wouldn’t lie to you. I’m grateful to you… I just want you to stay safe.” His concerned tone surprised her, but before she could respond, Leo turned to Nash. “You better look out for her,” he snapped.
Nash’s expression didn’t change. “She looks out for herself.”
Oh damn. His words pleased her way too much.
“You can finish the bottle.” She shoved away from the table, done with Leo. She knew Nash would be right behind her.
Once they were outside, she sucked in a deep breath. She hated clubs in general, even if she got a thrill from her job. There were always too many people crammed up against each other, too many scents intermixed, and she was close to getting a full-blown headache from all the perfumes.
“How much do you trust that guy?” Nash asked once they were in the privacy of her car.
She let the car idle for a moment, savoring the quiet of the interior. Her ears were still buzzing from before and the silence was soothing. “He wouldn’t lie to me about this.” Leo would have no reason to.
“So why does he owe you?”
A grin tugged at her lips. “I helped him avoid going to jail for fifteen to twenty.” Leo wasn’t a great guy, but he wasn’t a terrible one either. And he was the one who paid for his abuela’s long-term care. If he’d gone to jail, Ivy didn’t even want to think about what would have happened to the sweet older woman. Apparently she had a soft spot for jackasses.
“And?”
“And that’s all you get for now. Maybe I’ll tell you the whole story someday. Likely over drinks.”
“So what’s your plan now?”
“He gave me when and where they’re meeting with someone tomorrow. I’m not sure who or why, but all I need is their location, so this is great.”
“You’re not going to call the Feds? Or whoever.”
She shrugged. “No. Not yet anyway. Look, these guys are just wanted as persons of interest. There’s not a warrant out for their arrest. Otherwise I would contact the Feds. But they have just as many resources as I do. I’m not doing their work for them.”
He let out a small sigh. “I’m going with you.”
She shook her head as she pulled out of the parking lot. Nash’s masculine scent teased her in the interior of the car, wrapping around her, making her wish things were different between them. “Nash, I don’t need a babysitter. I promise I’ve got this.”
“If you don’t let me come with you, I’ll tell your family that you’re in town.”
She slammed on the brake a little too hard as they came to a red light and turned to glare at him. “That’s blackmail! I didn’t think a Boy Scout like you would do that.”
He frowned at her, then simply shrugged. “Try me.”
Gritting her teeth, she turned away from him, forcing herself to ignore how delicious he smelled. And how good he looked. The dark sweater he wore molded to his biceps and pecs, showing off what she’d seen underneath once or twice—in a bathing suit type of situation, unfortunately. There was also something…contained about him. At six foot one, he was only a few inches taller than her, but he had broad shoulders and a bitable butt. Still, he seemed to always be in control and she wondered what it would be like to make him lose that hold.
“The meeting time is tomorrow evening,” she finally said on a sigh. Because there was no way he’d let this go. “You can pick me up at my place at three. Don’t be late.”
Chapter 4
Ivy slid her phone into her back jeans pocket when she heard a brief knock on her front door. She checked the peephole just to be sure it was Nash—and her heart skipped a beat to see him standing there, tall, brooding and mouthwateringly delicious. They’d decided to meet this morning instead of in the afternoon because he’d volunteered to come to the pet shelter with her today and she wasn’t going to say no to him. Not when she loved his company. And she really, really hoped he adopted one of the dogs.
She’d briefly toyed with the idea of calling her family to tell them that she was in town so she could head off tonight alone without worrying that Nash would tell them.
But who was she kidding? She loved spending time with him and she didn’t think he would actually tell them regardless. He was just being overprotective and… Why did she like that so much?
She inhaled deeply as he held out the to-go coffee cup, and cradled it between her hands as if it was pure diamonds. “My precious.”
He laughed and stepped back. “You ready?”
Yawning, she tugged the door shut behind her and managed to get out a response. She was as ready as she’d ever be. They hadn’t even returned that late last night, but she’d been up most of it more or less splitting her time between obsessing about Nash and trying to hunt down leads on the Green crew. The elusive “alleged” thieves she planned to thwart.
As she made it to the bottom of the short set of stairs leading to the walkway, he frowned. “Don’t you need to lock your door?”
“It locks automatically.” She was renting a two-bedroom, one bath while she was in town through a local real estate company. She actually owned a house in Miami, but she rented it out the majority of the year and it was currently occupied.
Soon, however, she was going to be moving back in. She’d already let her tenant know that as soon as the lease was up, she wouldn’t be renewing it, and it was good timing because they hadn’t wanted to renew their lease anyway, so win-win for both of them.
“What about the security system?” he asked.
“It’s a rental. There isn’t one.” Though she had put up temporary security cameras.
His expression went darker than it should for her answer. She could take care of herself, and he knew it.
“You’re in a mood today,” she said when he kept up with the surly look.
“I don’t like that you’re hunting down some violent crew,” he said bluntly.
She made a hmm sound and took a sip of her coffee as they headed to his waiting SUV. She was glad he was driving. She just wanted to sit back and enjoy her drink and try to wake up. She certainly wasn’t going to get into whatever this was.
“Nice sweater,” he said as they slid into the front seat.
She glanced down at it and fought the rush of heat flooding her cheeks. He’d given it to her as a gift years ago and she wore it far too often. The silly sweater with the chicken wearing a rainbow bowtie was a comfort to her since it reminded her of him. “I love this thing. So soft.”
“Have you heard any more from any of your contacts?”
“Nothing I can use. So have you narced me out to any of my brothers yet? Specifically Ezra.” The middle of her three brothers and one of Nash’s oldest, best friends.
“I would never betray you like that.” He actually sounded offended.
“I was kidding!” Mostly. Maaaaybe she’d been testing him. “Speaking of my brother, has Ezra told you about his recent dating escapades?”