Dace made eye contact with the others, one at a time as if taking a silent vote from each member: yes, we hear him out and work together if it makes sense, or no, this bastard’s going down. With a simple nod, Dace had his tally and his mind made up.
“How do you know Ivy? Who are you to her?” Dace braced himself for the answer, fully aware it could be that he’s her significant other – her lover even.
“I’m her bodyguard. Have been since the day I escorted her out of Portland and I’ve been with her every day since.”
Dace cringed. That’s a long time to be with someone, day in and day out – if that’s even true. The fact Eli is the man who took Ivy away – from him – made Dace dislike Eli even more than he already did.
“Who’s after her?” Dace asked.
“Is she here? Am I right?”
“I know where she is, yes. Now, who is after her?”
“My boss – so as you can see, I can’t do this on my own. A bit of a conflict of interest.”
“Are we going to dance around this all night? Who’s your fucking boss?”
“Her father.”
“Her father is dead.”
Eli snickered. “Oh, I assure you, he’s very much alive.”
CHAPTER 14
“The man’s not a florist. I can tell you that,” Eli said. “I’ve yet to identify an agency or affiliation – abroad or US – but whatever it is, it’s big and spinning.”
“Spinning? Out of control, you mean?” Dace asked.
“Yes. I believe so. I’m strictly assigned to Ivy. I get my orders directly from him when it’s time to move or a threat nearby, but that’s it. I’ve studied him, his associates, and the muscle that he brings every time he visits. Florists don’t travel with their own militarized security detail.”
“Orders you to move her…you’re the reason I get close, but never close enough,” Dace stated.
“Afraid so. You’ve been close many times – too close.” Eli’s tone contained a hint of sympathy. He clearly knew who Dace was to Ivy and why he had been looking for her. “The last time you caught up with us, I watched you from a wooded area a block away. That’s when I knew you weren’t a threat and figured out who you were.”
“How’d you do that?”
Eli wore a facetious grin. “Plates on your Harley, friend. Old-school.”
Dace grinned while shaking his head.
“When I couldn’t get a hit through normal channels, I started digging and found out it was you. Everyone in our…business knows who you brothers are. It made sense why you were the reason we were moving as often as we were, but I knew you weren’t the real threat, just someone who wasn’t supposed to find her.”
“Her father hid her from me,” Dace said under his breath.
“Essentially, but it was to protect himself, I’m sure. Not Ivy. He obviously knows who you are and what you do.”
There was something honest about Eli’s divulgence of information. He was quick to answer, detailed, and his body language seemed cool and collected. Dace could see he was being honest. Sure, if this guy was who he said he was, and there was little doubt of his identity at this point, he’d be trained to intentionally mislead and control his body language, blood pressure, and stay cool. He could be well-practiced, as the brothers were, and fly through an interrogation-type encounter with ease. But Dace didn’t believe that to be the case.
While he had Eli spilling details without hesitation, he tried to dig deeper to find out more about Ivy and who she was now. “Who is the kid in the picture with you and Ivy?”
Dace put the picture in front of Eli, who smiled at the sight of it. It was a fond memory, it seemed. That child was important to Eli, and he cared for him deeply. That was evident. To the naked eye, it was pure joy that raced through Eli, but Dace saw something more. He saw a type of pain in the man’s eyes that hadn’t been there before. The kid meant something to him and Ivy. Was he their child?
“Eli?”
Eli broke from his distracted state. “I’m sorry, but you are going to have to ask Ivy.”
Dace nodded. It was personal to Ivy, and Eli was respecting that – or perhaps he was protecting himself because he feared Dace’s response to who the child really was. Maybe he was Eli’s.
“Fair enough. I’ll gladly ask her,” Dace challenged, to which Eli simply nodded.
“I’m not picking fights here, but if she didn’t tell you, there must be a reason, mate.”
“And what would that reason be? She was coming here for help, which seems odd if she has a bodyguard, wouldn’t you say? If you’re her bodyguard, how did she end up here…without you?”
“She thinks I’m dead. She thinks everyone is dead; I’m sure of it.” Eli slammed his fist on the table. He’d come to break the brothers for information, but it seemed one brother, in particular, was breaking him. “I needed her to believe that and run. Ivy knew the plan. She knew to come here. Just as we discussed.”
“Oh, you sent her here?” Dace laughed.
“I did. I knew it was the only place we could trust – the only people we could trust.”
“So, you trust us now? Interesting.”
“I don’t. I don’t trust anyone. But Ivy does, and I trust her. So here we are.” Eli went on. “I followed her here to make sure she made it safely. When I thought she was in the home stretch, I went to follow up on a lead. I thought she’d made it to you, but when I didn’t hear from her, and I couldn’t reach her on her cell…I knew something had happened. Someone was a step ahead of me. Someone I didn’t anticipate, maybe.”
“And you rushed back to save her? You left her for dead.”
Eli flinched at the implication. “She would be dead if I hadn’t gotten her as far as I did – unbeknownst to her. I rushed back to protect her, yes. I can’t save her, though. Not on my own. This thing is big. Bigger than me. Bigger than all of you. It runs deep, far beyond your government…”
Carter leaned forward and let out a deep sigh. “I suppose that’s why I’m here. Keyword government.”
“You can do this kind of work remotely. We don’t expect you to run on this one, Landry,” Declan said. “Unless you miss me that much…”
“Oh, but I’d much rather get my hands dirty, especially if this leads to DC. I miss this shit – can’t kick the bad guys' ass remotely. I can already tell you this isn’t DEA or ATF, at least not on the books. I don’t have any active warrants.”
“Cartel possibly? Off-the-books militarized sector of government? Total outlaws?” Dace questioned.
“Yes.” Eli was frustrated with the progress he was making and the fact he was still proving who he was and why he was there. “Look, I don’t know all the players. I don’t know everyone who is involved, but I do know this exceeds even the almighty O’Reilly clan and their Brother’s Keeper Security relationships and resources. You will have to get involved, Mr. Landry. I just don’t know to what extent. Be prepared for the biggest government shakedown you’ve seen in modern history. You need to rally the troops, get your cousins the bounty hunters here, get your MC connection working, and bring in the authorities you know you can trust. The individuals, not entire agencies.”