A niggling of guilt crept in because he was hounding her for information that he already knew too. Eli had filled them in on quite a bit, so he was just baiting her at this point. He shouldn’t give a shit, but his damn conscience was in the way.
“Ivy, was your father killed? Is that who you’re referring to?”
She was silent, mulling her thoughts. “We’ve already talked about this – all of it. Why are you doing this?”
She didn’t lie, but she was far from truthful. He gave her the opportunity to discuss her father, to right the wrong she’d sold them days ago about the man’s mortality, but she didn’t. Dace’s desire to protect her was quickly becoming clouded by a sense of fury she was responsible for.
“Dammit, Ivy. Let me help you!” he shouted, startling her.
“I need to leave. I shouldn’t have come here. I’ve caused too much trouble already and need to leave before more arrives.”
Dace stepped aside and gestured to the belongings she’d piled in the chair. “Fine. Go. I can’t keep you safe if you won’t let me. If you’re right about all this, well…then, it’s your funeral.”
She flinched at his words but didn’t let them stop her. She grabbed a bag from under the bed and made her way to the pile of clothes. “Thank you. I’ll grab these and be on my way.”
“It’s probably for the best.” Dace shrugged. His sharp stab and his cold demeanor caused her to flinch. “Would you like to say goodbye to everyone first?”
“No. I don’t know that I could bear the goodbyes. Would you mind…?”
It brought him satisfaction to know that she really did not want to go and that it would be painful. She cared for all of them, and that was when he knew she was still worth saving.
“What about Eli? Would you like me to tell him goodbye for you as well? Or would you like to handle that one yourself?”
Ivy spun on her heels. “Excuse me?”
“The man in the picture, Eli. Would you like to see him before you leave?”
Her teeth clenched as crimson rose, filling her cheeks. “Is that some kind of joke? You discovered someone in my life – from my past, rather – and you want to use it against me?”
“I’m not using anything against you. Just know he’s important to you and thought maybe…you know, you’d like to say…”
“Eli is dead. Dace.” Ivy took a step closer to Dace, fists clenched. “He died because of me. How dare you?”
And there it was. Ivy did think he was dead, so maybe the tale about her father’s death was truly her belief as well. Dace was finally getting somewhere with her.
“He’s very much alive and well, actually. You didn’t cause anyone’s death, Ivy. None of this is your fault. Eli is here because of you. He told us this was the plan. You were to come here if anything went wrong. You were supposed to come here for help. So let me help you.”
“No.” Ivy took several steps backward. Her eyes began to wander around the room, looking at everything and nothing at the same time as her breaths quickened. She was frightened and confused. “He can’t be. If he’s alive…”
“If he’s alive, what?” Dace prodded. “If he’s alive, Ivy…what does that mean? Tell me, honey. What does it mean? Is this about your father? The boy? Cashel?”
“I-I don’t believe you.” She straightened, and her defenses went up with her. “You guys can do stuff; I know how you are. You found the picture, and you figured out who Eli is…He isn’t here. You’re tricking me.”
“Why would I do that? Ivy, I’ve spent my whole life loving you and searching for you. Why would I hurt you when I finally found you again?”
“I-I don’t know. Maybe…maybe it was you all along. You were the one we were running from. You and your brothers.”
Panic was overwhelming her and distracting her from the truth. This wasn’t her, she didn’t believe that, but she had to cling to anything she could as a means to keep her secret protected, to force it back down because Dace could see just how badly she wanted to tell him. She was trying to protect him by accusing him, by hurting him.
“You and I both know that isn’t true.” Dace pulled out his cell phone, and with a few taps of the screen, he pulled up a video feed. “Look, that’s the lair. Eli is in there with my brothers, C.T., and Carter.”
“Carter?” she questioned. “Carter Landry.”
“You remember him.”
“Of course I do,” she said. “This can’t be real. Liam did this, right? This isn’t real. It’s some simulation or something. He can make anything digital seem real.”
“No. I assure you, it’s live. Eli is really here.” Dace tapped the screen, and the feed became audible. “Hello.”
The men in the video stopped talking and looked at one another, except Eli who seem startled when he didn’t see Dace standing in the proximity of his voice.
“Dace?” Eli said. “Are you resorting to games at a time like this?”
“Behind you, look up,” Dace said.
Eli turned in his chair and smiled when he saw the camera. “Ah. I assume you’re with our girl.” He raised a hand and waved. “She being a bit stubborn?”
Ivy smiled through a quivering moment of fervor. Relief. She wore it like a comforting blanket meant to soothe her soul. Her voice quaked. “Eli.”
“Aw, love.” Eli’s stature softened at the sound of her emotion. “It’s going to be okay.” He stalled before saying, “Dace is going to help. Just like you said.”
She nodded her head as if he could see her.
“I’ll be down shortly. We’re almost done here,” Dace said to the men before disconnecting the feed.
It wasn’t lost on him that Eli was pained to give any kind of credit back to Dace. That had to be a blow to what appeared to be an immensely large ego, but it showed that Eli really did have Ivy’s best interest at heart. It was as if he was telling her it was safe and trusting Dace was the right call. Dace also didn’t miss that Eli referred to her as, love. His affections were obvious, but Dace decided to table that until the tasks at hand were under control and behind them.
“I would never lie to you,” he told her. “I wish you wouldn’t lie to me. Don’t make all of this – your injuries, the guilt you’ve been living with – all for nothing.”
“I can’t believe he’s here,” she said, seeming hopeful.
Dace was determined to exploit that hope to get the information he wanted and that which he needed. “Want to tell me what happened now? The truth, Ivy.”
“I can’t, Dace. I still can’t. They’ll hurt him if they haven’t already. Maybe even kill him…”
“Hurt who?” Dace pressed on. “Who? Eli’s fine; he’s safe. You just saw him; they can’t hurt him. I’ve said it a hundred times, and I’ll continue to say it until you believe it. I’m not letting anyone or anything hurt you, and if that means Eli is a part of the fucking package, fine. We’ll protect him too.”