“Maybe it’s time for Ivy to head upstairs and rest for a bit,” Wylie chimed in. Seeing her pain didn’t bring any of them solace. “This was a lot to take in, darlin’.”
Dace nodded in understanding. As angry as he was with her, it brought him no comfort to see her world spinning as it was. Standing, he helped her to her feet, then guided her to the door after he sent a quick text. “Let’s get you on the elevator. Carly will meet you upstairs and help you get settled in. I’ll be up in a bit, okay?”
Ivy just nodded. She didn’t look at anyone in the room, much less say anything.
Dace hit the button, calling for the elevator at the end of the hall, and took the moment alone with her to say something, anything that may bring her relief. “I’m going to find him because I want to meet him and get to know him. I promise you that. I won’t let anything happen to him, not on my watch.”
Ivy fell into Dace’s chest and began to weep. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I didn’t know these things about…”
“Shhh. It’s okay. We’re going to figure this out, okay? I hope Eli is wrong about your dad too, but if he isn’t, we’ll figure that out too. Okay? You’re not in this alone. Not anymore.”
“I thought I was protecting both you and Cash, Dace. I thought we’d be able to come back eventually when whoever was after my father was put away. I had no idea my father was the threat all along. That can’t be, right? It can’t be him. He was looking out for all of us.”
“I don’t know, honey. But we’re going to find out, and no matter what, when all of this is done…our son will be back with us and safe. He’ll never be in harm’s way again, I can promise you that.”
The doors to the elevator opened, and the two stepped on, taking the short ride a handful of floors up. Dace kissed the top of Ivy’s head before pushing the button to her floor.
When the elevator dinged, alerting them that they’d reached the requested floor, Dace said, “I mean it, Ivy. He’s coming home.”
Carly was waiting when the doors opened, and she took a tearful Ivy into her arms. “It’s been a really long day. Let’s get you taken care of and ready for bed, sweetheart. You need your rest and have some healing to do.”
Carly nodded to Dace and offered a sweet, sympathetic smile – she knew. One of the guys must have sent up a text to prepare her so Dace wouldn’t have to explain with Ivy standing right there. It was a fucked-up situation, and no one needed to make it any worse than it was. Ivy looked back over her shoulder, making eye contact with Dace just as the doors to the elevator were closing. There wasn’t a word shared between them, but they each knew exactly where the other's mind was — on each other, and their son.
CHAPTER 18
“Gannon,” Dace said, surprised to see Toby in the lair when he returned. “You must have something, or you wouldn’t be here?”
“Yes and no,” Gannon said. “The boys were catching me up while we waited for you.”
“I was gone for five minutes.”
“Liam looped me in on the conference, and I heard most of it on my way over. You need all hands on deck?” he asked.
Dace stood at the head of the room. “All the hands we can get without compromising other cases.”
“We’re pretty tight right now,” Wylie said. “We need bodies and intel.”
“I can get you bodies. The club is always at your disposal,” Gannon said, referring to the MC. “We run our own show, but at the end of the day, we’re still Keepers.”
“Appreciate the support. I think the club is exactly what we need right now for a part of this. Eli, we need more. What were you holding back while Ivy was down here?”
“I gave you most of it. That’s the shit part. I have theories and suspicions but no facts or evidence. I just know whatever he’s into is big, and he’s feeling pressure somewhere.”
“Any idea who’s putting pressure on him? Got a theory for that?” Dace asked.
“I don’t know.” Eli ran his laced fingers over his head in frustration. “I don’t fucking know.”
“Okay.” Dace added a sense of calm in hopes it would bring Eli down enough to dig deeper. “Let’s take what you do know and see if we can build a profile or maybe come up with a starting point.”
“This last trip was different. He was more agitated and reckless. He wasn’t being careful about what he said around me.”
“Now, was that intentional because this was all a setup with hopes you’d go running off with details as a distraction? Or was it a real threat eating away at him?”
“That’s just it, Dace. I couldn’t tell you either way. The man is clearly a psychopath and can play any role he needs to. I’m leaning toward a setup. I’m sure he wanted me to hear some of it. But then, there were things I picked up when I know he hadn’t a clue I was on the other side of the door.”
“Let’s start there.”
“He said make a trade or exchange. It wasn’t entirely clear. Whoever was on the other end of the phone was pissing him off. He also said, now you got me involved, and I’ll be there for the drop or I’ll get the drop maybe? Whatever it was, he wasn’t supposed to be there and was pissed he had to step into whatever was going sideways on him.”
“Could it have been about Cash or Ivy?” Dace asked. “Was he negotiating how he was going to use them?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, mate.”
“Mate?” Gannon questioned. “British?”
“No,” Eli said with distaste but didn’t correct Gannon.
“Aussie then,” Gannon corrected.
“What? Nooo.” Eli was seemingly offended by the suggestion. But again, he didn’t correct the man or give away anything. “Can we stay on task here?”
With tight glaring eyes, Toby Gannon leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs and watched Eli with a look of distrust. He gestured for Eli to continue.
“If he was using them, Dace. I don’t know how or for what. I still firmly believe he keeps them under his watch because of you and this place.” He pointed at Gannon. “You have your own bloody MC even. As I said earlier, your resources scare him.”
“I doubt he’s afraid of our club,” Gannon said. “We don’t get into shit like these guys do. We keep shit clean and legit. I jump on board when I’m called up, but the club…no.”
“The point is, he knows you all have people everywhere. He has to, or he wouldn’t have spent the past several years working toward whatever he has planned and using his own daughter and grandson to guarantee passage, so to speak.” Eli spoke. “I was able to track a few of the men I’ve seen over the years, but nothing solid. A few associates from various government agencies…”
“Wait, he’s entertaining associates in the home he’s hiding his daughter in? Last I checked, that isn’t how witness protection works.” Dace felt a clue coming. They were close, and he knew it. “Who were they? Who were you able to track down?”