Page 69 of Clint & Ivy
“Pick three people to go with you.”
Lula glanced at my phone and smiled. “Don’t worry, Clint. I will make very clear to Linus Humpherys that if he drags Ivy through court, we’re willing to press charges over what happened at the mansion. I sense Linus’s loan shark won’t appreciate the attention. You might get the asshole buried without lifting a finger.”
“Thank you,” I said as Lula still watched me like I might need an intervention. “Just spit it out.”
“This woman didn’t choose to leave her home or go on the run. In a very real way, she never chose you, Clint. You might want to ask yourself what happens when she doesn’t need you anymore.”
“If Ivy feels about me like I do about her, she will stay.”
“Because it’s not a choice?”
“Not really, no. The need is real. You can feed it or fight it, but it won’t be ignored.”
“Well, I’ll keep that in mind while I’m in Reno.”
Rowdy strolled into the room and asked, “How dangerous is this job?”
“Why?”
“I wanted to ask Vanessa to come along, but if we have a real chance of dying, I don’t want to leave Mom with only one live kid.”
“Aww,” Lula said and hugged him. “Such a sweet boy.”
Rowdy glanced at me and winked. He grew up as the youngest of four and the only boy. His every accomplishment was treated like a glorious revelation. I grew up assuming he’d become insufferable. So far, he’s managed to keep his head on straight.
I didn’t really know what to expect with Linus Humphreys and his criminal associates. He might be a scared rich boy trying to bully Ivy like he had all her life. If so, Lula and Rowdy alone would scare the shit out of him. But if he was more dangerous than his driver’s license photo suggested, I wanted my people to be ready.
Rowdy decided to take Vanessa along with Stevie and Cher, who usually did security for Lula.
Lula smiled at me. “If the uncle doesn’t back down, I’ll get the names of his criminal associates into the court record. That ought to get shit done.”
Despite everything coming together, I found myself nursing a bad mood. I rode back to the condo to pick up my truck. My mind flashed back to this morning. Panic cut through me when I thought about how tired Ivy was during the walk this morning. I figured she was cold and unaccustomed to being outside.
Lula’s words came back to me, too. She was right about how Ivy hadn’t chosen this new path for her life. Most people didn’t get choices. We were stuck with the hand dealt to us. But Ivy might be able to return to Reno. If she had an inheritance and her uncle was out of the way, she could return home and live any way she wanted.
I wasn’t used to feeling insecure. My worries bounced back and forth between Ivy’s health problems and her leaving me for a life in Reno.
