Fraud

“I took a page from your girl’s playbook. Sex lube is slick as shit, isn’t it? You really should watch where you’re going. You might get hurt one of these days.”

Laughter shakes his shoulders, and he grins like he’s won the war. Walking my direction, Ta

“Payback’s a bitch, Gabe. Remember that next time you want to fuck with me.”

He pauses. “Oh, and that was ink I added to the water that spilled. Also a touch of glitter since I remember how much you loved it in high school. Good luck scrubbing it off your skin.”

Chuckling again, he leaves his office as the back of my head lowers to the floor. The sound of the elevator dinging open is faint a few seconds later.

Closing my eyes, I lick my tongue against my top teeth and silently vow to teach Ta

 

. . .

 

My hand tightens over the steering wheel at the soft laughter coming from the passenger seat.

Casting her a narrow-eyed glare, I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling at the way Ivy fights the urge to laugh harder, her gaze sneaking peeks at my hands as she rolls her lips into a tight line.

“Don’t even say it,” I warn, barely hiding the humor in my voice.

“I’m sorry,” she breathes, her words strained. Laughter bleeds over her lips, the sound reminiscent of a leaky balloon. “It just looks like you fistfucked a unicorn.”

Her face is red from fighting the fucking giggles.

It didn’t matter that I’d scrubbed my skin for over an hour, the red ink and bullshit glitter stuck.

After scrubbing, the red dulled to a pink, the glitter catching light every time I move my hand a certain way. It only makes the staining look worse.

“Ta

Ivy wipes a tear from her eye. “Technically, I started it.”

“Yeah, well, now I’m your ally, so we’re fighting on the same team for once.”

Her eyes snap my direction. “You mean that?”

Yeah, I think, I do.

It only took eighteen years for me to pull my head out of ass to figure out that beneath the hatred I’d felt for Ivy - beneath the need I had to destroy her - she truly was the only person who could distract me from the bullshit in my life.

That not only counts for something, in many ways, it counts for everything.

Reaching over, I tangle my fingers with hers. “We kept each other breathing, right?”

Her expression softens, the giggles gone and replaced by shock. “Careful with that. The sky might open up and strike us down with another storm for joining forces.”

“We are the storm, love. There’s not much the world can do to us now,” I say as I turn the wheel to take us off the main highway en route to her father’s house.

A few seconds of silence pass before she sighs and looks out the side window.

“Maybe we should postpone seeing my dad. I mean, number one, it’s not good that you’re walking in there looking like you just strangled an entire village of pink marshmallow Peeps...”

My lips curl at that.

“...but I also worry that there’s more to what’s going on that we don’t understand.”

“You’re worried about your dad, I assume.”

“Yeah.” Her head turns my direction, the manicured lawns of the affluent neighborhood all blending into one another as we drive past expensive houses. “I know you don’t have a good relationship with Warbucks, but my dad has never done anything to me. I don’t want to hurt him.”

Keeping my voice intentionally soft, I swipe my thumb over hers and ask, “Even if he’s hurting other people?”

Ivy’s eyes meet mine, silence falling as the question hangs unanswered between us.

“Damn it, Gabe,” she whispers, returning her attention to the side window as I return mine to the road. “He wouldn’t do that.”

I have my doubts, especially after what she’s told us, but convincing Ivy of it will be next to impossible. Not unless her dad comes right out with it and proves he’s a bastard.

Nothing else is said as we drive the rest of the way, my car pulling to a slow stop once we reach the gates to her father’s estate.

The guard eyes me suspiciously, but then his brows shoot up to see Ivy beside me. He doesn’t look pleased to hit the button to open the gate, his eyes remaining locked on my face until I hit the gas to pull forward.

Ivy’s fingers tighten around mine as we weave along the long driveway, her stare fixed to the gardens that stretch out, the plants painted in vibrant color from the setting sun.

Reaching the house, I park in front, my jaw tense. I step out of the car and round the front to open Ivy’s door to help her out.

As soon as she’s on her feet, she tilts her chin to stare up at me, hesitation obvious in her eyes.

“Always the gentleman,” she whispers, the words now an inside joke between us.

She’s not saying it to tease me this time, though, but more for a co

Ivy is looking for strength in a bond that, although new in the form it takes now, has always existed between us.

I lift her hand and kiss the top, happy to give her whatever she needs. “Only for you.”

Sighing again, she nods her head and rounds her shoulders. “Let’s get this over with.”

Keeping her hand locked in mine, I lead her up the large porch steps, my thumb sweeping over the engagement ring on her finger that I briefly consider may hold more meaning than either of us intended.

Ivy presses the doorbell, her body tense beside mine as their butler answers, the smiles he gives her fading as soon as his eyes turn my direction.

After giving me a cutting look, he returns his attention to Ivy. “We thought you’d come home a lot earlier, Miss Callahan. And we also assumed without company.”

“Don’t tell me you agree with Dad, Harrison. I have every right to choose what to do. I’m a grown woman now.”

Harrison steps back to let us in. “I’ll tell your father you’re here. It’ll be best if you wait for him in the sitting room.”

“Thank you,” she grumbles, her tone reminding me of a scolded child.

When we step into the sitting room adjacent to the foyer, Ivy glances at me.

“This is already going bad. I never have to wait for him in here.”

I squeeze her hand. “Let me deal with it.”

Governor Callahan steps into the room seconds later, his face twisted with disapproval, his dark clothes and dark hair a stain against the white and cream color scheme surrounding us.

After flicking a cursory glance at his daughter, his eyes slide my direction, anger obvious, despite his attempt not to show it.

He’s still staring at me as he speaks to Ivy.

“I thought we already discussed this.” His stare cuts her direction. “What the fuck is he doing here?”

Ivy attempts to pull her hand from my grasp, but I refuse to release it. I flat out refuse to let go. I did that once when I left to go to college. And when I came back, she was barely a shell of herself. I won’t make the same mistake again.

The mask I wear slips into place, my voice rolling smoothly over my silver tongue. “It’s good to see you again, Governor. My fiancée tells me you have an issue with our engagement. I’m here to address the problem.”

Flipping the corner of his jacket aside, her father slips a hand into his pocket and pins me in place with a glare so seething most men would buckle beneath it.