Page 79 of Ruin Me, Daddy

“Sounds good.”

“In the meantime, Ice, what do you need from us?”

Before Ice could answer, his phone buzzed yet again. Dread sat in his stomach like a lead weight when he spotted Simon’s name on the screen. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s not here.”

“What do you mean he’s not there?”

“I mean, he’s not fucking here, Ice. I’m trying to get his security info, see when he left. But if I had to guess, he’s on his way to South Carolina.”

“Fuck!”

“Yeah. I’m going to pop over to Crash’s place, let him know what’s going on and then I’ll be on my way, too.”

“All right. See you when you land.”

“What’s going on?” Silver asked, her eyes wide as he jabbed at the screen to end the call.

“Pretty sure Ace is on his way here.”

Instantly, everyone around them was on alert, and though it felt a bit dramatic, Ice couldn’t help but appreciate it. “Do you think he’s dangerous?” Holden asked, pulling his own phone from his pocket.

“Ace?” Snorting out a laugh, Ice shook his head. “He’ll scream a lot, maybe break some shit, but he’d never actually hurt anybody.”

Frankie raised an eyebrow. “You realize those are huge red flags, right? Like, crimson.”

“I know how it sounds. And yeah, he’s a dick, but he’d never actually hurt Silver.” If there was one truth left in the world that Ice could cling to, it was that.

“Francesca has a point,” Holden said, earning him a smug smile from the woman in question. “I’m going to have some of my men keep an eye on your place, just in case.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do.” For the first time since they’d arrived, Holden smiled. “If I let anything happen to Silver, my little girl will have my head on a platter.”

“I am not your little girl, Holden!” Frankie snapped, her smug look fading as she shot daggers at the giant next to her.

It reminded Ice a bit of a chihuahua staring down a great Dane, but he was wise enough not to say that out loud.

“Braden, can I use your office?” he said instead, hoping to diffuse the storm brewing between Holden and Frankie. “I want to see if I can get Ace on the phone and I’d prefer to have a bit of privacy for that particular call.”

“Of course,” Braden said, inclining his head. “When you’re done, you can join us for the taste test.”

“Oooh, taste test?” Eyes lighting up at the mention of food, Ivy bounced happily on the balls of her toes. “What are we testing? I’m starving.”

Looking down, Ice found Silver watching him with those dark, serious eyes. “You with me, baby?”

“Always.”

“All right. Let’s get this over with.”

CHAPTER 28

SILVER

They never were able to get Ace on the phone. After about a dozen calls and texts, Ice had given up and they’d returned to the floor to join their friends for the taste tests. But Silver had no clue if anything they’d sampled had been any good, as it had all tasted like ash the second it hit her tongue.

Now they were back at Ice’s house on the beach, both of them doing their best to ignore the distance growing between them the same way they were trying to ignore the armed guards keeping watch from the sedan across the street.

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