Page 76 of Corrupting Ivy

“Now, chew.”

“What’s gotten into you?”Jake asked as he climbed into the passenger seat, throwing all his belongings onto the floor.

“Good question.”

What had gotten into me? A particular woman that crawled under my skin infected my system with her essence until it transformed me into a man I didn’t recognize.

Who did I morph into? Who was I becoming? I’d fallen so far out of my norm that I wasn’t sure who’d I see if I looked into the mirror right now.

I’m a psychopath.

Made into one by the wicked ways of my mother and molded into who I am today by the violence I bathed in. I enjoyed who I am. Not who I was becoming.

“Well, you better figure it out. We can’t have you turning in your mental leash and destroying the planet, okay,Darkseid.”

I looked at him in confusion. I never understood his geek references.

“Darkseid…the God of Evil.” He rolled his hand, expecting me to understand, and when I didn’t, he tossed them into the air. “Come on, man, we had a whole marathon with this shit.”

“The purple guy?”

He grumbled. “No. That’sThanos.DarkseidmakesThanoslook like a child’s toy that got stepped on and came out with brain damage. You’re talking about two different worlds, anyway. DC vs Marvels. I’m disturbed… I don’t know what to do with you.”

“I think I slept through most of it.”

“God.”

I smirked. Then a long gap of stillness drew me back into the real world. It was only a coincidence that I came here after complimenting, then chastising Charity for her emotional instability, only to discover my own in this stupid town. I had the answers for her, but for me, I had nothing.

“Did you book the jet?”

He scoffed. “In the thirty-second-time frame you gave me before jumping all over Remy? No.”

“Let’s get on that. I want out of this town, now.”

There was a portion of my brain deep down, way in the back, attempting to persuade me that maybe it was the town that did this to me.

I didn’t listen.

I knew who was to blame for this and the reason.

Myself. Because I allowed a woman with raven hair to come into my life.

“Okay.”

“I need to get my bag out of her apartment.”

I turned the key on the truck when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye—two FBI agents walking this way. I groaned as I tipped my head back against the headrest, then donned my professional persona and rolled down the window. Was I a master of disguise? No. But I’ve lived in so many worlds from top to bottom that it was easy to emulate.

“Agent Reynolds. Agent Mons,” I said, greeting the two agents who now stood at my window.

“A little early to be hitting the bottle, don’t you think?” Agent Reynolds said even though it was already afternoon. I knew people that started drinking the moment they woke up, until the moment they passed out.

The man appeared to be having as much trouble sleeping in this place as I was. He was either a workaholic or this case was giving him a lot of stress, as seen by the swollen bags beneath his bloodshot eyes.

“We were visiting a friend.” I smiled. “What can I do for you?”

“We’d been looking for you to ask you a few more questions about your dad,” said Agent Mons.

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