Page 71 of Corrupting Ivy

“Really? What’s changed?”

“Everything.” I ran a hand down my face. Things became clear, focused, and sharp. “We are going home.”

“Really? I came here for no reason then?”

“I didn’t tell you to come here. That’s on you.”

“Fair point.”

“We leave today, so prepare the jet.”

“O-kay. Is your girlfriend coming?”

I ground my teeth and gripped the side of the table.

“Randall,” Remy said, holding out a scotch.

It was still morning, now almost noon, but I could use a stiff drink. I walked towards her and held out my hand for the cup that she had filled.

“Presumptuous, aren’t you?” I said, gripping the cup and downing the rare liquor without savoring it.

“I’ve worked this bar long enough to gain a feel for people—to read what’s on their mind without having to listen to them speak it—and I can tell something is up, so why don’t you have a seat and a drink.”

I handed her the glass, and she poured me another. I placed it on the bar and spun the glass in a slow, hypnotic turn while gazing into the bronze liquid, hoping it would bring me my future.

“Did something happen with Ivy?”

Guess she was observant.Or she deduced that, knowing there was nothing else in this town that would have me grinding my teeth and ready to leave besides Ma.

I smirked and swallowed down my misery, along with my scotch. “I always break my toys, don’t I?”

Her mouth fell open as she exhaled a sharp breath, her hand on her chest. Tears welled in her eyes as she swallowed hard. Then she clenched her fist, leaned towards me with hunched shoulders and snarling. “What did you do to her, Spence Randall?”

I stood, then finished the liquor and examined its emptiness from the clear side. “Nothing she couldn’t handle.”

Remy came across the bar like a rabid cat and slapped me across the face. “You bastard.”

My head snapped to the side from the force, and before she could recoil, I lunged at her and wrapped my fingers around her throat, shoving her down on the bar. My empty glass teetered off the bar and went careening to the floor, shattering into large chunks.

“Listen closely, Remy. We have history, good history. So I’m going to let that slide. But don’t for one second think that I have a merciful bone in my body because that will be your undoing. I will cut you down and burn this bar to the ground where you lay.” I shook her by her neck, hoping to lodge my warning into place. “Are we clear?”

I had to hand it to Remy. A flutter of fear flickered through her eyes as I spoke, and then it went out like a light, as though she flipped her own emotional switch. Remy spat at me. Her warm saliva hit my cheek and trickled down before I wiped it away and smeared it on her face.

“Tonk. Relax man,” Jake stood behind me, a safe distance away.

“Stay out of it, Jake.”

I turned my gaze back to Remy. Her face had turned a screaming shade of red before I released my grip on her throat.

“Get out, Randall,” she said, rubbing her throat.

Remy and I took the proverbial torch and burned our bridges from both sides. There was no turning back now. No rebuilding what we clearly didn’t want.

I spun on my heel, grabbed the useless papers from the table, and left Jake with a confused stare.

This was for the best.

My mouth felt likesomeone forced cotton inside my cheeks to wick away the moisture, causing my tongue to stick. The dizziness in my head whirled, creating nausea to sit heavy in my stomach.

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