Page 39 of Stolen Love

She tucks her hand around my arm so that her fingers are in the gap below her chin. It takes her so long to answer that I expect her to tell me the flaws in my plan when she finally says, “I’d love that.”

Adira hangs up and stows his phone in his balconette top. “Sweets is going to work a little magic and get back to me with the info as soon as he can. We should know where your daddy was in the next twenty-four hours, and hopefully we can use the information to our advantage.”

Jackson throws open the door to the dressing room. “Excuse me, Mr. Maddox.”

Yvanna and Magnolia rush in behind him.

“I don’t care how cute you are, sugar. If you don’t get out of our way…” Yvanna tries to push past him.

“It’s fine, Jackson.” Ivy moves toward the queens as they edge past the bodyguard.

“We just wanted to give you the heads up.” Magnolia puffs. “Someone alerted the media that you were here because there is a gaggle—”

“More like a mob.” Yvanna rolls his eyes.

“At any rate the whole club is surrounded.” Magnolia rests both hands on one heavy hip.

“Positively surrounded,” Yvanna reiterates. “With photographers. TMZ is out there. E News. Hollywood Juice. I don’t think they like you very much.”

“They’re gunning for you, hot stuff.” Magnolia nods. “But also…”

A man approaches from behind the two drag queens. He pulls a small white envelope from his pocket and holds it out to Ivy. “Richard Love wanted me to give this to you.”

“Who are you?” Ivy stares at the envelope for a long pause. “What do you mean my dad wanted me to have this?”

“The phone call and now this?” Adira asks. “What on earth is going on?”

That’s what I’d like to fucking know. I march over to the man. “How did you get that? And when?”

“I’m a messenger,” he says. “It was on my schedule for today.”

Ivy slowly reaches out and takes it. “What’s in it?”

“Open it and find out,” the man says, and leaves.

“How did he know we’d be here?” Ivy glances from me to Adira and back to the envelope.

“Probably figured it was safer delivering it here to the club than anywhere else,” Adira says while every one of us is staring at the white envelope in Ivy’s hands. “He could count on us being friends no matter what.”

“That’s definitely true,” Ivy says as she digs the tip of her pinky under the flap.

Chapter Seventeen

Ivy

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Rogue asks as he helps me out of my coat while Jackson shuts the door. “You were so quiet in the car.”

“Mmhmm. Fine.” I clutch the key resting against my breastbone. It’s nondescript, silver, with a round head and a three digit number on it. Two. Zero. Two.

I haven’t been able to let it go since I liberated it from its envelope and threaded it onto the chain I was wearing around my neck.

I don’t know what it’s for. Or how my dad managed to send it to me now. Or if it means anything at all considering there was nothing else inside or on the envelope. I ripped it apart just to make sure there was nothing written on the inner flap.

“I know you’re not,” Rogue says. “Talk to me.”

“It’s just overwhelming.” My entire life is a lie and my mother is trying to destroy my future.

I’m pretty sure my brother either wants to make me suffer or he wants to kill me. And the only reason he isn’t actively trying at the moment is because he’s busy avoiding public scrutiny over the court case with Rochelle Kitt.

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