Page 74 of Stolen Love

“She’s benching me,” I say. We knew it was coming. Just not yet. “She wants you to think she holds all the power. That she can change her mind and there’s not a thing we can do.”

Ivy nods and sticks out her chin. Her voice comes out firm. “Then we are going to change the rules on this game.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to show her just how far I’ve come. It’s not only the cops out there. It’s the media too. I’m going to stir up the hornet’s nest.” She lifts up on tiptoe and touches my face. “Go with Adira. Switch outfits. Leave the back way. If they want to arrest you let’s make it as hard as possible.”

“You want me to run?”

“Just for now.” She looks at her bestie. “Help us?”

“Love, I am going to have so much fun dressing this man up again.” Adira wraps his arm around mine.

“If you do that you’ll look guilty!” Jason is screaming through the device in my hand.

“What’s the hold up?” Rebel asks, coming back to us.

“I’m about to be arrested,” I fill him in. “Jason says it’ll make me look more guilty if I avoid it.”

"You thinking about running?” Rebel raises a brow.

“She’ll make you look guilty anyway,” Ivy says. “Nathaniel promised an airtight case. I believe him.”

From everything she told me about her visit, he’s actually pretty damn honest for a creepy douchebag.

“She has a point,” Rebel says.

I lift my phone to my ear. “Did you hear that?”

“She better have more than a point,” Jason says. “Because if you do this you’re fucked.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” I tell her. Alec is still watching her like a predator. Waiting for her to get close enough for him to torment in this public space, just to prove that she will never be safe.

“You’re leaving me either way.” She presses her lips to my cheek. “At least this way you won’t be in jail. Go.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Ivy

Breathe. Just breathe.

I’m about to do something I thought I never would. It’s terrifying. Electrifying. My heart is beating at a million miles an hour as Jackson and Rebel walk with me pinned between them. My fingertips are burning from the anxiety sizzling inside me.

My lungs catch on each and every breath.

Adira is dragging Rogue into the back of the venue. Every cell in my body wants my eyes to linger on Rogue until he’s gone, but I don’t.

Alec’s lips twitch and bare his teeth as we close in on him. He steps into the mouth of the aisle. “Ivy, my sweet little sister.”

My steps falter, but that’s the only sign he’ll get that he scares me. I lift my chest and pull back my shoulders. “Alec.”

“What happened here? I heard you’d had a rough time recently.” He raises a hand to touch my cast.

Jackson smacks his hand away. “Do not touch Miss Love again.”

“Right. Gotcha.” Alec nods at my bodyguard as his gaze skims the back of the room. “Where’d your boyfriend go? Scared that his brother-in-law won’t be accepting of your relationship?”

“Scared he’ll beat the shit out of you.” Rebel folds his arms over his chest.

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