Page 41 of Reckless Forever
“I didn’t lie, Judah. My nameisIvy. I’ve been called that all my life. They legally shortened my first name and slightly changed my last.” Her eyes searched mine, never breaking contact. Call me stupid because I believed it.
I kissed her lips twice and then pulled back.
“We’re going to figure this shit out, aight? I love you.” I said as I left her in the room to go back downstairs and handle my family.
Trouble was still pacing but stopped when he saw me and leaned against my painting.
I took a deep breath and told them everything that she had just told me. I didn’t leave any of the details out.
“And you believe her?” Trouble asked me. There was no sarcasm in his tone this time, just wanting to know how he should move.
“Yeah, I believe her,” I admitted. He nodded. I could see Storm smile at me as I said it. But the moment was serious, so I couldn’t acknowledge her.
“You love her, don’t you?” He asked as he pushed off the wall and walked toward me, closing the gap. I was kind of hoping he wasn’t about to take me up on my offer to fight. Now that I wasn’t mad, and Ivy gave me whiplash with that pillow, nigga might be able to take me.
“Yeah.” I didn’t hesitate. I could see Kennedy light up.
Silence stretched as he stared at me. I kept my chin up; it was an unspoken conversation before he finally spoke again. I could see his shoulders relax.
“Then it’s your call how we go forward. If you say she stays, she stays. But Santos sending a message through my parents is the wrong fucking move. She might want to say that Spanish prayer for that nigga.” He said as he held his hand out, waiting for me to take it. I shook his hand, and he brought me into an embrace and held it for a second.
We parted ways, then he looked from me to Jax.
“Every other fucking year it’s something with y’all niggas and I’m sick of this shit.” He said, breaking into a smile.
“I saw this coming from a mile away,” Jax shrugged casually as he cleaned his gun.
“Get your girl packed up, we’re going to the safehouse until we can make it to Bolivia. Let’s get Zo and Sanchez to stay with the girls and the kids.” Trouble said to me and then to Jax as he turned and walked out.
I nodded and went up the stairs and saw Ivy sitting on the bed, picking at her nails.
“We're going to the safehouse with my family, let’s go, baby,” I spoke softly, trying to keep my tone low. I was fucked up about how I talked to her earlier.
“Your family? I don’t want to. I’ve seen people die, and nothing is as scary as that interaction you just had with your brother,” she declined.
I chuckled. “He’s good, coolest nigga you’d ever want to meet.”
“Are you sure? Seemed like y’all were about to kill each other.”
“We do this every two days. We’re all big niggas with attitudes and aggression who hate being told what to do. It never gets that far; we respect each other too much.” I shrugged it offbecause it was true. We were all used to calling shots, and we made a million threats, but my brothers and Pops were the only niggas on the earth I’d never put hands on. No matter how many times I said I would.
She nodded and slid off the bed slowly.
“I’m sorry,” I pulled her back and looked her in her eyes. She gave me a half smile.
“Judah, I love you, and I’m sorry I got us into this mess,” she said lowly.
I kissed her forehead and then went inside the closet, got my duffle bag, and filled it with the guns in the closet. A switch had been flipped, and in a millisecond, I was back to the task at hand. Santos wanted to send a message but couldn’t, no nigga whose security system I built from the ground up send a message to me bout nothing.
I waited for Ivy to gather the things she needed and put them into a suitcase. Then, I carried her things down the stairs and placed them in the back of the truck, where Hollow was waiting for us.
She was standoffish when we got in the car; she stayed on her side and looked out the window. I was in my head about what I was going to do to Santos, but I knew that she probably mistook my silence for anger. Yesterday our day was perfect, and today the shit just got flipped upside down, but I mean what I said when I told her that I loved her. This was just a minor setback.
“Ivanys,” I called out to her. She turned to me and rolled her eyes.
I chuckled, “Baby, stop with this sad shit. I’m not mad at you. Aight?”
She blew a breath and wiped her nose with the sleeve of my hoodie. “You can keep that now,” I said, making her smile and shake her head.
