King's Wrath (Sydney Storm MC 5)

Her gaze roamed over me as she sat in silence, not answering my question. She liked what she saw; that was clear in the heat flaring in her eyes. I allowed her silence, and when she met my eyes again, I lifted my brows questioningly.

“You’ve aged well,” she said. “Is there a woman looking after that body of yours?”

“Ivy, I didn’t come here for a catch-up. I want to know what the fuck’s going on with your marriage, and why after fifteen years you’re suddenly dragging me into it?”

Her nostrils flared. “Oh, so we can discuss my personal stuff but not yours. Have I got that right?”

I leant forward. I didn’t want to, but the pull was too great. “The only personal shit I’m interested in is whether your husband is out for my blood. And I want more details on this attack you say is coming.”

Before I realised what she was doing, she scooted to the edge of the bed. Our bodies were only inches apart. Reaching out, she ran a finger down the scar on my face. “I’ll never forget the day I first saw this scar,” she murmured. “We were just kids then.”

I quickly moved my hand to pull hers from my face, but her reflexes were faster, and she grabbed hold of my hand and held it to my scar. Her touch blazed against my skin. It was too fucking much. “Ivy,” I warned in a low dark tone. “Don’t do this.”

She brought her face closer to mine. Not close enough that our lips touched, but close enough to fuck with my head further. “You’re so hard now, King. You always were, but not so much with me. I guess fucking around on me and kicking me out really did change things between us. But I’ll never forget you as that eleven-year-old who shared his ice cream with me after I ate all mine and wanted more. That was the King I loved.”

I ripped my hand away and stood as I shoved my chair back. My eyes bored into hers as I barked, “Tell me about your husband!”

Adrenaline pumped furiously through my veins while I fought to remain in control of this situation. Even after all this time apart, she still knew how to push my buttons. I didn’t fucking need her bringing up our past. The best way to deal with it was to ignore it because she’d pounce the minute she saw a reaction to anything she said or did. God fucking help me, though, I was struggling to ignore her.

Her lips pursed together as she stared at me with eyes full of hatred. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I saw hurt flash through them first. “Tony hates you. He feels like he’s competed with you for twelve years, and he’s had enough, especially now I’m leaving him.”

It was time to really push her. The sooner we got this over with, the better. “That’s bullshit, Ivy. I don’t fucking buy it.”

She didn’t flinch or react in any way. She simply said, “That?

??s your choice, King, but I’m not lying to you. I hate to think what will happen to your club, though, if you choose not to believe me.”

Interesting.

She didn’t blink.

But still, I needed to push a little more to be sure. “Tell me, why would you come here and warn me when you hate me so much?”

Again, no reaction. “You might be a cheating asshole who can’t keep his promises, but I’m loyal to a fault. Regardless of how you treated me back then, Nik and Skylar don’t deserve whatever Tony has planned. I’ll always look out for those girls. They were family to me.”

Every instinct I had told me to walk the fuck out of the room and come back later when I had my shit under control. At this point, I was warring with my belief of every word she uttered, and my gut instinct to never believe anyone until I verified facts myself.

In the end, my gut instinct won out. “Where’s Tony now?”

“He’s either at work or at home tonight, but don’t go looking for him yet, King. You need to spend time making sure everyone here is safe. And you should take as many men with you when you go. He’s got security everywhere.” She wrapped her arms around her body, a look of concern on her face.

I stepped closer to where she sat on the bed and lifted her chin up to bring her eyes to mine. “You’re worried about me now?” Things weren’t adding up. One minute she was angry and seemed like she wanted to inflict hurt, the next, she was trying to keep me safe.

She pushed my hand away and stood. “I’m worried for the people who have put their trust in you. They’re the ones I want to keep safe. God knows I understand the devastation that trusting you completely can end in.”

“You believe her?” Hyde asked later that night.

I threw some whisky down my throat as I scanned the clubhouse bar where we sat. It was quiet; most of the members were getting their families to safety. “I don’t fucking know, brother. The Ivy I used to know wouldn’t fuck with me, but I don’t know her anymore.”

“Why would she make that shit up?”

That was the question I’d been rolling around in my head for hours. “Revenge. But fuck, fifteen years is a long time to wait for that, so it seems unlikely. If I believe that, though, I have to believe she’s telling the truth.”

“But your gut is telling you something else?”

I drank the rest of my whisky. “Yeah.” I hated to admit that, because I wanted nothing more than to finally have an answer to who was screwing with my club. I also wanted to believe that Ivy wouldn’t lie to me, but mistrust filled me.

“So we’ll keep her here until we know more, then?”