But in spite of that, Ivy tried to imagine what it would be to have a child in that place. If Mauri took her child from her and Dax, she wouldn’t just walk away from him or her without a fight. But she also wasn’t the type of woman to leave her son with a random boyfriend when she got bored of raising him.
‘So you knew he was there, and you never tried to contact him?’ Ivy asked.
‘I thought it was easier, that he had the life he wanted,’ Carina said, resting back in her seat and closing her eyes. ‘There are so many things I would have done differently, that I should’ve done differently. But Mauri made me think… he told me that now was my time to mend those mistakes.’
‘He got in touch with you?’
‘I was surprised at first when I got the phone call. I was working in an accounting office, and Mauri just called me up and told me that he wanted me to visit. I shouldn’t have been surprised, after a few more calls I agreed. I just got into town this week. I had dinner with Mauri, and he told me that he’s been tracking me for a while.’
Tracking her, it made her sound like prey being hunted, but Carina didn’t seem to be affected in the same way that Ivy was. ‘How long is a while?’
‘I don’t know. But he knew about my life, about things that have happened to me through the years. I don’t know if he was watching me then, or if he somehow found out more recently. Mauri isn’t the type of man to leave things to chance, he has full faith in what he does and likes to be prepared.’
‘Were you ever married?’
‘A couple of times,’ Carina nodded.
‘Did you have other children?’ Dax could have siblings out there that he might like to seek out.
‘No other children,’ Carina said. ‘If I couldn’t support my first child, it seemed wrong to… I couldn’t bring myself to…’
Ivy supposed that was sensible. ‘I understand.’
‘You have to believe that it was never my intention to hurt anyone. And when I came back here, Mauri said that Dax was married, he told me about his life and I… I was just desperate to meet him, to tell him how sorry I am. I do want to be a part of his life.’
But how would Dax feel about that. It took a lot out of him to admit his feelings, Ivy was blessed that he chose to be with her when it could easily have gone the other way. If it had then she would be married to Trystan by now, watching as Dax stood on the side-lines accepting Mauri’s commands and carrying on with his life as though they hadn’t fallen for each other in the way that they had.
‘I don’t know if that’s possible,’ Ivy said. ‘I’ll talk to him, but… when Dax makes up his mind…’
Carina’s smile faded in again. ‘Just like Bruno and Mauri too… he’s been surrounded by strong men who believe men shouldn’t embrace their feelings or give in to any kind of weakness. Bruno used to say that caring made a man less formidable.’
‘One word of advice,’ Ivy smiled. ‘If you do talk to Dax or he does decide to let you be a part of his life…’
‘Yes?’
‘Don’t compare him to Bruno, he won’t take that as a compliment.’
‘No. Mauri told me that Bruno was never on board with taking care of Dax. He wanted to leave him with the fighters.’
‘He was probably worried that having Dax back meant the possibility of you coming back into his life, and if you held his secret about the affair…’
‘Yes, maybe,’ Carina said.
The reverberation of a car engine broke the air, and Ivy sprang up. Though they were at the back of the house, the sound carried around to them from the driveway at the front.
‘Is that Dax?’ Carina asked.
God, Ivy hoped so. If he knew he was going to be back, then he probably wouldn’t have bothered calling. Ivy would rather that Dax got his work done and came back to her than he interrupted what he was doing, which would cause him to take him longer in completing his task.
Dodging the table and Carina’s legs, Ivy went back into the house and through the kitchen. When she got into the living room the front door was swinging shut, but there was no one in the room. ‘Dax!’ she called out in case he’d gone upstairs, but even he couldn’t move that fast.
Shooting across the room, Ivy opened the front door to see a convertible with its top down swinging a U-turn in the drive, and there was her sister in the passenger seat waving her hands in the air.
‘Rosie!’ Ivy called, rushing out onto the paving stones. But she was struck dumb when she caught a glimpse of the driver: it was Trystan Stark.
‘Vegas here we come!’ Rosie screamed and waved at Ivy, who watched the red of their tail lights grow smaller as they disappeared down the drive.
Trystan was the guy that Rosie had met, and he was coming to get her. He would have no trouble getting past the security men his father had posted there because he knew them all. Trystan loved to mess with people. Going for Rosie was his way of attacking Ivy and Dax at the same time. Vegas would be a party for Rosie alright, but Ivy knew how Trystan Stark partied there.
Chapter Nineteen
‘What’s going on?’ Carina asked, coming into the living room from the kitchen as Ivy came back inside.
‘Trystan fucking Stark is what’s going on!’ Ivy said, determined that she wasn’t going to take this lying down.
Going to Vegas with Trystan was the most stupid thing that Rosie could possibly have done. Ivy had no idea what Trystan had promised Rosie in order to get her to take the trip. Whatever Trystan had offered had to be better than the financial incentive Mauri had spoken about using to get Rosie here. By leaving the beach house, Rosie could be forfeiting.
‘What has he done?’
‘He’s taking Rosie to Vegas,’ Ivy said.
Marching to the stairs, she went up into the bedroom and into the closet. Tossing her and Dax’s things into their suitcase, she also retrieved the wad of money that she had hidden under the ottoman during her first stay here. Brushing her hair, she pulled it back and then stuck her feet in her shoes.
Almost ready to leave, she returned to the bedroom to see that Carina was in the room waiting for her. ‘What are you doing?’ Carina asked.
‘I’m going to get my sister back before she does something crazy… crazier than running off with a stranger anyway.’
‘They met at Mauri’s party,’ Carina said. ‘They were dancing later in the evening. Maybe they’re friends—‘
‘Trystan Stark doesn’t have friends,’ Ivy said, checking her purse then throwing it over her shoulder. ‘He has worshippers and groupies. If Rosie tries to deny him—‘
‘Do you think that he would force her into…?’
‘He will force her to do anything he thinks that she should do. She hasn’t used drugs while she’s been here and going there with him… he’ll get her hooked again and then when he’s bored he’ll just abandon her.’
‘Maybe he cares about her,’ Carina said.
‘Trystan cares about nothing except himself.’
Carina exited the room. Ivy lifted the case onto the bed and unzipped it. She grabbed what she needed from the bathroom and brought it back to the case, then she pulled a few bills from the wad of cash and moved them into her purse. If she needed money, then she couldn’t whip out a ten grand bundle and hope it would be inconspicuous.
With her purse on her shoulder and the case on its wheels, Ivy headed for the exit. Unsure if she should leave Dax a note or not, she hesitated at the bedroom door. Without any idea of whether or not Dax would come back here, Ivy chose not to leave evidence and instead decided to text him from the road. If she called or contacted him now, then he would tell her to stay put and that wasn’t something Ivy could do with her sister in possible peril.
Departing the bedroom, she got downstairs to find Carina waiting at the front door.
‘We don’t have a car,’ Carina said.