Time had forced him to face up to where he had come from, Mauri had limited time left, and he was the greatest source of information. Bruno would never offer it if anyone saw him again, and Carina had her own agenda. That being said, Mauri always had an agenda too, except this time they knew exactly what it was – to have Dax take over the reins in line with Brad.
‘I can imagine you as an angry teen,’ Ivy said. ‘All the more reason to doubt that you’d let Carina in though.’ Watching the road in front of them, an idea struck her. ‘Wait a minute, is that why…? You think that because when you lost the outlet for your anger back then that… that’s why you thought you might hurt me when you retire from fighting now?’
‘Makes sense,’ he mumbled.
‘To who?’ she sighed. ‘Dax. You’re nothing like him, and you are nothing like the angry, hormonal teenager you were back then. You’ve grown and changed, even just in these months since we’ve been together I’ve seen a change in you. You should be proud of what you’ve become, not fear it.’
‘I don’t fear—‘
‘Yeah, yeah, you’re a big brave man who fears nothing… I’m telling you that I’m proud of you, and I wouldn’t have married you if I feared you. You can always beat the shit out of your bag and run as many miles as you want every time I piss you off. When you give up fighting, we’ll find something else to keep you occupied.’
‘Something else like what?’
‘I don’t know,’ she exhaled. ‘You can teach our boys how to defend themselves.’
Taking his eyes from the road, he frowned at her. ‘Our what?’
‘Sure. Now that I know you’re not going to turn them into felons, there’s no reason we shouldn’t have kids.’ This time it was her stomach that was the focus of his scowl. ‘No, I am not pregnant… yet. But it’s something to think about.’
‘If I can keep you alive long enough.’
‘Well yeah, I guess there’s that,’ she smiled. ‘I always worried that you brought more to this partnership than I did, you have skills that you get paid for and I just sort of tag along. But having babies… that’s something we can do together.’
‘Ok, this conversation is too weird to have while we’re on our way to do what we’re going to do.’
‘Off to threaten together again,’ she said, sliding a hand onto his arm. ‘Don’t worry, I’m sure that Bri and Blaser will babysit if we have to do this when we get back home.’
Bri and Blaser were their neighbours and employers in North Carolina. That was a friendship they could trust wouldn’t turn into this kind of craziness, and it was a friendship that Ivy wanted to get back to as soon as possible.
Chapter Twenty-One
The GoldSpring hadn’t changed. Ivy had been working here when she met Dax, which wasn’t all that long ago if she put it into real terms. But they’d both changed and been through so much together that it seemed like a lifetime ago.
It was difficult to be in this place again because it was also the place that Trystan had assaulted her. But that was part of the reason that Trystan was happy to keep coming here and spending his father’s money. In this hotel, the staff would let him get away with anything as long as he kept coming back to splurge as he did at frequent intervals throughout the year.
Dax parked in the private parking garage and then took her out of the car and up in the elevator to the floor where Trystan’s suite was located. With gold carpeting and gleaming white walls, the sweet smell of vanilla flowed down the hallway when the elevator doors opened. It was pumped in, Ivy knew that the housekeeping staff had a specific, and large, budget just for the air fresheners alone.
‘You stay quiet,’ Dax said, walking just ahead of her. ‘Stay behind me.’
‘I don’t care what you do to Trystan,’ she whispered. ‘Just don’t let him upset you.’
‘I know how to deal with Trystan.’
The suite had double doors and was right at the end of the corridor. When they got there, Dax handed her the car key. ‘Why are you giving me this?’ she asked, tucking it into the pocket of her dress.
‘Because I want you to get Rosie and get out. Don’t wait for me. Just go.’
‘But how will you—?’
‘I don’t need you to look after me,’ Dax said.
‘We can go back to Saul’s and meet you there after—‘
‘No, go back to the beach house. You’ll be safe there. All of your things are in the car downstairs.’
‘I’m not leaving you here with him,’ Ivy said.
‘I’ll be right behind you,’ Dax said. ‘If it goes smoothly we’ll all be riding back together. But I’ll give you cover if you need to—‘
‘You didn’t bring this up until now, because…?
‘Because now there’s no time to argue about it,’ he said. Turning to face the door, he knocked, then pushed her behind his back again.
The GoldSpring-provided private attendant opened the door. She was blonde and in the same black and white uniform that Ivy had worn when she worked here.
‘Mr Stark is expecting you,’ the blonde said.
Ivy was pleased that the attendant didn’t appear any worse for wear, but the night was young, and the more Trystan indulged, the more unbearable he became. Her experience with Trystan Stark obviously hadn’t prompted management to make any changes – like to ensure that when Trystan was here only males were allowed to act as private attendant.
Though Trystan would probably request a female attendant, and when a guest was willing to pay the kind of money that Trystan did, management would cater to their every whim. Trystan knew it too, which was how he got away with his abominable behaviour so often.
The rounded window of this suite living room provided a space for couches, which were arranged to face each other. The private attendant pointed to the furthest couch. ‘If you’d like to take a seat, I’ll tell him that you’re here.’
The attendant left by way of a side door, behind the bar area of the suite, which Ivy knew led to a bedroom. Dax threw an arm around her and took her to the couch, seating himself in the corner and keeping her pressed to his side.
Scrutinising every detail of the room, Ivy’s attention eventually came to land back on him. ‘What?’ he asked.
‘You’re sitting exactly where you were the night I first saw you.’
‘Don’t think about that night,’ he said, yanking her closer so that he could kiss her head.
‘Trystan might have been a jerk that night, but I am sort of pleased things played out like they did. Being with you is the greatest thing that ever happened to me, I had to go through all the crap that I did in life so that when I found you, I would truly appreciate you.’
Bringing her hand to his face, Dax lowered his lips to hers. While this wasn’t the time or place for fervent romance, she wouldn’t shy from loving her husband just because Trystan might take exception to it.
It took a lot for Dax to be open with her, and Ivy savoured each time he trusted her and showed her affection, as he was doing now. Spoiling her with gifts and soppy words wasn’t where Dax excelled, he excelled in these moments where with the slightest touch he conveyed to her just how much he valued her.
A door opened, signalling that someone had come in. The private attendant appeared first, she nodded and then disappeared out of the suite giving Trystan the time to make his entrance. Trystan came in wearing a hotel-monogrammed bathrobe, strutting and displaying a smile that conveyed his pride in his actions.
He was a handsome guy with sand coloured hair and a square jaw. His cheekbones were sharp and still graced with the scar of where she had taken a bite out of him to free herself from his assault. But that mark, and the bruise he’d received at Dax’s hand, didn’t dull his striking looks.
Trystan was taking his time to observe her and Dax, maybe he was trying to intimidate them into speaking first, but he’d never out intimidate Dax. Now that she had the time, Ivy tried to pick out any of their host’s features that might match Dax’s. Carina’s story had opened so many possibilities, but Ivy didn’t want to raise them with Dax until she could reach a decision on the veracity of Carina’s claims herself.