At first he’d thought of Ivy that way. But as he’d gotten to know her a little, he realized she was far more intelligent and multifaceted than anyone he’d met before.
“He’s not hellspawn. I suggest you keep your opinions of things you know nothing of to yourself in the future.” She poked him in the chest. “I like you, Jake, but not that much.”
Jake looked at Ronan one last time, then sheathed his blade back under his shirt. “It’s your rep on the line. Not mine.” He returned to his perch at the edge of the balcony overhang.
She followed him there as Ronan came around the rows of seats to set up a position along the railing, close enough that he could hear what was going on but not where Jake could take a cheap shot at him.
“So what do you have?” Ivy asked.
Jake handed her a folded piece of white paper. “My sources tell me that your brother was seen at this address.”
She took it and opened it up. “Where is this?”
“Washington.”
“Are you sure this is legit?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure.”
“How long ago was he seen?”
“About two weeks.”
“So he could’ve moved on.”
Jake shrugged. “Sure. You know Quinn. He doesn’t stay in one place for long.”
Ivy pocketed the note. “Thanks, Jake. I appreciate it.” She held out her hand to him.
He shook it, then glanced in Ronan’s direction. “Are you sure about him?”
Ivy met Ronan’s gaze. He could feel her probing stare even in the dark. Her eyes were that piercing. Finally, she nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Okay. I’ll keep your liaison to myself.”
She snorted. “I don’t give a shit if you tell everyone. I know what I know, and that’s all that matters to me.” With that she headed back down the aisle. Ronan fell into step beside her.
They didn’t talk until they were back outside and headed toward the truck.
“Do you trust the lead?” he asked.
“Going to have to. Jake’s usually a stand-up guy, plus it’s the only thing we got to go on.”
“So, to Washington, hey?”
She shrugged. “Looks like it. We’ll go back to your place, pack our gear and head out. If we drive all day and night, we could make it there by tomorrow night.”
He nodded. “Okay.” He paused with his hand on the handle of the passenger door. “Are you sure you still want to find your brother with me? I could end up causing a ton of problems.”
She looked at him for a long moment, then shrugged. “You already have. Besides, you’re not bad company. You at least know how to fight. So that’s something.” She opened her door and got in, but not before he caught the slight twitch of her lips.
The sun was low in the sky as Ivy took the ramp from the I-80 E onto the I-5 N. They were almost four hours out of San Francisco and heading into Oregon. The trip so far had been quiet. Neither of them had really spoken much. Although deep down, Ivy had a ton to say. She just didn’t know what words to put together.
Something had definitely changed between them. Twice. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about any of it.
Best to keep her true thoughts to herself. Once they found Quinn, Ronan would get what he wanted and disappear. She had no doubt about that. Besides, it was best for everyone if he did. It wasn’t as if they were going to become friends, or partners, or...
Best to let it go. Best to let him go.
Seeing Jake’s reaction to Ronan’s presence made it clear to Ivy that her and Ronan’s liaison would not go unnoticed. And that the hunting community might not be so accepting of it. A community that she’d been part of since she took her first steps and spoke her first word.
Mind made up, she drove in silence, every now and then changing the radio station to get something decent to listen to. Thankfully, that was one thing she and Ronan had in common, an eclectic taste in music from Motown to Metallica.
“Do you want me to drive?” Ronan asked. “You can catch some sleep. You look like you’re going to hit your forehead on the wheel any second.”
“No, I’m not.” She yawned. Then rolled her eyes. “Fine.” She pulled over onto the shoulder and parked the truck.
There was virtually no traffic on the road. She opened her door and jumped out to come around as Ronan just slid across the seat. Once she was back in, she fastened her seat belt and balled up her black hoodie. She crammed it in against the side window and leaned her head against it. “Wake me in a few hours to switch back.”
Ronan put the truck in Drive and pulled back onto the road. Ivy closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep. She was usually pretty good about sleeping in various spots, having been on the road all her life. She could basically put her head down anywhere she felt safe and fall asleep.
And she was just about asleep when Ronan yanked the truck to the shoulder and squealed to a stop.
Her eyes flashed open. “What the hell?”
“Get out of the truck!” he shouted, just as he flung open the driver’s door and jumped out.
“What...” Then she saw the look in his eyes and remembered the incident in her garage. Without another word, she threw open her door and jumped out. She grabbed her bag from behind the seat just as Ronan was tossing their gear out from the bed of the truck.
“Take what you can and run!”
He snatched up as much he could. She helped him with the rest and they ran out into an open field. Ivy jammed her foot between two large rocks and took a hard spill to the ground. Ronan stopped and turned, running to her even as she scrambled to her feet. But her left ankle had taken a twist and couldn’t support her full weight.
“Go. I’ll follow,” she grunted as she tried to put pressure on her foot, wincing as the pain zipped up her leg like electricity.
Ronan dumped his personal bag and picked her up without any effort. He started to run with her in his arms.
“Don’t be stupid. You can’t—”
But her words were drowned out by the deafening boom of the truck exploding behind them. The force of the blast blew them forward. Ronan lost his footing and they both met the ground hard.
The heat wave blasted over them. Ivy could hear the sizzle of the ends of her hair burning. Before she pushed to her feet, Ronan patted at her head to stop the sizzle from turning into more. Then he was beside her, also getting to his feet, his arm around her, helping her. Once up, they grabbed their bags and continued running from the explosion.
Ivy looked back once over her shoulder. Her truck was completely engulfed in flames. It wasn’t the normal orange-and-red fire but had the green tinge of hellfire. Again, someone had tried to kill her and Ronan. And would have succeeded if it hadn’t been for Ronan’s keen ability to sense it coming mere seconds before it did.
“We need to get out of here before the cops show up.” Ronan gestured toward a copse of trees in the distance. “We can make it if we run.”
Ivy tested her ankle. It was definitely sprained. Possibly broken after her second spill to the ground. “Maybe if you carried all the gear. I could keep up.”
“I could carry you.”
