“Well, I guess that’s that,” Marcus said, his eyes locking with Ivy’s. “That was well played. You’re smarter than you look. I take it you lied about not calling the cops.”
“Jack may think I’m an idiot sometimes, but I try really hard not to live up to that reputation,” Ivy shot back. “Just … go. Let Laura back in.”
“Oh, no,” Marcus said, reaching behind his back and retrieving his gun. “What fun would that be?”
Multiple cops started screaming at Marcus to put down his gun … and then they started firing. So many rounds went off Ivy lost count as she huddled close to the floor and covered her ears. When she risked a glance up a few moments later, Marcus was dead on the floor … and so was Laura. Ivy looked around, desperate for a hint of the woman in question, but Laura was gone. Ivy had a feeling the consciousness clinging to this world passed over when Laura’s body exhaled its last breath. She could only hope Laura found peace on the other side. If anyone deserved respite, it was her.
Ivy jolted when a pair of hands landed on her arm, twirling her. Jack was at her side, Brian cutting him loose before Ivy could take notice, and his face was murderous. Ivy ignored the glare and threw her arms around his neck. “I thought I lost you.”
Jack rubbed her back and burst into tears, taking Ivy by surprise. “You’d better prepare yourself,” he murmured, crying into her neck. “You’re not going to be able to leave your bed for a week.”
“I can live with that.”
Twenty-Five
Ivy woke to a solid wall of muscle and Jack’s arms holding her pressed tightly against his chest. She sighed, relieved that it was over and momentarily sad that Laura lost everything due to her brother’s twisted mind.
“Honey, I’m still going to kill you,” Jack murmured into her hair. “Before that, though, I want to hold you and then eat breakfast. We’ll schedule your killing for after noon if that works for you.”
Ivy snickered, pressing a soft kiss to one of Jack’s scars. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Ivy wrenched her head back so she could fix Jack with a dubious look.
“Okay, I’m going to be fine,” Jack corrected. “I’m a work in progress.”
“You’re my work in progress,” Ivy said, running her finger down Jack’s cheek. “Wait … you don’t want to take off now that I’m safe, do you?”
Jack growled. “No.”
“That’s good. I was going to have to kill you if that was the case.”
“We’re not going to be apart again,” Jack said. “I’ve learned my lesson. This is where I want to be.”
“In bed with me?” Ivy asked, her eyes twinkling.
“Every minute of every day,” Jack answered. “For now I’m going to take hunkering down in this house with you for the next few days and call it a victory. We’ll work on the bigger picture down the road.”
“Few days? What about work?”
“I talked to Brian last night,” Jack said. “Technically Bellaire is going to take the lead on this one. Marcus kidnapped me, but Mark Dalton’s case is bigger. They took Laura’s body into custody last night and they’re handling the bulk of the paperwork.
“Brian said he would handle the stuff from our end and he told me to take the rest of the week off and spend it with you,” he continued. “Since that was exactly what I wanted to do, I didn’t put up much of a fight.”
Ivy did the math in her head. “That means we have five whole days together.”
“It does.”
“I’m definitely not going to be able to walk,” she mused, causing Jack to chuckle as he pressed his lips to her forehead.
“Well, as much fun as that is, I thought we would only spend today in bed,” Jack said. “I believe you mentioned something about a hike and a picnic, and I wouldn’t mind taking a drive over to Traverse City one day. How does that sound?”
“That sounds like the best offer I’ve had in … well … ever.”
“Good,” Jack said, kissing her forehead again.
“You know we’re probably going to be forced into a meal with my parents, too, right? My dad was hopping mad about me stealing his car last night. I’m going to have to smooth that over.”
“Yes, well, I’m going to enjoy watching him yell at you,” Jack said. “Why don’t we host a barbecue here? I can grill steaks for Max and me, and you can make weird vegetarian stuff for everyone else.”
“Really? You want to barbecue together, too?”
“Honey, there’s absolutely nothing I don’t want to do with you.”
“What about riding a horse?” Ivy asked.
“Except that,” Jack conceded, rubbing small circles on her back as he moved his uncovered feet against hers on top of the mattress at the end of the bed.
“Can I ask you one thing before we start our day of bliss?”
“Yes.”
“Do you really believe that Marcus was in Laura’s body, or are you just saying it because you don’t want me to feel like an idiot?” Ivy was afraid to ask the question in case Jack decided she was crazy in the light of day.
“That was definitely Marcus,” Jack replied. “I don’t know how he did it. I don’t know how any of it happened. I don’t understand how Laura came to you. I do believe it happened, though.”
“What’s the report going to say?”
“That Laura lost her mind and tried to avenge her brother,” Jack said. “I’m sorry, honey. We’ll both get locked up if we tell the other story. I … you know that, right?”
Ivy nodded. “I hope Laura found peace.”
“I hope so, too,” Jack said, tightening his arms around Ivy and rolling so he was on his back and she was settled on his chest. “We’re going to
