Arrow
Ivy stood abruptly and rushed for the door.
She didn't run. She just walked with a purpose.
Sin gave me a look and I rose to my feet, turning to follow her.
Ivy shoved the doors to the bar so hard they groaned in protest as she flung them open. Her breaths were quick and shallow, like she couldn't get enough oxygen. But I knew she was fine- well maybe not fine. But physically, she was alright. Emotionally- she was a mess. And to be honest, I'm surprised it took her this long to lose her shit. I had to give her props, she'd kept it together for a lot longer than I expected her to.
She bent down, hands finding her knees as her chest rose and fell with harsh breaths.
I stepped towards her and pulled her upright, moving her hands to rest on the top of her head. I let my hands drift over her stomach. "Keep your airway open." I murmured.
She looks at me, her lips parted as she drags in another breath. I want to crush her to my chest but I refrain. It certainly wouldn't help with her panic attack.
The Parisian sun is starting to drop low in the cold sky. It sends warm shadows across her slender features. Her wide hazel eyes appear greener in the light and the dark strands of her hair glow a dark red.
Ivy finally drops her hands to her sides and her breathing begins to even but she still looks mortified. I reach for her hands, keeping some distance between us as I run my thumb over the back of her hand.
"My last name is Moreau," I tell her. She cocks her head. "My favorite color is turquoise. Like somewhere between dark blue and dark green. Doesn't make me sound very manly but," I pause, shrugging. "I like it. My favorite book is Thinner by Stephen King. I have seen every episode of Frazier at least three times. I prefer just plain cheese pizza over combination or whatever the fuck else they do now. And Ben and Jerry's Half-Baked ice cream is my weakness."
She's quiet for a few moments as her chest finds a slow steady rhythm. She just stares at me. Until after a few minutes, she speaks: "Thinner was horrible." She says, grimacing.
I laugh. "It was fantastic."
"It's so ugly," She winces. "The ending was_"
"Justified?" I squeeze her fingers.
"Fucked." She gives me a look. "Just remind me not to eat any pie from you."
Smiling like a cat, I pull her closer. My chin brushing the top of her head as she wraps her arms around my torso. She feels so soft and small it makes me wrap my arms around her waist possessively. "How about some Half-Baked ice cream instead?"
She nods into my chest but stays quiet for a few heartbeats. "Is this my life now?" Her voice is so quiet I barely hear her.
"It doesn't have to be." I tell her.
She pulls back and looks up at me, hazel eyes shimmering. "What do you mean?"
I shrug. "I'll ship you and your sister off to some deserted island with butlers and endless supply of ice cream," Her eyes narrow just a bit, like she doesn't believe me. "You wanna run from this- I'll help you run."
"You're not saying something."
I purse my lips, searching for the right words. "You don't strike me as that type. The type to turn and run, that's all."
"What else?" She presses.
Fucks sake, was it written on my face?
Releasing her waist, I run a hand down my face. "Even if you do run, and hide. There's no certainty that this shit won't catch up with you wherever you go. Look how close to you it was in Sin Sity and you didn't even know."
She's quiet and I'm worried I may have said too much when the door of the bar opens. Sin and Isaiah walk out. Sin looks ruffled but Siah's face is twisted into a smirk.
God, maybe I shouldn't have left them in there.
I open my mouth to ask what happened but my phone rings in my pocket. Loud and shrill. Wincing, I tug it out of my pocket. I only have to glance at the number to know who it is before I hand it to Ivy.
"Your sister." I say. She takes the phone and steps away from us, answering it immediately and talking too quietly for me to hear. I turn back to Sin. "Did you get anything else out of him?"
Sin grated his teeth. "No, not really. His memory is fucked from the drugs and he doesn't have any contacts within the mob anyways."
"So we're back to square one?" I run a hand through my hair.
"I wouldn't say square one," Isaiah steps in. "We know who she is now."
"You got her last name?" I ask surprised. "The mob her dad was in?"
"Is in." Sin looks ready to break something. Unfortunately, the only thing close to him was myself, Isaiah and Isaiah's SUV so I'm hoping he'll reel it in.
"He's alive?" I press. Wishing he would just give me all the damned answers instead of leaving me to dangle.
Sin breathes out deeply, but he still looks just as pissed. "It's Al Vitale," He says. A pit opens in the bottom of my stomach.
"Al... Alesso." I nod, putting it together. I'm quiet for another moment but I can't help but say it. Say what all three of us are thinking. "The Alla Morte is one of the biggest in Italy. We won't be able to_"
"We can do anything we want." Sin jerks his chin. Shadows darkening his face as the sun falls. His eyes dart to her where she stands with my phone pressed to her ear, a small smile playing on her lips as she speaks to her sister. "She really didn't know?" Sin's voice is calmer, quieter. Almost patient. Normally, I'd give him shit, but this certainly wasn't the time. Especially, when I'd been trying to get him to see the truth for weeks now.
"She had no idea." I say, watching her spin on her heel until her back faces us. Her light laughter pouring into the stiff air around us and loosening it.
"Jesus, you two are pussy whipped." Isaiah grumbles. I shoot him an amused glare and Sin mumbles something about cutting his tongue out. I roll my eyes. The guy is all talk sometimes.
"What do you want to do? We can't take on that mob." I say again and Sin glares at me like he wishes I'd stop saying it.
"You don't think her dad put the hit on her, do you?" Isaiah asked, rocking back on his heels.
"Why would he do that? Even if the username on the website was in his name, he's been searching for her for years. Why would he put the hit on her? It doesn't make any sense." I look at Sin, who nods once, agreeing with me but still looking lost in his own thoughts.
"Right, okay. So it's gotta be personal? Someone has it out for Vitale and they placed the hit on Ivy for revenge?" Isaiah muses.
"That's an awfully hands-off revenge plot. I can't imagine that would be that satisfying." I point out.
"Someone placed the hit to draw Vitale out," Sin says, straightening like the truth just punched him in the jaw. "It was never about us. Someone knows Vitale is looking for his daughter and that this would draw him out. They're going to kill him."
It made sense. None of the other possible scenarios even came close. It would be the perfect opportunity to draw Vitale out of the safety of Alla Morte and into the public.
But would Al go to such lengths for his daughter in the first place? Would he go to Sin Sity? Had he been tracking us? Would he follow us here? Or was he dead already?
"Great," I dragged a hand down my face and glanced over at Ivy. "Just great. What the fuck do we now?"