REMEDY: A Mafia Romance (Return to Us Trilogy Book 3) by M.K. Gilher Read Free Book Online

here yesterday? Only three days in the hospital?"
    "Don't question me, Bernard. She's safer here. Have a seat." I point to the couch and offer him the whiskey.
    He takes the drink and sits. "Can we speak openly?"
    "I don't know. Can we?"
    "What's that supposed to mean?" He stares at me with wide eyes.
    I stand opposite him with my hands on my hips. "Viktor got real talkative before I filled him with lead."
    He glances at the exit. No way out now, old man.
    "What did he tell you?"
    "Enough to conclude she's a pawn in some sick scheme you've got going with Boothby."
    Sweat beads on his brow. "Viktor was insane."
    "Is that how you're gonna play it?"
    "I don't have anything going on with Boothby."
    Yeah, right.
    I lower my face to his and speak in low, threatening tones. "Your word means shit to me. You've lied to me from day one. You told me Viktor was her boyfriend. You didn't tell me she was homeless. I made the deal without knowing all the facts."
    "If you hadn't made the deal, Jacade, where would you be now? Not drinking fine whiskey in a penthouse overlooking Navy Pier."
    "Maybe not, but I could've been with her all this time." I sweep my arm through the air, cutting through all the lost years.
    His face reddens, and he shakes his head. "Listen, Jaca—"
    "Is she a commodity in your pocket?" I can't control the volume of my voice. "An asset you didn't want me to have? Were you afraid I'd be too powerful with her at my side?"
    "Settle down, Trip."
    "Settle down? You never should've told her Viktor got to me. She went running blind into a deathtrap!"
    "Why don't you discuss this with me since I'm the one you're talking about?"
    Ivy. Oh shit.
    She's standing with one hand on the doorframe, the other across her middle. She looks sleepy and hot as fuck in a pair of my boxer shorts folded at the waist and a pink T-shirt so tight it shows the imprint of her bra through the fabric.
    "What deal?" she asks.
    I slide my gaze to Bernard and raise my eyebrows. Let him field this one.
    "I made a deal with Jacade to protect you from Viktor, which is why he joined the practice."
    That part is true. He's quick on his feet for an old geezer.
    "I see. And why did Jacade ask you if I'm a commodity?"
    "I don't know," Bernard replies.
    "But you do know. You both know and yet you stand before me again and again mute and culpable. With mouths that spew garbage and insult me by excluding me." She takes a step toward us with one hand in the air, but stops and grabs her abdomen. Her knees bend and she lowers her head.
    I rush to Ivy and scoop her into my arms.
    She grunts. "Jacade, no."
    I angle my head at Bernard. "Get out!"
    "I was leaving anyway." He turns and leaves.
    I place her on the bed, and she curls into a fetal position.
    "I'll be right back."
    I lock the front door and man the alarm, checking the monitors to make sure Bernard left the building—and Chowder is following him. I swipe her Percocet on my way back to the bedroom.
    "Sit up." I help her to elevate her head and take the pill.
    "You said no more secrets."
    "I did, and I will tell you. I wanted you to heal first." I place the cup of water and the pill bottle on the nightstand. "Fuck! There's never a good time." I run my hands through my hair. "I never know where to start."
    Ivy peers up at me as I stand beside the bed, her voice soft and patient. "Did you make a deal with Uncle Bernie to stay away from me?"
    Christ. She already knows anyway. I guess the beginning is the best place to start.
    I gaze into her soulful eyes. "When I was eighteen, I took my stepfather's vintage red Mustang for a joy ride. I was sleeping in the backseat when a girl with beautiful hair jimmied the lock and hot-wired the car."
    Her eyes widen, and she pulls in a breath. "She did?"
    "Yes, she was terrified and driving like a maniac. I popped up from the backseat and scared the shit out of her. We almost crashed."
    Her hand flies to her heart. "The boy in the backseat… He was… You're him?" Her pitch