Redeem Me (Beckett Brothers #2)

43. Ivy

Chapter Forty-Three

IVY

James and Scarlett’s house is like something from a glossy society magazine. So is Caelon’s, but I’ve grown accustomed to its grandeur and I’m far more impressed with the owner than the interior.

Scarlett fetches me a glass of champagne then guides me towards a free sunlounger. ‘Tell. Me. Everything. I need details,’ she squeals, flicking her hair from her shoulders. ‘Didn’t I tell you we were going to be great friends? Who knows? We could even end up being sisters.’ She glances at the enormous solitaire engagement ring on her left hand and beams.

‘Woah, calm down.’ Heat flushes my cheeks. I check to see if Caelon has heard.

But he’s strolling back around the side of the house to speak with Killian in private about something. An ominous feeling slides into my stomach.

‘Ivy, where’s my swimming stuff?’ Orla demands, eyeing the water gleefully as if she hasn’t just returned from a holiday in the sun .

‘It’s in the car. I’ll grab it now.’ I hand Scarlett my glass. ‘I’ll be right back.’

‘And then I need details.’ Scarlett waggles her eyebrows .

‘Are you going for a dip, Ivy?’ Rian calls. ‘It looked like you could do with cooling down.’ He fires a wicked smile my way. It’s a good job Caelon is out of earshot.

‘Very funny,’ I yell, traipsing back towards the car. I hear Caelon before I see him. He sounds like he stopped roughly where he had me pinned against the wall.

I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but Caelon isn’t exactly being discreet.

‘I want blood, not money,’ he growls.

A cold chill sweeps over my skin despite the summer sun.

He promised me.

He fucking promised he’d pick me.

‘And they will, but you don’t need to involve yourself in this. I have men that can take care of it, discreetly.’ Killian’s voice is even deeper than Caelon’s.

‘This is personal,’ Caelon insists in a tone I’ve never heard him use before, and never want to hear again.

‘You’ve got too much to lose if something goes wrong.’

‘I’ve been waiting years. There’s no way I’m going to let the opportunity pass by me now,’ Caelon snaps.

‘So, you’re willing to risk your own life, seeing your children grow up and living happily ever after with your girlfriend?’ Killian’s tone is weighted with warning.

I slam to a halt at the corner of the building.

Killian’s head snaps round. His sharp eyes land on mine.

‘I’m just getting the swimming stuff out the car. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.’ I sidestep the two men and head for the Mercedes.

‘It’s okay, we were done anyway.’ Killian purses his lips together tightly. ‘As soon as he wakes, the doctor will give us the nod. Until then, we just have to wait.’ He eyes Caelon meaningfully.

‘I need to burn off some energy,’ Caelon announces, his torso taut with tension. ‘I’m going for a walk.’

‘Go with him,’ Killian says to me. ‘We’ll take care of the kids for a while.’ He grabs Caelon’s arm. ‘Think about it. It doesn’t have to be you.’

Caelon stalks away from the house, across a manicured lawn, and I have to run to catch up. Anger burns inside me. He lied to me. After everything, he lied. He has no intention of choosing me over his past.

I follow him through a secluded pathway leading to a lower level of the garden. The sound of laughter carries on the wind from the pool, but we can’t be seen.

‘Let’s not talk about it, Ivy,’ Caelon says sharply as I catch up with him. ‘The less you know, the better.’

‘You promised.’ My voice cracks and the air feels as though it’s being ripped from my chest.

‘I promised I will always choose you. And that’s what I’m doing.’ He turns to face me, his hands catching mine, but I shrug him off.

The sun twinkles brightly over the sea on the horizon, yet Caelon is shrouded in darkness again, that tortured look back with a vengeance.

‘You’re choosing your dead wife.’ I glare at his ring. ‘You’re choosing revenge. You’re choosing your masochist pride. You’re choosing to ruin everything we have and risking a future with your children.’

‘I’m choosing to find out the truth. I’m choosing to eliminate anyone who threatens our future. I’m choosing a life with you and the kids where we don’t have to keep looking over our shoulders.’ His jaw is tense. ‘You have no idea what these people are capable of. ’

My eyes burn with unshed tears. ‘I had no idea what you were capable of.’

He reaches for me again and I shove him away with enough force that he steps back.

‘I love you. I love your children. But I can’t live with a man who is so obsessed with the past that we’ll never have a future. I’ll stay until you find another nanny, but consider this my notice.’

I charge up across the lawn with one hand over my mouth to muffle my strangled sobs. My chest feels like it’s caving. Every breath is a battle. Every step feels like a mile. Eventually, I reach the mansion and head for the car at the front. Damon’s sitting in the driver’s seat, scrolling on his phone. When he spots me approaching, he leaps out .

‘What’s wrong?’

‘I’m not well. Take me home, please.’ Although I don’t have a home. Not anymore.

He hesitates for a split second, glancing over my shoulder. I follow his gaze and see Caelon standing fifty meters away, grim-faced, arms folded across his chest.

Damon looks at him with a questioning expression.

Caelon offers a single stoic nod, and Damon opens the car door for me.