Ivy
My wedding day.
How many people were fortunate enough to marry their soul mate twice in one lifetime? Not many. Not like this.
The sleek material of my wedding gown flowed effortlessly across my body. The simple single shoulder design was elegant and flattering, and I’d lucked out finding it on the rack at one of the wedding boutiques in town.
A knock sounded at the door, and I turned as Cami let herself in. She was wearing a rose-colored dress that was long and equally as elegant as my wedding dress. It also mirrored the single-shoulder design, but the organza fabric was softer and flirtier than my dress.
“Are you ready? Oscar is being very impatient.”
I smiled. He’d been impatient all week. Several times he had tried to get me to just do it already. Once, he’d even pulled Cade over and tried to bribe him to marry us in the cage at the gym.
“First of all, Cade isn’t a minister,” I’d told him when he had dragged Cade over by the arm. I’d been dressed in spandex shorts and a tank top. Not exactly wedding attire.
“Who cares? We’re already married anyway. It doesn’t have to be legal.”
“Secondly, I’m not getting married in spandex. Pretty sure there’s some law against that.”
His arms had wrapped around my waist and tugged me closer.
“I think you look amazing.”
Giggling, I pressed against his chest. “Third, I’ve already bought my dress, and you’re going to want to see me walk down the aisle in it.” Bending closer, I whispered in his ear. “And take it off of me at the end of the night.”
He’d groaned and ordered Cade out of the room, who had gladly run in the opposite direction, and we’d made out on the mats until he’d pulled me down the hall and into his room. We hadn’t come out until hours later.
“I’m almost ready. And Oscar can wait a few more minutes.”
Cami sat down on the loveseat near the mirror, and I followed her over. I took her hands in mine and knelt in front of her. “Thank you for being my maid of honor. For being my best friend.”
Cami’s eyes were watery as she leaned over and hugged my neck. “Thank you for sacrificing and always giving me what I needed. I’m so glad you and Oscar found your way back to each other. Mom would be so proud.”
I couldn’t help the tears building behind my eyelids, so I kept them closed, hoping I’d salvage my makeup. “I wish she was here.”
“Me too.”
We stayed like that for several minutes before another knock sounded, and Jolie poked her head in. She was also dressed in a rose-colored dress, but hers was strapless and short with a flouncy skirt that swished when she walked. Bubbly, just like her.
“Oscar is about to tear the place down, and since Lydia and Cruz are partial to their home, I suggest you get yourself out there now.” She winked, letting me know that she was only partially kidding.
I stood, smoothing my dress out as I did and inhaled deeply. Cami grabbed the simple bouquet from the side table and handed it to me.
Since both my parents were dead, I didn’t have anyone to walk me down the aisle, so I’d asked Cami to do it. She’d cried and blubbered for ten minutes before agreeing. For the past few years, it had been just us against the world. I realized now how silly I’d been in not reaching out to Oscar. We’d both been scared and maybe a bit prideful, but there was no denying that our love for each other had only grown, even apart. I could barely contain it now. How would my heart grow over the next fifty years in order to encompass so much love?
My hand drifted to my belly as I thought about the news I’d found out that morning. It had been almost four weeks since Oscar and I had first come together again. Almost too early to know for certain if I was indeed carrying a baby. But I’d had a hunch and had bought a couple of pregnancy tests the night before.
The lines on the tests had been faint, but there was no doubt that there were two. Pregnant.
After eleven years apart and the loss of our first child, I was both terrified and ecstatic that Oscar and I would get another chance to bring a child into this world. My fingers flew to the locket around my neck, and I opened it, staring down at the lock of hair and tiny feet of Zachary Oscar. I missed him desperately. Even though I’d never had the chance to meet him, not really, I missed him. And yet, there was something special about having a little part of Zachary with me on this memorable day.
Oscar was going to lose his mind when I told him, but I planned to wait until we were alone later that night.
Cami and I stepped out onto the back deck that looked over the lake. I could see the shimmering lights that lined the dock where Oscar waited with our friends.
Oscar’s joke about Cade doing the ceremony had kind of stuck with me, and we’d approached him mid-week to see if he would. Since the ceremony was more about declaring our love for each other and not a legal contract, we felt it made perfect sense. Levi, Ryder, and Cruz all stood next to Oscar as his best men. Each man was dressed in a light-gray suit with a rose-colored tie. They all looked dashing in their finery, but none compared to the man I loved.
Oscar beamed at me as Cami and I walked arm in arm down the steps to the dock, Jolie leading the way. His face was full of love and affection, and my eyes misted at the pure joy I saw there.
Jolie stopped in her place, and Cami leaned forward and kissed my cheek, and then it was just me and Oscar.
I was sure Cade said beautiful words about love and marriage, and I vaguely remember repeating vows to love and cherish each other for the rest of our lives. But it was the way that Oscar stared into my eyes that I would remember for the rest of our lives.
Our first wedding had been special, especially since my mom was with us. But this night… this night was just about us.
“You may kiss the bride.” Cade uttered those final words, and Oscar leaned forward, kissing me with such tenderness and passion, I blushed that we had an audience.
Catcalls and whoops sounded around us as laughter bubbled up and spilled over across the atmosphere. Joy—pure, unadulterated joy—sang through the trees and echoed off the lake, shattering into prisms of light. Oscar pulled away, smiling from ear to ear.
“I love you, Ivy Bell Cortada.”
“I love you, too.”
We dashed up the stairs and to the deck where the after-party started. A very pregnant Piper sat on a chair while Cade rubbed her feet, but otherwise everyone danced and sang loudly to the music blaring from the speakers.
The music slowed, and Oscar spun me into his arms as we slow-danced under the stars. It was a perfect night. And there was only one other thing that could make it more perfect.
I pulled back slightly so I could see Oscar’s face.
“I have something I need to tell you.”
His brow creased with concern as the swaying stopped.
“I’m pregnant.”
For a moment, Oscar didn’t react, just looked at me with confusion on his face. Then a smile slowly started at his lips until it reached his eyes. He let out a war cry and lifted me up in his arms, obviously forgetting about his hurt shoulder, and spun me around in a circle. Then his mouth crushed down on mine, kissing me with a fierceness I’d yet to feel from him.
“Are you happy?” I asked the question he’d asked me a week ago.
“There is no one in the world happier than I am.”
And I believed him.
***
Oscar
Ivy lay in my arms in our hotel room, my hand resting on her abdomen where our baby was growing inside her.
I couldn’t believe it.
I’d hoped, really hoped, that one day we’d be ready for a family, but it seemed fitting that, on the day we pledged to spend the rest of our lives together, for the second time, Ivy would tell me that it wouldn’t just be the two of us.
I wasn’t there for Zachary’s birth, but I knew I’d be there every moment of this child’s life. Every ultrasound, every doctor’s visit, every special occasion, I’d be right by his or her side.
Ivy stirred and rolled over, her eyes finding mine.
“Can’t sleep?” she asked in her husky, sleep-addled voice.
“Too excited.”
She chuckled softly and sighed.
“I’m exhausted. You wore me out.” She moved again, and the sheet slipped lower, revealing her lush, naked body underneath. I groaned just as she noticed and tugged the blanket up to cover herself.
“Don’t.” I halted her hand, putting the blanket back around her waist.
“You can’t possibly be ready for another round?”
“Darling, where you’re concerned, I’m always ready.”
Ivy laughed, snuggling closer. “I need my beauty rest.”
“You don’t actually have to do much. Just lie there.”
We both cracked up at that, knowing there was no way I’d ever make love to her without her involvement. I pulled her closer, resting my chin on the top of her head.
“Any regrets?” I asked, holding my breath and hoping that she didn’t have any.
“Not a single one. Even with Santos and all the hell I endured, it all brought me to you. Hard to regret that.” She stilled in my arms. “And you?”
“Just that I didn’t come for you sooner. But no, otherwise, I have no regrets, Ivy. You are the most important thing in my world. You and this baby.”
And with Ivy in my arms, our child growing inside of her, I knew that there was nothing I wouldn’t do for them. Los Caballeros wouldn’t get their hands on her or on Cami. I would keep them safe.
If anyone in the world deserved a happily ever after, it was Ivy Bell Cortada.
And I was the man to give it to her.
***
Levi
The angel beckoned me, her black hair flowing almost to her waist, her mismatched eyes gleaming with mischief. She wanted something from me. Wanted me to follow her.
What else would I do?
I stepped out, the ocean under my feet, gliding on the water as if it were glass. I glanced down and then up to her. She led the way, dancing on the water as if she were impervious to the laws of gravity and science. And as I followed her, I was too.
She motioned to the world, the bend of the horizon hinting at the roundness of the earth, the endlessness of creation.
“Levi.” Her voice was like a song, ringing through the air, lilting on the wind.
“Who are you?”
“I’m your future.”
“But who are you?”
She giggled, shrugging like a young girl, giddy with mischief.
“Do you trust me?”
I opened my mouth to tell her that I didn’t even know her. How could I trust her? But the words that came out shocked me, and I instantly knew they were true.
“With my life.”
She giggled again, throwing her head back and looking to the sky.
“I’m coming for you, Levi. Wait for me.”
And then, like a wisp of smoke, she was gone.
“Wait! Who are you? What’s your name?”
But all that remained was the tinkling of her laughter on the wind.
I woke with a start, sitting up, gasping for air.
It was the third time that week I’d dreamed of her. This mystery woman whom I didn’t know.
Why? Why did I dream these things? I had this feeling that she was important to me. That in order for my life to amount to anything, I needed her in it.
But that was ridiculous. My life was just fine how it was. And I didn’t even know if this woman existed. She was a figment of my imagination, a caricature my mind had created from Ivy and Oscar’s descriptions of the angel of mercy who’d tended to them in their times of need.
I dressed quickly, rushing through my morning routine, a sense of urgency sparking a fire underneath me. It was after eight a.m., and I was desperate to find something—anything—that would give us an advantage in the case.
When I reached my office, I was shocked to find Ivy sitting there waiting for me.
“Ivy. Is Oscar okay?”
She smiled sadly and nodded. They had opted to wait on a honeymoon until the Cabs mess was over, but I’d told Oscar to stay at home with his new bride for the week, giving them some much-needed time off together.
“He’s fine. I just remembered something and thought you should know.”
I pulled up a chair and sat near her, giving her my undivided attention.
“Okay. What is it?”
Tears filled her eyes, and she shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I totally forgot about it in all the haste of getting Oscar out alive. It slipped my mind. I should have told you sooner.”
“Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it. Tell me.”
She inhaled deeply and straightened her spine.
“After Santos took me to the bunker, he and two of his men tied Oscar to a chair. His lung was already punctured, his shoulder dislocated. So many cuts and bruises.”
Tears spilled onto her cheeks, and she hurriedly swiped at them.
“They asked me who Shadow Force worked for. They wanted to know who you were funded by. I told them I didn’t know, and one of the guys punched Oscar so hard in the face, I heard his knuckles connect with bone. I’ll never forget that sound as long as I live.”
Ivy shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself.
“They asked again, and I hesitated. I didn’t want to tell them. But the man drew back, about to hit Oscar again. I knew he couldn’t stand another blow to the head, so I had no choice.”
As if she was resolved to get it over with, her chin jerked up and she met my eyes. There was remorse there in their depths, but also an assurance that she’d done what she’d thought she had to do.
“I told them. I gave them Washington’s name. I’m sorry, Levi. I’ve compromised this entire organization.”
Relief washed over me. The Shadow Force cover had been breached weeks ago with the Cabs organization. Finding out that Washington gave us our marching orders didn’t change much about what we did. At least not for this case.
I took Ivy’s hand in mine and squeezed slightly.
“It’s okay. I don’t think any of us would have done it differently.”
“Oscar begged me not to say anything, but I couldn’t bear it. I’d already lost him once. I couldn’t do it again.”
I smiled at her. “I know. It’s okay. I promise. Thank you for telling me. I’ll give Washington a heads-up so he knows to be on the lookout.”
“I’m so sorry.”
She stood, and I wrapped her in my arms. Ivy had instantly become a member of the Shadow Force family. Her sister, Cami, too. Oscar had shared that Ivy was pregnant, and I couldn’t be more happy for them.
“I don’t blame you, Ivy. It will all work out. We’ll find these guys, and we promise to keep you safe.”
Ivy hugged me back and released me, wiping her face from the emotion leaking from her eyes.
“Thank you.”
She left, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I picked up the phone and dialed his number.
“Washington.”
“It’s Slater. The Cabs know.”
“They know about what?”
“About our connection. They have your name.”
“How did that happen?”
“Ivy told them, to keep them from killing Oscar.”
“Damn.”
“Exactly.”
“Can’t say I blame her. Well, I guess that’s just further incentive to hurry and wrap this thing up.”
“Tell me about it. What does this mean for Shadow Force’s future?”
“I’m not sure. For now, we need to catch these guys—and fast. Any word on the Russian connection?”
“It’s dead. Whatever the Cabs wanted from them, they got it and moved on. Ryder can’t find any further links to the Russian Mafia.”
“Well, there’s that at least. About time we caught a break.”
“For sure. I just wanted you to know so you could inform the president.”
“Thanks, Slater. Keep me posted if anything else comes up.”
“Will do.”
We disconnected, and I sat back in my chair, my feet propped up on my desk.
Los Caballeros wouldn’t stop until they’d released their virus, and Shadow Force wouldn’t stop until we’d thwarted their efforts and saved the lives of the young people in America.
My mind flitted back to my angel, the woman who’d visited my dreams. What did it mean? Who was she? And what did she have to do with my future?
I didn’t know how, but I had the strangest feeling she was the key to breaking the whole thing wide open.
We just had to find her.