21. Marco

21

MARCO

“Hey, man. Do you have a minute to talk?”

I was just about to leave for the day. And considering my plan was to head to Ivy’s home to pick her up and take her back to my place, I wasn’t keen on halting my exit.

But it was clear I wasn’t going to have a choice in the matter and was going to have to delay getting to Ivy’s, because Liam wanted to have a chat. “Sure. What’s going on?”

He looked off to the side, out the door of the villa, and sighed. I took in his stance and expression, and it became obvious he was struggling with something.

Liam wasn’t talkative by nature. Or, well, he hadn’t been very talkative for quite a few years now. He’d suffered a tremendous heartbreak, and the guy had never been the same since.

So, that he wanted to talk to me now and was struggling, I grew concerned that perhaps this had something to do with his former relationship. Cooper might have been my best friend, but I was still very close with the rest of his brothers, so it wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibilities that Liam would seek me out if he had something on his mind.

Finally, after far too many beats of silence, he said, “I put a hole in a wall.”

My brows drew together, my head jerking back at his admission. This was the second time in a matter of days that he’d done this. Maybe there really was something serious going on with him. “Again?”

“No, Marco. I’m talking about…” he trailed off, clearly frustrated.

I didn’t want to bring up his ex, but I was beginning to think I might need to, if he couldn’t bring himself to say her name.

“Is this about?—”

“I’ve seen her,” he declared.

My brows shot up. I hadn’t been wrong. “Layla?”

In an instant, I regretted saying that name. Liam’s whole world tilted on its axis, shutters coming down in his eyes. “Why would you bring her up?”

God, he sounded tortured. Just her name being spoken once after all these years still brought him such pain. In all fairness, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand. I’m not sure I would be feeling much differently if I was in his situation with Ivy.

“I’m sorry, Liam. I just… you seem like you’re having a hard time with something,” I explained. “Are you okay?”

It took him a few beats to shake off whatever he was feeling. “No. No, I’m not okay, but this has nothing to do with…” He couldn’t even say her name. “This has nothing to do with me.”

Now, I was even more confused. “I’m not sure I understand what’s going on?”

“Well, I’m kind of hoping you do.”

“Can you clarify what this is about? You said you saw her? Who are you talking about?”

He pinned his stare on me, his expression serious. “My sister.” Now that he’d narrowed it down, it was either Ivy or Jules, and something told me this wasn’t about his younger sister.

I braced myself. “What about her?”

“That you didn’t ask which one I’m talking about says a lot,” he countered. I remained silent, waiting for him to share whatever it was he needed to share. “Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve noticed what’s going on. I’ve seen you disappear into her office. I’ve watched her come out to the villas and find you. I happened to see her leave in your truck the night it snowed.”

“Are you… are you spying on me?”

This seemed so out of character for Liam. While his reserved and quiet nature led to him being more observant in recent years, this was on a much different level for him.

“My sister was attacked at night less than two months ago, Marco,” he shared. “I’m sure you recall sitting in a meeting where Tate shared that Ava believed Ivy wasn’t coping well. I haven’t gone outside my normal routine with my sister to make it obvious I’m keeping tabs on her, but I have been more observant when it comes to her. I wanted to make sure she wasn’t spiraling.”

Damn it.

He knew. He knew what was going on.

I forced myself to remain calm despite the way my stomach tightened. I set my things down on the counter and reached behind my neck to massage the sudden stiffness out of it. “What did you find?”

“I think you already know what I found, Marco. There’s something going on between the two of you.”

I swallowed hard. How was Ivy going to react when she realized that Liam knew? Worse, had he said something to anyone else?

Regardless of what I felt at this news, I didn’t balk at it. Not yet. Not until I knew there was something to be overly concerned about. I wanted to believe the best.

“I never intended for things to progress with us like they have,” I admitted. “But ever since that night she was attacked, something changed for me with her. I care deeply about her, Liam. More than I ever have for anyone else. I don’t want this to be a source of contention in this family.”

“Didn’t you hear me?” he asked. “I put a hole in the wall.”

Confused, I shook my head. “What does that mean?”

“Fuck, Marco. I was working in the villa a couple days ago and saw Ivy show up,” Liam began. “I’m not going to talk about what you may or may not have been doing in here with her. That’s none of my business. But I have a pretty good idea she wasn’t just coming here to check out your progress, especially not in this weather. I’m so happy for the both of you. Really, I am. But you’re hiding this, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why.”

I kept my eyes on him, feeling some of the tension in my gut starting to unfurl. He was happy for us. At least Ivy would be relieved to hear that.

Recognizing Liam wasn’t finished, I waited for him to continue.

“I got back to work, but I was at the window facing the villa the whole time,” he went on. “I saw Cooper make his way there, and I had a feeling that things were going to take a bad turn. So, I did the first thing I could think of doing and destroyed one of the walls to the point the drywall would need to be replaced. Then I hauled my ass down to the villa where the three of you were, hoping I’d convince Cooper to come and help me and praying I wasn’t going to walk in and find my brother fighting his best friend.”

Jesus.

Liam had intentionally damaged the villa he’d been working in, created more work for himself, to help me. To make sure Ivy didn’t wind up humiliated.

“Liam, I don’t know what to say, man. Thank you for what you did. She’s been torn up about it ever since,” I told him.

“Why don’t the two of you just tell everyone?”

I let out a frustrated sigh and began to pace. “We’re going to. We were planning to talk about it tonight. Jules and Ava know, but that’s it. Well, other than you. It’s not even so much about everyone else, though. It’s Cooper. He was there the morning after her attack. He walked into the hotel room and saw me there with Ivy, and she was wearing nothing but my T-shirt. Even though nothing was going on between us then, Cooper got the wrong impression, and he did not react well to it. And when he came to apologize later for how he acted, he didn’t make it seem like he’d be happy about us being together. I wasn’t going to pursue her. In fact, I was trying not to do what my instincts were telling me to do.” I stopped pacing and focused my attention fully on Liam. “But then Tate told us what Ava observed, and I decided Ivy’s well-being was the priority. I swear I didn’t try to take advantage of her being vulnerable.”

His eyes narrowed. “It’s sad you think you need to tell me that. Like I don’t know what kind of man you are. Not once did I think you were taking advantage of her.”

More relief swept through me. “I appreciate that. So, you’re not mad about this?”

“I don’t like that my sister feels like she’s doing something wrong. She deserves to not have to run around and hide. You both deserve that.”

“So, you’re not mad, but you’re upset.”

One half of his mouth quirked. “I don’t know if I’d say that, either. Like I said before, I was watching Ivy more than usual after she’d been attacked. But it’s no secret that she’s put on a brave face for quite a while now, well before that asshole did what he did to her. Ever since you, as you put it, made her well-being a priority, I’ve noticed the change in her. It’s unprecedented. Ivy’s happier than she’s been in a very long time, and I know you’re contributing to that for her. So, no, I’m not mad. I’m not upset. I’m happy for both of you. But you need to figure out how you’re going to break the news to Cooper. I can’t imagine why he’d ever have a problem with a guy like you being the one looking after our sister.”

I shot him a look that I hoped indicated I’d asked myself that same question more times than I cared to admit. “We’ll get it worked out this weekend.”

“That’s a wise idea.”

“I appreciate you coming to me about this, Liam. You could have done it differently.”

He dipped his chin. “You’re welcome. Now, make sure you continue to make her happy. I realize that’s probably no easy feat with a woman like Ivy. You’re a hell of a man, Marco.”

I laughed. From where I was standing, Ivy wasn’t a difficult woman to please. In fact, I thought a lot of her tough exterior had something to do with feeling like she had nobody to have her back. Obviously, her family would always be there for her, but a relationship was different. Now that she had that, I had a feeling she’d soften up a bit.

“Thanks. And you have my word. I intend to make her happy for as long as she’ll allow me to do it.”

“That’s all I can ask.” He jerked his head toward the door. “But you better get out of here now, if she’s expecting you.”

“Yeah. I’ll see you later.”

“Later, man.”

With that, I left and made my way to my truck. Once there, I pulled out my phone to call Ivy. She answered after the first ring.

“Are you on your way, handsome?”

My lips twitched. “Are you ready and waiting for me?”

“Always.”

How could I not want to make this woman happy forever? “I just got in my truck. It would have been sooner, but I got stopped on my way out.”

“Oh. Did something happen?”

I turned on the truck and pulled out of my parking spot. “Yep.”

“What?”

“As it turns out, Jules and Ava aren’t the only ones who know about us,” I informed her.

Ivy gasped. “What? Does Cooper know? What did he say?”

“It’s not Cooper. It’s Liam.”

“Liam knows? How?”

I’d made it to the exit of the parking lot and pulled out, heading toward Ivy’s place. “Let’s just say, he’s observant, and he didn’t accidentally put a hole in the wall the other day. He wanted to make sure things didn’t go south between Cooper and me. And he’s happy for us. We have his blessing.”

There was a moment of silence, followed by Ivy’s sweet voice. “Oh, Liam. He’s honestly the best. He doesn’t say much these days, but when he does, it’s always the right stuff.”

I smiled and was about to respond when it happened.

I heard the distinct sound of glass shattering, followed by Ivy’s screaming.

My muscles tightened, my senses on alert. “What was that?”

Ivy didn’t respond. I got nothing but her heavy, ragged breathing. I strained to listen beyond her breaths, hoping I’d hear something that would reassure me.

“Princess, talk to me. Tell me what’s going on?”

Her voice was just a touch over a whisper. “Oh, God. Oh, God. It’s him.”

“Him? Who?”

I could hear the movement and rustling through the line. “The guy who attacked me. He’s here, Marco. Oh, God. Please help me.”

Fuck.

A cold feeling swept through me, ice flooding my veins. The guy who’d put his hands on her weeks ago was in her home. I felt like I couldn’t breathe through the pain in my chest.

Under normal driving, I was still seven minutes away. Driving fast, I could only hope I’d cut that time in half. But it would still be far too long for her to have to wait for help. “I’m coming, Ivy.”

She let out another scream, and all that came through the line was a bunch of muffled sounds.

In the distance, I heard a man’s voice. “I didn’t realize how lucky I was when I found you that day. You’re a Westwood.”

“Get out!” Ivy’s voice was just as far away, and she had struggled to get those two words out. That’s when I realized she must have dropped her phone.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he taunted her. “I’m getting what I came here for, what I didn’t get from you last time. And before I go, we’ll have to see what you’re willing to give me to not return. This is going to be my lucky day, I think.”

Despite racing through the streets of Landing and being mere minutes from her place, I didn’t feel like I was going fast enough.

Another loud crash came through the line, followed by the sound of more broken glass. “No!” Ivy shouted. “No! Get off me!”

I was crawling out of my skin. Never had I ever felt so helpless in my whole life. Ivy was in trouble; she needed my help, and I was too far away to do anything for her. It was a miracle I hadn’t vomited right in my own lap as I drove.

If I hadn’t stopped to talk to Liam, I would have already been there. She would have been safe.

I was so mixed up inside, feeling powerless and panicked as much as I was fueled with rage and regret.

Hearing it, having to listen to the sounds of her cries of terror, was agonizing. “Ivy,” I said softly, knowing she wouldn’t have heard me even if I’d been screaming.

Though it wasn’t helping me to listen to what was happening, I couldn’t disconnect that call. Not until I was closer. Not until I was nearly there.

With my pulse pounding in my ears, Ivy’s struggle in the background, and my foot on the gas, I finally turned onto Ivy’s street. That’s when I disconnected the call and my connection to Ivy. Then I dialed her brother’s number.