Chapter 120: Chapter 120 Moving Forward
Ivy’s POV
When I reached the executive floor of Thorne Group, Gemma practically launched herself from behind her desk and dragged me toward the private conference room we used for sensitive conversations.
"Tell me everything right now! How did your lunch with the casino boss go?"
"It went well, Gemma, really well. But you’ll have to wait until tonight when we’re all together at the safe house. I’m not telling this story multiple times."
"You’re seriously going to torture us with curiosity until then?" Gemma’s face scrunched into a dramatic pout. "But heads up, the Don found out about your lunch with Parker."
My stomach dropped like a stone. In the mafia world, nothing stayed secret for long. "How could he possibly know?"
"Caleb told him."
"That traitor..." I muttered, though I knew Caleb was only being loyal to his Don.
"I heard Caleb telling Xavier that maybe it’s better if you move forward. He said the Don doesn’t want to see you hurt anymore, and Parker’s reputation in neutral territory is solid. But Ivy, Caleb looked completely destroyed when he heard."
The familiar ache twisted in my chest like a knife. "I know he is, Gemma, but I can’t keep drowning in this situation. I have Max depending on me. Parker understands we’re just friends establishing trust. He knows exactly where I stand emotionally. Caleb’s engagement is still pending family approval, and I refuse to be anyone’s kept woman."
"You’re absolutely right. We should get back to work before the other families start watching our movements."
At my desk, I pulled out my encrypted phone to find it buzzing with notifications. The syndicate wives had bombarded our secure group chat with messages about my lunch with the casino kingpin, complete with ridiculous emojis and animated stickers. I quickly typed that I’d give them all the details tonight at our weekly gathering.
My parents had sent their usual check-in message to my civilian phone. I still hadn’t found the strength to tell them about the dangerous world I’d become entangled in. That conversation would have to wait until my next visit to their quiet suburban home, far from the blood and violence that now defined my daily life.
Carmen had sent the most adorable photo of Max completely covered in vanilla gelato from the Italian place in Little Italy, his tiny hands raised in victory with the biggest grin on his chocolate-smeared face. Her message explained that the heat had been unbearable during their walk through the family’s protected neighborhood, but Max had been such an angel during lunch that he earned the special treat. I couldn’t help but smile. My son would eat anything I put in front of him, but gelato and sweets were his weakness, just like his father’s sweet tooth that I’d observed during late-night strategy meetings.
Then there was Parker’s message, sent through encrypted channels, which made my smile feel different somehow.
"I can’t stop thinking about our time together, and now I’m sitting here grinning like an idiot while my lieutenants think I’ve lost my edge. I have territories to oversee and gambling debts to collect, but all I can focus on is you. Don’t be surprised when my next invitation comes very soon. The neutral zone feels too empty without your presence."
My fingers moved quickly across the secure keyboard:
"I had an amazing time too. I’m already looking forward to whatever you have planned next. You definitely know how to make a woman feel safe in dangerous times."
His response came immediately, a cartoon kitten face-down on a pillow surrounded by floating hearts with the caption "completely smitten by the syndicate’s most dangerous woman!" I tucked my phone away, feeling lighter than I had in weeks. Parker had this incredible ability to brighten even my darkest days in this blood-soaked underworld.
After the legitimate business hours ended, Xavier’s armored driver took Gemma and me to the family safe house. The moment I stepped through the reinforced steel door, several sets of expectant eyes locked onto me like snipers.
"Finally! Ivy, we need every single detail about your date with the casino don right now!" Zoe practically shouted, her voice echoing off the bulletproof walls.
"Hold on, I need to see my little prince first." Carmen appeared carrying Max, who immediately reached his arms toward me the second he spotted me, his ice-blue eyes lighting up with pure joy.
"Well, ladies, since you’re all settled in the secure room and this little one is fresh from his bath, I’ll head back to the main compound." Carmen transferred Max into my arms, kissed his forehead, then mine, grabbed her tactical bag, and escaped through the reinforced exit before the interrogation could begin.
The syndicate wives were practically vibrating with curiosity, but I refused to say anything until Max was safely tucked into his armored crib in the soundproof nursery. I kept changing the subject, steering our conversation toward safer topics like weapon maintenance and territory boundaries. Only after I’d read Max his bedtime story about brave knights and he was sound asleep did I return to face the firing squad in the main gathering room.
"Enough stalling, Ivy! My brother won’t tell us anything either, and he controls half the underground gambling in the city!" Ruby threw herself dramatically across the bulletproof couch.
"You actually called Parker about family business?" Their nosiness never ceased to amaze me, even in the mafia world.
"Obviously! When you wouldn’t talk, I went straight to the source through back channels. But all he’d say through his lieutenant was that it was the best afternoon he’s had since taking control of neutral territory." Ruby’s eyes sparkled with dangerous mischief.
"So did that gorgeous casino boss kiss you or not?" Nora blurted out, making everyone lean forward like conspirators planning a hit.
"Yes, he did..." I admitted, watching them erupt into silent cheers and applause, careful not to disturb Max or alert the security monitors.
We talked until late into the night behind soundproof walls, and I found myself sharing every moment from lunch to Parker’s sweet messages afterward. For the first time in what felt like forever, I climbed into my reinforced bed without tears on my cheeks. Maybe moving forward in this deadly world wasn’t as impossible as I’d thought.
