Love³

Twenty eight

•Neera•

I knocked on Ivy's room for and peecked inside, she was on her bed sleeping with her arms around Liam. I walked inside and stood next to them.

"A brother, uh?" He said.

"She told you everything?"

"Yes, and cried and fell asleep."

"Okay, can you make dinner for you and the others? I'll stay with her." I said he slowly let go of her and stood up.

"I love you and everything will be okay. We got this - "

"We always do. I love you too." I finished for him, he came closer and wrapped his arms around me. He let go of me and walked out of the room, I went to Ivy's bed and laid next to her, she immediately put her arms around me.

"I love you. I don't need her, you are my mother." Ivy said in a sleepy voice.

"And you will always be my little girl, I love you more than life, Ivy."

"Are you going to find him?"

"I'll do whatever I can."

"What if he's in a good adoptive family?"

"I don't know. One step at a time."

We curled up together and fell asleep, well, I tried but my head wouldn't stop overthinking everything. I feel so guilty even though I was just a child trying to do everything I could for Ivy. But I feel like I failed her and him.

I should've payed more attention. I should've look for her when I knew she was gone, and I should've have done more when I saw her again. But I was a selfish bitch, I was just thinking of me, the silent and peace felt so fucking good at the time.

I just wanted peace, I had Ivy and on top of that I had school, the jobs, the bills to pay. My mother never helped with any of that, she was always high, always bringing strange people to the house and alway fucking begging.

"It will be the last time, Neera."

"Please Neera, it hurts."

"Just 20 dollars, 10, 5? Give me something."

"I promise I will get help after."

"Please, please, please, please..."

Everyday, every hour she would see me. It was driving me crazy, I would cry myself to sleep thinking if I was doing the right thing, there was so many times where I thought that maybe Ivy would be better without me.

Every day for two weeks I would spend just looking at the orphanage from the other side of the street, I saw couples leaving the place with children, they were so happy, and I wondered if that would be the best for her.

But I couldn't bring myself to give her away, I didn't have the courage. Deliver drugs to dangerous people was so much easier. And I'm glad I didn't, Ivy means the world to me, it's because of her I am the person I am today, and it's because of her we have this empire.

I did it all for her.

It was 3 am when I got out of her bed, I went down the stairs and made my way to the office, I had some cleaning to do. But when I got there the place was in order, and Zack was picking the last pieces of broken glass from the floor.

"You didn't have to do this." I said, he jump so high and his face was priceless.

"Fuck, don't do that again." He said with his hand on top of his heart.

"Sorry." I said with a chuckle.

"Are you feeling better? Because if you came back to destroy the office again, all of this was for nothing."

" I won't destroy it, I promise. Thank you. Why aren't you sleeping?" I asked.

"After that file you gave me, I couldn't."

"You know you can't just walk in there with the file in hand and expose them, right?"

"I know, that's why I will take new copies, and send them anonimously, if they don't open an investigation I will go to the press." He said and I nodded.

The press would love this shit.

"Want to see something cool?" I asked with a smirk.

"Will I regret it?"

"Doubt it." I walked to one of the shelves, pulled a book out, inside the book was a keypad, I put the secret pin and the shelf opened. Behind the shelf was a enormous room, the armory.

"Are you finally going to show me your sex dungeon?" Zack asked and that made me laugh.

"Not yet, not yet." We walked inside and his jaw hit the floor.

"All types of guns and amunition I make and sell are here, rubber bullets, pepper bullets, shock bullets, lead round nose, hollow point, armor piercing, semi automatics, AKs, FALs, and much more."

"I- I- "

" I know." I said with a laugh.

"Why did you go talk to me? Why bring me here?" He asked.

"I honestly don't know, I just felt like you, the police, whatever, were thinking of me as this horrible person that does horrible things and I wanted to show the other side."

"Why me?"

"I'm sure there's someone out there investigating me, but your name showed up first I guess. Look, honestly, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing, inviting you to my home, trusting you. I'm sure that for Liam, Ivy and even Alice that is still learning it seems that I lost my mind and it doesn't make any sense. But my gut told me to trust you."

"It really doesn't make sense. But I'm glad you did it, I won't turn you in, maybe I should do it but I won't. I do have one question though. "

"Ask it."

"Why didn't you get out of this life? For what I saw you had a small fortune when you were 19. " He said, he turned his back to the guns and looked me in the eyes, and for a moment my knees felt weak.

"Why would l get out? I won't lie, I got greedy, after years of not having money, it felt good, I wanted more, why stop with a small fortune when I could get more?"

"I'm feeling greedy too." He said and walked closer to me.

When I was going to ask more about it, he closed the space between us, I felt his hand going to my neck and then his lips on mine. Heaven, I was in heaven. I don't have words to describe, it feels right, it feels like we are meant to be, like is lips were made for mine.

I'm officially crazy.

My hands were fisting his shirt, and that was what was keeping me up, we pulled apart to breathe and looked into each others eyes without saying anything, there was no need. He gave me one last kiss in the corner of my lips and walked out, I let out the breath I as holding and put my hand on my chest trying to calm my racing heart.

Now what?