Violet
Some things in life are too good to be true.
It was until the real estate agent was half an hour late that Violet truly began to accept that this might be one of them. She’d been positive that Ivore was on the up and up. That he’d not been messing with her. After all, she knew Andria and Cowl. Why would they have let her continue to associate with Ivore if he was a grade-A douchebag?
No, that wasn’t right. She looked over at him now, and he looked just as agitated as she was, though he hadn’t actually said anything yet. The tightening at the corners of his eyes and the near-constant flexing of his right hand were the only giveaways indicating he was stressed or bothered. Something was wrong.
“Where is he?” she asked at last, tired of the silence between them. They were both thinking the same thing.
“I don’t know. Hopefully just traffic?”
They both knew it was a lie. What she couldn’t figure out was why there was an issue. If the problem were with Ivore, or his money or what have you, then why would the agent be late? No, something else was going on.
Fully an hour after they were supposed to meet Ivore stirred from her across the table. She looked over her shoulder to see a male of medium height and skinny build come scurrying inside the restaurant. He wore a business suit at least two decades out of style. If the elbow patches didn’t give it away, the beige coloring and faint plaid styling did. How did people not realize they looked so out of date?
“That’s him,” Ivore confirmed.
Violet had yet to actually meet the agent behind the deal, but her first impression now was not a good one. He looked agitated and…sweaty? It wasn’t very warm out, especially with a full suit on. There was no reason for him to be sweating. His brown eyes looked around frantically before they found Ivore, and he hurried over to their table.
If his jerky movements and sweat-lined face weren’t enough to tell her that something was wrong, she knew it the instant he didn’t sit down.
“What’s going on, Bob?” Ivore asked slowly, keeping his voice even.
Violet made a note to do the same. This Bob person was on edge about something, and if she started laying into him about his lateness or asking why he was sweating and looking fearful she might end up doing something she regretted.
“Nothing’s wrong.” Bob sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that more than either of them.
“Are you sure, Bob?”
Violet watched the agent’s throat bob as he swallowed nervously, eyes switching from Ivore to her and back again with extreme frequency. Was he high? Maybe that was it; he was coked out of his mind or something perhaps.
“Have a seat,” she offered, gesturing to one of the two empty seats at the table with her and Ivore. Maybe the polite gesture would help things out.
“Um. No. It’s okay. I don’t need to sit. I just came by to tell you that you don’t get the property. I mean, you didn’t get the property.”
Violet reached out to grab Ivore’s arm, her touch restraining him as he tried to lunge to his feet. The big man froze instantly, then slowly sat back down into his seat. Violet removed her hand, trying not to let herself get too focused on the electric shock that had ripped through her system the instant she touched him.
“You need to explain yourself, Bob.” Ivore’s voice was little more than a feral growl, rattling nearby cutlery and dishes as he spoke.
“Someone else bought it.”
A ceramic mug shattered as Ivore’s fist closed around it, the sharp edges digging into his palm. Violet stared as blood began to well up, before it stopped. Was his skin healing itself already? Those cuts should have been bleeding all over the table…
“Tell me something, Bob.” Ivore’s voice was a deceptively calm now. Violet could tell he was angry. Furious really, and doing everything in his power to contain his temper which, she imagined, was probably rather frightening.
“Y-Yes, Ivore?”
“How is that someone else bought the property when our offer, as you told me over the phone, was already accepted? That doesn’t make any sense, Bob. And you really need to start making sense right about now.”
Fresh sweat beaded across the agent’s brow. If he had a briefcase Violet wouldn’t have been surprised to see him clutching it to his chest in some sort of defensive action.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Ivore. Someone else offered more money.”
Ivore’s fist started to crush the ceramic fragments, dust spilling out from his enclosed hand onto the table as he literally ground the pieces against each other. Violet knew she should have been paying more attention to that, but the news that someone else had come in and snatched the property away from them was too disheartening. She’d been so close. So close to doing what she’d said she would, and fulfilling a promise she owed. Now though…now it was being ripped away from her with the finish line in sight.
“Who, Bob?” Ivore opened his hand, ceramic pieces and dust falling to the counter.
“I can’t disclose that information. Client confidentiality.”
Violet blinked. She hadn’t thought Bob had any guts left in him, but he’d answered the question immediately and with a little bit of courage. Why was it that he was suddenly finding his spine now after acting like a weasel from the moment he’d walked in? He had to know who the other party was, so he couldn’t blame lack of knowledge. But in front of him was Ivore, a towering pillar of muscle who was very, very angry. If she let him get up, she wasn’t sure what would happen. Why was he suddenly not scared of Ivore?
Because he’s more scared of whoever is on the other end.
“Who is it, Bob?”
The agent shook his head.
Ivore moved to stand up, a slow, measured movement this time. Violet didn’t stop him. She too wanted to know just what the hell was going on. Someone was playing games, and she didn’t like it.
Bob was looking around the restaurant, but it was mostly empty, the lunch rush having filed out over an hour ago. The few patrons still there were studiously ignoring the confrontation. They wisely wanted nothing to do with an enraged Ivore.
“It was Richard Malkin.” Bob sagged in defeat. “There, I told you. Now, let me go, okay?”
Malkin. Violet hissed. Of course he would be getting involved. First he’d come after the brothers at the party, and now he was preventing Ivore from making a business deal. Violet knew all about Richard Malkin, the undisputed crime boss of Barton City. He acted the part of a business owner, but everyone knew the truth. He was just too good to get caught, and had bribed the appropriate people.
Ivore shook his head. “Not good enough. We’re getting the property. Tell your seller we just beat Malkin’s offer by ten percent.”
Bob shook his head. “I can’t do that.”
Violet lunged to her feet as Ivore pulled back a mighty fist. She put her hand on top of it. Ivore looked over his shoulder at her, and her hand upon his. Violet shook her head. Not now.
Ivore reluctantly conceded the point to her, lowering his fist.
“Why can’t you do that, Bob?” she asked, trying to understand.
“Please. I’m going to be in enough trouble by telling you who it is. But I can’t do anything more. You must understand. I have a family!”
Suddenly Violet understood. “He threatened your family if you didn’t do this?”
Bob nodded.
Ivore snarled. “Go home to them, Bob. Go see your family. You have my apologies. I didn’t mean to drag you into the middle of all this. You didn’t deserve that.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to do it, but…”
“Go.” Ivore waved a hand in understanding. “We’ll handle it from here.”
Violet blinked. They’ll what?
“And how exactly do you plan to do that?” she asked as Bob practically ran out the front door of the shop, the little bell atop the door ringing frantically.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean exactly that. You said we’d ‘handle’ it. What the hell does that mean? I’m not going up against the crime lord of Barton City! I’m just a normal everyday woman. I don’t run around in a black latex suit with a cape. Nor can I fly. Are you getting the idea yet?”
Ivore stared at her blankly. “No.”
She threw up her hands, exasperated. How does one not get those references? “My point is that I’m not a crime fighter.”
“Nobody said you had to be.”
“Now you’ve totally gone and lost me.”
“You’re right here. You aren’t lost.”
“Grrrr. What is your plan, Ivore?” she snapped.
“I’m going to go talk with this Malkin person. His sons tried to kill my brother and his mate. I’d thought with their deaths he’d leave us alone. I guess he’d decided to go the other route instead.” Ivore grinned, a toothy, carnivorous look that gave her shivers.
“What? You can’t do that, Ivore. He’s a criminal. He’ll probably just shoot you if he wants you dead, and he’ll get away with it.”
Ivore shook his head, looking out the window past her. “Highly unlikely he would live to regret such a move.”
“How can you be so stupid and stubborn?”
He glanced at her. “Violet, I don’t expect you to understand this, but Malkin just insulted us. I have to respond to that, otherwise he will think we’re scared of him.”
“We should be scared of him. He has guns, Ivore. More guns than you have muscles, as hard as that might be to believe.” She groaned as Ivore flexed his arms and chest in response. “That was not a compliment. He’s going to kill you. D-e-a-d. Do you understand?”
“I’ll be fine. I’m just going to go pay a friendly visit,” he assured her. “Nothing bad is going to happen.”
“No. This is a stupid idea. Don’t do this.”
“I have to, Violet. I’d hoped you would understand. I can’t just let this slide. I’ll call you when I’m done.” He gave her upper arm a rub.
Violet closed her eyes as he touched her, not opening them until she heard the bell ring at the top of the door, letting her know Ivore was gone.
The restaurant felt emptier than the absence of a single person should have made it. It was his presence, she realized. Ivore just took up the room with his size and his personality, and when he left, everything felt empty and small.
She gritted her teeth. This was all her fault. Ivore was going to go “talk” to Malkin, and she was never going to see him again. It upset her to realize how bothered she was by him doing this. Why was she letting the actions of her business partner get under her skin? It wasn’t like she had feelings for him. He was just an investor to her. That was all. That was how he had to stay. Even letting him get as close to her as she had was dangerous.
For him.