CHAPTER SIX
Isaac
I race up the stairs two at a time. When Connor didn’t come back to the office, I feared the worst. I rush down the landing and burst into Ivy’s room. The door smashes back, and my worst fears come true.
There stands Jade, as big as life. My hands ball into fists and I barge into the room. “What do you think you’re doing here?”
Connor stands up from his chair across the room. “Here he is. Now we can all ask him what he thinks.”
“Isaac…,” Kira begins.
I ignore her and charge across the room at Jade. “Get out of my house! You’ll pay for this. You witch! Don’t you ever set foot in my house again. I’ll rip your head off.”
I rush at her with both hands stretched out to grab her by the throat. I can’t see anything but red. She retreats toward the window, but Connor steps between us. He plants one hand on my chest. “Chill out, brother. It’s all over. She didn’t do anything.”
I lunge at her. “I’ll kill her! Do you know what she’s doing? She’s planning on stealing Ivy! I’ll tear you limb from limb if it’s the last thing I ever do.”
Connor grabs my around the shoulders to stop me getting to her. “Hang on there, Champ. Whatever she planned, she didn’t do it. We were just sitting around playing Monopoly and…”
“Monopoly!” I thunder. “Do you think she came here to play Monopoly? Do you know she’s doing here?”
He murmurs into my ears. “You don’t have to tell me.”
Jade draws herself up to her full height. “You can’t keep me away from Ivy, Isaac. I’m her mother. I have every right to see her and have her in my life.”
“Mother!” I bellow. “A fine mother you turned out to be. How would you like to explain to a judge that you broke into my house when I wasn’t home so you could see Ivy? I’m sure that would look fantastic on your permanent record.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t I?” I cackle in hysterical glee. “Watch me.”
Connor pushes against my chest. “Back off, man. Let her walk out of here on her own two feet.”
I struggle again his hands. “Just give me two seconds alone with her. Just two seconds, and I’ll…”
Connor presses me back. He calls over his shoulder at Jade. “I think you better go now. It’s been great to see you again, and I sure hope you get that medical transcription course finished soon.”
She takes him at his word and sets off for the door. She passes Kira, but right before she leaves, she veers off toward Ivy standing off to one side. The poor kid watches this whole scene in stunned horror.
Jade bends down to put her arms around Ivy. “Good-bye, darling. I hope you have a nice trip to the library.”
She slips her arms around Ivy’s shoulders. This is too much for me. I can’t stand by and watch this. I rip past Connor and rocket across the room. On the way, my hand lands on the first weapon I can find. I snatch up the iron poker from the fireplace and swing it at Jade’s head. “You wretch! Get away from her or I’ll cave your stinkin’ head in.”
I whirl the poker in a wide arch and bring it down in a whistling streak toward Jade’s head. She ducks away just in time, and the poker embeds its hook into the tabletop. Jade beats it out the door and vanishes down the stairs.
The minute Jade disappears, Kira jumps forward. “What are you doing?”
Raging fury erupts out of me at anybody in sight. I round on her. “This is all your fault.”
“My fault!” she splutters. “I never did anything.”
“I warned you not to let her anywhere near Ivy,” I tell her. “Do you think I called you up in the middle of the work day just to blow smoke out of my ass? What do you take me for? I told you she was dangerous and to keep her away from Ivy.”
“Dangerous!” she cries. “She’s not dangerous, but you certainly are. You want me to believe she’s the devil incarnate. No one could be that bad. She looked perfectly normal to me.”
“You wouldn’t know normal if you stepped in it,” I growl.
“Where do you get off blaming me for this?” she asks. “I had nothing to do with it.”
I point in her face. “If you’re gonna work here, you better remember one thing. You work for me. If I say for you to do something, you better do it. If I tell you to keep Jade out of my house, then that’s your job. If you don’t do it, you’re not working for me.”
“It’s not my job to keep Jade out of your house,” she replies. “I’m not a cop. She walked right in. I’m a nanny, not a bouncer, and I didn’t see anything in her behavior to indicate she shouldn’t see her own daughter. Now you on the other hand…”
I catapult across the room at her, but Connor grabs my arms and wrestles me back. “Easy, big boy.”
I’m just about to explode at Kira all over again when Ivy flies across the room. She hits me in the stomach and pounds her fists against my chest. She screams at the top of her lungs, and her hair stands out in all directions from her head. “I hate you! I hate you all! Don’t talk about me like I’m not even here. I hate you! I wish you were dead.”
All the fight drains out of me. I can’t get mad at this precious girl. She’s suffered enough from this situation, and I understand how she feels. Sometimes I wish I could punch and hit someone like that. I would feel a lot better.
She kicks me in the shins. Her screams turn to incoherent shrieks. I stare down at her contorted face. Tears stand out on her eyelashes, and my heart sinks. Why does it have to be like this for her? Why does her childhood have to turn into a war zone when it should be the happiest time of her life?
I let her punch me for a while. That’s the least I can do for her. Then I sink onto my knees in front of her and fold her in my arms. She struggles harder and punches out at my face, but I only hold her tighter until she collapses sobbing against my chest.
I press her against my heart and bury my face in her neck. “It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I was worried about you. That’s all. I worried something terrible would happen and I would never see you again. I could never live with myself if that happened.”
Whether she hears me or not, I can’t tell. It doesn’t matter. She’s here. We’re together. Jade didn’t do anything. I’m so relieved I don’t know what to do with myself.
The rest of the world disappears, and it’s just the two of us, alone together. She cries on my neck. She fights my arms a little while longer, but after a few minutes, she falls limp in my embrace. She’s so tiny, and I’m big enough to protect her. She’s all I’ve got in the world, and I’m all she’s got.
I cast one ferocious look over her shoulder around the room. Kira stares at us like she’s never seen a father and daughter together before. Connor gazes back at me with that casual smile of his. He’s seen it all before.
I’ve got better things to do than put on a show. I get to my feet and pick up Ivy in my arms. I face the two of them and walk out of the room with my little girl.