Poison Ivy Ch. 10 Pt. 01

"You'll have to put that right in the freezer, buddy, and after dinner we can --"

A sweet voice cut off as Annika opened the door wide and immediately went rigid, her arm tightening protectively around the child she held as she rotated instinctively to shield him.

Hunter cursed under his breath and ran a hand through his hair. The kids were not supposed to be here. She was supposed to have dropped them off at a friend's house, as she usually did when she knew Hickson was coming to visit. Knowing what he did about him, Hunter wondered if she took the kiddos to a sitter in order to get them out of the way, or to protect them.

The boy was too far away from the door for her to simply grab him and run, which made Hunter's life easier. He wouldn't have been able to allow her to rush out of the Condo, alerting Hickson to their presence, but the very last thing he wanted to do today was chase down an innocent girl and her two young children. Shielding the two-year-old in her arms and moving slowly toward the still frozen-solid boy, Hunter was able to rotate in smooth movements to block her from the door. Finally reaching the boy, Annika stretched out her arm to push him back behind her, bravely facing him with a high chin and determined, aquamarine eyes.

He frowned. The move was touching, but illogical. If he'd wanted to harm the kids, he could easily overpower her and take them from her within seconds. It hadn't even been difficult to break into the condo; Trevino had completed the task within a matter of minutes. For Hickson to leave his child and lover unprotected like this...It was unfathomable. He added the failure to keep his blood properly protected to the long list of sins Hickson would soon pay for, each offense worth a pound of flesh.

By the time he was done, there would be nothing left but bones.

He could see why Hickson was drawn to the girl. Gorgeous strawberry-blonde hair fell past her shoulders in soft coils of curls. The boy had clearly gotten his eyes from his mother, and though her cheeks were porcelain pale at the moment, he knew a soft blush would draw her features together to create a stunning face. What he could see of her figure beneath her jeans and parka looked athletic and slender, and she carried herself with the kind of grace and confidence certain people are just born with.

"Take anything you want. Take it all. Just leave them alone," she said so softly it was barely more than a whisper. Hunter could smell the fear coming off her, and the smell was stifling and deeply unsettling. Despite her obvious terror, she maintained her confident and defensive posture, her chin raised defiantly as she continued to slowly move her children further out of his reach. His thoughts snagged on something she'd said. Leave them alone. Not us. Them.

He had yet to meet the child growing in Ivy's belly, but he related to this woman's fierce need to protect her young on a visceral level. Slowly and calmly, he held up his empty hands, in what he hoped would be a non-threatening, reassuring gesture. "I promise, I won't lay a finger on them or on you. I'm not here to hurt you, Ms. Flint.

Annika flinched at the sound of her name and took a step back, pushing the older child further behind her, and Hunter cursed again under his breath.

"H-how do you know my name? What do you want?" she asked, trying very hard to keep the panic out of her voice. Hunter opened his mouth, but never got the chance to explain, as a fucking idiot man-child barreled into the living room and crashed their little party.

"You think it's okay to eat the rotisserie chicken she's got in there, Hunt?" Pyle asked, oblivious, as he walked through the swinging door that led to the kitchen. He bit into a severed chicken leg, regardless of the fact that Hunter hadn't answered him, and regardless of the fact that Trevino had been explicit in his instructions to not touch anything of hers. "I mean," he continued, chomping down on his fucking mouthful of stolen chicken, still oblivious of the tension filling the living area, "it's about a day and a half away from spoiling. Probably doing her a favor." He took another big bite, and finally looked up.

His full mouth dropped open and his eyes widened, the chicken leg slipping out of his hand as he stared at the terrified young woman and her two kids. Annika's eyes had honed in on Pyle the instant he walked through the door, and Hunter could see her evaluating this new threat. Pyle took a step forward, and she winced, taking another step back. Immediately, Pyle stopped moving and offered her the same open-hand gesture Hunter had.

"Please," she said, her chin quivering, her aquamarine eyes bright as she wrestled back tears. "Let them go. I'll do whatever you want, just let them go."

Hunter's heart split open. He saw Ivy in every one of Annika's flinches, in the way she positioned herself protectively in front of her boys, in the way she was ready to sacrifice everything she had to give, everything, except the lives of her children. He glanced at Pyle, who wore a similarly heartbroken expression as his eyes stayed glued to the cowering girl.

"No, no, no. We would never hurt you, sweetheart," Pyle said softly, in a voice Hunter didn't recognize. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the younger Alpha look so serious, so intense. Pyle's chest rose and fell rapidly, mimicking the panic-inducing, rasping breaths coming from Annika at the sight of two huge, scary-looking men in her home.

Aaaaand that's precisely when Trevino and Fowler decided to step out of the room they'd been setting up to come investigate what all the noise (or lack thereof, in Pyle's case) was about.

Annika turned so pale that Hunter was afraid she would pass out. Pyle spun around, snarling savagely at the two approaching males. "Stay back," he growled, leveling a distinctly un-Pyle like look of warning at them. Not quite understanding the situation, Fowler ignored the issued command and continued walking, as Trevino remained silent, slipping back into the shadows.

Pyle erupted. Pulling a gun from the holster around his waist, he leveled it at Fowler with a menacing roar. "I swear to fuck, Fowler, if you take one more step closer to them, I will put no less than six bullets into your fucking skull."

Fowler stopped in his tracks, gaping at a seething Pyle. "Okay man, take it easy," he growled in what was probably the softest tone he could manage. Which was most likely still terrifying to anyone who didn't know the massive, tattooed man. He backed away until Pyle's rigid body relaxed minutely. Fowler gave Hunter a questioning look. He shrugged. I have no fucking idea either, man.

Pyle turned slowly, keeping Hunter and Fowler at the periphery of his vision as he returned his attention to Annika and the two boys. They had backed all the way up into the wall below the flatscreen, and Annika had knelt and curled her body entirely around her babies, her back and hunched shoulders shaking violently. The stink of terror saturating the air around them was nauseating. This was a scent Hunter only ever wanted to encounter on the pieces of shit he planned on torturing, and innocent, young mothers most certainly were not on that list.

Pyle stood still, glaring at her back, the gun hanging limply from his hand. Fowler gave Hunter a look, and as quickly and as quietly as they could, they moved behind Pyle and disappeared through the swinging kitchen door.

"Well that was fuckin' strange," Fowler growled, his voice trapped forever in that deep timbre that made him sound furious every time he spoke. Hunter nodded, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.

"What do you think that was all about?"

Hunter shrugged, leaning against the kitchen island, exhausted. He wanted this to be over. He wanted to be back with Ivy. He wanted to leave this poor girl alone without causing her any more distress. Hickson had better hurry the fuck up, so he could kill him and move on with his life as a pair-bonded mate, as well as a father. "I don't know, man, but I've only ever seen that look once before," he finally answered.

"Oh yeah? When was that?" the grizzly bear prompted. Hunter sighed.

"The first time Trevino laid eyes on Aella."

...............................................

"What exactly are you expecting to do once you get there, Ace?" Ivy took another sip of the chalky protein shake Aella had regularly been feeding her in between meals. It was still disgusting... but it was sweet, the way Aella wanted to care for her. Unnecessary, but sweet. Aella was kind, and awesome, and loyal, and a total badass, and their friendship had solidified in a surprisingly short amount of time for two people who didn't trust easily.

Aella shrugged, taking a sip from the mug of her steaming orange ginger tea. Bleck. "I don't know, exactly. I tracked a few of the missing kids down. Two of them are dead. As far as I know, the rest of them are alive, but deep within a human trafficking ring. The shipping container is on the lip of an international port. It provides a good place to buy and sell human beings. I don't know if I can track down any more of them, and I'm not sure how to save the ones I did find. But Derrick must be stopped. He's my brother; It's my responsibility to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else.

Ivy reached across the counter and grasped Aella's hand in hers. "No, Ace," she said softly. "None of this is your responsibility. Never has been. Never will be. I'll help you get there if this is really what you want to do, but... I have a pretty big fucking suspicion that Trevino—"

Aella flinched and pulled her hand away. "NO. No, he can't ever know about this, Ivy. Please."

Ivy straightened. She knew what it was like to want to handle her own shit, even with an overbearing, possessive Alpha tracking nearly every move she made. But this didn't fit. There was something more going on here. "Why not, Ace? You have to level with me. Because you're putting yourself in a crazy dangerous situation. You could be hurt, or killed, or sold, and then I think Hunter would kill me for helping you, if Trevino doesn't do it first. So I need to know why it's so important for you to do this alone."

Aella sighed, wrapping her slim hands around the warmed mug. "Trevino doesn't know that Derrick is the one who sold me to Maverick. If he finds out, he'll hunt Derrick down and kill him. He won't hesitate, and he won't be able to stop himself. It would put him in danger. The enforcers are all much older, and they've gotten better at what they do. It would also destroy any chance I'd have to find and save the people he's already sold."

She took a sip of her tea, the mug shaking as she raised it to her lips. After placing the mug back on the counter, she continued. "Derrick couldn't have had me used like the enforcers used the other girls. Maverick had already made a deal with him, and it included me still being a virgin. But it didn't stop him from finding a way around that, and they used me in different ways."

Swallowing down her rage at the sudden understanding that Aella's older brother had allowed his enforcers to abuse her, and then fucking sold her virginity to that evil piece of shit, Ivy jumped off the stool and closed the distance, practically tackling the beautiful blonde as she wrapped her arms around Ace's waist and pulled her off her own stool. Aella let out a startled squeak and giggled before she melted into the offered warm embrace. They were pretty close to the same unimpressive height, and Ivy pressed her forehead to Ace's and let her friend sob silently, running her fingers through her silky sunshine curls soothingly.

"He can't know, Ivy," Aella cried, burying her heated face into Ivy's shoulder. "He'll hate me. He'll regret ever coming after me, and he'll know I'm soiled, and tainted, he'll never want to touch me again, and --" she hiccupped, "I don't ever want him to look at me like Maverick did, like I'm some sick whore—"

Ivy jerked up, growling. "FUCK Maverick, Ace. You know better. Can you even hear yourself?" she lowered her voice when she saw the color drain from Aella's face as she flinched back. "You didn't ask for that to happen, Ace. Just like you didn't ask to be taken by that dirty fuck. What would you say to me if our roles were reversed? Would you see me as tainted and soiled? Would you call me a sick whore?"

Aella shook her head silently as tears streamed down her blotchy cheeks.

"No, you wouldn't," she continued. "You'd never think that of me. Just like I'd never think that of you. I know I was a little slow on the uptake, but I see how Trevino watches you. Fucking Maverick did a number on you, but I don't think there's anything you could say or do that would cause that very scary man to walk away from you."

Just as Ivy was finishing her little rant, Cody skidded into the kitchen with Eva cradled in his arms. "Did you guys hear that?" he asked breathlessly, immediately going to the windows to make sure they were locked. Ace rushed over to him to take Eva out of his arms. "Hear what, Cody?" she asked nervously.

"Car doors slamming shut, a lot of them," he panted. "And gunshots. By the front of the house. I don't... I think they're here for us."

"How?" Aella asked, fear clouding her eyes as she started pacing back and forth, rocking Eva in her arms to keep her quiet. "How would they have any idea where we are?"

"I think the—"

Cody was interrupted by an explosion of wood chips that used to be the backdoor. The entryway was situated a few feet from the refrigerator and led out to the fenced-in lawn at the back of the house. All three of them jumped, and Eva started crying, as two massive men dressed like some kind of tactical ninjas in black cargo pants and black mock turtlenecks rushed into the room with their weapons drawn. Ivy was frozen solid, her hands instinctively covering her belly, as though that would do anything at all to protect the growing fetus beneath her palms. A ridiculous and useless move, but whatever.

"Ivy, Aella," one of the men spoke. His dark skin contrasted with the glowing honey shade of his eyes. "We have to move. You've been compromised. Come on," he said, stalking over to where the three of them cowered in a corner.

Cody, in a valiant, if misguided, attempt to shield them from the two strangers, stepped in front of the girls and drew a gun from the back of his baggy jeans. Ivy rolled her eyes, exasperated. Did he have any idea how to use that thing? Where did he even get a gun? And did he have any idea what a stupid place the back of your pants was to hide a weapon?

Never mind the fact that she'd done the exact same thing when she escaped from Maverick. But that was due to a lack of proper pockets or a holster, and she'd made sure the safety was on and there was --

Shit, there was time for this later. Watching Cody's hand shake as he brought the gun up, she stepped forward. "Give me that," she said, grabbing the gun from the kid as she staggered her stance and aimed it right between the approaching Ninja's eyes. Cody breathed a discreet sigh of relief as he moved to better cover Aella.

"Stop right fucking there, asshole," she seethed. Ninja #1 halted, bringing his hands up and letting his own gun swing down from his left pointer finger. "You must be Ivy," he said, a corner of his mouth lifting up in a smirk.

"And you are?" she asked, watching as Ninja #2, a startlingly pale giant with coppery red hair and a face full of freckles, moved around the kitchen and living room, drawing the blinds and checking the locks on the windows.

"I'm Reggie, and that's Kendric," said Ninja #1, pointing to the window checker with his chin. "We've been watching this house since Trevino left. Listen, as much as I appreciate being threatened by a beautiful girl, we've got about three minutes before the real bad guys barge through that front door. We've gotta go."

"Trevino?" Aella asked as she tried to shush Eva. Reggie nodded. "We can have this conversation when we've moved you to a safer location." Reggie focused his honey brown eyes directly at Aella. "He said to tell you to remember the boathouse."

Having no fucking idea what that was all about, Ivy risked a glance behind her, watching as her friend's eyes widened. A flush moved up her neck and colored her porcelain cheeks as her glacier blue eyes met Ivy's, and Aella nodded in confirmation.

Fuck it. Ivy slipped the safety on with a quiet snick and tucked the gun into the back of her jeans.

Whatever.

.............................................

Soft, hushed voices drifted from one of the kids' rooms down the light blue carpeted hallway, occasionally interrupted by a high-pitched squeal or single babbled word from the younger boy, Callum. Despite attempts to get him into the kitchen, Pyle continued to stalk back and forth in front of the door where Annika and the two children huddled on the floor, the young mother doing her best to keep the kids entertained as she wrestled down her own fear.

This was all fucked. It was hours past the time they'd expected Hickson to be here. The kids were getting restless as time went on, and Pyle was a human pressure cooker about to explode.

After the initial shock of finding four massive men invading her home had worn off, Annika had allowed Pyle to usher them into the room down the hallway, and immediately took to pacing up and down the hall, keeping the rest of them as far away from the little family as possible. When the kids had gotten hungry, she'd thanked Pyle and quietly accepted the platter of sliced apples and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches Fowler had thrown together. He'd even cut one sandwich up into bite-sized pieces for Callum.

Hunter marveled at the confident way Fowler had prepared their meal with some innate skill to anticipate the kids' preferences and needs. It must have come naturally to a dad with a large family. It was almost comical to watch the massive, tattooed wild card with a head full of overgrown facial hair as he pulled ingredients from around the kitchen and carefully put the platter together. The man was an enigma.

He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting from Hickson's young mistress, but Annika Flint had most certainly not been it. Instead of the spoiled entitlement he'd anticipated, Annika had a quiet fortitude that surprised him. Her thoughts centered around the safety and comfort of her boys; everything else was secondary, including her own needs and security. He understood why Hickson had been drawn to the girl, but Hunter found himself wondering what the fuck she saw in Hickson.

Movement in the periphery of his vision caught Hunter's attention, and he straightened from his spot leaning against the counter as Trevino stalked over. "We need to question her," the sniper said quietly. Hunter nodded in agreement. The last thing he wanted to do was to frighten the girl, but something was off.

Trevino watched him carefully, waiting until he nodded again to slip down the hallway toward the agitated Alpha guarding the girl. He sighed and ran a hand through his cropped, dark hair, dropping onto a white leather padded chair at a small chestnut breakfast table tucked close to the wall by the doors.

All he wanted to do was to get back to Ivy. There was a magnet in his core that kept pulling his attention away from all this shit and straight back to his pregnant Omega. He kept remembering the pallor of her lips as she'd slumped into his arms outside the bus station. How her brow was slicked with cool sweat as he ran his fingers through her hair right before he'd left her, unconscious and in Cole's care. He knew she'd been fucking furious at him when she realized he'd left her behind. He'd felt her outrage like a flame that lit his chest on fire through the bond.