fall by Unknown Page A

day, making coffee and chatting, and then a few minutes
later—gone.
    He’s
still gone.
    She pulled out her phone and thought
about calling him, but then she remembered what his command had been on that
piece of paper.
    DON’T
TRY AND FIND ME
    “Okay,” Ivy said, nodding to
herself.   “Okay.   I’m going to listen for once,
Cullen.   Mister Sharpe.”   She smiled, almost laughing at the
absurdity of it all, but then felt that he really would be proud of her.
    Maybe
this is just a test.
    But
if he really loves me, why does he keep testing me?
    She didn’t know.   She didn’t know anything anymore, except
that she still loved Cullen Sharpe and would never give up on him.
    Ivy stood in front of the window by the
balcony and watched the waves on the ocean and the sky turning lighter and
bluer and the clouds passed by, shimmering as the sun burned through them.
    And then there was a loud banging sound
from the door.
    She turned, spilling her coffee onto the
floor as she startled.
    BANG.   BANG.   BANG.  
    It was someone knocking.   She put her mug down on the table as she
passed by it, and went to open the door.
    “Who is it?” she said.
    There was no response at first.   She hesitated.
    “Police.   Open up.”
    “Shit,” Ivy whispered, and then she
opened the door and a thrill of fear went through her stomach.
    It wasn’t the police at all.   Just two men stood in front of her.
    It was the thin-faced FBI agent from
Vegas, and Lucas.   Lucas was never
going to leave her alone, was he?
    She tried to shut the door but Lucas
forced his way into the house.
    “You can’t come in here without a
warrant,” she said, her heart pounding in her chest.
    “Fuck your warrant,” Lucas said.   His hair was mussed and his eyes looked
blood-shot.
    The thin-faced agent stood there,
blocking her exit, his eyes dull and emotionless.
    “What do you want from me, Lucas?”
    “I want to know where Cullen is, and
where his father is.   We know that
they’re together and we’re through playing games.”
    “If you know so much then why can’t you
find them?” she challenged.
    Lucas glared at her.   “I’m the one asking the questions around
here.”
    “Well you know more than me,” Ivy
said.   Her mouth was dry and she
felt sick.
    It occurred to her that Lucas might be
completely insane.
    He looked around the house.   “Nice place, huh?” he said, brash and
loud.
    His compatriot grunted but didn’t
answer.   Instead, he stared straight
at Ivy without blinking.
    Ivy tried to stay composed.   “You’re…you’re making me very
uncomfortable.   I’ve done nothing
wrong.”  
    “I’m…I’m…making you uncomfortable?” Lucas
said, making a face and whining as if that was what her voice sounded like to
him.
    She licked her lips.   “I’m going to ask you once more to
leave, Lucas.”
    He grinned maliciously.   “And I’m going to tell you once more to
go fuck yourself.”   He smiled at the
expression of disbelief on her face.
    She began backing away as he came towards
her.   “I swear I don’t know where Cullen
is.”
    “Bullshit.   I’m sick of your lies.   And I’m tired of you believing you’re
above the law, just because you’re getting fucked by some rich twat.”
    Ivy couldn’t fathom the way he was
acting, the way he was speaking to her.   She was getting a horrible feeling, a feeling like maybe Lucas might
just hurt her.
    She pulled out her phone, intent on
calling the police.
    “What are you doing?” Lucas said.
    The thin-faced man called out.   “Take her damn phone.”
    “Good idea,” Lucas replied, striding
quickly towards her as she tried to get away.
    Ivy shrieked, and then Lucas had grabbed
the cell phone from her hands in one quick motion.   He turned his back to her and began
going through her messages.
    “You bitch,” Lucas muttered.
    “What did she do?” the thin man asked.
    “She told Cullen Sharpe we were here when
I was at the market with her.