Page 41 of Mr. Match

“Long story short,” Ivy interrupts, “he didn’t go to jail. But we figured we should get the fuck outta Dodge while our luck holds.”

Fucking Ivy. Get the fuck outta Dodge. I kinda like her.

“Hmm,” I say, thinking all this through the way I probably should’ve last night.

“Right,” Ivy and Nolan say together.

“So… this Silver Society thing,” I say. “We can safely assume Allen-slash-Brutus is part of it?”

“Not only that,” Ivy says. “I talked to my parents. Didn’t tell them any real details, you know. But just kinda quizzed them about Boring Richard and what he was up to before he… um, died.” She shoots me a nervous glance. I didn’t kill Boring Richard. Nolan did. I only killed Claudette’s driver. So I give her a nod to keep going. “And they said he was dating a tall blonde woman too.”

“I thought you guys told us he was dating an equally boring girl from college?”

“That’s what I thought,” Ivy says. “But not true. I think he was dating Claudette.”

“How does a cunt like Claudette get two boyfriends? What do you think, Nolan?”

He huffs out a breath. “Impossible to know, now. But it’s a good theory. Who knows the depths of her secret life?”

“Maybe your mom?” I ask, just trying to be helpful.

“That’s what I said!” Ivy exclaims. “I figure your mother knows a whole lot more than she ever told you. We need to have a talk with her.”

“No,” Nolan says. “I’m not dragging her into it.”

“She’s already in it, Nolan,” Ivy says.

I get the feeling they’ve been having this same fight on repeat for a while now.

“And your mother too,” Ivy says.

“Mine?” I say, looking over at her for a second.

“She has to know more than she’s told you and Ariel. In fact, Ariel is sure of it. We’re just trying to figure out the best way to approach everyone. But once we do, we know—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I say. “My parents aren’t getting dragged into this. Fuck that.” I cannot even imagine bringing this shit up to them. Not after everything that happened with Rory.

“My mom’s out too.” Nolan sits back, collapsing into the middle hump seat in back, sandwiched between the suitcase and the carry-ons. “And Mac has no parents,” Nolan says.

“That’s not true,” Ivy says. “Ellie says he’s got a whole step-family.”

“Oh, yeah.” I laugh. “There is no fucking way in hell Mac would ever ask his”—I take my hands off the steering wheel to make air quotes—“‘adopted family’ to get to the bottom of this.”

“We’ll see about that.” Ivy says, undeterred. “Victoria is already working on the Conrads. So we’ll have that little detail taken care of soon.”

“What?” I ask, looking over my shoulder at Nolan.

He shrugs and throws up his hands. “It’s your sister’s fault. Ariel and Tori are planning something, man. And you already know Tori has it out for Weston’s parents. He’s gonna be pissed when he finds this out.”

“Jesus Christ. So everyone’s parents but…” I stop talking as I think.

“But Paxton’s,” Ivy offers in her sweet helpful manner. “We all know Mariel Hawthorne is involved. I think that’s very clear at this point. Cindy already told all us girls about the little trip to the racetrack.”

Fuck. “He’s not going to be easy to deal with if you guys bring this up, Delaney.”

“It’s not me, man. I already told you. The girls. This is all them. And it’s your goddamned sister meddling in Mister business. She has no right, Oliver. None.”

“She has every right,” Ivy says. “Something happened to your other sister, right?”