“All right, I’ll take care of it right away.”

Boyd left one of his bodyguards behind to oversee the Maserati’s repairs. Then he ushered Ivy into his own car, took the passenger seat, and directed his driver to head out. As they drove, he made arrangements for another team to protect Jamison.

“I can’t get through to Uncle Jamison–his phone’s off. He must still be busy,” Boyd said, glancing over his shoulder.

Ivy nodded. “He called me earlier this evening. Said he had two emergency surgeries back-to-back.”

“Makes sense.”

Given the circumstances, Boyd sent the bodyguards straight to the hospital, posting them by Jamison’s car to wait.

“Ivy, are you absolutely sure you’re not hurt? Maybe we should get you checked out at the hospital, just in case,” Boyd asked again, clearly worried he’d be blamed for not being thorough enough.

“I’m fine. I was in the back seat, buckled up. Just a bit shaken, that’s all.”

“All right, but if you feel anything at all–tell me, okay? Don’t worry about being a bother.”

“Okay.”

When they reached the luxury condo near the hospital, Boyd didn’t leave. He intended to wait for Jamison to get home. If Jamison ended up working all night, Boyd would just crash at the apartment.

The place was huge–Jamison had bought out and combined several adjacent units, so there was plenty of space and lots of rooms.

“Don’t worry, Ivy,” Boyd assured her. “I’ll take the guest room farthest from the master suite. I’ve stayed over before to help Uncle Jamison late into the night.” He made sure to clarify, out of respect for boundaries between men and women.

Ivy trusted him, but that wasn’t what was on her mind. All she cared about right now was Jamison.

She waited and waited, but by the time midnight rolled around, she was still sitting up in bed, dozing off with her phone clutched tightly in her hand. Suddenly, the phone buzzed, jerking her awake. She glanced at the screen and instantly answered, “Jamison! Are you done for the night?”

Jamison had just met up with the bodyguards and quickly learned what had happened. The first thing he did when the call connected was check on his wife. “Are you all right? Did you get hurt?”

“I’m fine, really. Not a scratch. Are you coming home?”

“I’m on my way now.”

“Boyd sent some guys to keep an eye on you.”

“I know. They’re with me right now.”

Only then did Ivy breathe a little easier. She reminded him to be careful a few more times before hanging up.

The condo was close to the hospital and, at this hour, the roads were nearly empty.

Ten minutes at most and Jamison would be home.

Ivy forced herself to stay awake, determined to wait for him.

But fate had other plans. In those ten short minutes, Jamison was in a car accident.

Luckily, the Maybach’s safety features did their job. Jamison had been in the back seat, buckled in, so even when the car slammed into a row of bushes and smoke started billowing from the hood, the airbags deployed and everyone walked away unharmed.

The police arrived quickly to handle the scene. The other driver was falling over himself with apologies, claiming he’d been distracted by his phone and insisting he’d take full responsibility for the crash.

Standing off to the side, Jamison watched him with cold, assessing eyes. It was obvious the man was lying.

But with no proof, Jamison knew there was no point arguing with the police–not tonight.

He’d anticipated something like this and had already set his sights on the Carter family.

His phone rang. He pulled it out and answered, his tone gentle. “Hi, Ivy. Still awake?”

Ivy’s voice was tight with worry. “It’s been twenty minutes–why aren’t you home yet?”

“I ran into a little trouble. I’m almost done dealing with it.”

Her mind spun. “Don’t tell me–you were in a car accident too?”

“I was.”

Guilt twisted Ivy’s gut. There was no denying it–Jamison had gotten caught up in her mess.

She had once promised the Ludwig family that she would never let the Windsor family become a burden, never let them endanger Jamison or the Ludwigs.

But in cutting ties with the Windsors, she hadn’t anticipated the Carters. In the end, she’d failed to protect Jamison after all.