Free Wicked Days by Lily Harper Hart

too.”
    “Thank you,” Felicity said, turning her attention back to her iced tea.
    “You still spied on me,” Ivy said.
    “I’m not going over this again,” Jack warned. “I don’t spy on people. I just happened to see you with your boyfriend.”
    Felicity was intrigued by the fact that Ivy refused to correct Jack’s erroneous assumptions about Max. Was she trying to make him jealous? If so, it was working. Of course, Jack wasn’t internally admitting he was jealous so he would never acknowledge it. His aura was red, but there was a dark gray at the center. That meant he was hurt, and if Felicity had to guess he’d been injured both physically and emotionally. The physical ailments were in the past. The emotional ones were still clawing at the surface. A softer pink hue was intermingling with the other layers, though, and that was because of Ivy. She was … doing something to him.
    “Okay, let’s start over,” Felicity said, deciding to change tactics. She had no intention of blabbing Ivy’s secret, but she also wasn’t going to let her niece torture Jack when he didn’t deserve it. “Ivy, I’m sure Jack is sorry he spied on you and … your boyfriend. Can’t you just be the bigger person and forgive him?”
    “I have the right to privacy in my own yard,” Ivy said.
    “You also had a dead body in your yard and Jack is a police officer,” Felicity pointed out. “Don’t you think he has a right to solve the crime?”
    “I … .”
    Felicity cut her off. “Or are you so worried about yourself that you don’t want a brutal murder to be solved?”
    Ivy scowled. “That is ridiculous.”
    “I agree,” Felicity said. “I think it’s time you let it go.”
    “Fine,” Ivy said, sighing dramatically. “I forgive you for spying on me. You’re unbanned from my property. Just … don’t do it again.”
    “I’ll try to refrain,” Jack said dryly.
    “You could be nicer,” Felicity said, poking his strong shoulder and marveling at the muscles that rippled beneath his shirt. “I’m sure you understand that Ivy is feeling a little exposed. That’s been her home for her entire life. She’s always felt safe there. Now she feels … vulnerable. And, if I know her, she’s also feeling guilty. She’s probably spent the past forty-eight hours wondering if there was something she could’ve done to save that girl. That’s a lot to carry around.”
    Jack pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead, frustrated. “I’m sorry. I didn’t really think about that. I just … I’m sorry.”
    “Good,” Felicity said, brightening. “Apologies all around. Everyone can move on now.”
    Ivy grudgingly nodded. “I really am sorry. I shouldn’t have been so mean to you. I just don’t like the idea of people watching me. After finding the body … it just creeps me out.”
    “I should have taken that into consideration,” Jack said. “I honestly wasn’t spying. I was just trying to get a feel for the scene. I think better that way. I was trying to picture how the victim ended up there.”
    “It must be hard to be a police officer,” Felicity said. “You’ve probably seen a lot.”
    The gray in Jack’s aura flared, the hurt taking over. “I’ve seen more than my fair share.”
    That was obviously the truth. “Tell me about Detroit.” Felicity couldn’t help herself. Jack’s vibes had a mind of their own, and the source of his turmoil revolved around something terrible that happened to him in the city.
    Jack balked. “What are you talking about?”
    Felicity ratcheted back her inner probe. “I’m sorry. That’s none of my business. I shouldn’t be delving into things you’re not ready to talk about. What happened to you is … .”
    “Nothing happened to me,” Jack said, shifting in his chair angrily. “Who told you something happened to me in Detroit?”
    “No one,” Felicity said, holding her hand up. “I just … I sensed you were having some trouble. I’m sorry. I