She whipped around to see that Jimmy had apparently shoved his girlfriend into one of the pub tables, spilling the drinks and knocking over a chair. His girlfriend was still on the ground.

The edges of Ivy’s vision went dark, tunneling down to a narrow point that focused on the man who’d just put his hands on a woman. She glared at him, then walked over and helped his girlfriend up. “You okay?”

The girlfriend nodded, but was holding her arm like it hurt.

“What’s your name?”

“Sandra.”

“Sandra, you know you need to leave him.” Ivy couldn’t stop herself from saying it even though she doubted it would make any difference.

“I can’t,” Sandra whispered. “We have a kid.”

Ivy’s anger notched up. “Even more reason.”

Jimmy grabbed Sandra’s other arm, but his gaze was on Ivy. “You stay out of this, you hear me?”

Ivy stood at eye level to Jimmy. She laughed in his face. “Unfortunately for you, chump, I’m not the kind of woman you can boss around.” She leaned in. “You hear me?”

Jimmy muttered a curse and yanked on Sandra’s arm, tugging her away from Ivy. Ivy let her go. Not her circus, not her monkeys.

Sandra said something to him about Ivy only trying to help.

Jimmy responded by slapping Sandra, causing her to cry out and a few other patrons to gasp, but no one made a move to help.

Ivy frowned as the circus became impossible to ignore. She stepped into Jimmy’s personal space, anger funneling through her. “Touch her again and I’ll lay you out.”

He snorted. “You’re cute until you open your mouth, and mouthy women need to learn their place. Why don’t you find your way to the kitchen and make me a sandwich?”

“I already have one for you. Tastes like knuckles. Try it.” Ivy hauled back and punched him in the eye. “Whoops. Missed your mouth.”

The combination of her shifter strength and his clear inability to believe she’d actually hit him resulted in Jimmy going down hard.

He shook his head and struggled back to his feet a few seconds later. His eye was already starting to swell. His mouth twisted into an ugly sneer as he charged after Ivy, curses flying. She dodged him. A table went over. Glasses broke, beer spilled. He grabbed a pool stick and swung it. Ivy caught it and snapped it in half. A woman shrieked. Jimmy charged again and the next few minutes were a blur that ended in both of them getting handcuffed and hauled out of the bar by a pair of deputies.

Outside, Ivy and Jimmy were separated to opposite sides of the parking lot. Ivy got the female deputy. Her name plate said Blythe. Supernatural, but what kind, Ivy had no clue.

Blythe seemed a mix of perturbed and bored. “You have an ID on you?”

“Nope,” Ivy lied. It was tucked deep in her boot. Any shifter in this area who knew anything knew the name Kincaid. The last thing Ivy wanted was her father getting involved in this. He’d no doubt find out soon enough, she just preferred that happened after it was all said and done.

Deputy Blythe sighed as she walked Ivy toward a nearby squad car. “Shifter, right?”

Ivy nodded. “Mm-hmm. What are you?”

Blythe ignored the question. “What happened?”

Ivy told her how things had gone down in the bar.

Blythe nodded while taking notes in a tablet. Finally, she closed the notebook. “All right.” She opened the back door to the squad car and pointed. “In.”

“Am I under arrest?”

“Not yet.”

Ivy got into the car and the deputy walked away, probably to check on Jimmy. Ivy tipped her head back and stared at the car’s headliner. Wouldn’t be the first time she’d been arrested. Spending the night in county wouldn’t be that big of a deal either. It would save her the trouble of spending what little money she had on a cheap motel. But they’d fingerprint her and, soon enough, figure out who she was.

Clemens Kincaid did not need to know his daughter, the child he already considered a huge disappointment, had gotten herself into trouble again. But if she didn’t text him soon that she’d arrived, he’d get worried. Not about her, just that his big plan wouldn’t come to fruition. That wasn’t enough to make Ivy dig her phone out, though. Not yet anyway.

Maybe she could use her one phone call to reach out to Sam. Her younger brother had always had a soft spot for her. He might help. And be willing to keep it a secret from their father. Although lately, Clem’s influence had started turning Sam cold toward her.

Maybe she wouldn’t call anyone. She took a deep breath, trying to exhale the constant ache created by her messed-up life.

The car door opened. Deputy Blythe stood there. “Bad news. According to both your accounts, you struck first and Jimmy’s pressing charges.”

“Of course he is, even though he came after me with a pool stick. What’s the good news?”

“He’s drunk, so we’re charging him, too. And because we don’t like a long blotter in this town, you’re both going into holding and then we’ll reassess in the morning.”

“Thanks.” Ivy knew she was being thrown a bone. She’d happily gnaw on it.

The sheriff station was small, but had three holding cells. The deputies were smart enough to leave the empty one between her and Jimmy.

As they were booking her, she saw the sheriff’s photo on the wall and read his name on the placard beneath it. That’s when she realized just how deeply she’d stepped into it. Her heart sank. Any sense of hope, of a chance for a new start and a better future vanished.