Chapter 511: Advance payment

"This manor belongs to Major General Rupert Meyers." The guard was done entertaining the stupid girl, and his tone turned harsh. If the person in front of him had not been a lady, he would have thrown her out already.

"General Rupert Meyers, who the hell is he? Are you trying to drive me away from here? Stop with your bullshit and allow me to go in, or I will ask Joshua to fire you once I speak to him." Amber glared hard at the man, not knowing that she was being watched by the man she was here to meet.

While was Ivy was laughing until tears formed in her eyes, Joshua was completely regretting ever going out with a woman like her. She was only with him for his money and nothing else. But what surprised him was that if she was with him for his money, why did she leave him in the first place? Wouldn't she be living a life of riches if she stayed with him?

"This girl is dumb and egoistic. I wonder what gave her the courage to be egoistic in front of a military-trained man. He can throw her away even before she knows about it." Ivy commented, her eyes fixed on the laptop screen. It was only when she did not get any response from the man behind her did she realize something to be wrong.

"Are you alright, Joshua? Is something wrong?" Ivy's voice was soft, and she was worried for him at once. "Are your wounds hurting? Are you in pain? Are you bleeding? Do you want me to call Aria or Ian? I told you not to move in here. If we were at the hospital, we could have doctors to treat you. Even Noah's mansion is better. Both Aria and Ian are staying over."

Ivy tried to face him. But Joshua stopped her at once. "I am fine, Ivy. Relax. I was just thinking." He tried to assure her and wrapped his arms from behind.

"What were you thinking about?" Ivy was still not convinced, and Joshua could sense it from her tone. However, he chose to ignore her questions for the time being.

"Ivy, say, from Amber's tactics and actions, I am sure that she only wants to get back at me for money. She seems to be in a miserable state than the time I last her." Joshua's words made Ivy frown and she pursed her lips.

"Why do you think that way? Did you sense something off about her?" Ivy was not jealous of Amber, for she knew that the crazy woman was not worthy of her jealousy. Instead, she was curious about what Joshua had discovered, for she too had been thinking about it lately. The girl had been absent for a long time, and she just made an entry the moment Ivy got together with Joshua. This sure was troubling Ivy, and she wondered if there was a ploy they had no idea about.

"I did. Everything about this situation seems off. She came looking for me as though she was waiting for an opportunity, and she got it the moment I was shot. Don't you think it is absurd? Moreover, nobody knew about my accident. Ian and Noah would have made sure to keep it under wraps. I am not sure why but this is not sitting well with me."

"I agree too. I too feel that something is not right. She had a lot of time to get back to you. But other than the time when she had called you, did she contact you again?"

Joshua shook his head at once. "No, she did not. I did not even know she was around. Although I am not certain, I feel someone is behind her and wants to get to me or you or even both of us."

"But why?"

"Ivy, I have a lot of enemies. Enemies I know about and enemies who are lurking in the dark. They want me gone for many reasons, and one of them is that we have control over the Underworld."

"Underworld? Tell me more about it."

"Although we are not clean for we do kill people, we never kill anyone innocent. We are not involved in bad aspects like drug dealing or human trafficking."

"Then, what are you involved in?" This was the first time she was hearing Joshua speak about Underworld, and she was more interested in this rather than a fight with a foul-mouthed Amber and an extremely patient guard.

"Ivy, as you know that the Carters and the Martins occupy the major business market in this country. Some people want us gone to take over our spot. We have a lot of competitors, nationally and internationally. We need men to keep our families protected. We need people to keep a watch on those who wish to harm us or our loved ones."

Joshua revealed the truth to Ivy without any hesitation. She had to know what he was and what he was involved in, for she would soon join his family too. He did not want to be secretive with her and hide her from his true self. Though he was scared about her reaction, he was more worried if she would consider him a monster now.

But to his surprise, she gave him a look filled with awe and admiration. Her eyes were gleaming in delight, and for a moment, Joshua could not comprehend her thinking. "You are so amazing." She breathed. "I never knew that my boyfriend was this capable."

"Ivy, aren't you angry?"

"Why would I be?" Ivy frowned at his words and gave him a confused look. "Did you do something that would make me angry? Did you keep in touch with Amber behind my back?" Joshua started chuckling as soon as he heard her obnoxious claims, and Ivy glared at him.

"I love your possessive side. Raawr..." Joshua growled suddenly, and Ivy was startled by the sudden sound. She gave him a stunned look, only for the man to peck her lips happily.

"I thought you would be angry after finding out about my background." Joshua turned serious the next instant and stated his deepest feelings without hiding them from her.

"Although it might be scary to others, I am not scared of it. I have met a lot of criminals and psychopaths in my profession, and sometimes, I too have the desire to kill them for the barbarous side. I don't know why but if I did not have the fear of getting arrested and being convicted, maybe I would have hunted down those people who are nothing but scumbags."

"Wow, wow, wow, calm down my little tigress. What got you all riled up?" Joshua sneakily closed his laptop for his conversation with Ivy was more interesting than seeing Amber behave like a lunatic.

"Oh, you have no idea. I was once covering the news about a rape victim, and you should have seen how brutally she had been assaulted and murdered. I get nightmares every time I remember the girl. That was the most barbaric thing I have ever seen." Ivy shivered as soon as she thought about the girl, and Joshua ran his thumb over her fingers to calm her down.

"Were you allowed to go near the victim? As far as I recall, nobody but the police are allowed at the site of the crimes." Joshua's brows narrowed, his expression stiff and cold. He was worried for Ivy, for she had to deal with news regarding such inhuman crimes. Psychologically and emotionally, it could traumatic for many people, and he respected and admired her courage and her professionalism.

"I would not have been allowed if it was other times. But it was I who found the girl and reported the matter to the police. I was the first one to see her."

"Oh," Joshua did not know what to say next. He just stayed silent and thought about it.

Ivy noticed him lost in his thoughts, and she smiled lightly. "What are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking how dangerous your job is. You will have to encounter a lot of dangerous situations, especially when you are bold enough to do sting operations. So, I was wondering...."

"What? You want me to quit my job?" Ivy almost shrieked at him. "Listen, Mister, I will not quit my job. You get that in your brain."

"Will you please listen to what I have to say? I will never stop you from working. You can do what you want to do as long as you will keep yourself safe."

"Ahh," Ivy's mouth widened, and she snuck out her tongue in guilt.

"What I was suggesting was that you start training to keep yourself fit."

"What?" Ivy was taken aback by his suggestion.

"Yes. You need to learn how to fight and how to yield a gun. I will teach you once I recover." Though Joshua's men protected Ivy discreetly, he was still worried for her. So, he had come up with such a solution. At least, his girl would know how to defend herself if she were to ever face a dangerous situation. "I know you have learned fighting from Maggie. But I want to teach you advanced techniques that could really help you."

"Really, could you do that?" Ivy was beyond ecstatic to hear about this, and she was just about to hug him. But she stopped suddenly, much to Joshua's dismay when she recalled his injury.

"Sure, why not? But I will be charging fees from you."

"I won't mind paying you. My boyfriend is rich. He can afford your fees." Ivy sassed, and Joshua's lips curved up in humor.

"Is it? But I will be charging your fees from you, and let me take the advance first." Joshua started to lean in and puckered his lips, ready to kiss his girl when Alvis's voice reverberated in the room. 

"Master Martin, I have found out about Barry. Would you like me to tell more about him?"