Chapter Twenty

IVY

As I’m ushered down a long, winding road, the scenery could be seen as beautiful, if it weren’t for the fucked-up situation. The hill we’re walking along the top of spreads down, opening up into an open field with a deep blue lake at the bottom. Quaint little homes line the area, giving this place a real homey vibe.

Void’s father—Wyatt, he calls himself, but I call him asshole—mumbles away about some shit, but I’ve blocked his muttering out.

We walk past a large home on top of the hill overlooking the splendor below. It even has a little sty out the front with pigs being tended to by a woman, but she doesn’t make eye contact as we stroll past.

The thing is, I should be taking this all in. I should be paying attention to my surroundings, taking notes about how to make an exit strategy…

But I can’t.

I can’t think.

I’m finding it hard to simply breathe.

I saw these assholes light the bungalow on fire with Void inside, and now I’m sure he’s nothing but a pile of ash.

When they dragged me away, kicking and screaming, I’ve never felt so much pain in my life.

Splintered.

Now, I’ve grown numb.

I completely understand Void and how he got his name, because right now, that’s exactly how I feel.

Like a void.

Emotionless.

Unfeeling.

Not willing to fight for anything, because now, there’s nothing left to fight for.

“So, you see, we’d been tracking Cade for a while using his cell.”

My ears click into what he’s finally telling me, and my head snaps to the side. “Wait, what? You were following us?”

Wyatt lets out a huff. “Have you not been listening? Yes, from the moment I got out of jail, I had my tech guys hunt him down. Then we tracked his movements. When I saw he was stationary on Van Dyke Road, we went to check it out. Needless to say, that accident helped us in so many ways.”

I tilt my head. “The photos?”

A devilish glint lights up his face. “Not just that, darling Ivy. Cade was so off his face he had no idea my disciples were on his side of the road. He called for backup, then threw his cell on the ground and spaced out. We had the accident planned, but he made it so much easier being so out of it. It gave us ample time for my guys to move in and put all the software we needed on his cell.”

My muscles tense as I stare at him. “Like what?”

“We could hear everything. Track everything. And from that, we knew everything. And we also got lucky. Just once, darling Ivy, you turned on your phone, leading us directly to the safe house.”

“Jesucristo!” I whimper. This is all my fault!

“He won’t help you here, darling Ivy. I’m disappointed Cade never continued my work while I was wrongfully incarcerated, but I’m out now. We’ll get the plan back on track.”

This guy actually believes he was wrongfully jailed. Douche!

“I taught Cade everything he knows, so I know he will be perfect for running our farm.”

I can’t hide my scoff. “You’re delusional. Void isn’t like you at all. You’re a sex-crazed lunático!”

Wyatt stops walking and turns me to look at him. “It’s not about sex, Ivy. It’s about control. I want to hold power over women. They submit so beautifully. You’ll understand once you’re cleansed.”

I jerk my head back in confusion. “The fuck are you talking about?”

Wyatt’s eyes dance with a sinister glint, his lips turning up with an air of evil. A look he must have mastered well over the years—a sight to send the blood in your veins shattering into shards of ice. My adrenaline spikes as I swallow hard.

His hand moves to my lower back as he leads me toward the door of the main house. “You’ll see. It will all become clear in time, darling Ivy.”

Everything in me screams to not go inside the fucking house, but all fight has left me. Before I know what I’m doing, I’m being led up a giant circular staircase by three women. It’s like I’m blacking out and losing spaces of time. I can only put it down to the stress I’m feeling over losing Void after everything we fought so hard for.

I take in the beautiful women—all blonde—of various ages. The one who’s probably in her forties ushers me up the stairs. She could be the leader, for all I fricking know. There’s another in her twenties, and the youngest has to be barely sixteen.

I turn to the sixteen-year-old while shaking my head. “Why are you here?”

She beams like she’s so freaking happy it astounds me as we take the last step and begin walking down a hall. “We follow his path. The only path.”

I roll my shoulders as they lead me into a massive bedroom. “And what path is that?”

They all turn to me simultaneously, smiling as if they’ve just stepped out of The Stepford Wives, and answer in unison, “Enlightenment.”

My eyes widen as they pull me inside the room, and the youngest closes the door behind us. I take them in carefully.

It’s fucking weird as hell.

They’re all wearing the same matching light blue dresses.

The older one sits me in a chair while the middle woman stands in front of me.

Those flight instincts are starting to kick back in.

“You give yourself over to him. Mind, body, and soul. It’s so freeing to surrender to someone else’s will.” She slides down the material covering her left breast, and right there, marring her skin, is a scar—a symbol etched deep into her flesh. My eyes widen as the other two slide their dresses down to reveal the same symbol on their left breast as well.

I scoff loudly. “The fuck it is! Be your own person. Sure, there are times to let someone in and take charge, but not to control your whole life. That’s fucking madness.”

They stand back, ignoring me as the older woman walks over, carrying a white dress. “You need to rid yourself of the clothes you currently possess and let us celebrate your rebirth.”

I snort out a laugh. “You’re joking, right?”

They say nothing. The younger one shifts, then reaches for the hem of my shirt.

I slap at her hand. “Get the fuck away from me!”

The middle-aged one lunges forward. I shriek before she pulls my arms behind my body. I try to fling my head back to headbutt her as the older woman begins some incantation. The younger one slides back into my sight, holding a syringe.

My eyes widen, and I gasp. “Come near me with that thing, and I will make it my personal mission to hunt you down.”

Her eyes flick to the asshole who’s holding me captive, and I feel them nod excessively behind me. I jerk my body, trying like hell to get out of her grip, and kick forward as the young one steps closer. She moves to my side, jabbing me in the bicep, and I cry out at the sharp sting. “You will be with us soon, Ivy. Rest now, and while you do that, we will get you ready.”

Warmth floods through my veins, but I try to fight. I keep resisting. Soon, my body weakens to the point I can’t control it. My eyelids become heavy, and they flutter, becoming harder and harder to peel back open.

Nooo!

The older woman comes into view as the other one lets me go, and they sit me back on the chair.

My head is heavy.

The last thing I remember is them pulling my shirt over my head.

Then everything goes black.

***

It’s like I’m floating, but not on a bed of clouds.

On something much, much harder.

Something uncomfortable poking into my body.

I try to gain my bearings.

My heart beats weirdly in my ears. No, not my heart… drums. The low rumbling seems to vibrate in a steady rhythm in the distance. My eyelids slowly flutter open, and that’s when I realize I’m being lifted through the air on a stretcher of twigs laden with vines and flowers.

I try to sit up, but I’m still a little too out of it to gain enough strength to do much. All the bobbing with the movement of the disciples carrying me is making me nauseous. I look down and notice I’m dressed in a flowing white dress. I have no shoes on, no bra, and I’m way too fucking scared to feel if I have my panties on still.

The disciples are carrying me down the hill toward the lake, a guard of honor lining us on either side.

It starts with women, all wearing wreaths of flowers around their heads. They’re holding pottery jugs, for some stupid fucking reason.

As I get closer to the water, there are men, and they’re wearing ram’s heads with the same symbol the women have etched into their chests. The fuck is this craziness?

My hands begin to shake, my breathing shallow as a rush of adrenaline shoots through my veins, waking me up a little more. I manage to sit up on the bed of twigs and vines as the disciples reach the edge of the lake, lowering my bed to the ground.

I try to make a run for it, but my legs are unsteady, and I end up running straight into a disciple. He grabs me and hauls me down into the water where Wyatt is waiting. Bringing my fist up, I slam it into the disciple’s stomach as hard as I can. His stupid ram’s head falls off him and into the water with a mighty splash. Ha! He lets me go, and again, I move to run, but two more men stride through the water, grabbing me around the upper arms so tight I know it’s going to bruise.

A whimper escapes me.

I should have fought harder when I had the chance.

They drag me back over to Wyatt and make me stand in front of him. My head scrambles, trying to figure out what all this madness is about. Wyatt holds a sharp-looking knife in his hand, that same devilish glint in his eye as before. My heart slams rapidly against my chest as the cold water laps at my thighs.

“Ivy, you will be cleansed by the blood of fellow farm members, then branded to show you belong to the family.”

Tears glisten in my eyes as I hear the word family.

I think of Eva.

I have no idea if she is okay, or if I will ever see her again.

I think of Wyatt’s family. His son, Void. How he died so I could live.

But I don’t want to be here.

I don’t want to live in this world without Void.

I can’t help but sob, my body hunching over in grief.

Wyatt steps forward right into my space, and his hand moves to my chin, lifting until my eyes meet his. “There you are, cleansing yourself already of all that pain you feel. Let it out, Ivy. Let it out while I free you.” His other hand moves to the top of my dress and rips the material apart. I let out another sob as my left breast is exposed to everyone here, including Void’s father.

He lets out a low growl as he signals to the three women who drugged me. They walk over with their stupid headwear and potted-fucking-jugs while I stand, sobbing, exposed, and shaking as they surround me.

“Be one with the family, Ivy,” Wyatt calls out.

“Welcome to the farm,” everyone replies, as the three bitches bring their jugs up and pour the contents over my head. The red liquid slides over my face, the feeling unlike anything I have experienced before. I clench my eyes and mouth shut as the warm, copper-smelling liquid floods over me, viscous and pungent. I shudder and swallow down a gag, feeling completely enveloped in whatever this horror is. If they don’t get this crap off me soon, I’m going to vomit all over their stupid ritual.

“You’re part of the family now, Ivy. All that’s left is to cleanse you,” Wyatt informs me, wiping the liquid from my face.

Finally, I take a deep breath, and open my eyes to blood running in rivulets down my body. I release a blood-curdling scream as I try to wipe the liquid off me in a panic, my heart hammering in my chest so fucking hard I don’t know if I can stand it.

I’m so terrified right now, I can’t breathe.

Oh God, I really can’t breathe.

Wyatt brings the knife to my breast as I try to catch myself, but my head is swirling, and I can’t function enough to stop him. “When the wound opens, your blood will mix with that of the family, and we will be as one.”

“You’re fucking crazy!” I yell as he pushes the tip of the blade into my skin.

I shriek with the pain, but as I do, a massive blast sends debris raining down over us from up the hill. The main house goes up in a fireball, causing everyone to scramble.

Wyatt drops the knife into the murky depths of the water. “Fuck! Go check it out. Now.” He turns back to me as I pant, trying to catch my breath. “We’re not letting this go, Ivy. You will be cleansed.”

“Not on my watch,” Void calls out from behind a tree, drawing his gun, and aiming it at his father.

As fast as a blink, Wyatt reaches out and pulls me in front of him as a shield.

Void’s alive!

Suddenly, bullets start firing as the women scream out in fear. Everyone runs off, trying to take shelter as hellfire rains down upon us all.

Wyatt’s grip on me tightens as my eyes snap around, trying to figure out where the hell all the shooting is coming from. It takes me a second, but then I see Mafia soldiers in their flawlessly tailored suits racing around, shooting anything in a ridiculous ram mask.

Void sprints across the perfectly manicured lawns toward me, Dash flanked at his side. My eyes widen when I realize they’re working together as they gun down disciples on their way to me. Ram-head masks splinter, shattering apart as they shoot them in the face. Blood runs down their white shirts as they flop to the grass, dead.

Wyatt grips hold of me tighter, keeping me as leverage as we stand in the water, watching everything unfold in front of us.

The disciples had no hope.

Tony pulls out a semi-automatic and mows a bunch of them down, their stomachs exploding apart.

And here I stand, covered in their blood.

I revel in their destruction.

I want to be a part of it.

I need to take a stand.

So, I reach up, grab Wyatt’s arm, and bite down as hard as I fucking can, ripping to take out a big chunk of flesh. He yelps in pain as I spit, then elbow him in the stomach. This forces the asshole to let me go. So, I turn, bring my leg up through the water, and knee him as hard as possible in the balls.

The asshole hunches over, his eyes nearly bursting out of his head as he glares at me. “I thought you were sweet, innocent…”

My laugh is mocking. I can’t help it. I say, “You don’t know shit, co?o!” then tighten my left fist and sucker punch him right in the kisser. The asshole falls backward into the water, then floats to the top, completely knocked out.

I take a deep breath, glance down, and try to fix my dress as best I can. I don’t need Dash or Tony and his men witnessing my breast on full display—that would be enough for Void to have a coronary.

I manage to put myself away as Void surges forward in the water. Once he reaches me, he assesses me all over. His eyes tell a thousand stories, and right now, all I want to do is kiss the living hell out of him.

“I thought you were dead!” Tears well in my eyes, but I blink them away as best I can.

“I’m fine. A little smoke inhalation…” He runs his hands over me, as though assessing for any damage, or making sure I am really here. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine now you’re here.” My trembling body would disagree, but I know we’ll be okay. “I just want you to hold me.”

He looks me up and down again. “Let’s get this shit off you first, then I’m never letting you go.”

With a teary chuckle, I reply, “Gladly.”

Void moves in and turns me into a gripping hold. His front is to my back as I dip down under the water, using my hands to wash all the fucking blood off me. I gasp as I come back up, but his hands never leave me as I wipe my face, the water around us going crimson in color.

“This is disgusting… get me out of here.”

Dash jumps into the water and grabs Wyatt, dragging him ashore. I smile at Dash, and he dips his chin at me, then I turn to Void as the roaring of gunfire slows down. I’m fucking freezing, my body shivering as Tony’s men head over to us. I have to admit, I’m a little shocked to see Tony and his soldiers here, including Matteo, but I’m happy Void and Dash had backup.

Everyone congregates around us.

“H-how did you find me?” I ask.

Void runs his hands up and down my arms to try and keep me warm. “Dash called Tony, like you told him to, if the club ever needed help. Because the DeLucas were in Panama on business, they were real fucking close, and we all know Tony has resources.”

Dash takes a step closer. “I figured Tony might have an idea where to start looking. With Tony’s tech guru on the hunt and Void knowing they would want a farm with a lake or some kind of body of water, we were able to narrow the search down pretty easy. This was the only hit, so we took it.”

Warmth floods me that I have so many men willing to fight for me. “I’m glad you did. Thank you, Tony, for putting your men on the line for this… for me.”

“If it weren’t for Dash, we wouldn’t even be here,” Tony replies.

I cuddle into Void. “I thought you were dead. I was so scared when I saw those assholes lighting up the bungalow, knowing you were inside, and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

“We owe Dash for that too.” Void turns to Tony. “We owe you a debt.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Tony replies. “For now, get your woman home. Never know if we might need her again.”

Home.

So much, yes.