Chapter Twenty-Seven

EVA

Three Days Later

Everything hurts.

Every inch of me aches in some way, but a gentle caress on my hand sends a soothing sensation through me. My eyes flutter open to take in Nycto. He’s tired like he hasn’t slept in days. The red rings under his eyes make it appear like they’re hurting, or maybe he is. I tighten my hand in his, making his eyes shoot up to mine.

“You’re awake?”

Sunlight streams through the giant window of a clinic, shrouding Nycto in the brightest of light. He might seem tired, but to me, he’s glorious. I’ve never seen him so vibrant before. For some reason, he doesn’t have his sunglasses on. The glare must be killing him.

“You’re not wearing your sunglasses.”

His eyes shift to the window, and he lets out a huff. “Didn’t realize it was daylight. Was too worried about you.”

Holy shit.

“We can close the blinds. Will that make you more comfortable?”

He brings his hand up to caress my face. “No. I see you better like this. I watch your chest moving when you breathe, reassure myself you’re okay.”

I try to take in a deep breath, but it hurts, and the movement causes me to wince.

Nycto stands and is by my side in an instant. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

I shift on the bed slightly. “I’m fine, just hurts when I breathe deeply.”

“The bullet grazed your lung. Nerve was able to patch it, which stopped your lung from collapsing. If he and Ivy weren’t there, things could have turned out far, far worse.”

“And Andrés?”

“He’s waiting at the clubhouse for when you’re back and fighting fit. I need for you to see how we punish those who do us wrong at Tampa Defiance. I need you to see me for me.”

I tighten my hand in his. “I see you, Nycto. Nothing you do will scare me away.”

“Yeah, maybe. Once you’ve seen me in action with Andrés, I’ll understand if you want to leave.”

“I want to be there for it.”

He cracks his neck to the side. “Ivy needs to be there too.”

“How is she? Is she okay?”

“ Cálmate, chiquita. She’s fine. Not a scratch on her.”

I inhale slowly. “It’s settled then. As soon as I’m healed, we will deal with Andrés… together.”

“You don’t know how sexy that sounds coming from your mouth.”

I giggle as he leans down and plants a tender kiss on my lips. That spark, the adrenaline rush, flows through me like it always does. If I had known back in Cuba what I know now, Nycto might not have been my first choice. But now, he’s the one and only choice I’d ever make.

“I want to clarify…” Nycto says, stroking my hand reassuringly. “I was never going to let Andrés take Ivy.”

“I have to admit, I believed it. I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“You’re a package deal. I knew that from day one. I won’t let anything happen to her or you.”

Warmth floods through me. I’ve known for a long time that Nycto cares for me, but now I finally feel like he cares about my sister, too, and it makes him all the more special in my eyes.

He sits in the seat beside my bed and leans back, his hand still holding mine. “We need to talk about something serious,” he says.

Dread fills my chest, making my already labored breathing even harder. “Okay…”

“Do you want Cuban sandwiches for your first meal back at the clubhouse or something more extravagant?” I let out a small laugh, then wince from the pain.

He grimaces. “Fuck. Sorry.”

“No, this is good. You cracking jokes means we must be okay.”

His eyes darken as something flickers through his mind, but he doesn’t elaborate. “Yeah. You’re gonna be just fine, chiquita . ”

Nycto

Six Weeks Later

Eva has been home for a few weeks, and she’s healing perfectly. Getting shot in the chest takes its toll, so her healing time has been longer than I’d hoped.

When Void finally convinced me to come home and shower, I was shocked at what Hawk and the boys had accomplished. The framework for the front of the bunker was almost complete. By the sixth week, the bunker refurbishment was completely finished, with a few technological improvements—reinforced steel, concrete twice the previous thickness, and we put in a skylight above the bar. This place will never come down so easily again.

I thought with times changing around here, maybe I could change a little too. The clubhouse feels bigger, happier, and most definitely brighter. It’s hard to explain. It’s like a dark cloud was hanging over us, and the sisters’ arrival has changed us all.

Eva is strong enough to walk around without straining now, so I’m taking her and Ivy downstairs so we can deal with Andrés. He’s been holed up in Ivy’s room for six weeks. Ivy’s been staying in a room upstairs, but she’s desperate to get back to the Cell. For some reason, she feels more at home down there.

She likes the dark.

I see a lot of myself in her.

I dip my head to Void. I want him with me in case Andrés tries to make a run for it. We’ve tourniqueted his leg and been giving him basic rations, enough to keep him alive but not enough to regain his strength. Judging by the smell, I also suspect his gunshot wound has a nasty infection.

Void and I make our way over to Ivy and Eva. “You ready, ladies?” I ask.

“As we’ll ever be,” Eva replies.

I take Eva’s hand, and Void and Ivy follow as we walk down to the lower bunker. Eva is stern-faced, like she’s ready to take this on, while Ivy and Void keep eyeing each other. I have no idea what’s going through their minds. That’s a problem for Void. He’ll figure his shit out.

As we reach the Cell, I pull open the door. Andrés is sitting on the floor by the toilet, dirty and pale as fuck. I walk in and yank Andrés up by his collar.

“It’s been a while,” he groans. “Does this mean you’re finally going to kill me?”

I don’t reply. He doesn’t deserve my words. After grabbing the key to the cuffs, I uncuff him. His eyes widen, and a flicker of hope crosses his features as his gaze darts to the stairs, but as quickly as it comes, it’s gone. He knows he won’t make it. I drag him out and over to a spare gap in the wall.

“Void, the supplies,” I call out.

Void steps over to the mortar bucket, grabbing it and a trowel.

Eva tilts her head in curiosity. “I thought you said it was just the wind?” she says to Ivy. Ivy’s only response is a wry smile. She’s fucking perfect for Void.

“I’m showing you the way we handle cunts who have wronged us,” I say to the girls. “If at any time you want to leave, say so, and Void will take you out. But you must understand the club and the people you’re getting involved with, and to do that, you have to know how we work.”

“I need to see who you really are,” Eva clarifies.

Andrés clears his throat. “While this is lovely and all… is anyone going to fill me in on what the hell you’re going to do to me?”

I pull out the cable ties from my back pocket while Void grabs Andrés’s hands and yanks them behind him. His eyes bug out of his head as I tie them so tightly they cut into his flesh. By no means is this meant to be a comfortable experience.

“Fuck, that hurts.”

I snort out a laugh. “It’s meant to.”

I grab Andrés and push him back against the bricks as Eva and Ivy stand back, watching, not saying a word. I need to do this. I can’t claim Eva as my Old Lady if she can’t accept this part of me.

Void mixes the mortar, and Andrés’s eyes widen. “What the fuck are you gonna do, Nycto? I provide your income. You can’t survive without me.”

“We’ll survive without you, Andrés. We’re making more money since we stopped doing business with you fuckers, and we don’t need the damn risk. We’ve moved on to better ventures. Turns out it was you who needed us.”

Void steps up with the mortar, and that wave of adrenaline pumps through my veins. Knowing Eva is here only heightens the sensations—I’m desperately trying not to get a damn hard-on. I turn to her, and she nods, giving me the go-ahead. Void holds Andrés in place while I bend down and thread a set of cable ties around his ankles, yanking them together. He tries to kick his feet apart, but he’s no match for me.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Shut your fucking mouth,” I spit at him as I grab a hook.

Void pulls him away from the wall slightly as I hammer the hook at ankle height. I feel Eva’s eyes on me, but I don’t let it stop me. Standing, I signal to Void, and he slams Andrés into place. He yelps as the hook digs into his Achilles. I grin, loving that I’m causing him pain.

He deserves it.

Deserves everything coming his way.

Asshole.

I make sure to loop the cable ties over the hook so his feet can’t go anywhere.

“I don’t know what sick fucking game you’re playing at right now, Nycto—”

My fist lands into his stomach. He lets out an almighty gasp, then shuts his stupid fucking mouth. Finally. I pick up a brick and start the process of building the enclosure around him.

“Jesus Christ, are you kidding me?” Andrés says as I lay the first layer all the way around, cornering him to the wall behind him. I’m deadly fucking serious. He begins to pant and starts thrashing about. That’s why when we normally do this, the victims are out cold when we trap them inside, but for this, we wanted Andrés to know he was being bricked in.

“You know what we’re doing, Andrés. You’re a smart man.”

Void grips him tighter as a pair of shoes comes into my field of vision. I pause, glancing up as Eva falls into my line of sight. I halt, taking her in. Her face is unreadable. I’m unsure whether to stop or to keep going. I have no clue how she feels about this. “Eva, I—”

She bends down, grabs a brick, and hands it to me.

My heart leaps into my throat. That’s my girl. A slow smile crosses my lips as I nod to her. I lather on the mortar, then place her brick on the row. Right now, at this moment, I couldn’t be more sure she belongs here with me.

She hands me another brick.

Taking a deep breath, I focus on the task at hand while Andrés cusses, thrashing about, trying like all hell to break out of Void’s hold. I reach the other side, and another brick appears in my vision. I glance up. This one’s being passed to me by Ivy.

These women raised each other tough.

I grin at Ivy, a fire in her eyes as she leans over, placing the brick on the line of wet mortar herself.

Okay, then.

I turn back to Void, his eyes focused hard on Ivy as I layer on another line of mortar. Ivy and Eva both step in, placing bricks on the wet mortar.

Nope. No stopping it now—my dick is fully hard. But we always knew I’m a sick fuck.

I hand the trowel to Eva, and she nods as I step back. She takes a deep breath as she and Ivy take over, bricking Andrés into the wall. I fold my arms over my chest, watching this beautiful work of art come to life before me.

“You can’t do this. Eva, Ivy, you’ll never forgive yourselves. You don’t want to do this.”

Ivy grabs a brick and smashes it straight into Andrés’s face.

“That’s for trying to sell my virginity, asshole!”

I let out a small laugh as Andrés blacks out, blood running down the center of his face from his nose.

Void widens his eyes like he has no idea who the hell these two women are right now.

But I know.

They’re fighters.

Survivors.

And right now, they’ve just convinced me they’re Old Lady material.

Welcome to Tampa Defiance.

I walk over and grab the wall hook, moving to the side while the girls continue their bricking. Void keeps his grip on the now-limp Andrés as I grab the hammer and start hammering the hook to the wall behind Andrés. This is a real team effort. The girls continue building the wall as I secure the hook in place, testing it to make sure it’s stable enough. Once I’m sure it will hold, I give the signal to Void. He groans as he launches Andrés back onto it, his heavy jacket threading over the hook as he dangles there, his feet still on the ground for support. It’s there to keep him upright. Void lets go, merely placing a single hand on his chest so the girls can continue the brickwork. The wall is getting higher. In no time, it will be up around his face.

Normally, I leave the face open for a while, but Andrés has already suffered in the Cell, and with his infection, who knows how much longer his body will last. No need to drag it on. I want him to die at our hands for what he did to Eva.

Void lets go of Andrés, then moves to me as the girls take over completely. It’s like they were made to do this, and they are probably getting satisfaction out of it as well. Let’s face it, the bastard was going to sell them to the highest bidder. Andrés didn’t give a fuck about either of them.

Folding my arms over my chest, I stand back, watching. “You doing okay, Eva?”

“Couldn’t be better.”

Jesus fucking Christ. I reach down and adjust my boner.

“How ’bout you, Ivy?” Void asks.

She turns back to us, excitement written all over her face. “I knew this is what happens down here. There was a guy moaning in the wall, so I walked over and talked to him. After a few days, he stopped talking. There was something calming about that. Does it make me a bad person?” she asks, laying another brick.

Eva turns to look at Ivy, one eyebrow raised.

Void cracks his neck to the side.

I clear my throat. “No. It means you understand these assholes are down here for a reason. If they’re behind these walls, it’s because they’ve done something to the club. And the club is a family. Family comes first, always.”

I show the girls how to work the bricks around the outside so they can get to the roof while still leaving a diamond-shaped hole for Andrés’s face. Void and I step in to place the bricks they can’t reach.

Brushing wet mortar and brick dust off her hands, Ivy purses her lips and says, “I could help you, you know, seeing as this is basically my outdoor living area.”

“Fuck me,” Void murmurs, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You are a wild card, aren’t you, Ivy? I guess if your sister’s okay with it…”

Eva shrugs. “Whatever makes Ivy happy. If her job in this club is to brick people behind walls, then… I guess that’s her job. If she ever needs a hand, I’ll be here to help her.”

Yeah. My cock is hard as a fucking rock.

They turn back, laying a few more bricks up to his chin. I walk over because I want to witness the moment this asshole is entombed. The moment he truly meets the darkness. A tingling sensation floods my body, and adrenaline pumps wildly through my veins as I watch them close the gap. Andrés’s eyes start to flutter. He’s coming to, but there are only three bricks left. Ivy places one down, then Eva the next, and Andrés wakes completely.

“Nycto… get me the fuck out of here. You can’t do this, you crazy fucker! He knows where you are. The buyer… he’ll come after you. I can protect you!”

Eva hands me the last brick, her lips turning up so wide it’s like the dawn of a new day, but instead of blinding me, everything becomes crystal clear. She’s my light, my beacon of hope.

I let the darkness define me for so long. My past ruled over everything I ever did, always making its mark in my mind, causing me to think the light was the ruler of chaos and a symbol of torture. Now, I know light can be good. It can be devilishly pure.

Eva shines so brightly—a symbol of hope.

She was sent to me to show me a new way of life.

To show me a new way of living.

To force me out of the shadows.

And with this last brick, I step into the light with her.

With the last brick in the wall, locking Andrés in, and my trafficking past behind me, I now know the error of my ways. Even though I wasn’t technically selling the women Andrés was trafficking, I was still playing a role in their story, enabling it to happen. I won’t be a part of it anymore. No fucking way. I now get why my brothers and other chapters were against what we were doing.

Eva scrapes on the mortar, ensuring any gaps are filled, then uses the trowel to scrape off the excess. She’s so fucking sexy in her movements I have trouble focusing on Andrés screaming behind the wall.

All I see is Eva.

She’s all I need.

I reach out and grab Eva, pulling her to me. My fingers wrap into her hair in a tight fist, and I kiss the shit out of her. My tongue collides with hers as she whimpers in delight in my mouth. Her body presses flush against mine, my erection pressing into her.

A mischievous giggle echoes from beside us, but I don’t even care Void and Ivy are with us right now. I need my woman to comprehend that what she did for me in here was the single sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.

She has accepted all of me and, in doing so, has let a bit of darkness creep inside her soul.

My dark to her light.

We balance each other out.

And fuck, even knowing what’s coming my way, I think it’s all still worth it.

EVA

Nycto opening up to me and seeing all of his demons wasn’t what I thought it would be. I thought it would scare me. I thought it would be something that might change the way I see him. What it did do was make me appreciate him even more. I understand his methods. Bricking assholes up behind the wall, locking them into eternal darkness, stems from his childhood abuse. I get that, but if these assholes behind the walls are bastards like Andrés, then they deserve it. And for sure, the first assholes he ever put behind those walls were the boys who had tortured him. There’s no doubt in my mind. I don’t even need to ask Nycto about it.

I one hundred percent guarantee this method of torture started with them.

I’m glad those boys were locked behind a wall and found their last days trapped in endless darkness like they made Nycto endure as a child. Did they deserve to die for their sins? Maybe not. But I am glad they did because they tormented him. Broke him. Then again, he wouldn’t be the man I’ve grown to adore without what he lived through.

We’re sitting in the main room, Trixie trying out her new menu on all of us. It’s a celebration feast for me finally being home from Nerve’s clinic and well again. Well, as recovered as I can be after being shot. Many of the brothers are recuperating from their injuries too. Minor bullet or stab wounds mostly, but everyone is on the mend, fixed by Nerve and the staff at his clinic, and the club covered all costs. Except for Crow, Spite, and Freya, that is. Descanse en paz. May they rest in peace.

The clubhouse is now fully refurbished, and Andrés has been dealt with, so things can get back to normal. Everyone is having a great time, and the party is in full swing.

I’m sitting on Nycto’s lap while everyone chats, celebrating together. With Andrés gone, Nycto thinks it’s safe for Ivy and me to have a little more freedom, though it sounds like Andrés was yet another middleman. Hopefully, we can live our lives in peace now and never have to find out who was going to buy us. And I couldn’t be happier.

The night Ivy and I were taken, I was terrified. I thought my life was ending, but in truth, it was only just beginning. Honestly, I had no idea Ivy and I had this darker side, but with all we’ve been through, it’s no wonder. I don’t see it as a downside. They are scars and war wounds, a strength, and I wear them as a badge of honor.

Nycto isn’t perfect. Hell, he’s as broken as I am, but I’m starting to see pieces of him being mended.

He’s healing me too.

Nycto taps my leg, gesturing for me to jump off, so I do, and he stands. “Everyone, I have an announcement to make…” The talking ceases. “I want to thank Eva and Ivy for coming into our lives. Without them, a lot of shit around this club would have continued down the same path. You’ve changed Tampa Defiance, and I know all our brother chapters would agree we were headed down a dark road. The way we earned our money was easy, but it was wrong. It took meeting you, Eva, to see that. Fuck, am I glad I met you that night.” He grips my hand. “I never… fuck… ever thought I’d be the type of biker to do this…” He signals to Trixie, and she walks out with a cut, displaying it for everyone then handing it to Nycto. It’s proudly displays the club patches, and on the back, Property of Nycto, Club President, Tampa.

“Eva, I’m claiming you as my Old Lady. You’ll wear this property patch as a symbol to every other fucker out there… you belong to me. You’re my woman. Mine only.” I gnaw down on my bottom lip. Excitement surges through me as he runs his thumb over the back of my hand. “You good with that?”

Ever the romantic.

“Yeah, Nycto, I’m real good with that.”

Relief washes over his face as he winks at me. Cocky bastard. He holds the cut out, so I move in, looping my arms through with ease. The texture of the leather against my shoulders feels like it should have always been there.

Like I’m finally home.

The brothers and club girls cheer and stomp their feet as he pulls me into him, kissing me with everything he has. I wrap my arms around him, my fingers threading through the hair at the nape of his neck. We continue to kiss in the middle of his clubroom, with everyone watching. I guess I need to get used to being the center of attention now I’m the First Lady in town.

Suddenly, the front doors open wide, making Nycto pull back from me dramatically.

Every biker here pulls their gun, aiming at the door in unison.

Oh God, not again.