Chapter Five

NYCTO

It’s been a long-ass night. My head is all over the place. Having that moment with Eva in my room confused me, though it solidified the fact I did the right thing in bringing her here. She isn’t the rollover-and-do-what-you’re-told kind of woman Andrés normally acquires. Honestly, I have no idea how she was picked to be one of his packages. Maybe because Eva would go searching for her sister and kick up a storm. Maybe Andrés was desperate.

Generally, the women Andrés sells are loners. Women who won’t be missed. Young, promiscuous, flighty women with no one in their lives. Women who are forgotten quickly make no waves. He’s all for quick, easy, and dirty.

Then again, maybe the buyer sees in Eva what I see—the angel beneath her fiery exterior. Or maybe he wanted a challenge, someone who wouldn’t break easily so they could push her to her limits over and over again. Who this nameless, faceless buyer is, I have no clue, but it burns like fire in my mind. If I find them, I will kill them. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure Eva remains mine.

Walking past the stairs to the lower bunker, I glimpse down. The lights are on, and I realize Void must be down there with the cargo. I know I have to check that situation out as soon as possible, but first, I need a shot of something.

I stride up to the bar, where Pepper is serving. Pepper is sexy as hell, but the one-shoulder black lacy see-through bodysuit she’s wearing isn’t doing it for me today. Her long, chocolate-brown hair flows over her back in waves, and her darkly shadowed eyes look me up and down as I approach, letting me know she’s ready for anything I ask of her. Today, I’m not feeling it. All I can think about is Eva in my room and how much she’s affecting me.

“Rough night, Pres?” Pepper asks in her sickly-sweet voice. She grabs the tequila bottle—exactly what I need right now—fills a shot glass, then slides it over.

I grab the glass, tilt my head in acknowledgment, then straight down the hatch. The liquid burns, but I welcome the intrusion, letting out a groan as I slide the glass back to her.

“Another?” she asks.

“I’ve got shit I gotta handle. Have it ready for me later, though. I’m gonna need a whole freaking keg by the time this night is through.”

She smiles weakly. “You got this, Pres. You always do.”

Pepper’s faith in me feels good. I’m glad someone thinks I am doing something right, even if she doesn’t have the full story. “Thanks, Pep.”

I spin on my heels and head straight for the stairs. I need to deal with the cargo and talk with Void, see what the situation is before he has a coronary, and I’m down a VP. As I stomp down the stairs, my tension levels are through the roof. All I want is to go back up to my room and settle things with Eva.

I left on a bad note.

I’m thinking long-term when surviving the present is our immediate danger. I can’t protect her unless she stays. I need to earn her trust, but how can I do that when I’m blatantly lying to her? I’m in over my head. Any damn minute, I’ll be getting a call from Andrés, that’s a certainty. I need to play my cards right where he’s concerned. Maybe I should ride out to see him, try and smooth this pile of shit over. It would appear more legit if I did.

And I will—right after this.

Walking into the Chamber, Void is sitting outside the Cell with his head in his hands. I stride up to him and release a deep exhale.

His eyes shoot up to meet mine, and he stands, gritting his teeth. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing, Pres.”

My eye twitches— I hope so too.

“Is the cargo secure?”

“Yeah.”

Void pulls on the giant wall made of bricks to open up a small cell. It’s dimly lit, but it has a bed, sofa, television, bar refrigerator, and a bathroom set up in the corner. It has a metal pole in the middle of the room, kind of like a stripper pole, with a set of handcuffs and chains linked to the metal bar. The chain is attached by a circular metal plate that rotates on the pole. From there, you can locate everything in the room. You just have to walk around to reach what you want. It’s like a private hotel suite, but make no mistake, it’s a prison.

Our own deluxe way of bricking someone behind a wall. When the door shuts, it’s like they are encased fully in brick. Thanks to a layer of soundproofing between the walls, they can’t be heard on the outside and can’t hear anything from the inside. It also has speakers installed, so we’re able to talk to the occupant and play loud music or sounds. We have full control of the lighting—dull, bright, strobe, or off—and when they’re off, you can’t see a damn thing.

Perfect for torture.

But, if you want to hold someone without torture, it’s a good place to keep them captive. It has every essential they could need. And if you want to keep someone hidden until you figure out what to do with them, then this is the place. From the outside, it looks like a brick wall.

Sitting on the sofa, a woman settles with one hand cuffed and the chain reaching out to the metal bar. Her chestnut hair is a tangled mess, and her frightened eyes meet mine. Her bottom lip trembles while I take in her features. She’s so much like Eva, but there’s something that doesn’t have quite the same attraction for me. Her red dress clings to her body and her giant hoop earrings give me more of a picture of how she and her sister are so different.

“I hope you like your new home?” I ask.

Her bottom lip trembles slightly as her eyes shift from me to Void, then back to me. “Where’s my sister?”

I can’t help but let out a small laugh. “You two are so alike. Nothing if not repetitive.”

Ivy sits up on her knees, hope building in her doe-like eyes. “Is she here?”

I step farther into the Cell, and she pushes back into the sofa, her body tense. I raise my hands to placate her. “I’m not going to hurt you, Ivy. In fact, I saved you from being hurt…” I grin. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

Ivy’s brow furrows, and her gaze shifts to Void. “You talk more than him.”

I peer over my shoulder with a smirk.

Void rubs his neck, turning his back to us as I chuckle.

“Void is… well… he’s void. Of emotion. Doesn’t do small talk. Don’t take it personally. And don’t bother trying to appeal to his good side. He doesn’t have one.”

Ivy deflates a little as I sit on the other end of the sofa. She observes my every move intensely.

“Is Eva here?” she asks again.

I roll my eyes. “Fucking relentless. You’re made from the same mold. For fuck’s sake, yes, she’s here—?”

“Can I see her?” She sits up on her knees, her eyes pleading as her hands come together in a begging gesture.

“I can’t do that, Ivy.”

“What? Why?”

“She doesn’t know you’re here.”

Lines crease her forehead as she sits back on her legs. “I-I don’t understand.”

“Honestly, I don’t either.”

“You’re not making sense.”

Running a hand through my hair, I try to think of how best to explain. “I want to spend time getting to know Eva. I won’t be able to do that if she knows you’re here. She’ll want to protect you, to leave with you. I’m a selfish prick, but I’m not sure how to do this any other way.”

She lets out a shocked laugh. “You’re holding me down here so you can woo my sister?”

Void snickers.

I shoot him a glare. He stops immediately. Then I turn back to Ivy.

“You’ll be comfortable down here. You can have anything you want. Tell Void… he’ll bring it to you.”

“The fuck, Nycto?” Void blurts out. I ignore the cunt.

Ivy makes herself comfortable on the sofa. “And I’m to be what, chained to a pole until she falls for you? She’ll never love you, you know. Not if you’re keeping her here against her will.”

I shrug. “It’s not a trick, Ivy. There’s something about her—”

“Is that why you took us? And those other women?”

“Fuck, no. I didn’t take you. Someone else did that shit. He was gonna sell you all off to be turned out, or worse. You and Eva would have been separated and never would have seen each other again. I could have kept just Eva. She took my interest, but I knew if I didn’t keep you, too, she would never forgive me.”

Ivy mellows a little. “Turned out as in... prostitution? Sex trafficking ?”

I nod.

She blinks a few times. “Why us? Why were we taken in the first place?”

“Can’t be sure. I don’t know why Andrés chooses the women he does, but you, Ivy, you are exactly Andrés’s type. He sells a lot of women like you. I believe you were the target. That’s my guess, anyway.”

Her bottom lip trembles. “We’re both in this mess because of me?”

I shuffle closer, but she doesn’t flinch away as I rest my hand on her knee, which surprises me. “It’s not your fault. You met some damn criteria… your looks. Your personality. Your age, maybe. Where you’re from. You checked all the boxes. There are assholes out there who will do evil things, and you happened to catch their attention.”

“And Eva?”

“Eva doesn’t. That’s why she caught my attention. She’s unlike anyone else who has come here in your position. Eva saved you, Ivy. If it wasn’t for her, if you had been taken on your own, you’d be on your way to somewhere far worse than here right now.”

“I guess I should be grateful, then,” she mocks, fire in her eyes.

“Yeah, you should.”

She scoffs. “Will I be down here long?”

“As long as it takes.”

“Right. Well, then, I guess I’d better get comfortable.” She has sass like her older sister.

I stand, moving to walk out, but turn back at the last minute. “You’re gonna be okay, Ivy.”

She gnaws on her bottom lip and nods.

I walk out, grab the Cell door, and slowly close it. As soon as it shuts, Void is by my side. “I don’t have fucking time for this shit.”

“Make sure she’s well fed and entertained. Spoil her… anything she wants, she gets. It’s just like having a puppy. She’s our guest, even if she has to stay where we put her. Got it?”

Void lets out an aggravated groan as I make my way up the stairs. I know I should be telling Eva her sister is here, but if I do, any chance of me spending time with her would go out the damn window—if this bunker had windows, of course.

I am probably doing this shit all wrong, but I’m fucked-up. My whole life has been one giant fuckup. I don’t know how to do shit any different.

I’m making Ivy comfortable, giving her everything she needs. Hell, she’s even got company in Void. Sure, he’s not much of a talker, but that can’t be helped. I’m trying, dammit. I put my entire club at risk for Eva. There’s no greater show of devotion I can think of.

The club comes first, always.

So this fascination, this curiosity I have with Eva, whatever it is, I need to figure it the hell out now because something is coming.

I don’t know if my story to Andrés will stick, but I have to make it work. I need to play it out and play it right. Or Tampa Defiance will be in for a world of hurt, and it will be my fault.