Chapter Nine

NYCTO

Eva is a sobbing mess in my arms. This is hitting her hard, as I guess it should. The gravity of the situation—it’s a lot. She was taken from her home country to be sold and is now being held captive by some stranger who’s saying her sister has been taken by the very men who tried to take her too.

I feel like shit as I cling to her, smoothing her hair back. My stomach knots. I wish I was man enough to take her pain away. I could tell her about Ivy being beneath us in the lower bunker, and if I were a decent man, I would. But it will make her hate me right when we’re starting to make some damn progress.

So I pull her tighter, wrapping myself around her for comfort, and decide to keep my secret a little longer.

I’m going to tell her.

When the timing is right for both of us.

She sobs again, and the noise rips at my heart.

I need to calm her, so I pull us down to lie on the bed together. This is all kinds of new to me. I’ve never really held a woman on my bed before, and the feeling is completely foreign. She pushes her back to my front while I wrap my arm tightly around her waist, holding her to me. My nose burrows into her hair, and I breathe in the scent of her, letting her know I’m right here as she begins to settle.

I never saw myself as the comforting type, not with my history. I’ve always been a lone wolf, a complete man of solitude. Even joining the club was a huge step for me. Being part of the brotherhood—having men there to rely on, to lean on—wasn’t something I was used to, but the protection, that’s why I joined. Always knowing a group of men had my back, a support system. I needed it at the time, and now Eva needs me.

I’m at ease when I’m around her, and I can’t put a finger on why.

I want to protect her. I want to see her happy.

Her crying slows to gentle sobs, and her body slackens. Exhausted from my ride, I close my eyes and let calm flush over me. Shit has been hectic for a while, but here, in each other’s arms, there is a sense of tranquility, so I shut off my worries about the world and let everything wash away.

***

Movement startles me awake, my heart rapid-firing. My eyes dart open in a panic as Eva stands from the bed and grimaces. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I need the bathroom.”

I’m not used to feeling someone next to me when I sleep. Generally, if there’s motion when you’re sleeping, it’s some fucker trying to attack you. She’s lucky her gorgeous face was enough to stop me in my tracks, and I didn’t react. My anxiety calms to its normal level as I wave my hand, letting her head for the bathroom. I pat my jeans pocket. She can’t get out the main door, anyway—the key is still there. She takes off as I sit on the edge of the bed, trying to fully wake to gather my thoughts.

I glance at my watch. It’s just past seven in the evening. We slept for hours, and I didn’t have one single nightmare. I haven’t had a solid sleep for as long as I can remember. What the fuck?

Knowing the club might need me, I stand from the bed. I want to stay and talk to Eva, but I don’t want her to be awkward around me. She got up and left for a reason. She was distraught and sought comfort in me. Eva is probably having regrets.

To me, sleeping with her in my arms was fucking amazing. I honestly don’t recall ever sleeping with a woman in my arms. Eva has no idea how lucky she is. To her, though, it was probably a lapse in judgment.

I don’t want to see that register on her face.

So, I’ll leave to give her some time.

I need to think this through, anyway.

Eva is changing me, making me do things I have never done. She holds power over me I never thought any woman could ever hold.

It’s unsettling.

I walk to the bedroom door and unlock it. As I turn the handle, I hear the bathroom door open. Without a backward glance, I slip out, closing the bedroom door behind me and locking it. Then I stand there for a minute, listening to make sure she’s okay. I can’t hear anything, so I turn to make my way out into the clubroom.

I need to find Atomic.

He’s standing at the pool table with Crow. I walk over, tipping my head at them both. “Atomic, a word.”

He places the bumper of his cue on his boot, chalking it up with the blue cube. “Hit me,” he instructs, focusing on the little blue square.

“I need you to keep an eye on my bank account. Tell me when the cash comes in from Hawk. His money needs to be sent to Andrés as soon as it hits that account, along with my half.”

Atomic places the chalk on the side of the table and then lines up his shot. “Sure thing, Pres.” He slams the cue ball, the impact forcing it into the pile and sinking two smalls at opposite ends of the table.

“Fucking hell,” Crow spits out.

I chuckle to myself as I walk off, figuring I’d better check on Void and Ivy, see what the fuck is happening down there while I fill in my VP on what’s going down.

I jog down the stairs and head into the chilly room. The door to the Cell is slightly ajar, piquing my interest. As I walk up, I spot Void sitting in the room with Ivy.

Seems I’m not the only one making friends with our houseguests.

Void is playing cards with Ivy as they sit on the sofa. Ivy giggles, and I stay back, discreetly observing the interaction. Void shows no emotion. His replies are curt, sharp like always. But Ivy is more at ease than the last time I came down here.

I open the brick wall a little more, announcing my presence.

Ivy’s head picks up as Void turns to look over his shoulder. “ ’Bout damn time you got your ass down here. You wanna fill me in on what the hell is going on?” Void grumbles.

I move into the cell to sit on the sofa next to him. “I went to Miami. Spoke to Hawk.”

“That’s always fun.”

“He’s letting me borrow the cash to reimburse the buyers for the girls.”

Void stares blankly at me, blinking a few times like he can’t believe what I’ve just said. “You’re aware you are effectively purchasing them?”

My eye twitches. “Aren’t they better here than where they were headed?”

Ivy sits taller, her eyes widening. She understands.

Void huffs. “Maybe. Not sure a life being held down here is much of a life, Pres.”

Ivy nods in agreement. So now they’re ganging up on me. They don’t have to. I feel shit enough about this already. I have to tell Eva. When the time comes, there is no doubt she’s going to hate me, and right now, I’m not ready to give up the little progress we’ve made. I slept in her arms.

“Well, it’s the life they have right now. Ivy, the Cell isn’t the best place to be staying, but until I find a way to let Eva know you’re here without her losing her damn shit, you’ll have to make do.”

Her eyes take in the small room, and she shrugs. “I’ve stayed in worse places.”

With bodies in the walls outside your room? I don’t think so.

Void almost cracks a smile, probably thinking the same as me.

“You’re taking this in stride.”

Ivy rolls her shoulders. “Not like there’s a hell of a lot I can do about it from where I sit, but if there’s any way you can find it in yourself to let me see Eva—”

“No. Not yet.” It won’t do her any good to have false hope. Her eyes droop. “You will. Just let me figure this all out first.”

Void inhales sharply like he’s pissed off at me.

“Stay down here, Void. Keep our guest company.”

“Like I wasn’t already doing that, for fuck’s sake,” he mumbles.

With a roll of my eyes, I turn and head for the stairs. Void might be annoyed at me for putting him in charge of Ivy, but there’s no other man in this club I trust with the duty. He’s my VP. He might consider it to be a prospect’s job—something someone of lower rank should be doing—but to me, keeping these two sisters safe—and, more importantly, away from each other—is a crucial task in this club right now.

So, the two highest-ranking members of the club are on duty. President and VP.

Void may not like it, but if he wants to be my right-hand man, he’s going to deal with this until I figure out a way for it to all come together. It will. Somehow. For now, I need to come up with a game plan about how to tackle this shit with Eva.

She’s moving something inside me. I’m not sure what it is, but the feisty firecracker has my attention firmly fixated on her. I don’t know why, but she makes the world an easier place when I’m in her presence.

I sleep better.

See clearer, but I can be blinded by her at the same time.

She’s dangerous.

Captivating.

Addictive.

She has the potential to be my undoing, if the threads to this cord haven’t started to unravel completely already.

To her, I’m her captor. A man holding her against her will. The man who let her sister slip away from her grasp and into the arms of pure evil. How can she see me any differently?

Waking up in my arms the way she did probably freaked her the fuck out. Even though it felt all kinds of right to me, it freaked me out, too, if I’m being completely honest with myself. I don’t sleep with women in my bed. I fuck them, then they leave. But Eva isn’t like that.

Sure, I’ve thought about her naked. I’d be a fool not to. She’s sexy as sin, but there’s more to her than her looks. I want to get to know her. I want to save her from everything wicked in the world, including myself.

But I want her.

Everything in me craves her.

I’m no good for someone like Eva. But I will protect her from everything coming our way because she doesn’t deserve the life that was destined for her and Ivy. Neither of them do. I will lay my own life down before I allow either of them to be taken into that world —a world full of torment and danger.

I need to find a way to ensure Eva acknowledges I’m not the bad guy in this scenario.

Even though in every other damn aspect, I probably am.