by K E Osborn
I guess she’s trying not to hurt me.
Then she pulls back, heading out to grab some ice. I have to admit, it’s good hearing her say the words. But having a fight with Dash with everyone watching, yeah, that was not my finest hour.
What a clusterfuck.
The Next Morning
There’s a pressure on my legs, or is it my groin? I can’t be sure, but I’m hungover and not fully awake to comprehend what’s going on.
My body—it’s sore all over.
Memories of fighting with Dash fly through my mind, and my lips turn up in the corners imagining Nycto has probably kicked him out of the club for going to town on the VP.
I definitely feel like a damn pussy for having Ivy be the one to stop him. Something grinds down on my cock, making it harden instantly, and my eyes shoot open. Ivy’s straddling me, wearing only a bra and her panties.
Jesus. Fucking. Christ.
She has a stethoscope around her neck, and I cock my brow. “You’re not ready to play doctors and nurses with me just yet, Ivy.”
She smirks, leaning down, kissing me. My hands slide up her silky back as she places something against my temple. I furrow my brows as it beeps, and she pulls away checking the digital thermometer. “Ninety-nine, you’re a touch high, but it could be the alcohol.” She places the stethoscope into her ears and presses the cold circle to my chest. “Inhale.”
I grin but inhale deeply as she moves the scope around my chest. “Exhale…” I let out a breath. “Inhale one more time.” I chuckle, then breathe in. She moves it to the side where most of the bruising is located, and I wince. She mouths ‘sorry’ but continues, “And out.” I exhale.
Ivy pulls the earpieces from her ears and wraps it around her neck. “You sound good. I’m pretty sure your lungs are fine. Of course, I didn’t finish my medical training, so we need Nerve to double-check, but if there was a problem with your lung, you’d be in deep shit by now, so I’m pretty sure you’re all good.”
My hands move to her thighs sitting either side of mine. I can’t help but admire her and how fucking sexy she is like this. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’ve tried telling you, but—”
“Don’t even joke about that, Ivy. You know I want you. I just…” I pause, trying to find the right words, but they don’t come easily.
Her hands rest on my chest. “It’s fine. Now’s not the time anyway. You’re hurt.”
I glance down at her left knuckles which are grazed, bruised, and battered. “You hit Dash with a mean left hook.”
Ivy grimaces. “I feel like shit for hitting him, but he gave me no damn choice.” She leans down, pressing her lips to mine again. I love the wave that crashes through me when I kiss her, it’s like everything calms down, like all the shit that’s going on melts away, and it’s just this world where Ivy and I belong. Our bubble is the only place where I feel whole, and if she’s the one coming in to rescue me every now and then, then I’m totally okay with it. Because if there’s one thing I know about Ivy, it’s that she has the heart of a lion and the tenacity of a bull. If she wants something, she’s going to fight for it, and she’ll fucking get it.
I just hope, in the end, she wants to fight for me.
***
I’m sore as shit. My face is swollen like I’ve gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. It makes me feel inferior that I only went half a round with a fucking prospect, and the cunt laid me out. Admittedly, he had an advantage. That bastard went for my weak spot, disabling me right away, but the point remains, he took me out in front of everyone, including Ivy. And that shit doesn’t sit right with me.
I’ve had it in for Dash for a while now.
I can’t see a way through this, so I need to talk to Nycto.
Ivy’s already left for the morning after doing her little nurse routine on me, which I have to say was fucking tempting as hell. But now, I have a score to settle.
Pulling on a shirt, my torso screams at me, and I grimace. Nerve came in and wrapped me up tight with an ACE bandage. So now the constriction around my ribs hurts more than I want to let on. I should wear my cut, but I’m not going anywhere other than to see Nycto, and to be honest, I am not sure I can move my arms enough to get it over my shoulders. So, Nycto can deal with me wearing civvies. The pain’s excruciating enough to pull on this much clothing.
Traipsing out of my room, brothers take in the state of me without my club cut. I’m sure they’re wondering what it means, but they shouldn’t read anything into it. I need to find Nycto, so I head for the kitchen where Eva and Trixie are inside.
“Eva, where’s your man?” I call out to her.
She spins with a bright smile on her face, then it falls when she takes me in. “You okay, Void?”
“Yeah, hurts to put clothes on.”
Her intense expression softens, and she relaxes. “Phew! Thought you were making a statement. He’s in the chapel making some business calls. Head on in.”
I nod my head.
“And Void?” I turn back, raising a brow. “Thanks for looking out for Ivy last night. I’m sorry you got hurt in the process.”
“I’ll always look out for Ivy.”
“I know you will.”
I dip my chin, then turn to head for the chapel. When I finally make it to the door, I knock twice. If Nycto’s in meetings, I figure I better not interrupt if it’s something important.
“What?”
I smirk and think, typical asshole answer.
Opening the door, I pop my head inside. “Can I chat with you for a second?”
Nycto waves his hand through the air. “I think that’s a damn good idea.”
I walk in, closing the door behind me, and as I turn, he’s staring at my shirt. “You not wearing your cut for a reason, brother?”
I sit in my seat. “Fucking hurt to put my shirt on. Fucking hurts to walk. Figured I’m in the clubhouse, but if I go outside, I’ll put it on.”
Nycto turns up his lip in a smirk. “Don’t be a pussy. You got in a fight, a pointless damn fight. You’re the VP of this club, and you will show the club what it means to be a Royal Bastard. You’ll wear your fucking cut wherever you damn well go. I don’t care if your cock’s falling off, your cut stays on. Got it?”
“Yeah, yeah, fair call. I’ll put it on after we have words.”
“You bet your ass you will. You’re walking around without one, it’ll have brothers thinking you’re leaving or some shit. Evaluate what you’re doing, Void, you’re a walking fucking disaster right now.”
Tensing, my mind flashes back to last night.
Dash made a mockery of me.
Every-fucking-thing always comes back to Dash.
“That’s what I’m here about, actually.”
Nycto sits back in his chair, bringing his lit cigarette to his lips, taking a drag. “Mm-hmm, this should be interesting.”
“The prospect, he’s caused nothing but trouble. He’s a damn issue. I’m not sure if the kid can be a part of the club when he so blatantly disrespects the hierarchy.”
Nycto blows out a perfect ring of smoke, then leans forward and butts out the cigarette. “It’s not the damn hierarchy, Void, it’s you.” He exhales. “Nevertheless, I agree. I’ve sent Dash away for a while to clear his head, to consider what the club means to him, about what he’s willing to do for the club.”
“You’re giving him a second chance? What the fuck, Nycto?”
He glares at me. “The kid nearly died for the Royal Bastards. I have to take that fact into consideration. He’s put his life on the line not just for Tampa but also Miami. You might not like him, Void, but he is a valued member of this club. I gotta try to find a way through this.”
Running my hand through my hair, I scoff. “Fine. I’m happy I’ll have time with Ivy without him always interrupting.”
Nycto pounds his closed fists on the table in front of him with a loud bang. “I know what it’s like to lose yourself over a woma
n, Void. Fuck, I did it with Eva. Just don’t lose yourself so much, you end up losing your patch, too.”
My veins run icy cold.
This club means everything to me.
It means a hell of a lot to Ivy too.
If I were tossed out, I’m not sure if she would follow me.
If I lost my patch, I would lose it all.
I have to reel myself in.
Keep my shit under control.
I have to do this for Ivy.
Everything I do is for Ivy.
Actually, there’s something else I need to do while I’m here. “Prez, I’ve been thinking about something, and I wanna run it by you.”
He exhales, letting out a groan. “This should be good.”
“What are your thoughts on gaining a new prospect?”
***
After discussing my new plan with Nycto, he’s on board with it. Now, I just have to get all the moving puzzle pieces into place, and I need to figure out how I’m gonna do that. I’m sitting at the bar, casually sipping on a whiskey, letting my thought processes flow, trying to work everything out when Stacey walks over with an envelope. “Hey, VP, mail for you,” she relays, handing me the long, orange envelope.
“Thanks, Stace.” Placing it on the bar, I rip open the ends, pulling out some glossy pictures.
My eyes shoot open wide.
The picture is of me, sitting on the side of the Van Dyke Road, entirely out of my freaking mind—my bike totaled in the background—and I’m staring into the trees with the picture coming from that direction.
I spin around to face Stacey behind the bar. “Who delivered this?” I bark out at her.
My tone shocks her. “Just the usual mailman.”
I turn over the envelope to study the postage stamp. It doesn’t give anything away, just that it was sent from somewhere inside Tampa. My eyes shoot up, looking around the clubhouse to check if anyone else is seeing this—of course, they’re not.
I’m confused.
I was alone on that road.
Wasn’t I?
My anxiety creeps in further as they dart to and fro in the forest in front of me. Black shadows are moving far too fast for anything to be real, then the white statues appear, slowly edging their way out from the trees.
“Fuck off, all of you,” I yell.
Fuck, maybe what I was hallucinating wasn’t in my mind at all? I glance down at the picture again, studying it closer. Someone definitely took them while I was out of it.
My stomach churns as my mouth goes dry. I start to feel light-headed.
Fuck! I’m not sure what to do.
Should I go to Nycto with this? No.
Standing, I grab the photographs and race toward Voltage’s tech hub. If anyone can find out anything about these pictures, it’s Voltage. Knocking on his door, I pop my head around the corner after I turn the door handle. He’s deep into coding something. Some nerd shit I don’t understand and don’t want to. I wait for him to stop what he’s doing, then he dips his chin, “What’s up, VP?”
“I’ve received something… I wanna know if you can check it out for me.”
Voltage pulls his headphones off his head, sliding his keyboard further up his desk. “Hit me.”
I place the picture on the desk in front of him, and he scrunches his brow. “Is this of you when you totaled your ride?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought no one was out there with you?”
“So did I!”
Recognition registers in Voltage’s face as he picks up the picture, shining a light with a magnifying glass down over the top of it. “Can’t find a tracking ID. Could try to check for fingerprints, but ours are all over it now. What about the envelope?”
“Came from around the Tampa area, which means nothing to anyone.”
Voltage hums under his breath. “Leave it with me to check into it further, but as you said, we don’t have much to go on. Looks like a dead end. Are you going to talk to Nycto about this?”
I think it through for a moment then say, “I’ll let it play out for now.” I don’t want this to blow out of proportion, but I do have to admit I feel fucking weird.
Like someone’s watching me, and that fact is really damn unsettling.
Chapter Fourteen
IVY
A Week Later
It’s been a weird freaking week. With Dash mysteriously gone and Void acting all weird, honestly, I know something’s up. Void’s been jumpy, agitated, almost like he’s afraid of his own shadow. Sure, we’ve been carrying on with our daily routines, he’s even taken me for professional riding lessons. It’s the first time I’ve had to use my fake ID, and I have to say I got a kick out of that. You’d think doing something illegal would scare me, but all it did was ignite a fire inside me. Make me burn to be this badass woman I’m positive I could be if only Void would let me free in this world.
He’s scared.
I get that.
Of me blossoming.
Of people hunting me down.
But this past week, there’s been a shift in him, since the morning after his fight with Dash. I have no clue what happened, or where Dash has gone, either. No one will tell me. The thought has crossed my mind that someone killed him for beating up Void. Dash took it too far, I understand that, but surely, he didn’t deserve to die for it.
The man was drunk!
But I can’t think like that.
I know these guys. Yes, they’re killers. Yes, they’re Bastards. But I don’t believe Nycto would do anything to Dash like that. I have to believe he wouldn’t.
In the meantime, I have Void to worry about, and why he’s so bent out of shape. He’s put his walls back up, and they’re firmly in place. He’s hardly talking, hardly touching me. He’s kissed me twice since the fight. I’m not sure if it’s me. Have I done something, or did a problem occur I don’t know about? So, I’ve decided to try and make him feel better. Whatever’s troubling him, whether he wants to tell me or not is up to him, but I want to help him unwind and relax.
Placing the last candle out in my room, the Brick Cell comes across as more of a calming meditation suite than a place the Bastards use to lock people up in. The scented lavender, ylang-ylang, and chamomile candles each flicker about the room making it smell amazing. I want Void to relax, let him know this is a safe space for him to wind down.
So, I take a last peek around, liking the ambiance of the room, then head upstairs to find Void, who’s slouched on the sofa sipping on a whiskey. I sigh while walking over to him. He eyes me up and down, a brief light gleams on his face, but then it’s all but extinguished.
I reach down, grabbing his arm and yank. “C’mon, I wanna show you something.”
He doesn’t budge. “I’m comfortable.”
“Don’t be a cunt. Come with me.”
“Ivy! I’ve never heard you say that word.” A small smirk touches his lips as he stands effortlessly and starts walking with me.
I loop my arm with his. “Well, if you stop acting like one, then I wouldn’t need to say it.”
He exhales as we traipse down the stairs entering the Bricking Cell. Void stops, his eyes focusing on the flickering lights of the candles sporadically placed around the room. His muscles tense as he side-eyes me. “What’s this?”
I let go of him as we walk inside, then I turn back to him. “Surprise!”
Drinking down the rest of his whiskey in one swallow, he narrows his eyes in on me. “You tryin’ to be romantic?”
I jerk my head back at his tone. “I’m attempting to help you relax. Give you a massage. Let you unwind. You’re so freaking tense!”
“You’re gonna do that for me?”
With a small laugh, I wave my hand through the air. “I’m already doing it. Now, stop being your usual asshole self and come sit on the bed. Take your shirt off, and I’ll rub your shoulders for you.”
Void hesitates, but I pat the bed making a slow smile creep up onto his face. “I’ve been a
prick to you this last week,” he states, taking off his cut, placing it carefully on the edge of the bed.
I shrug. “I’m not going to pretend I understand what’s going on because I don’t.”
He nods, pulling off his shirt.
I will never get sick of seeing him shirtless. Even with the bruising still smattered over his ribcage, those chiseled abs, his perfect V, not to mention those black and gray tattoos, are perfect for me. Void rests his shirt over his cut, then sits in front of me. It’s the first time I’ve seen his back clearly. The muscles on this man are simply breathtaking, but it’s the Royal Bastard’s logo covering his entire back that really makes my insides quiver with desire. Void is pure sexual torment right now, but I need to keep myself focused.
I kneel in behind him, my thumbs pressing into his incredibly tight shoulders. “But, in saying that, if you don’t want to talk to me about whatever it is that’s going on, then I won’t push you, either.”
“You’re far too understanding, Ivy. Any normal woman would’ve given up on an asshole like me a long time ago.”
I kneed his muscles feeling them loosen with my touch, seeing his body relax beneath my grasp. “The thing is, Void, I’m no quitter. I don’t give up unless there’s a one hundred percent reason for me to do so. You haven’t given me a reason to quit, yet.”
He snorts. “You must have your scorecard set quite high because I can name a dozen reasons why you should’ve given up on me by now.”
I lean down against his ear. “And that’s why you’re not me.” I press my lips to his cheek, giving him a quick kiss before pulling back and continuing with my massage of his shoulders.
“I’ve never had anyone take care of me the way you do.”
My chest squeezes as his walls come down again. This is the Void I’m falling for.
“You need to let me do it all the time. Don’t put your walls up around me. I see you, and I happen to like you… the real you, Cade.”
Void inhales like he’s having trouble trying to keep his shit together. His chin drops to his chest, but I keep massaging him anyway. I’m sure we’re making progress.