by K E Osborn
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, sweet 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 on his cell we needed.”
My muscles tense as I stare at him. “Like what?”
“We could hear everything. Track everything. And from that, we knew everything. It also allowed us when close to another cell to transfer those apps to the second cell. So, when he was given the burner, the apps we installed on his cell and all the others at the club immediately crossed over. We knew your location at the safehouse this entire time... and we’ve been watching.”
“Jesucristo!”
“He won’t help you here, sweet Ivy. Honestly, I’m disappointed Cade never continued my work, my crusade, while I was incarcerated improperly.”
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 lunatic.”
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, and they submit to me. You’ll understand once you’re cleansed.”
“The fuck are you talking about?” I jerk my head back in confusion.
Wyatt’s eyes dance with a sinister glint, his lips turning up with an air of evil. A look he’s mastered so 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, leading me toward the door of the main house. “You’ll see. It will all become clear in time, sweet Ivy.”
Everything in me screams not to go inside the fucking house, but my 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 for.
I take in the beautiful women—all blonde—of various ages. The one who’s probably in her forties, she could be the leader I have no fricking idea, ushers me up the stairs. 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 at the same time, smiling as if they’ve just stepped out of the Stepford Wives, answering in unison, “Enlightenment.”
My eyes widen as they pull me inside the room, and the youngest closes the door behind us as I take them in carefully.
It’s fucking weird as all hell.
They’re all wearing the same matching light blue dress.
The older one sits me in a chair while the middle woman stands in front of me.
Have to say 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 completely 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 let out a loud scoff. “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. Listen, 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.”
“You’re joking, right?” I snort out a laugh.
They say nothing, the younger one shifting, then she 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 let out a shriek as she pulls my arms behind my body. I try to fling my head back to head butt 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, who I feel nod excessively behind me. I jerk my body, trying like hell to get out of her grip as the young one steps forward. She moves to my side, jabbing me in the bicep. “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 as they flutter.
The older woman comes into view as the other one lets me go.
They sit me back on the chair. I have lost control, and 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 that’s poking into my body.
I’m trying to gain my bearings.
The low beating of djembe drums rumbles in the distance in a steady rhythm. 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, noticing 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 leading me down the hill toward the lake, a guard of honor lines me either side.
It starts with women all wearing wreaths of flowers around their heads. They’re holding pottery jugs for some fucking stupid reason.
As I get closer to the water, there are men, and they’re wearing fucking ram heads with the same symbol the women have etched into their chests.
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, hauling 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 head falls off him and into the water with a mighty splash as he lets me go. 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.
I let out a whimper.
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 what all this craziness is about as Wyatt holds a sharp knife in his hand with that same devilish glint in his eye as before. My heart slams against my chest rapidly as the cold water laps at my thighs.
“Ivy, you will be cleansed by the blood of all
the 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 let out a sob, my body hunching over in my grief.
Wyatt steps forward right into my space, his hand moving to my chin, lifting my eyes to meet with 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, ripping the material apart. I let out another sob as my left breast is exposed to everyone who’s 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, pouring 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, the warm liquid floods over me while I shudder, feeling the fluid envelop me completely.
“You’re a part of the family now, Ivy. All that’s left is to cleanse you,” Wyatt informs me, wiping the liquid away from my face.
Finally, I take a deep breath, opening my eyes to blood smears all down my body. I let out a shriek 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 even stop him. “When the wound opens, your blood will mix with the rest of the family, then we will be as one.”
“You’re fucking crazy,” I yell as he pushes the tip of the blade into my skin.
I let out a 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 then aiming it at his father.
But Wyatt reaches out then 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 has come to rain down on them all.
Wyatt’s grip on me tightens as my eyes snap around, trying to figure out where 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 reach me. Ram masks splinter, shattering apart as they shoot them in the face. Blood is running 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, mowing a bunch of them down, their stomachs exploding apart as I revel in their destruction.
I want to be a part of it.
I need to take a stand.
So, I reach up, grabbing Wyatt’s arms which are around me and bite down as hard as I fucking can, taking 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, bringing my leg up through the water and knee him as hard as possible in the balls.
The asshole hunches over, his eyes bursting out of his head as he glares at me. “I thought you were sweet, innocent?”
I let out a mocking laugh. “You don’t know shit!” Then I 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…” He soothes me with his hand. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine now you’re here. I just want you to hold me.”
He looks me up and down again. “Let’s get this shit off you, then I’m never letting you go.”
“Gladly,” I reply.
Void moves in gripping hold, his front 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, 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, grabs Wyatt, then drags him ashore. I smile at Dash, and he dips his chin at me, then I turn to Void as the roaring of gunfire begins to settle down. I’m fucking freezing, my body shivering as Tony’s men head over toward 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.
“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 do if the club ever needed help. Because he’s out of Jacksonville, closer to Savannah, he has tapped-in 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 easily. 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. For now, get your woman home. Never know if we might need her again,” Tony replies.
Home.
So much, yes.
Chapter Twenty-One
VOID
Seeing Ivy covered in blood scared the shit out of me. Knowing my father had her and was so close to carving that fucking symbol into her skin is eating at me. Having her branded in that way, I’m just not sure if I would be able to look at her in the same way. Not because she would be any different, but because every time I saw it, I would see my father. I would see myself, my old self, and I know it would haunt me. It would have ruined us, and that’s precisely what my father wanted. For me not to be able to be near Ivy, for her to be in the way of him bringing me back into the fold.
Problem is, luckily, it backfired.
Thank fuck I got there in time, and now we’re almost h
ome.
We called ahead to tell Nycto we’re incoming. I can only imagine what Eva’s going to be like when we arrive.
I’m happy to know now my father is away from the farm, that the place won’t run without him. All his followers will leave and head back to wherever it is they came from.
After all, a cult is nothing without its leader.
Dash is behind us on his ride as we pull up to the clubhouse gates. West pulls them open, throwing his hands in the air. He hoots out some kind of hoorah as we enter, making Ivy chuckle, though I don’t miss the way her body is shuddering at the deep cold seeping into her bones.
We should’ve stopped for a blanket.
Eva and Nycto barrel toward us as we pull in. The pickup doesn’t even stop before Eva yanks open Ivy’s door pulling her out of the cage. “Hermana
Ivy pulls back from Eva with a small laugh. “I’m fine, honestly. A little cold, but fine.”
A slow smile creeps up my face as I step out of the pickup, then walk around to greet my prez and his Ol’ Lady. Nycto raises his head to me. “You good?”
I dip my chin at my prez.
Nycto steps forward, glancing over the back of the pickup where my father’s bound and gagged in the back. His beady eyes wide in fear as he struggles about.
“What do you wanna do, Ivy. It’s your call?”
Ivy glances at me, I shrug because I don’t give a fuck what happens to the cunt.
Darkness instantly spreads over her features. An intoxicating smile appears on her face, and without saying a word, Nycto chuckles. “I’ll go prepare the mortar.”
Taking a deep breath, I pull Ivy aside. “You don’t have to be there if this is too much.”
“Are you kidding? He was going to cut into my skin and brand me. I’m laying the fucking bricks myself.”
“Only if you’re sure.”
“Stop trying to protect my virtue, Void. I’m in this. I’m part of this club. I brick bad men behind walls sealing them to their deaths. If you give me a gun, I’d probably shoot him somewhere painful too. I’m no princess. I’m not innocent, so stop making me out to be.”