Page 7 of Darkness

Void furrows his brow. “You’re throwing the prospect under the bus?”

“Isn’t it their job to take one for the team?”

Void rolls his shoulders. “You better be prepared for this to backfire on you, Pres. You want the responsibility of what you’ve done? This is all on you.”

I peer back at Eva, a sudden rush of adrenaline spiking through me. “Did the other girls make it to Andrés?”

Void checks his watch. “They should be there any minute.”

I tilt my neck to the side, making it crack. “Take the cargo to the Cell. It’ll be safe there. I need to get Eva inside before she wakes up.” Thunder roars overhead, the threat of a summer storm brewing.

“I fucking hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Don’t I always?”

He lets out a huff. “Sometimes, I question that.”

I flip Void the bird, and he walks off. Then I turn back to Eva and adjust my hard-on. As much as her being tied up and comatose is having a serious effect on my dick, I grab my pocketknife and cut the zip tie off her wrists, then massage the circulation back into her hands. She doesn’t need to be bound anymore. She has nowhere to go. We’re behind the fence—there’s no way out. Once her hands look closer to her normal coloring, I release them. They fall to the van’s bed, and she murmurs in her sleep. I swipe a strand of hair away from her face while taking her in.

My head falls to the side. I can’t comprehend why she’s captivated me. No woman ever has. All I know is I couldn’t let this angel meet the fate Andrés had destined for her.

Moving in, I hoist her into my arms, bridal style. I can’t help but notice her fingernails are painted bright red. They’d look great wrapped around my dick, red lipstick smeared over her lips while she sucks me off. Maybe my innocent firecracker isn’t so innocent after all.

Her arm instinctively loops around my neck. She’s holding on, but very loosely, still dazed, likely only starting to come back to consciousness. Her other arm and her hair dangle haphazardly as I walk her toward the clubhouse.

The bunker is set in the ground, so the opening is dug out, and the driveway curves down to meet it. The front of the bunker has a set of large concrete double doors. From the original design, we adjusted the hinges and painted the Defiance insignia on the front.

As I approach, the right-hand door is already open from when Void entered, so I walk through the dimly lit bunker. Even though it’s late at night, we still don’t light up the place. We keep it lit enough to see but dull enough that it doesn’t affect my mood. My brothers understand, but some of the other chapters think I’m strange. They don’t know where my love of the dark comes from. They don’t know me. They don’t know my past. They don’t need to. The ones who do, they understand. That’s all that matters.

Eva is a lightweight in my arms, even with unconsciousness weighing her down. I take her inside the clubhouse, which is in full swing. Music blasts from the speakers, unsettling my damn nerves. I glance down, ensuring she isn’t waking too fast, but she cuddles into me further with a small mumble, curling her arm around me tighter as I turn right for the hallway. I notice everyone watching me with her, but honestly, I don’t give two shits about what they think.

I’m Nycto, President of Tampa Defiance, and I do what I fucking want when I fucking want—consequences be damned—and right now, I want Eva locked away in my room.

As I enter the hall, I make my way to the first bedroom. Mine is closest to the exit because I need to be the first call to action if shit hits the fan. Reaching my door, I fumble with the handle, somehow opening it with her still in my arms. I walk through, the outside noise quiets down with the reinforced walls. The dim red LED light is on, sending a deep crimson hue around my room. It lights up Eva’s face, making her seem more like a devil than the angel I know she is.

The thought sends a rush of excitement through me as I walk her to my bed. The pedestal fan spins slowly, sending a slight breeze through the room. With no windows and the Tampa heat, it gets stuffy in here quickly, but I don’t mind a little humidity.

Laying her down on my black sheets, I place her head carefully on my pillow. My throat bobs as I take in the fact a woman is on my bed. The thought unsettles me for a moment, so I turn and walk to my door, making sure to lock it, then spin back to face her.

The sight nearly knocks me off my feet.

Her dark hair fans out over the crisp black pillowcase, the red light making it shine like blood spilled after dark.

I stand back, watching her, taking her in. Every detail of her face. Every freckle. Every imperfection, a perfection in itself. She’s perfect. She could quickly become an obsession.

What am I thinking—she is an obsession.

She’s mine.

I might have saved her from Andrés, but who will save her from me?

Chapter Four

EVA

My head is a fog, my stomach churns, and I’m shivering. A very dull thumping of music drones in the background, clashing with the pounding behind my eyes. The room still swims and spins in unpredictable ways. I’m all kinds of out of it.

My teeth chatter as memories come crashing back to me.

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