Page 50 of Darkness

Void scrunches his face up at Nycto like he had no idea.

“Thanks,” Ivy calls out.

“Yes, thank you.”

Nycto dips his chin, then they take off for the stairs, leaving me with Ivy.

I smile at her. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Oh, no, you don’t. We’ve established we’ve missed each other. It’s good we’re both here. Let’s move on from that—”

“What?”

“You need to spill the beans.”

“About what?”

“Not about what… about who.” She nudges my shoulder. “You and Nycto, hermana , I saw that. Don’t tell me you don’t feel something for him because it was written all over your face.”

It’s like nothing has changed between Ivy and me. She’s been taken captive, then rescued by bikers, and now she wants to talk about my love life?

“We have far more pressing issues to talk about, Ivy. Like where were you taken? Who had you? What happened while you were there?”

She groans. “Seriously, Eva, nothing happened. I was taken the same night as you, transported to some fancy-as-shit house, locked in a bedroom by some old fart who said he had plans for me, and then Nycto and the guys came in shooting the mansion to hell and rescued me.”

My eyes widen. “Nycto came and got you?”

She hesitates. “Yeah. Him, Void, and a few others. I thought I was good as dead when they busted in, but Nycto told me he had you. I remembered Void from when we got off the boat, so I knew they had been in contact with you. I had to trust them. It was all pretty simple and quick. They went to the trouble to get me out of there, so I knew it couldn’t be all bad. I had no clue what the old dude was going to do to me, so I figured, fuck it. What did I have to lose?”

“Who convinced you to come?”

She hesitates again. I’m not sure why, but her lips slowly turn upward. “Void.”

So that’s the connection she has to him.

“And you were okay with them keeping me from you for a day?”

She shrugs. “Didn’t have a choice, but I knew you were here, so it was only a matter of time. I was okay with waiting while they sorted their shit out and made sure we were safe. No point going from one gunfight to another.”

With a sigh, I reach out and pull her to me in another embrace. “You’ve been through so much, Ivy. I know I said it before, but I really am so glad you’re here. I feel like I can finally breathe again.”

“Me too.” She pulls back. “Now… Nycto.”

“Christ, where do I start?”

“Just tell me. Do you like him?”

I tense. Do I like him?

Sometimes I hate him.

Sometimes I crave him.

Do I want to pursue something romantic with him?

“Honestly, I… I…”

Chapter Nineteen