Page 82 of Darkness

Void widens his eyes like he has no idea who the hell these two women are right now.

But I know.

They’re fighters.

Survivors.

And right now, they’ve just convinced me they’re Old Lady material.

Welcome to Tampa Defiance.

I walk over and grab the wall hook, moving to the side while the girls continue their bricking. Void keeps his grip on the now-limp Andrés as I grab the hammer and start hammering the hook to the wall behind Andrés. This is a real team effort. The girls continue building the wall as I secure the hook in place, testing it to make sure it’s stable enough. Once I’m sure it will hold, I give the signal to Void. He groans as he launches Andrés back onto it, his heavy jacket threading over the hook as he dangles there, his feet still on the ground for support. It’s there to keep him upright. Void lets go, merely placing a single hand on his chest so the girls can continue the brickwork. The wall is getting higher. In no time, it will be up around his face.

Normally, I leave the face open for a while, but Andrés has already suffered in the Cell, and with his infection, who knows how much longer his body will last. No need to drag it on. I want him to die at our hands for what he did to Eva.

Void lets go of Andrés, then moves to me as the girls take over completely. It’s like they were made to do this, and they are probably getting satisfaction out of it as well. Let’s face it, the bastard was going to sell them to the highest bidder. Andrés didn’t give a fuck about either of them.

Folding my arms over my chest, I stand back, watching. “You doing okay, Eva?”

“Couldn’t be better.”

Jesus fucking Christ. I reach down and adjust my boner.

“How ’bout you, Ivy?” Void asks.

She turns back to us, excitement written all over her face. “I knew this is what happens down here. There was a guy moaning in the wall, so I walked over and talked to him. After a few days, he stopped talking. There was something calming about that. Does it make me a bad person?” she asks, laying another brick.

Eva turns to look at Ivy, one eyebrow raised.

Void cracks his neck to the side.

I clear my throat. “No. It means you understand these assholes are down here for a reason. If they’re behind these walls, it’s because they’ve done something to the club. And the club is a family. Family comes first, always.”

I show the girls how to work the bricks around the outside so they can get to the roof while still leaving a diamond-shaped hole for Andrés’s face. Void and I step in to place the bricks they can’t reach.

Brushing wet mortar and brick dust off her hands, Ivy purses her lips and says, “I could help you, you know, seeing as this is basically my outdoor living area.”

“Fuck me,” Void murmurs, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You are a wild card, aren’t you, Ivy? I guess if your sister’s okay with it…”

Eva shrugs. “Whatever makes Ivy happy. If her job in this club is to brick people behind walls, then… I guess that’s her job. If she ever needs a hand, I’ll be here to help her.”

Yeah. My cock is hard as a fucking rock.

They turn back, laying a few more bricks up to his chin. I walk over because I want to witness the moment this asshole is entombed. The moment he truly meets the darkness. A tingling sensation floods my body, and adrenaline pumps wildly through my veins as I watch them close the gap. Andrés’s eyes start to flutter. He’s coming to, but there are only three bricks left. Ivy places one down, then Eva the next, and Andrés wakes completely.

“Nycto… get me the fuck out of here. You can’t do this, you crazy fucker! He knows where you are. The buyer… he’ll come after you. I can protect you!”

Eva hands me the last brick, her lips turning up so wide it’s like the dawn of a new day, but instead of blinding me, everything becomes crystal clear. She’s my light, my beacon of hope.

I let the darkness define me for so long. My past ruled over everything I ever did, always making its mark in my mind, causing me to think the light was the ruler of chaos and a symbol of torture. Now, I know light can be good. It can be devilishly pure.

Eva shines so brightly—a symbol of hope.

She was sent to me to show me a new way of life.

To show me a new way of living.

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