Page 67 of Brightness

“Already packed.”

Nycto holds Eva tighter and nods, giving me the go-ahead. “C’mon, sweet thing, time to go.” With my arm around Ivy’s shoulders, I turn us and walk for the exit.

“One more thing!” she calls over her shoulder. “Make sure Ominous looks after my crop. If he kills it, I’ll kill him!” Ivy calls out to Nycto, making him chuckle.

“I’ll make sure he’s fully aware.”

Ivy peers over her shoulder, keeping eye contact with her sister as we walk out of the clubhouse. “Te amo, Eva!” she calls, failing to hold back more tears.

“Te amo también! Muchísimo!” Eva calls back.

I lean in and plant a kiss on Ivy’s head as I lead us to a pickup truck. After throwing my duffle in the rear of the cage, I grab Ivy’s and throw it in too, then exhale. “I’m so fucking sorry you have to leave her, Ivy, but it’s the only way.”

She sniffles as she opens the passenger side door and slides in. “I know.” She slams the door shut, making me tense with the sheer brute force she used. But I inhale a deep breath, then slide into the driver’s side. Ivy stares blankly out the window as Nycto comes out with Whiskey to see us off. I nod at him, reverse out, then head for the gate. West lets us straight through, and we’re off, heading for Destin, just over halfway between Tampa and New Orleans—to the NOLA Defiance safe house.

Ivy’s checked out, a coldness in her demeanor. She’s angry—not necessarily at me, but at the situation. I’ll let her calm down, but when we get to the safe house, she’ll have to pep herself up, because we’re going to have company.

Whether she likes it or not.

Chapter Seventeen

VOID

Ivy’s quiet. She has been for the six-and-a-half-hour drive to Okaloosa County. Leaving the clubhouse and her sister is hard, I get that—it’s all she really knows of America—but we have no choice. The safe house is our best option right now. I haven’t been to Hurricane’s safe house, but I’ve heard good things. It sits buried in dense brush, with a bayou running along the back as another layer of escape if you need it… so long as you don’t run into any gators.

As we pull to the very back of the row of estates, a medium-sized house comes into view. A long driveway leads down to the main building, separate from the other houses along this row. I turn off the road and head toward the bungalow.

A small stoop leads up to the front entry, with a modest porch out the front and a couple of rocking chairs. To be honest, this looks more like Grandma Mavis’s retirement home than a biker hideout.

But I guess that’s the entire point, isn’t it?

Ivy sits higher in her seat, taking it all in. The trees sway gently in the breeze of the afternoon Florida sunshine. It’s humid today, and I wipe sweat from my brow.

“This is not what I expected. Especially pulling into Destin. It looked upmarket, but this is…” Ivy murmurs something in Spanish under her breath, leaving the sentence unfinished.

I pull the truck up next to two bikes in the drive, relieved she’s finally talking to me. “Gotta keep a low profile. That’s the trick.”

She slowly nods her head, then turns back to the window. “We have company?”

As if they heard her, Hurricane and City pop their heads out of the bungalow to check on us. I raise my hand in greeting. “Hurricane’s the pres of NOLA,” I explain to Ivy. “And City’s their VP. This is their place, so they’re here to check us in.”

She turns to me, fighting the corner of her lips turning up. “Our very own biker motel.”

“C’mon, let’s not be rude to our hosts.”

Reaching out, I grab her fingers, lift them to my lips, and kiss the back of her hand. Her soft lips finally stretch upward, the smile not quite reaching her eyes, which are still dull with sadness. My chest aches for her as I turn to slide out of the car.

Hurricane and City stomp down the stoop toward us, City’s bald head looking a little shinier than usual today. “Took your sweet-ass time getting here. We’ve been waiting for hours, Void,” City calls out, but he’s sporting a smirk.

I roll my eyes. “It takes longer to get here in a cage than on a bike, asswipe. You know that. Cut me some slack.”

“All I’m saying is you need to push the accelerator pedal a little harder next time. I got places I need to be. My Old Lady needs a hand with something back home—”

“City, calm the fuck down. We need to show them around the bungalow. And Izzy can wait. I know what you’re talking about, and it more likely means you want your Old Lady’s hands on you.” Hurricane slaps his VP on the back. City grins like he’s been caught out, saying nothing in response as Hurricane raises his chin to me. “Void… got yourself into some shit, I see?”

Ivy steps to my side, and I wrap my arm around her protectively. “Apparently. Seems more like shit found us. We don’t know who’s targeting us yet.”

Hurricane grumbles under his breath. “That old chestnut, hey? Well, you’re welcome here for as long as you need. Just don’t mess up the place too much, yeah?”

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