Page 15 of Brightness

A shudder runs deep in my very soul. My arm protectively loops around Ivy as I pull her to me. I don’t even want to fathom what the hell he means.

“No.” I’m blunt, curt, my anger coming through like a raging tornado.

Nycto turns to me slightly, his brow creased. “What do you want her for?” Nycto asks, questioning what I’m too fucking terrified to say out loud.

Tony rolls his neck. “Ivy was purchased in Cuba and sold. Then she was taken by her transporters… you, I believe.” He raises an eyebrow. “She was bought for a reason, Nycto, and I paid a hefty sum of money for her.”

Ivy clings to me tighter as this all starts to sink in, and I shift her behind me.

Tony put the purchase order out on Ivy. Possibly Eva too.

Now, the bastard’s here to collect.

Fuck.

Standing taller, Nycto lets out a mocking laugh. “Ha. You got paid, Tony. The money was sent to Andrés, and I know the debt was paid in full. So, technically, I bought Ivy. She belongs to me now, and I plan on keeping her here at the clubhouse, where she belongs.”

Tony rolls his shoulders like he’s trying to keep himself calm. “Thing is, Presidente, I need her. Why do you think she had such a high price tag? She’s valuable… to me, to my family.”

“I’m gonna need a reason, Tony, and ‘valuable’ ain’t gonna cut it,” Nycto grunts out.

Tony turns to Ivy, ignoring Nycto and me. “Ivy, signora. As I’m sure you’re aware, your blood is rare. When other people who have the same blood type as yours are sick, it’s extremely hard for them to obtain blood transfusions. They need blood from a matching donor.”

I don’t like where this shit’s going.

“I’m following,” Ivy calls out to him.

Tony’s forehead creases. Something passes over his eyes, but only for the briefest of moments, showing a weakness in him. “My daughter, Mia…” He pauses, like he’s having trouble saying the next part. “She’s sick. She needs transfusions. She needs blood… your blood.”

I roll my eyes, letting out a scoff. “Yeah, right.”

Matteo rushes forward, but Tony stops him. “Matteo, stop! Mia wouldn’t want this.”

Matteo’s nostrils flare. He breathes harshly through his nose as he turns, pacing his anger off. Either Matteo’s playing this up, has serious anger issues, or he actually cares about this Mia girl.

Ivy steps out of my grip and toward Matteo. I go to pull her back, but she warns me off with a wave of her hand and a death glare. Ivy reaches out and grabs Matteo’s arm.

He spins dramatically, but notices it’s Ivy and softens.

“You care about Mia?” she asks.

Matteo huffs. “That’s not your concern.”

“Um… it actually is. If I’m going to come with you, I need to know everything.”

“She’s but a child, signora,” Tony continues. “We had hoped you would donate your blood to help her. I can show you a photo. She is my world.”

“You want to let an innocent child suffer?” Matteo says through gritted teeth.

“Don’t try to manipulate her!” I snap.

“What’s wrong with Mia? Why does she need my blood?” Ivy’s pressing the issue… as though she’s actually thinking about going with them.

“Mia has leukemia. She needs a transfusion to replace the red blood cells in her body after treatment. But because of her blood type…”

“Golden blood,” Ivy mumbles under her breath.

Tony and Matteo dip their chins as Ivy exhales. “I’ll need to do this close to home—”

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