Page 86 of Brightness

Ivy picks up the small rodent cage from the ground and lines it up with the opening, the giant rat inside itching to get free. “In you go, little guy. Cause as much havoc as you can.”

The evil glint in her eye turns me on even more as the rat lets out a little squeal and drops to the bottom of the entombment.

She places the cage back on the ground, then pulls out the mesh screen to block the hole, trapping the rat inside. I grin, helping her fit it in place, all while my father is still out cold. I pull Ivy to me, pressing my lips to hers.

She is intoxicating.

She might be fucking insane, but I adore her brand of crazy, and right now, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere fucking else than right here, sharing this moment with her.

We took my father down together, and in the end, we’re still here fighting.

Fighting for each other.

My tongue collides with hers as a deep groan echoes from inside the wall beside us.

“What the hell? Cade? Why am I in the fucking wall? You can’t leave me here! What the fuck? Is there something in here with me? Ouch, fuck! It bit me! Cade? Cade,” my father yells, but we don’t break our kiss. All it does is spur us on, my tongue colliding frantically with hers as I push her up against the wall Andrés is interred behind.

She whimpers in my mouth.

My hands tingle as I run them along her still damp, silky skin.

I’m one lucky sonofabitch.

***

It’s been a few days, and everything is finally settling back to normal. After the chaos of having Tony come after Ivy, then my father’s bullshit as well, it’s good to kick back and have a breather.

Sitting in the Chapel with my brothers is like the most normal thing in the world to me. Though I’m not sure what this meeting is about exactly. I’m hoping there’s no more shit hitting the fan right now. I want some time out—a fucking holiday.

Nycto takes a drag of his cigarette, then exhales, a plume of smoke filling the medium-sized room. “So, there are a couple of reasons I dragged you all in here toda—”

“If the club’s in trouble again, I’m out. I’ve had enough drama over the last few days,” I say jokingly.

Everyone chuckles, while Nycto grins. “You’ve got Ivy hanging off your arm. You’re constantly gonna be in trouble, VP.”

“Here, here,” resounds around the room.

I fold my arms over my chest, trying to appear angry, but I can’t hold in my laughter. “Fuckers!”

“Anyway, first call of business… Atomic, you need to up the security on our cells as a preventative measure to ensure they don’t get tracked again.”

Atomic dips his chin. “I’ve done a full wipe of everyone’s cells. They’re clean of any software and I’ve encrypted them. Also, I added a commercial software firewall, but I’m looking into other avenues of defense… something I will program personally.” He exhales. “I let the club down, Pres. It won’t happen again.”

Nycto hums under his breath, seemingly unimpressed. “Moving on… let’s discuss Dash.” Nycto’s eyes meet mine, and I sit up taller, listening. “The prospect has done a fucking lot for this club. Not just his bravery in helping rescue Ivy, but also in helping with Stella in that bar brawl. He was a good kid when going through his recovery. Never batted an eyelid when one of us asked for something until shit got weird with Void and Ivy. Pussy will make men go crazy, and he’s learned his place where Ivy’s concerned.”

I raise my chin. “What are you saying?”

Nycto slides the club logo patch across the table.

Raising my brow, I exhale. “You wanna patch him in?”

Nycto glances around the table at my other brothers. “We need to vote, and it’s gotta be unanimous.”

Whiskey places his closed fist on the table. “Aye.”

We’re doing this now?

Ominous slams his fist down. “Aye.”

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