Nycto sits back in his chair, bringing his lit cigarette to his lips, taking a drag. “Mm-hmm, this should be interesting.”
“The prospect, he’s caused nothing but trouble. He’s a damn issue. I’m not sure if the kid can be a part of the club when he so blatantly disrespects the hierarchy.”
Nycto blows out a perfect ring of smoke, then leans forward and butts out the cigarette. “It’s not the damn hierarchy, Void, it’s you.” He exhales. “Nevertheless, I agree. I’ve sent Dash away for a while to clear his head, to consider what the club means to him, about what he’s willing to do for the club.”
“You’re giving him a second chance? What the fuck, Nycto?”
He glares at me. “The kid nearly died for the Royal Bastards. I have to take that fact into consideration. He’s put his life on the line not just for Tampa but also Miami. You might not like him, Void, but he is a valued member of this club. I gotta try to find a way through this.”
Running my hand through my hair, I scoff. “Fine. I’m happy I’ll have time with Ivy without him always interrupting.”
Nycto pounds his closed fists on the table in front of him with a loud bang. “I know what it’s like to lose yourself over a woman, Void. Fuck, I did it with Eva. Just don’t lose yourself so much, you end up losing your patch, too.”
My veins run icy cold.
This club means everything to me.
It means a hell of a lot to Ivy too.
If I were tossed out, I’m not sure if she would follow me.
If I lost my patch, I would lose it all.
I have to reel myself in.
Keep my shit under control.
I have to do this for Ivy.
Everything I do is for Ivy.
Actually, there’s something else I need to do while I’m here. “Prez, I’ve been thinking about something, and I wanna run it by you.”
He exhales, letting out a groan. “This should be good.”
“What are your thoughts on gaining a new prospect?”
***
After discussing my new plan with Nycto, he’s on board with it. Now, I just have to get all the moving puzzle pieces into place, and I need to figure out how I’m gonna do that. I’m sitting at the bar, casually sipping on a whiskey, letting my thought processes flow, trying to work everything out when Stacey walks over with an envelope. “Hey, VP, mail for you,” she relays, handing me the long, orange envelope.
“Thanks, Stace.” Placing it on the bar, I rip open the ends, pulling out some glossy pictures.
My eyes shoot open wide.
The picture is of me, sitting on the side of the Van Dyke Road, entirely out of my freaking mind—my bike totaled in the background—and I’m staring into the trees with the picture coming from that direction.
I spin around to face Stacey behind the bar. “Who delivered this?” I bark out at her.
My tone shocks her. “Just the usual mailman.”
I turn over the envelope to study the postage stamp. It doesn’t give anything away, just that it was sent from somewhere inside Tampa. My eyes shoot up, looking around the clubhouse to check if anyone else is seeing this—of course, they’re not.
I’m confused.
I was alone on that road.
Wasn’t I?
My anxiety creeps in further as they dart to and fro in the forest in front of me. Black shadows are moving far too fast for anything to be real, then the white statues appear, slowly edging their way out from the trees.
“Fuck off, all of you,” I yell.
Fuck, maybe what I was hallucinating wasn’t in my mind at all? I glance down at the picture again, studying it closer. Someone definitely took them while I was out of it.
My stomach churns as my mouth goes dry. I start to feel light-headed.
Fuck! I’m not sure what to do.
Should I go to Nycto with this? No.
Standing, I grab the photographs and race toward Voltage’s tech hub. If anyone can find out anything about these pictures, it’s Voltage. Knocking on his door, I pop my head around the corner after I turn the door handle. He’s deep into coding something. Some nerd shit I don’t understand and don’t want to. I wait for him to stop what he’s doing, then he dips his chin, “What’s up, VP?”
“I’ve received something… I wanna know if you can check it out for me.”
Voltage pulls his headphones off his head, sliding his keyboard further up his desk. “Hit me.”
I place the picture on the desk in front of him, and he scrunches his brow. “Is this of you when you totaled your ride?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought no one was out there with you?”
“So did I!”
Recognition registers in Voltage’s face as he picks up the picture, shining a light with a magnifying glass down over the top of it. “Can’t find a tracking ID. Could try to check for fingerprints, but ours are all over it now. What about the envelope?”
“Came from around the Tampa area, which means nothing to anyone.”
Voltage hums under his breath. “Leave it with me to check into it further, but as you said, we don’t have much to go on. Looks like a dead end. Are you going to talk to Nycto about this?”
I think it through for a moment then say, “I’ll let it play out for now.” I don’t want this to blow out of proportion, but I do have to admit I feel fucking weird.
Like someone’s watching me, and that fact is really damn unsettling.
Chapter Fourteen
IVY
A Week Later
It’s been a weird freaking week. With Dash mysteriously gone and Void acting all weird, honestly, I know something’s up. Void’s been jumpy, agitated, almost like he’s afraid of his own shadow. Sure, we’ve been carrying on with our daily routines, he’s even taken me for professional riding lessons. It’s the first time I’ve had to use my fake ID, and I have to say I got a kick out of that. You’d think doing something illegal would scare me, but all it did was ignite a fire inside me. Make me burn to be this badass woman I’m positive I could be if only Void would let me free in this world.
He’s scared.
I get that.
Of me blossoming.
Of people hunting me down.
But this past week, there’s been a shift in him, since the morning after his fight with Dash. I have no clue what happened, or where Dash has gone, either. No one will tell me. The thought has crossed my mind that someone killed him for beating up Void. Dash took it too far, I understand that, but surely, he didn’t deserve to die for it.
The man was drunk!
But I can’t think like that.
I know these guys. Yes, they’re killers. Yes, they’re Bastards. But I don’t believe Nycto would do anything to Dash like that. I have to believe he wouldn’t.
In the meantime, I have Void to worry about, and why he’s so bent out of shape. He’s put his walls back up, and they’re firmly in place. He’s hardly talking, hardly touching me. He’s kissed me twice since the fight. I’m not sure if it’s me. Have I done something, or did a problem occur I don’t know about? So, I’ve decided to try and make him feel better. Whatever’s troubling him, whether he wants to tell me or not is up to him, but I want to help him unwind and relax.