The art of closing off.
I know it only too well.
“The fridge is stocked. The pantry’s full. You should have everythin’ you need for a prolonged stay. The club’s only a couple hours away. If shit hits the fan, press this button…” he points to a button underneath the kitchen counter, “… and we’ll come.” He changes the subject entirely away from his parents.
“Got it! Thanks again for the digs, brother. Really fucking appreciate it,” I tell Demon as he reaches out for Drake pulling him by his cut toward the door.
“The front door has extra locks… use them! In the back of the library there’s a panic room. I’ll also text you the combination to the gun safe.”
“There’s a library?” Ivy audibly gasps.
“Have a good time, you two. You’re in lockdown as of now. No venturin’ off anywhere,” Demon instructs.
I pull Ivy to me tightly, and we watch the two large men stomp to their rides, then take off kicking up stones and leaving us alone—truly alone—for the first time since we met that night when I stole her from the boat.
Now, it’s just Ivy and me, and no one to interrupt our time together.
Not Nycto.
Not Eva.
Certainly not Dash.
We might be here because we’re in danger, but at least we’re here together.
The roar of the Harleys drift off into the distance, and I walk over to the door dead-bolting it.
Can’t be too safe.
Ivy slowly strolls around the living room, her fingers gently stroking all the little trinkets. “Why is this happening, Void?”
I let out an exhale. “I’m not completely sure. At first, I thought it might have been Tony, trying to get one over on us. But he assures us it’s not him. When we went to chat with him, he was pretty convincing. So, it got me to thinking who else it could be.”
She turns to face me, her eyes hopeful. “And?”
“When I totaled my ride when I was tripping, I was also hallucinating. I thought I was seeing shit.”
Ivy moves over to stand in front of me. “You’re not making any sense. What does this have to do with anything?”
I reach out, grabbing her hand. “When I was tripping, I thought I saw someone from my past.”
Ivy jerks her head back in shock. “But aren’t they all in jail?”
Pulling her with me, I walk with her over to the floral sofa, then sit us down. There’s a laptop on the coffee table, so I open the lid. “Let’s find out.”
We both sit on the excessively soft sofa, sinking into it too far. I adjust my position and start typing into the search engine for my father’s jail records. I scroll until I find what I need. “Fuck,” I groan under my breath.
“What?” Ivy asks, leaning in closer to try and see.
“His records indicate he’s been let out on good behavior.”
Ivy draws her bottom lip in by her teeth while I run my fingers through my hair. My pulse quickens as my mind flashes back to the statue in the trees. “Jesus, maybe when I saw my father in the woods, I wasn’t actually tripping. Fuck! Maybe he was actually there?”
Ivy wraps her arms around mine for comfort. “What would your father want with you now?”
“I’m not sure. I was taken from him. He probably doesn’t realize I want nothing to do with that life anymore.”
“You believe he’s starting the cult back up?”
“Absolutely. He’d be quiet about it, though. But a man like him, he’s smart, he’d play the judicial system so easily. He would do his time, be a good boy, get out early, and start up all over again. I’m sure he’ll want his disciples by his side.”
“And he sees you as one of his disciples?”
Curling up my lip, my stomach swirls with nausea. “Not only a disciple but a legacy. He not only would want me there, but he also needs me.”
“So, he’s targeting me to get to you?”
“I think so.”
“But why wouldn’t he just come straight for you?”
“This is how he works, it’s called mind manipulation. Mess with you, so you think you’re losing yourself, so your only option is to turn to him for help.”
Ivy scoffs. “What, so he expects you to just go off and join another cult with him?”
Anger swirls through me. “Oh no, sweet thing, he expects me to run it with him.”
“Holy shit!”
“I’m not going to. We’re going to stop him, Ivy. The things he does to women, the things he makes them do, it’s not right.”
She reaches out, grabbing both my hands in hers. “At least you understand the difference. You’re a good man, Void.”
Regret swarms through me like a raging tornado. “Not always.”
“Not everyone can be good all the time. But the majority of the time, you do the right thing. You’re always looking out for my best interests, even if they don’t match yours.”
“You’re important to me, Ivy. I might not be great at showing it, but I… I care about you.”
She leans in, kissing me. The second her lips touch mine, calm washes over me, like all the stress I was feeling somehow washes away for a brief instant.
How can she be both my calm and my storm?
Ivy slowly pulls away from me, pressing her forehead against mine. “How ‘bout we go check out that library?”
I let out a small laugh. “Yeah, baby, let’s go check out the library.”
Here she comes, my calm against the raging storm in my mind.
Chapter Eighteen
VOID
A Few Days Later
We’ve been at the bungalow for a few days.
Even though I like having Ivy to myself, she’s starting to go stir crazy. There’s only so much daytime television you can watch or walks around the back yard before it all starts to get a little monotonous. Sure, we’ve passed the time by fucking on every surface of the house, but again there’s a limit to how often you can do it with a beginner in that particular sport as well.
Going without news from home, my palms are twitchy, and I need an update. Hell, I want to find out whose heart that was. So, I pick up my burner to call Nycto, and he answers on the third ring. “What’s wrong?”
I let out a huff. “I’m going fucking crazy out here, man. Need to know what’s happening.”
Nycto grumbles down the line. “I told you to call only if there was a problem.”
“There is a problem, Ivy’s stressed about Dash. I gotta tell her something.”
Nycto huffs. “Fine. The DNA came back… it wasn’t Dash. In fact, it wasn’t even human… it was pig.”
“You’re fucking kidding me?”
“Nerve confirmed when he dissected it. Said while it’s similar in anatomy, it’s not the same as a human heart.”
“Well, fuck,” I murmur, running my hand through my hair. “Any word from Dash?”
“Yeah, he’s fine. Still working out his punishment. Tell Ivy he’s completely safe.”
Rolling my shoulders, I hate myself because for some warped, selfish reason, I wished it was Dash. I know he’s always going to be a part of Ivy’s life, and I can’t control myself. I’m a jealous cunt. It’s simple, I don’t want any other guy taking space in Ivy’s mind but me.