Defining Darkness - K E Osborn Page 0,49

together. Everything will be fine.”

Guilt flows through me as I think of Nycto. Of the kiss we shared. Of the connection I feel with him, but I need to think of my sister now and her well-being. What is best for her and her alone. My feelings don’t come into this equation. “What do you want to do, Ivy? I’m not sure we can go back to Cuba. The men who took us will probably come after us again. We will have to make a way for ourselves here in America.”

Void, who I now notice is inside the room behind Ivy, looks over like he’s suddenly interested in our conversation. I can’t help but feel the eyes of Nycto glaring into my back as well.

Ivy narrows her eyes on me. “You want to go it alone? In a country where we have no visas or passports. No money. Nothing to help us?”

My stomach churns as I glance back at Nycto. His expression is unreadable. I can’t tell if he’s angry, somber, or despondent. Maybe it’s all three? Turning back to Ivy, I shrug. “What else would you have us do? We can’t go back home, it’s too risky.”

Ivy turns, glancing back at Void. His eyes shift to the floor like he doesn’t want to be a part of this discussion. I’m confused as to why she’s even turning to him for an answer. What’s with that?

She tightens her hands in mine, her eyes shooting to Nycto for the briefest of moments before returning to me. “Why don’t we stay here?”

“Here? At the clubhouse?”

“I mean… I’m sure Nycto is willing to let us stay until we get on our feet, or even for longer if we want to. To be honest, Eva, I feel safe here. Protected. And I haven’t felt like that for a long time.”

My body slumps at her words. All I want is for Ivy to feel safe and protected. After what we’ve been through in our lives, then being kidnapped to be sold, I want her to know she’s being taken care of.

“Why do you feel safe here, Ivy?”

Her eyes shift to Void—it starts to sink in. Maybe she’s seeing him as her hero? She doesn’t want to leave him.

“Have you seen this place, Eva? It’s a bunker. An underground bunker. I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel protected. We’re in this country illegally. We can’t go back home for fear of being taken again. If we go out on our own, it’s exactly that… we’re on our own. Here, the Royal Bastards can protect us. If those assholes who tried to buy us ever come knocking, Nycto and his brothers will be here for us. Doesn’t that mean something to you?”

Her belief in these guys is quite astounding for someone who has only been here for twenty-four hours, give or take.

“You really wanna stay here? At a biker club? I didn’t think it would be your kind of thing?”

“To be honest, I didn’t either, but since I’ve been down here, this room has felt more like home than I’ve felt in a long time.”

That statement shocks me. This weird, dank, strange-smelling cell is more like a home than our home was back in Cuba?

I don’t understand.

“How can that be?”

She exhales. “Think about it, Eva. At home, it’s just you and me. It’s amazing, great, and all that. Plus, we are the best company for each other—”

“But?”

“But here there are brothers. There are people who will literally give you the shirt off their back.” She points to Nycto’s shirt I’m wearing. “They’re not just a biker club, Eva, they’re a family. A family we don’t have anymore. We could have that again, and this time it could be so much bigger and better.”

Emotion overwhelms me. “I miss our parents more than anything Ivy, but replacing them with a biker club isn’t going to fill the hole their deaths left behind.”

“No, it isn’t, but maybe having a whole other family by our sides will help us move on.”

I gulp a lump down my throat as I ponder her thoughts. She wants to stay. I’ve been grappling with these feelings myself for days. The thought of having a connection with Nycto, but having to leave him to find Ivy was always there. Now I have Ivy, the thought of figuring this thing out with Nycto is even scarier. His bulky arms fold over his chest, an expression on his face telling me he’s desperate to hear