Reaper: Devil's Mayhem MC Romance

by Mary Potter

  “Many of those men and women have been in the club longer than you have, boy,” my father growls, narrowing his eyes. On the bed, my mother looks between us. Her expression is calm, and I don’t know what she’s thinking about any of this. “You can’t just charge in there and make changes.”

  “Like Chains is doing?” I demand. “They’re happy enough to follow him down the rabbit hole. They obviously didn’t like it when you cut the illegal activities before. The lot of you were lucky enough to avoid jail back then. I’m not walking that tightrope.”

  “Devil's Mayhem has been this way for years,” my dad says, shooting to his feet. He’s angry. I can see tension rippling across his body as his hands forming giant fists at his side. I’ve never been scared of my father, but it’s hard not to eye him and realize just how much bigger he is than I am. “You’ll take away everything we stand for!”

  “By doing things legally?” I counter, astonished that he can even argue this. But he’s always been set in his ways. It took Mom to make him change last time, and I don’t have that sort of leverage. “We can turn the club into a business, give the guys jobs. None of this drug or guns bust shit.”

  “And what about Hell’s Riot?” he growls. “You’ll just let them walk all over you?”

  A pang of fury rises in me at the name. God, I would love to deal with them with my bare hands. I drag my thoughts back to the present.

  “We’ll deal with them when we need to,” I say firmly. “Going legit doesn’t mean being pushovers.”

  For a moment, we stand there, staring at one another. Then my father raises my chin.

  “Then I no longer need you as my successor,” he snarls.

  I should have known it would come to that. He’s never liked being told he might be wrong about something, and he hates being questioned. By changing everything he created, I’m doing both of those things. I glare at him.

  “Fine,” I snap. “Do what you want. Don’t expect me to be part of it.” I glance at Mom. She gives me a small smile. “Mom, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “I’ll be waiting,” she jokes.

  Without another word or even a glance at my father, I turn on my heel and leave the room. The only reason I don’t slam the door is that I don’t want to cause my mother distress, but I would have liked to.

  It’s just like my father. He calls me back to Emerald Springs to be his puppet so that he can control Devil's Mayhem from afar. I have no intention of being part of that.

  ********

  I think about going to our bar, but I have no desire to run into any of my old club mates right now. If I show my face, they’ll hope that it means my return, but there’s no way that’s happening now. I stop at a bar two blocks away and find myself slumped at the counter.

  I have to figure out what to do next. Maybe I should move back to the city to be closer to Mom. There’s nothing here for me, though I can’t deny the calm sense of home that washed over me the moment I saw Emerald Springs on the horizon. Or maybe I can hang around for Viper’s sake if nothing else.

  I shake my head and nod to the bartender as he gives me my drink. The burn of the alcohol going down my throat steadies me slightly, but it also shakes most of the melancholy I’m feeling, leaving me with righteous anger. My father is a fucking jerk.

  It’s as I take another sip that I hear the sound of loud, obnoxious laughter. I might have been gone for some time, but I recognize the voice. I turn my head to the side and narrow my eyes.

  Of course Chains would be here. After my father, right now, he’s the one I don’t want to see more than anyone. He hasn’t noticed me yet. He’s standing in a small crowd of men and women. I can see his arm around one of the women, pressing her against his side, despite how uncomfortable she looks, while the other guys jeer at something.

  I’ve never gotten along with Chains. He’s reckless and an absolute asshole to everyone around him. We’ve clashed more than once. If I leave the Devil's Mayhem, he’s next in line to be the president. The thought makes me shudder, but it’s not my choice anymore, I guess.

  “Hey!” Chains calls out, attracting the attention of one of the waitresses.

  As she makes her way over, Chains leers at her, raking his eyes up and down her body. Lust is clear on his face, despite the woman he is clutching to him. It’s enough to make the waitress feel uncomfortable, and her steps slightly falter before she straightens her shoulders and moves closer.

  “What can I get for you?” she asks politely.

  “A piece of that ass would be good,” Chains leers, making the men guffaw around him.

  A high flush comes to the waitress’s cheeks, but, to her credit, she stands her ground and holds her head high.

  “I’ll send someone else to serve you,” she says. Her tone is frosty, making the men laugh again.

  As she turns away, Chains winks to one of his friends, who reaches out and gives the waitress a light slap as she passes me, making her jolt. As they almost fall over themselves in laughter, the waitress quickens her step and heads back to the bar, furious tears in her eyes.

  It’s a disgusting display. The lack of respect that he has for all the women that surround him and his complete disregard for their feelings makes me scowl down into my drink. He looks at women as if they were nothing but a piece of meat, put there for his own pleasure. This is the man who will lead Devil's Mayhem, now?

  No. That will not happen.

  My phone is in my hand before I realize it. Maybe I can reason with my father. Before I can do anything, however, the phone rings, and I look down in surprise to see that it’s my father.

  “Jack,” comes my father’s gruff voice, no longer as angry as when I left him. Instead, he sounds tired. “We need to talk.”

  Well, this is the best chance I’ll get to say what I need to. There’s silence for a long moment. Then a gusty sigh is breathed over the receiver.

  “Your mother ripped me a new one after you left,” he admits, and I can’t help but grin, imagining it. “I’m set in my ways. But you’re not wrong. I’ve lost good guys over the years when they went to jail. We’re always hiding from the cops. And Lacey… What happened to her is because I involved us in things that we shouldn’t have been a part of.”

  I close my eyes. I already knew that. It’s the driving force behind my determination right now.

  “I was worried about the club splitting, but that will happen whether you do or don’t take over,” my father continues. “Half the club doesn’t like what Chains is doing, and they’ll leave. If you take over, Chains and his guys will leave. I just needed to remember who I would prefer to carry on my name.” He hesitates. “I’ve got your back, son. Whatever you want to do, I’ll help you.”

  I can’t help but smile.

  “You’re getting soft, old man,” I quietly tease, making him laugh. “Thanks, Dad.”

  “It’s what I should have said before,” he says. “Welcome back, Reaper.”

  I smile. It’s time for Devil's Mayhem to be brought out of the shadows.

  Chapter Two: Reaper

  We decided the announcement would wait until the next church meeting on the weekend. There’s no doubt that everyone who attends will know why the meeting was called. They’ve been waiting for Crusher to step down for some time, especially with how absent he has been lately.

  In the three days that we had, my father and I sat and planned. I told him everything I wanted to happen now, and he gave me advice on how to go about it. He warned me that the club’s membership would diminish for a while with these changes. That’s okay with me. I have no need for club members who cannot be loyal to me. In time, I hope, we can replenish our numbers. It’s going to be a long, hard road, but I have the determination to see this through.

  For Lacey’s sake, if nothing else.

  Finally, the day comes. We head to the hall where we gather for quarterly meetings or when an urgent announcement needs to be made, like now. The hall sits on our land, a moderately-size
d building that some of the guys use for sport every now and then. Otherwise, it stands empty and useless. It’s another thing on my list to tackle.

  I hang back in a side room. My father needs to make himself heard before I show up and cause chaos. The moment I appear, we both know what’s going to happen—the room will instantly divide.

  Slowly, members start trickling in. I’m not surprised to see Chains sauntering in, surrounded by his minions, with barely seconds to spare, looking unconcerned about his tardiness. In fact, there’s a smug look on his face, one that I itch to smack straight off it. When everyone is inside, I quietly take my position at the back of the room, where no one can see me unless they turn around. Only Viper notices, and he shoots me a wink.

  “Thank you for coming,” my father says, his deep, heavy voice silencing the room in an instant. For the first time, I feel doubtful. There’s no way I can ever measure up to the sheer force of his presence. “As some of you may have guessed, the time has come for some decisions to be made regarding the club’s future.”

  No one stirs. Everyone is staring, hanging onto his every word. Some look pleased, and others are slumping in dread.

  “I won’t beat around the bush,” my father says. “Due to Gemma’s failing health, we will be moving to the city, where she can get better care. As such, I will leave the club in the hands of my successor.” I see Chains tense and grin, ready to step forward. “Reaper will be taking over from here.”

  There’s a second of complete and utter silence at the unexpected announcement. It gives me the moment I need to start to move through the crowd and toward the front, finally attracting attention.

  Then the chaos I expected starts. People shout, echoing off one another so that I can’t tell who is cheering or who is yelling profanities. Chains’s expression is frozen in stunned disbelief, as though he has no idea what he is hearing right now. It gives me some satisfaction to see how everything he believed is now crashing down around him.

  I manage to get through the crowd and turn to face them. There’s dawning hope on the expressions of many of the members.

  “Sorry it took me so long to get back, guys,” I grunt. “I had some stuff to sort through. But I’m back, and I’m taking over. I’m going to be making some changes, and I hope you all will be part of it with me.”

  There’s unsure whispering. That’s okay. I’m not going to dump everything on them at once. I’ll get settled in my role, and then I’ll make them aware of the new rules. However, there is one change that I’m looking forward to making straight away.

  “As your new president, my first order of business is to appoint my VP,” I continue, projecting my voice over the buzzing murmur in the room. “I’ve chosen Viper.”

  Chains looks like he’s swallowed a lemon. I try not to grin. He has no idea what’s coming.

  “With the absence of both Crusher and myself, it seems that some were allowed to run riot and disrespect the rules of the previous leadership,” I say. “As such, Chains, you are dismissed from Devil's Mayhem. You are no longer welcome among us.”

  “Fuck this!” Chains bursts out. I’m surprised it’s taken him this long to react. “You can’t just fucking stroll in here and do whatever the hell you want! You’ve been gone for months!”

  “I never left,” I say coldly. “I took a leave of absence to deal with personal issues. You’re the one who has completely disregarded Crusher’s orders to stay away from the cartels. You’ve brought shame on our name. You are no longer worthy to carry our symbol. Leave.”

  Chains swears and rips his jacket off, throwing it to the ground. Around him, several others do the same. Part of me is almost hoping for a fight to let off some steam, but they stalk out, slamming the doors closed behind them, likely knowing that they’re outnumbered. I’m not stupid enough to think that this will be the last we’ll see of them, though. That’ll be a problem for the future.

  “I’ll give you a brief rundown of what I want,” I say to those who are left. “We will be leaving all the shady businesses behind. The time has come for us to stop hiding. In our name, I want to open up our pub to the public and open a brewery here on our land. I want to go legit.”

  I can see on the faces of those around me that not everyone is happy with this, but no one moves to leave.

  “On top of that, I’ll be organizing self-defense classes in line with our growing self-defense and wilderness survival business,” I continue. “Guns, knives, outdoor survival. For our women, if they wish it, we’ll be providing lessons on how to protect yourselves. It’s time we stop relying on our name and show that we are strong. We’re all only as strong as our weakest member, so let’s make sure we’re all someone to be wary of. There’s going to be backlash from others with this, but I won’t lose anyone else to jail, and I won’t stand for illegal activities anymore. If you don’t like it, there’s the door.”

  I honestly expected to lose some, but, to my surprise, they all stayed where they were. Perhaps it hadn’t sunk in yet. Or maybe they’re waiting to see how this goes before they decide what to do. Either way, they’re here for now, and that’s more than I had hoped for.

  “Right!” I say, pleased. “I think that’s enough for now. I’ll let this sink in. In a week, we’ll meet again and lay out the groundwork.”

  It’s not going to be easy, but as I look around at everyone who is still in the room, I can’t help but think that we can definitely do it.

  ********

  With the official announcement out of the way, my days are full of work from there. Viper is at my side through it all, and my father does what he can before he and my mother need to leave. Some of the others, wary but cautiously interested, approach me to ask for more details.

  The brewery is my main concern right now. It’s a way for us to earn legitimate money and a way to use the land that we have. I ignore all calls that have been forward to me from a man named Richard Griffin, the same real estate mogul who, apparently, was harassing my father. I have no intention of selling, and I’m not going to speak to him when he can’t take no for an answer.

  I haven’t lost anyone yet, but there are a few that might leave before the month is out. About ten members were still highly uncomfortable as they listened to me a week later, and it was clear that they didn’t like this new direction. I made a note of who they are. As soon as they ask to leave, I’ll grant them permission with the hope they can find somewhere better suited to them. I haven’t heard anything about Chains yet.

  Nearly a week and a half after my father announced me as the new president, I slump into a seat at our bar with a tired laugh. “My father forgot to tell me about the paperwork that’s involved,” I say. “I feel like I’m getting buried.”

  “You’ll be good,” Tex says comfortably to me. “You’re the guy that’s draggin’ this sorry club into the light, after all.”

  I grin at him. Tex is a good guy. If Viper wasn’t my automatic choice for VP, Tex would have been my next choice. He’s well-liked among just about everyone, and his calm presence is enough to stifle even the largest tempers. He might not be the vice, but his opinion has been invaluable, all the same.

  “Cheers to that,” I laugh.

  Nearly half an hour later, Viper barrels into the bar. I frown at him as he approaches.

  “You were supposed to be here hours ago,” I say. “We were supposed to look at this paperwork.”

  “Sorry,” Viper says. He sounds out of breath, and beneath that, angry. “I got caught up. I heard some news you might want to hear.”

  “Yeah?” I ask, straightening in my chair.

  “Chains has gone ahead and formed another club,” Viper says grimly. “Called Chains of Glory.”

  I can’t help but snort at the name. How egotistical and pretentious he is to name a club after himself.

  “They’re already making a name for themselves,” Viper continues. “I heard that they might be making a deal with Hell’s Riot.”

  I scowl. “Of co
urse he is. The two of them can join each other in hell, for all I care.”

  “You talking about Chains?”

  Viper, Tex, and I look up at the sound of the new voice. Arsenal towers over us. Despite his tall, thick build and his strong arms that look like they could crush any of us in seconds, Arsenal is a pretty chill guy. I’ve only ever seen him angry once, and it is not something I want to see again.

  “Yeah,” I say. “Have you heard anything?”

  “While you were away, Chains started a business,” Arsenal said, leaning against the table. “Some strip club named Night Pleasures. Word on the street is that he’s using it as a front to launder money and for other things. It’s just rumors, though.”

  “Knowin’ Chains, they’re prob’ly true,” Tex says, shaking his head.

  “No doubt,” Viper agrees. “We’ll all need to be careful. I don’t know what Chains promised those cartels or anyone else that he dealt with, but they’re all going to be upset with the change.”

  “They’ll be coming, no doubt,” Arsenal says with a nod. “Going legit isn’t going to stop them.”

  “I know,” I say softly. I think of Lacey, lying so still in my arms. “But we need to. We’ll fight our way through if we need to.”

  Arsenal leans down and claps me on the shoulder, and Tex and Viper both nod firmly at me. We’ll get through this somehow. All the changes I’ve made are Lacey’s legacy, and I refuse to dishonor that.

  Chapter Three: Reaper

  The next morning, I add something to my list of things to do. I need to take control of Chains’s strip club.

  Since he built it off the funds from the club, Night Pleasures technically belongs to the Devil's Mayhem, not Chains. I can’t stop thinking of what I saw in the bar that night, of the way he treated that waitress and the women around him. Leaving him in control of vulnerable young women makes me feel sick.