by Jade Kuzma
“I don’t know anything about that,” I said.
“Yeah… I’ll bet you don’t… I’ll bet you don’t know anything about Lieberman’s wreck being found in that canyon either.”
“Nope,” I said. “This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
“Higher-ups aren’t happy about it. They spent a lot of time and energy on Lieberman’s task force.”
“If they wanted to get the job done, they should’ve sent someone besides Lieberman. That woman didn’t know a thing or two about how things work in this town.”
“You won’t have to worry about that. From what I’m hearing they’re done with Ivory for the time being. Too many resources just to keep chasing something they’ll never catch…”
“Then it looks like you’re back in charge, Sutton.”
I slowly turned and looked at the old man.
The weariness everybody saw in his eyes was still there. All of the memories he had… He might’ve been on the other side of the law but he knew that I wanted the same thing as him.
“Thanks for putting up those roadblocks,” I said. “I couldn’t—”
“I don’t wanna know what you did,” he said. “I’m willing to look the other way if it’s what’s best for Ivory.”
“Lieberman was responsible for everything that happened.”
“Lieberman is gone now. I still got a job to do, Cunningham.”
“I won’t stop you from doing it. But I can tell you one thing… You won’t have to worry about the Black Reapers. We’ve had enough drama to last us a lifetime.”
“Yeah… I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“…You enjoy yourself, Sheriff.”
He nodded to me then joined Officer Rose at the side of the bar.
“Hey!”
I turned to the side and saw a woman I hadn’t seen in a long time standing next to me.
“Lydia!”
Her husband Sean stood next to her with their son in his arms.
“Mr. Brash…”
“How you doing, Garnet?” Sean said with a smirk.
“We heard about the clubhouse reopening,” Lydia said. “Thought we’d stop by with a little present.”
I looked down at the tray in her hands.
“What’s this?” I said.
“Tiramisu,” she said. “I’m catering Blake and Katrina’s wedding. Thought I’d give everybody a little sneak peek at what they can expect.”
“You brought Tiramisu?”
We all turned toward the voice next to us. It was as if Brawn had appeared out of nowhere. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the big man, his eyes wide with wonder.
“I sure did,” Lydia said. “Come here. Let me get you a piece.”
Lydia moved over to one of the tables and started passing out her dessert to all of the people who’d gotten her attention.
“Oh, shit… Look who finally stopped to pay a visit.”
Needle walked up to Sean. Sean looked back at him and shook his head.
“Needle,” Sean sighed. “Still a prick, I see.”
“Hey, the clubhouse was always open,” Needle said.
“I’ve been busy. Don’t worry. I’ll be at your wedding.”
“Forget the wedding. I miss taking your money. We all know the only reason you patched out was because you were tired of me beating you at poker.”
Sean might not have been a member but he still looked as intense as any man I’d ever met. You could never take the Reaper out of him.
“Deal the fucking cards,” Sean said.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Needle said.
Needle cackled as he headed to the backroom with Sean right behind him.
I took another sip of beer as Anna walked up next to me.
“Declan.”
“Miss Roberts. How you doing?”
“I’m doing just fine. This is quite the celebration.”
“It is. This atmosphere isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen. And to think, all it took was a drive-by shooting.”
Anna shook her head but she was still smiling and laughing at my joke.
“What’s up?” I said.
“Nothing. I was just thinking… When I left Ivory all those years ago… It was because I never thought I could experience something like this. All I could see were the negatives.”
“Now what do you see?”
“I see… I see a family. I see bonds that were forged in the darkest of times. Bonds that can’t be broken.”
“You’d know that better than anybody. If a few years can’t keep you and Ghost apart, nothing will.”
She looked over at her man in the distance.
“…Thanks,” she said.
“Thanks? For what?”
“Jon is a good man. An amazing man. The most incredible man I’ve ever met. And I know he is who he is because of this club. Thanks for being there for him.”
“I’ll always be there for him. I’ll always be there for you.”
Anna smiled softly at me before excusing herself to spend some time with the others. I stayed leaning up against the bar, enjoying the wild scene while everybody mingled with one another.
My old lady eventually joined me so that I wasn’t alone for too long.
“You’re not joining in on the festivities,” she said.
“I can’t think of a better way to enjoy the festivities than watching everybody from right where I am. Look at ‘em. The entire club. Family. Friends. Even a few cops. Everybody’s enjoying themselves.”
“You did this.”
“I didn’t do this. It was the club. It was always the club.”
“But you were in charge.”
“Maybe. The patch was always what drove me. The patch and all of the people I care about.”
I smiled at Michelle and she did the same. I’d been with her for more than a decade now but she was still just as beautiful. I loved her more now than I did before. I’d never been more grateful than I was at this moment.
“We got something in the mail,” she said. “Something curious.”
“Curious?” I said, an eyebrow raised.
She reached over the bar and handed me a postcard. There was nothing special about it that I could see.
“What is this?” I said. “It’s just a blank postcard.”
“It’s postmarked from Myanmar…”
“I don’t know where that is.”
“It’s somewhere in Asia.”
“Asia…”
I thought about it for a few seconds and laughed softly to myself.
“Something funny?” Michelle asked.
“No… Just remembering a friend.”
I put the postcard down on the bar counter.
“From the looks of things, you’ve got a lot of friends,” she said.
I looked out on the bar and admired the scene in the clubhouse like I’d been doing this entire time.
“Friends and family,” I said.
I watched as Nate and Ghost made their way to the back to join Needle and Sean with their card game. Sully seemed exhausted from all of the people hounding him about his engagement and joined the other patches. Brawn finally stuffed himself full of Lydia’s dessert. Petey convinced him to get in on the card game with everybody else.
The celebration didn’t look like it was anywhere close to dying down. Everybody in the building was partying like there was no tomorrow.
“Something wrong?”
Michelle looked at me. I stared back at her then shifted my eyes down toward her stomach.
My club was intact. I didn’t have to worry about any more drama from Lieberman, the cops, or the Triads. Ivory was safe. The people I cared about most were happy.
And Michelle…. The woman I loved was here with me, carrying my child.
“Damn,” I sighed. “I don’t know what I did in a past life to deserve all of this.”
“You didn’t do anything but be the man you are.”
“I wouldn’t be the m
an I am without the club.”
I looked toward the backroom where the rest of the MC was playing cards. When I turned back to Michelle, she was smiling softly like she already knew what I was thinking. I leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek before excusing myself.
I headed to the backroom and the argument was already loud.
“You don’t got shit, Brash!” Needle shouted.
“Your trash talk never worked on me,” Sean replied. “It never worked, so don’t even start.”
“The only thing that ever worked is your luck,” Sully added.
“Oh, two on one, huh?” Needle said. “Okay. Fine. I’ll take all your fucking money then. Let’s go.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the chaotic card scene. I was just standing next to the table, listening in on all their shouting, when Needle suddenly turned to me.
“Garnet,” he said. “Something up?”
Everybody shut up and turned their attention toward me.
“You got room for one more?” I said.
“You never played cards with us before,” Needle said, raising an eyebrow at me. “But… I can’t refuse the boss. Pull up a chair and put some cash on the table.”
I took a seat while everybody kept fucking eyeballing me.
“You sure you know what you’re doing?” Petey said to me.
“Keep talking,” I said.
“Well, since it’s been a long time, you can deal,” Needle said.
He put the deck of cards in front of me. I picked them up and shuffled them while I looked around the table.
Ghost. The VP who’d been with me since the beginning.
Needle. The cocky prick who always spoke up when he needed to.
Brawn. The enforcer who was never afraid to put himself on the line for the club.
Petey. The smart man who made sure our plans got done.
Sully. The hero who gave our club more legitimacy in Ivory.
Brash. The man who reminded us that we were deeper than our patches.
And Nate. The future of the Reapers.
Black Reapers Ivory Chapter.
These men weren’t just club members. They weren’t just my friends. They were brothers. Men who’d put their lives on the line for me and the ones they cared about. We’d all looked death in the face and lived to tell the tale.
I couldn’t help but smile, thinking about how grateful I was to sit among them. They were all smiling back at me.
“It’s good to have you at the table,” Ghost said as he patted me on the back.
I looked at him and nodded.
I swallowed to clear my throat then started dealing the cards.
“I hope you’ve got your money saved up,” I said. “No mercy, brothers.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Needle said. “I like knocking people down a peg or two.”
“Shut the hell up,” Sully said.
“I’ll knock you down a few pegs, too.”
“All talk,” Sean said.
“It never gets old,” Ghost sighed.
Everybody took their cards and looked at them. One by one, everybody splashed their chips into the center of the table. I was the only one who didn’t bother looking at my cards.
“It’s on you, boss,” Needle said.
“You gonna look at your cards?” Ghost said to me.
I looked back at him then at the rest of the table. Everybody was waiting on me.
I peeked down and slowly raised my cards up between my fingers. It didn’t matter what I had. Whatever hand I was dealt, I was ready for it.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read the conclusion to the Black Reapers MC Series! Reaper/Endgame was a longtime coming and it was a joy for me to write the whole series!
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The Black Reapers
PART 1: BRASH (A Bad Boy Biker Romance)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0795MH4LB
PART 2: NEEDLE (A Bad Boy Biker Romance)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079QKZMBC
PART 3: SULLY (A Bad Boy Firefighter Romance)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B7L1D2X
PART 4: CHAR (A Bad Boy Biker Romance)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BP7DLB4
PART 5: GHOST (A Bad Boy Second Chance Romance)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C6DK73M