Mason: Inked Reapers MC

by West, Heather

  Brea deftly called Miles’ number. He answered after three calls, his voice hoarse as though he’d been sleeping.

  “Hey, babe,” he murmured. It was comforting to hear him so close even though he wasn’t actually there.

  “Hey,” Brea stretched out on the bed, burning with longing to touch him, to hold him, even to smell him. She physically ached for him whenever they were apart. Thankfully Sylar was heading off early the next day so she could be with Miles again.

  “You have fun with your brother tonight?”

  “Oh, tons,” Brea replied sarcastically. She held her phone up so that it could capture Gina’s rapturous screams as they bounced around her small apartment.

  “Jesus,” she could hear Miles laughing. “Who the hell is that?”

  “My boss,” Brea stated flatly. Miles laughed harder. “She’s hooking up with my brother.”

  “Well, it sounds like she’s having fun, maybe you’ll get a raise.”

  “Hmm,” Brea yawned and wished that Gina and Sylar would start winding down a bit so that she could get some sleep.

  “So your brother comes to see you and ends up bringing a girl back to your place?”

  “He was pretty wasted,” Brea said defensively.

  “It’s still a douche move.”

  Brea was silent, unsure how to defend Sylar. She was sorely disappointed not to have gotten to spend more time with him. But then if he liked Gina she knew she shouldn’t monopolize him. It was important that they both start to have separate lives from one another. They were still in a transitional period, maybe that was why she felt so hurt by his lack of attention to her at the bar.

  “He likes her,” Brea shrugged. “I just want him to be happy.”

  “As I’m sure he does you. Which is why I think I should meet him.”

  “Next time.”

  “I’ll hold you to that,” Miles teased.

  “Please do.” Brea yawned again.

  “Sweetheart, you should get some sleep.”

  “I would if I could,” Brea sighed. “They’ve been at it for the best part of half an hour. I’m exhausted just listening to it.”

  “Impressive,” Miles laughed, “on your brother’s part.”

  “What can I say, we are a family of over achievers.” She smiled sleepily to herself, wishing she could just press up against Miles’ strong chest and close her eyes. She loved to feel asleep feeling the steady, reassuring beat of his heart so preciously close to her own. With her finger, she’d trace the line of the tattoo she’d emblazoned on his chest, the tattoo which had bought them together.

  “Can you come over tomorrow?” she asked as her eyes closed. Talking with Miles, she was finally able to drown out Gina and her cries.

  “Sure,” Miles confirmed softly. “It might not be until a bit later, though, I have to work in the morning.”

  “Okay,” Brea murmured, nuzzling against her pillow. She could feel herself edging closer to sleep and she was eager for the respite it would bring. As much as she loved having Sylar visit it was exhausting to fret over everything she said to him. He seemed even more sensitive than usual, like something was bothering him. She hoped it had nothing to do with her. If it did, he wouldn’t say anything. Sylar was the kind to bottle things up until they suddenly exploded out without warning.

  “Try and get some sleep,” Miles urged gently.

  “I will.” Brea sleepily ended the call. In the darkness of her room, she slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep. She failed to hear Gina reach her dizzying climax, or the heavy footsteps of Sylar stomping around as he left the apartment to return to the night, to prowl Colridge’s dark streets for whatever it was he was looking for.

  Chapter 29

  When Brea awoke, the sun was burning brightly in her eyes. Stretching out her arms she yawned and for a moment she was blissfully unaware of events from the previous night. But then the memories of Gina’s euphoric cries came back to her and Brea sagged against her pillows. She wondered if Gina was still at the apartment, shuffling around wearing nothing but one of Sylar’s T-shirts. It was going to be awkward for Brea to see her like that, but she had to leave her bedroom, she needed to get ready for work.

  Taking a deep breath Brea ventured beyond her bedroom into her apartment. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows in there too, bathing everything in a beautiful golden glow. If Brea were in a better mood, she’d have appreciated what a gorgeous morning it was. But she was too nervous about her inevitable encounter with Gina. If she didn’t see her in the apartment, she was definitely going to see her at work.

  A quick inspection revealed that the apartment was empty. Feeling relieved Brea went to make herself a coffee. She felt surprisingly alert given how disturbed her sleep had been. But at least Sylar had enjoyed himself.

  Sylar.

  Thinking of her brother made Brea stiffen with concern. Where was he? It made sense for Gina to creep out before she woke up but not her own brother. Growing anxious Brea returned to her bedroom, fresh coffee in hand to get her cell phone. She quickly dialed Sylar’s number.

  It took him eight rings to answer. When he did so, he sounded groggy and confused.

  “Sylar!” Brea cried his name shrilly. “Where the hell are you?”

  “Home,” came the croaked reply.

  “Home?” Brea repeated in shock. How could her brother be at home? He’d been having sex in her apartment just a few hours ago.

  “I didn’t want to wake you,” Sylar noted apologetically. “So I crept out first thing.”

  “Did you at least have the courtesy to say goodbye to Gina?” Brea demanded indignantly, one hand perched on her slender hip.

  “Urgh,” Sylar groaned at the question.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” Brea rolled her eyes in annoyance. “She’s my boss Sylar, you could at least treat her with a bit of respect.”

  “I gave her a good time, didn’t I?” Sylar laughed.

  “I don’t like this version of you,” Brea noted, her voice hardening. “I prefer the caring Sylar, the good brother who looks out for me and doesn’t treat women like objects.”

  “Yeah, well you were pretty quick to get away from him,” Sylar raged.

  Brea crumpled, clutching at the phone. The last thing she wanted to do was get into an argument with Sylar. When it came to family, he was all she had.

  “I just mean that I get walking out on Gina, but you could have said goodbye to me.”

  “Yeah,” Sylar’s husky voice agreed gently. “I should have. Brea, I’m sorry.”

  “And last night all I wanted to do was hang out together and you were so…preoccupied.”

  “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

  Brea loathed how she currently felt like the needy younger sibling, desperate for her cool brother to pay attention to her. But she was used to being the center of his world. He was always telling her that everything he did was for her, for her well-being. Was that no longer true?

  “Like work stuff?” Brea wondered quietly.

  “Yeah. Things at work are…not good.”

  “You’ll come see me again soon, though, right?” Brea asked hopefully.

  “Of course,” Sylar agreed warmly. “It’d take an army to keep me away from my little sister.”

  Chapter 30

  Sylar sighed as he hung up the call and gazed up at the cracked ceiling in his bedroom. His body ached from all the alcohol he’d consumed and the beatings he’d dished out in a few of the seedier bars around Colridge. When he asked questions, he rarely used words.

  There was definitely a member of the Highway Reapers in Colridge. He’d been seen around, not much but enough. His mere presence there let Sylar know that a turf war was looming. The nerves in his body pulsed in anticipation for what was to come. Blood would surely be spilled.

  He thought of the man’s jaw he’d broken just that night when he refused to answer him. Wearing brass knuckles, Sylar had smacked the guy hard and clean, just the one good
solid punch. He’d sent him spluttering against the bar, blood gushing out of his mouth like a macabre fountain. Wincing he clutched at his jaw, although barely able to speak he sung like a canary.

  The next time Sylar visited Colridge he was going to take Smith with him. If they could weed out the intruder in time, he could save the Blood Pact a lot of time and energy. But the guy was smart, he was keeping a low profile and remaining off the grid. But when Sylar finds him, he’d be sure to send the Reapers a message. He remembered all too vividly how hospitable they’d been to him and Smith when they’d unknowingly shown up on their territory. He’d be sure to repay them in kind.

  Brooding, Sylar sat up pressing a hand to his throbbing temple. His knuckles were dark with the promise of bruising, but he didn’t care. He was close to finding the intruder. Close to wiping them out and gaining respect within the Blood Pact. But this was about more than respect, it was about getting revenge for Smith. For too long he’d watched his friend wear the ugly mask they’d cruelly given him.

  Deciding he’d already thought it through enough Sylar reached for his cell phone and called up Smith. For a while it just rang and he feared he might have to call back later.

  “Yeah?” Smith eventually picked up, sounding a bit breathless. Sylar suppressed a smile. His friend was probably in the middle of having sex with some girl he’d picked up in a bar. Typical Smith.

  “Hey, man, it’s me.”

  “Oh, hey,” the tension in Smith’s voice lifted. Sylar heard two muffled female voices in the background.

  “Did I disturb you?” Sylar asked teasingly.

  “You could say that,” Smith laughed. “Nothing I can’t pick up again later, though. What’s up?”

  “There’s a guy in Colridge.”

  “So I was right?” Smith gloated.

  “You were right.”

  “So what now?”

  Sylar thoughtfully stroked his chin. “You tell me.”

  “I say we go and pay him a visit,” Smith’s voice dropped so that it was menacingly low. “We kick him the hell out of town and send the Highway Reapers a clear message.”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Sylar nodded to himself.

  “A display of strength,” Smith insisted brightly. “And I’ve got just the thing to do it.”

  Chapter 31

  “I’m so sorry,” Gina was upon Brea the moment she walked through the door, placing her hands on the younger woman’s shoulders and gazing apologetically into her eyes.

  “I just got so caught up with your brother last night and - ”

  “It’s okay,” Brea smiled kindly at her boss and pulled her hands from her shoulders. “You don’t need to apologize.”

  “But I do!” Gina insisted. “We were going at it all night! You must have heard us!”

  The guy behind the reception counter snickered appreciatively.

  “I think the whole neighborhood heard you,” Brea admitted dryly.

  “Oh God,” Gina clamped her hand to her chest. She was wearing a low cut top which revealed several hickeys which blossomed up her chest and towards her neck. Brea glanced away, her cheeks burning as if she’d walked in on some intimate moment between Gina and her brother.

  “Brea, I’m sorry. I’m not normally like that. Sylar is just so dangerous and sexy and - ”

  Brea raised her hands, interrupting her.

  “And he’s my brother,” she stated bluntly, “so less talk about how sexy he is, please.”

  “But he is,” Gina followed Brea through reception towards the staff room. “And he’s dangerous.”

  Brea shrugged. “Oooh, he is so sexy and dangerous, I get it. But that doesn’t mean I need to hear it.”

  “Brea,” Gina was standing in the doorway, her whole demeanor changed. Her expression was soft yet stern. “I noticed a tattoo on your brother.”

  “I bet you noticed a lot of tattoos on my brother,” Brea joked. “Again, nothing I need to know about.”

  “Actually, this one you might.”

  “No.” Brea was holding her hands up again, her voice forceful. “Whatever it is, don’t tell me. Because if you tell me you’re invading my brother’s privacy and I don’t like that. If he needs to tell me something, he will. Okay?”

  Gina nodded solemnly and backed out of the room. “Okay.”

  “Is this the part where you ask me when he’s coming back to town?” Brea teased, smiling lightly.

  “No,” Gina pursed her lips. “I had a great time with Sylar, don’t get me wrong. And he’s an amazing guy,” a flush crept over Gina’s face as she remembered the previous night. “But he is dangerous, Brea,” she concluded flatly. “If he comes back here, I fear he’ll be bringing trouble.”

  “Trouble?” Brea laughed at the accusation. Sylar wasn’t a bringer of trouble. He was the kind of guy who spent his time avoiding it, wasn’t he? He didn’t stir things up, he wasn’t like that. For years, he’d had Brea’s back, keeping them both safe. Gina had just read him wrong or was bitter about him walking out on her first thing.

  “Yeah, Sylar is nothing but trouble,” she joked as she strolled out of the room to greet her first client of the day.

  Chapter 32

  Gina went around to reception in the tattoo parlor, scrutinizing all the designs on the walls.

  “Everything okay?” Colin, the slim receptionist asked, furrowing his brow with mild concern.

  “Everything is fine,” Gina told him unconvincingly, her eyes still scanning the walls.

  “Seriously, Gina, what’s up?”

  “You know much about gang tattoos?” Gina came and leaned heavily against the reception desk which caused her ample bosom to bunch up towards her neck. Colin politely kept his gaze at eye level.

  “Gang tats?” Colin shook his head slowly. “Not really.”

  “We don’t do them here,” Gina told him sharply. “Gang tattoos just breed trouble. You agree to the wrong commission and you get a brick thrown through your window. Or worse.”

  “Can it really be that bad?” Colin sounded shocked and a little scared.

  “Oh yeah,” Gina nodded gravely. “I’ve had to move twice before because of gang crap.”

  “But Colridge isn’t like that,” Colin stated with false confidence. He looked pleadingly into Gina’s eyes, urging her to back him up.

  “I didn’t think it was,” she admitted. “But I’m starting to fear I might be wrong.”

  “What makes you think that?” Colin asked, alarmed. Gina glanced beyond him, checking the rest of the tattoo parlor and ensuring that they were alone.

  “So last night I hooked up with a guy with a gang tattoo. There was a skull dripping blood on his inner left wrist which I know means he belongs to the Blood Pact.”

  “Last night?” Colin’s eyes widened with surprise. “You mean Brea’s brother?”

  “Wow, gossip sure travels fast here,” Gina noted dryly.

  “Does Brea know?”

  “No.” Gina straightened and readjusted the low cut top she was wearing. “And I intend to keep it that way. Brea is a sweet girl, I reckon she’s got no idea of the amount of trouble her brother gets into or the dangerous company he keeps.”

  “Aren’t you going to tell her?”

  “No,” Gina sighed, aware that perhaps she should just be honest with her new friend and employee. “At least not yet. If her brother starts stirring up trouble in town, then I’ll talk to her. Until then I’ll let sleeping dogs lie.”

  “So you think the Blood Pact are in town?” Colin looked pale. Like most people in Colridge, he’d heard horror stories about the Blood Pact and their dark antics.

  “I don’t think so,” Gina nervously fingered the ornate necklace she was wearing which hung down between her breasts like a sexy pendulum. “But I think someone else is. Let’s start bringing the shutters in here down at night, okay?”

  “Okay.”