by Simone Elise
“I’m leaving.”
It was an automatic reaction. I didn’t even think about it. My hand whipped across his face, slapping him. My eyes filled with tears. “You fucking promised me. YOU PROMISED ME!” He said he loved me. He said it was forever. He said he needed me as much as I needed him and now what, he was leaving?
“HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME!”
His head slowly turned back to face me, taking the slap as if it was nothing. “I don’t get a choice.”
“Don’t lie to me. Everyone has a choice. Everyone makes them. If you’re leaving, it’s on you, no one else.”
“I’ve been called to do my job. I don’t get a fucking choice in the matter. Your old man wants the list cut. He wants me on the road. He gets me on the road. It is as simple as fucking that.”
“You’re putting the club before us.” I shook my head in rage. “You said you loved me. How can you say those words and not really mean it?”
“I do love you. I fucking care more about you than anything else in the world. But your father made a choice. He doesn’t want me near you, so I’m hitting the road.”
“You’re letting him win.” Furious tears slid down my face. “You’re the fucking Reaper for god sake, stand up against him.”
“I CAN’T!” he roared, getting up, not keeping his anger in check. “I’m under his fucking orders. It’s my duty, Abby. My duty to cull the list. I’m the Reaper. It’s my job and if the President wants me to do it, then I have to step up.”
I didn’t know who to be mad at. I didn’t know who to blame for my breaking heart.
“It was all just a lie, wasn’t it? You never wanted a relationship.” I stared at him, my eyes shining with breaking pain. “You are the Reaper. Cold-hearted, and you get what you want. You always have. So blaming my father won’t get you out of this. I don’t believe you. You deceived me from the start; I was just too stupid to see it.”
I got up from the bed, the ice that floated through my body slowly melting as boiling rage replaced it.
“I hate you for doing this to me.” I wiped my angry tears away. “For breaking my heart, again.”
He stood there in silence, just watching me. His eyes flashed with splintering rage, but he kept silent.
“What, nothing more to say?” I cocked my head to the side. “No more excuses.”
“I never expected you to understand.” He picked up the black bag and my heart squeezed tightly. “This is my life. The club is all I have.”
“That’s a lie. You had me.”
“And I couldn’t have fucking both, could I?”
“Just because you’re leaving didn’t mean you had to end it. Last time I checked, distance didn’t mean ending.”
“I don’t come back the same man.” He muttered more to himself, zipping the bag, then he looked up, locking his eyes with mine from across the room. “I wish I could give you what you want, Abby. But I can’t.”
“All I ever wanted was you.”
“Your father doesn’t want you to have this life.” He strolled across the room till he stood in front of me. Gently with his thumbs, he wiped the tears away from under my eyes. “I should have never chased you. The hurt you feel now is on me. I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry.” I snorted and crossed my arms. “Well, that does so much.”
“I love you, Abby. Always will.” He dipped his head, holding my eyes with his. “I’ll never stop loving you.”
What could I say to that? I placed a hand on his hard leather, close to his heart. “Then don’t go.” Don’t leave, not again. I wasn’t sure if I could deal with it again. Every part of me ached when I wasn’t with him. I lost the point to living without him. Without him, I was nothing.
Nothing but an empty shell.
“You’ll be ok,” he reassured me and wrapped an arm around my back and pulled me into a hug. “You’re stronger than you know. You don’t need me.”
“I’m heartless without you,” I spoke, just before another wave of tears took over and I cried into his chest.
“Come on baby girl, no more tears. You’re killing me here.”
I sniffed back my tears and pulled away from him. “What did you expect? When you ride out of that lot, you’re taking a part of me, and I don’t know if I can live without it.”
“You were always too young and sweet for this type of lifestyle. You deserve better. You deserve a man that can put you first, and I can’t do that. Not now.”
“I mightn’t deserve you, but you’re all I ever wanted, Kade. Always will be.” I stepped out of his embrace. “But I get it. Club comes first.”
“I’m the Reaper. It is who I am. I’m the one that does the shit others can’t stomach. I’m sorry that you fell for the wrong guy.”
He leaned across me and opened the door.
“Do you have to leave tonight? It’s the dead of the night.” My stomach twisted with the realization that this was it. He was leaving and wasn’t coming back. I couldn’t fix this.
“I’m sure our paths will cross again.” A dim smile traced his lips. “Maybe then you’ll have found a man that deserves your heart.”
I closed my eyes, letting the tears fall.
Then he walked past me, and I didn’t reach out to stop him. Instead, I let him walk through the door and down the hall.
I let him go.
That’s what he wanted, wasn’t it?
He had deceived me from the start, or maybe I had deceived myself into thinking we could actually be together.
Was that the goodbye I really pictured us to have?
Didn’t what we had deserve a better goodbye?
Without overthinking, I spun the bedroom door back open and sprinted down the hallway, down the stairs, through the crowded bar, and out the clubhouse doors.
My eyes landed on Reaper’s back; he was still walking to his bike.
“REAPER!”
He turned and then caught me with both arms, lifting me off the ground.
I curled into him, holding on for dear life. Taking in his strong scent for the last time and the safety of his arms.
“I lied.” I whimpered into his chest. “I could never hate you.”
“Shhh.” He ran his hands down my back. “I know. I know, Abby.”
“I just didn’t want you to leave and I...” I pulled away from his shoulder, meeting his eyes. “I love you, Kade. Please don’t go.”
“Got to, babe. But,” He leaned his forehead against mine. “I love you too. Always will.”
I didn’t want to let go, but I knew I had to. So I slid down his body, pulling my arms from around his neck and cupping his cheeks. “You don’t know how much I need you. How much I need to breathe the same air as you. I won’t make it without you.”
“You have before. I know you can.” His grip on me loosened, and he held me by my hips. “I’ll be seeing you again, Abby.”
“Yeah, I will be seeing you too.” I kissed the side of his cheek and pulled away. “Don’t go and get yourself killed now.”
“I’ll try my best not to.”
My eyes dragged across his motorbike and then slowly back up to him.
“I love you, Kade.”
“And I love you, Abby.” He dipped his lips and kissed me with the force of a hurricane.
Like it was our last kiss. Because it was our last kiss.
Then he pulled away, and I watched with a stomach filled with knives as he rode off into the darkness. And when the taillights of his bike disappeared, my heart froze.
***
“Did you send him away?”
I had stormed into Dad’s bedroom. The whore that was on him screamed and pulled the blankets over herself.
“DID YOU SEND HIM AWAY?” I screamed from the end of his bed. Not caring he was busy. Not caring that he most likely was furious at me for being in here.
“Get the fuck out, Abby.”
“Answer me!”
“YES!” He threw the blankets off him, pulling up his
pants. “I fucking sent that fucker the hell away from you.”
“How dare you.” I shook my head, full of rage. “I love him. Sending him away isn’t going to change that.”
“No,” he arched his eyebrows. “I can fucking promise you that it will change him. You will be the last thing on his mind when he returns. He’ll be back and searching only for the bottle like he always does.”
“You’re a monster.” I saw my father in a completely different light.
“I’m a fucking president, and he is under my fucking control. MY CONTROL! And I can fucking promise you that I will never let you be with one of my men.”
“I hate you,” I spoke with such force and when his hand whipped across my face, causing blood to spill in my mouth, I didn’t even care.
Instead, I turned my head to look back at him.
“Don’t you ever fucking say that.” His eyes bulged as he pointed a finger at me harshly.
“You can’t control my life, and I promise you now that what I do next is on you. You caused it.” Tears of pain stung my eyes and I whipped around, strolling out of his room, slamming the door behind me.
He could have his club.
He could have his whores.
But from now on, he didn’t have me.
***
We all make mistakes we can’t come back from. There was an unspoken rule that bonded each man to the club. Some would call it a duty. I would call it blind faith in something that was only ever going to offer them a short life and a bloody death.
Still.
I understood it.
Could understand it.
Till today.
Today my faith in this club and what it really stood for was shaken.
I brought a closed fist to Kim’s door and knocked.
“Fuck, you look like shit,” she said after opening the door and letting me in.
“Thanks.” I sank down on the edge of her bed.
“What happened?” She crossed her arms, looking at me with worry.
I dragged my eyes off the carpet and met her curious eyes. “Reaper left.”
Her eyes softened. “I didn’t see that coming.”
“Dad sent him.”
Her mouth dropped open in understanding. “I’m sorry, Abby.”
It didn’t matter, my heart was broken. Nothing could heal it. The man I loved was miles away now, and he wasn’t turning around.
He was gone.
“This shit with the Hellbound, is it for real?” I asked her.
She sighed, nodding her head, and sat beside me. “I wanted you to come around on it, but I didn’t want it to be like this.”
“Well, you wanted me ruthless.” I stared into her eyes, “I’m hollow now. So I’m ready.” I stood up. “If you’re serious about cutting ties with the club, then let’s do it.”
“We’ll need to find somewhere else to live.”
“That won’t be hard.”
“If we do this,” she stood up, “there is no going back. We can’t just patch things back up with them after we do this.”
“I don’t ever want to patch things up.” I felt an emotion I couldn’t even explain swallow me. “I want out. So if you’re still serious about it, let’s do it.”
She sighed, running her hand through her long blonde hair before giving me a firm look.
“Didn’t want you doing this for the wrong reason.”
“There was never going to be a good reason to do this.”
“I’ll call a meeting with Blake.” She looked unearthed about it, and I wondered what had made her make this decision.
“Good. I’ll pack my shit.”
I turned my back on her and walked out of her room with a new objective.
That objective was to be someone, someone that my father thought I couldn’t be.
I was stronger than he thought. Taking Reaper from me, took my heart. And a heartless soul was a dangerous one.
Did I have it in me to be a soulless monster and help Kim run this gang? I don’t know. All I knew was I had nothing to lose, and when you have nothing lose, there isn’t much stopping you from risking it all.
THE END OF BOOK 1
This is Simone Thank you for reading Reaper’s Claim. I hope you enjoyed the book! Please spread the word by leaving a review on Amazon.com
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Table of Contents
Reaper’s Claim
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
THE END OF BOOK 1