REAPER'S KISS

by Jaxson Kidman

  “Until he attacked me,” I said.

  “Yeah. By then he was moving up the ranks in his own gang and shit with the MC was getting shaky. We prevented a war by killing Arnie, even if Glen slipped away. Spade called a truce and let it all slide. I swear to you, Jace, I voted against that. I sat in the VP seat and…”

  “Sid is telling the truth,” Bill said. His face was worn with heavy bags and wrinkles. “Sid almost lost his patch over it. But the table decided to move forward. As a sign of respect to you, Jace, we gave you a leather cut. Patched you in. You were on the table anyway for vote but we decided to speed it up. A sign of appreciation.”

  “Once Glen finished with you, he went to the store and murdered Jake’s wife,” Sid said. “So the PD was heavily involved. We tried to get as much of the paperwork to go missing or get destroyed but there was only so much. That was another deciding factor. Plus, with the PD chasing him away. And that was right around the time we got pulled into a retaliation war with another club.”

  I slammed my hands on the table. I stood up. “Son of a bitch. This prick tried to kill me. He killed Ava’s mother. Fuck. He killed Frank. Killing his number one guy - if that was who Frank was - means he’s scared. I know a way to do this.” I looked around the table. I had never stood like a leader before. Shit, I even had Sid staring at me.

  “Go on,” Sid said. “What do you have?”

  “What I have to say… it cannot be voted on… it has to just happen…”

  chapter twenty-six

  (ava)

  *NOW*

  “We’re leaving,” Jace said to me.

  “Right now?”

  “Right now,” he said. “I want to take you home. My house. You don’t need to be here anymore.”

  I grabbed his arm. “Hey. What’s going on? We’ve been hiding here for days now…”

  “It’s just time, sweetie,” Jace said. “If you trust me like you say you do, then you’ll keep quiet and come with me.”

  What else was I supposed to do?

  My life kept crumbling by the second and Jace was the only one there to sweep up the pieces and make the world seem right again. He held me when I cried and didn’t ask what was wrong. Which was exactly what I needed. I knew everything in my life had been messed up but I didn’t realize how bad. And while I wanted to be angry with my father, he was the one in a hospital bed, suffering. Maybe in some fucked up way the universe got its revenge on him for me.

  All I could think about though was staying alive. That I had a secret brother who was hell bent on killing me. The guy that killed my mother. The guy that tried to hurt Jace. All my feelings for Jace were based off bad things happening to us.

  So I followed Jace through the clubhouse and out the door.

  I climbed onto the back of his motorcycle.

  I slid my hands around his body and held tight as we sped away.

  Jace rode back to his house and took my hand as we walked inside. All my days and weeks had gotten so jumbled together and I had this feeling as though me and Jace had been together for a long time.

  He pulled me right to his bed.

  We crashed to the bed, me almost on top of him. He kicked off his boots and ran his hands down my body to my lower back. I touched his face, digging at his scruff. He was chiseled and beautiful as a man. The killer I used to see in his eyes was now replaced with a protector. With a lover. With so much more.

  I leaned in a kissed him.

  Then again.

  And again.

  I ran my hand down his chest, knowing right where I wanted to go.

  But Jace stopped me.

  “Fuck, sweetie, we have to talk,” he said. “The reason why I wanted out of there.”

  “I love talking to you, Jace, but the subject matter usually sucks.”

  “Yeah, this is going to suck,” he said and grinned.

  “How bad?”

  “Glen.”

  “No. I don’t want to hear that name.”

  I started to slither away but Jace grabbed me. Kept me close to him.

  “Listen to me. We have to finish this thing. We have to end it for good here. There’s no other choice.”

  “Your version of end it doesn’t mean him going to jail, does it?”

  “No.”

  “You’re going to kill him.”

  Jace gritted his teeth. “Sweetie, the right thing has to be done. He murdered your mother. I want that wound closed for good for you.”

  “Closing a wound doesn’t stop the pain.”

  “Of course it doesn’t,” Jace said. “But you can heal. You can scar. You can have the memory. And I want to be the man that holds you when you’re in pain. But I want you to feel something knowing that he received the right kind of justice.”

  The words were so honest and powerful. I believed everything Jace said. Call me crazy. Maybe I was falling in love with him. But when he said that to me, I believed him. Every. Single. Word.

  I kissed his leather jacket, right at his heart.

  “Okay. Go on.”

  “We kept the clubhouse on somewhat of a lockdown,” Jace said. “That’s why you weren’t allowed to split. We needed you safe. We were out trying to track down Glen. We found him.”

  My heart pounded. “What?”

  “We’ve been breaking up gambling and drugs for years. Sometimes we hand it over to the PD to deal with. Sometimes we take it on ourselves. If the cash is big, we want it. The last thing we did fucked up everything for Frank. That’s why Frank was taken out. Sid called Glen and we’re settling this.”

  “He agreed?”

  “This is where you’re going to hate me, sweetie,” Jace said.

  “Why?”

  “Remember when you said you’d do anything?”

  “Sure.”

  Jace touched my face and moved hair behind my ear. “Sweetie, we offered Glen a truce. He’s going to take back half the money. The other half we’re keeping as a warning. But there’s one more factor.”

  “Which is?”

  “You,” Jace said. “We agreed to give you to him…”

  I never moved so fast in all my life. One second I was on Jace’s chest, the next I was flying through the house. I went out the backdoor and stood on the porch. I slammed against the railing and thought I was going to flip over it. Luckily I caught myself and just stood there staring out to the night.

  Give me up?

  Glen wanted me for one thing. To kill me.

  I heard the door open behind me.

  “Sweetie, you know damn well I would never let anything happen to you.”

  “What if I say no?” I asked without looking back.

  “Then the deal is off. Glen is on the hunt. The MC could only do so much. If you turn your back on the MC…”

  I looked back at Jace. His face looked worn.

  “And you’re okay with this?”

  “No,” he said. “I hate this. I fucking hate this. But to me there’s no other choice in the matter. It’s the only way to isolate Glen. And confuse him. The second he sees you, Ava, he’s going to lose his mind. That’s where we come in.”

  “Where is this happening?”

  “The store,” Jace said. “It’s the most logical place. It’s the only place. Play into everyone’s emotions.”

  “Including mine!” I yelled. I turned and leaned against the railing. “I hate you for this, Jace.”

  He stepped toward me. “I know you do, sweetie. I hate me for it too. Look, I care about you, Ava. Goddammit, the feeling…”

  I threw my hand forward and covered his mouth. “It’s my turn to talk for a second. I feel it too, Jace. Whatever this is. I hate you for making me trust you so much. But I do trust you. Whatever you need from me.”

  I slid my hand away.

  Jace grabbed my waist and lifted me, sitting me on the narrow railing. “Sweetie, I’ve had nothing in my life. The MC was a last resort that worked for me. Until I met you, I never knew what real was. All I did was chase
the reaper… or let the reaper chase me… Bouncing around the club. Taking my orders. Taking my hits. I ended up with this fucking house and nothing to do with it. Now your shit is all over the place. The house smells like you. Smells like a woman. I’m okay with that. I’m okay with all of this happening right now. I want you to understand that.”

  “Okay. I’m sorry I stormed away. I feel like everyone in my life is suddenly letting me down. Pushing me away.”

  “I would never push you away, sweetie,” Jace said. “But I have a loyalty to the patch. To the cut. I have honor there. You see criminals, I see freedom. Glen was a criminal. He took your mother’s life. I’m going to take his freedom away.”

  “What about my father?” I asked. “With your club…”

  Jace shook his head. “He’ll have to figure it out for himself.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “You wondering if they’re going to hurt him?”

  “Yes. He’s my father. No matter what.”

  Jace pulled me close for a hug. I loved the way he smelled. Leather, steel, and man, all wrapped up into one.

  He kissed the top of my head. “You’re a good person, sweetie. A damn good person. I’m going to take care of everything. No matter what.”

  There was plenty left to say but I didn’t want to ruin that moment.

  An outlaw with his arms around me. Holding me.

  Inside my heart, I knew nothing would ever be the same again.

  chapter twenty-seven

  (jace)

  *NOW*

  I ended the call and felt my heart race. I never got nervous going into a deal. Shit, there were plenty of times when talks broke down between us and other crews and shit got violent. All I could think about was Ava. She didn’t deserve to be thrust into this position. But it was the only way to draw out Glen.

  I turned and looked at Sid. He was ready to go. Bandana wrapped around his head like he was ready for war. Black sunglasses on his face. A snarl to match. We were keeping the clubhouse on lockdown with prospects out on the road, keeping things protected in town.

  Intel provided us with everything we needed about Glen. He was connected but not running with a crew. That meant whatever he did was on his own. Anything he earned he kicked a little up as a tribute. If we took him out, it would stir up some bad blood. Having heavy powered suits come through Bishop would be a nightmare but we didn’t have much of a choice. Sid wanted final revenge on this guy.

  So did I.

  Glen was the guy behind the wheel of a SUV that tried to kill me. He was the one who ordered the lunk of a moron Arnie to shoot me. And if I hadn’t played dead or gotten to my cell phone fast enough, I would have been killed that night.

  And just thinking about it… while I was on the road, broken and bleeding, Glen was hurrying to his second destination of that night. To the store. To murder Ava’s mother.

  “We need to move,” Sid said.

  He let out a whistle and a black car came from around the side of the building.

  That’s when my heart started to hurt. Actually physically hurt.

  In the backseat of the car was Ava. Hands tied behind her back. A bag of money on her lap. It was the only way to make this thing work. She was the visible variable while I had the invisible variable coming soon.

  “You want to kiss your girl?” Sid asked me.

  “No,” I said. I put my sunglasses on. I climbed on my ride. “Let’s get this shit out of the way.”

  So we left, just me and the Prez, Diesel driving the black car behind us.

  The store was still shut down, a family emergency sign hanging in the door. It wasn’t like many people went to the store anyway. The store was nothing more than a reminder of a small town that used to flourish with little places like that.

  I parked my ride sideways and climbed off. Sid was behind me. I walked to the car and stood there. I nodded to Sid and he placed a call.

  A minute later, Glen appeared at the front door of the store.

  You want to know the worst feeling in the world?

  Walking a woman you care about to what could end up being her final destination. And I had to play it all off too.

  I walked Ava to the front door of her family’s store.

  Glen opened the door.

  I had never seen his face in the light of day before. Only in the dark as I writhed in pain on the road where he had tried to kill me.

  Goddamn, that took some serious restraint.

  “I think we’re set here,” I said to Glen.

  As fucked up as it was, you could tell Glen and Ava were from the same bloodline.

  Glen was taller than Ava but not as tall as me. He had a cocky aura about him, as though he was an untouchable man.

  His eyes lit up when he saw Ava.

  “This is what you wanted,” Sid said. “We’ve fulfilled our promise.” Sid then tossed a bag of money to Glen. “Half the money. Your line of business isn’t welcome in Bishop.”

  Glen nodded. “Well then, how interesting this has become. I’m back to where it started for me. Where I killed this bitch’s mother. Now I’m going to do the same to her. I’ll make sure her father - our father - will have lost everything he loves.”

  As Glen started to back up, I caught myself inching forward. I couldn’t let Ava out of my sight or grasp for a second. Sid side stepped and blocked me from doing anything stupid.

  We were going to wait and see what Glen’s next move would be.

  The goal was to get Ava to safety and then deal with Glen.

  “Since you’ve been so honest with me, let me do the same with you,” Glen said. “Come with me.”

  He walked into the store.

  I stepped up behind Ava and I touched her lower back. I couldn’t say a word to her, but I hoped my touch reassured her.

  When we got into the store, Glen pointed to the counter.

  I saw a bunch of chains and looked at him.

  “What the fuck is that about?” I asked.

  Glen walked to the door and twisted the lock shut. “We’re going to tie up Ava and finally do what was meant to be done a long time ago.”

  Glen walked down one of the aisles. He crouched and disappeared for a few seconds.

  I looked at Sid. I shook my head.

  I didn’t like this. At all.

  My instincts were going crazy. And I couldn’t fight against what I believed was right from wrong. I quickly grabbed for Sid and threw him back. He smashed into a gum ball machine that was probably thirty years old. He tumbled over and down to the ground just as Glen stood back up.

  A gun in his hand.

  He fucking fired right where Sid had been standing.

  I jumped to my left to get to Ava next. I couldn’t knock her over because she was still tied up, so I stood there, blocking her.

  The gun went off again and I felt a hot pain blast to my right shoulder. It jolted me forward into Ava. I wrapped my arms around her and pushed her onto the counter. I had to put all my weight on her as I rolled over her and pulled her to the floor. Above us, glass shattered as Glen kept unloading his clip.

  “Jace,” Ava said. “Jace… save me…”

  “I’ve got you sweetie,” I said to her.

  I got to my knees, straddling Ava. I hurried to untie her. I slid back and grabbed her hand, sitting her up. I couldn’t help myself as I touched her face. I brought my mouth to hers and kissed her, just once.

  Then I grabbed my gun and slowly inched up.

  Sid was already back out the door. Glen lifted a can in the air and threw it. Glass shattered and liquid poured from the can. The smell hit me a few seconds later.

  Gas.

  Glen wanted to burn the store down. He wanted to burn the store down with Ava inside. That had been his plan.

  I had a clear shot at Glen’s back but I couldn’t take it.

  I had a good fucking reason for it.

  I looked down at Ava and reached for her.

  I pulled her to her
feet. My shoulder was on fire. Blood dripped down my back and down my arm. I was losing blood fast but I needed to get Ava to safety.

  Trust me, Sid hadn’t bailed on us. Sid knew what was coming next.

  I pulled Ava from behind the counter.

  Glen turned and saw us.

  “Fuckers!” he yelled.

  He pulled his gun and shot.

  I ducked and brought Ava with me.

  We hurried along the wall toward the back room door.

  The bullets kept flying but Glen had no visible target to shoot at.

  I busted through the door and pulled Ava to a storage shelf.

  We stood there and waited.

  It took all of a minute before we smelled smoke.

  Ava looked at me. Her childhood… everything she knew… it was going up in smoke.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered to her. “We have to get out of this alive. Trust me.”

  “Why aren’t we running?” she asked. “Why didn’t you shoot him?”

  I gritted my teeth.

  I looked at the back door of the store and waited.

  “Trust me,” I said.

  Glen made an appearance rushing into the back room of the store. When the doors opened and shut, smoke came through.

  “It’s all gone!” he shouted. “Now come out and fucking face me!”

  He had the bag of money tucked like a football. He spun around, holding the gun.

  I looked down at Ava. I kissed her lips then put my lips to her ear. “You stay right here, sweetie. I have to go out there.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  I told her the truth. “I have to let Glen shoot me again.”

  chapter twenty-eight

  (ava)

  *NOW*

  I tried to hold tight to Jace as his words rang in my head. But he started to move. He was gone. He jumped out from our hiding spot and called for Glen.