Reaper's Promise: A Wild Reapers MC

by Kiki Leach

I shifted in my chair and swallowed hard.

  "I think the bottom line is that we all just wanna make sure the club is gonna be secure no matter the outcome of all this, Prez," said Axel, doing what he could to lower the rising temp inside the room and keep the peace. "Brothers like me, Patch and Poker who've only been in this for a few years now, just know what we've heard."

  "I feel you on that, brother," said Riggs, "I do. But I need you all to trust me when I tell you that this shit I'm doing is for the best. No matter our reason for linking up or who made it happen, I'm of the belief that it was meant to be this way."

  "And what if we all get fucked over once it's all said and done like I'm damn near positive that we will?" said Tracker.

  "If we get fucked over, brother, I'll toss in my Prez patch for you to pick up. We cut all ties with Lorenzo and his crew, change the name of the joint to whatever the hell the club decides as a whole and move your seat to the head of the table in place of mine, alright?"

  Tracker threw out his hand and grinned. "Shit works for me."

  "Yeah, I bet it would," Riggs mumbled, though I could tell he was full of shit in that regard. "Now he'll be here Friday with a few members of his entourage to check out the joint in person before it opens and during business hours, so I'll need Limb and Axel to make sure all the girls are alert and working. That means no coke, no cock, no booze for any of them before 2am, alright?" We all nodded. "Good. Now before we head off to call up the girls and start getting ready for tonight, is there anything else that needs to be brought to the table for discussion?" He eyed each of us as we all shook our heads. "Alright then." He picked up the gavel and slammed it back down. "This shit's adjourned."

  I slammed my hands down on top of the table and got up before anyone else had a chance to move, then headed outside to my bike and ripped my cell from the inside pocket of my cut. After flipping it open, I dialed up my brother and grinded my teeth while waiting for his stupid ass to finally answer. When he didn't, I left him a message about Lorenzo and the joint and ordered him to call me back before the day was over. No doubt the stupid son of a bitch had taken off last night because of something to do with this crook. Either he had screwed him over and made sure to get the hell out of the city before he could be taken out for it. Or Tracker and Chute were right and this fucker was looking to fake us out before screwing us over, and my brother was all up to date on the ins and outs of just how the hell he had planned to make that shit happen.

  "Shit." I snapped my phone shut and shoved it back into my pocket, then ripped an old 'blaze of glory' from the inside of another pocket and quickly lit up with my old man's lighter. It had been a few good months since my last taste of grass, but if there was ever a time I needed to have another hit, now was it.

  I took a long, slow drag, and leaned back against the wall of the club, then blew out the smoke above my head. After a few minutes, I heard the door to the club open and then close. I looked over and saw Atom making his way toward me, his hands in his pockets, his eyes staring down at the ground as he moved. Once he stopped, he stared up at my face, but remained quiet.

  "What the hell is it, old man?" I asked him.

  He sighed. "I need to ask you something, brother, and I don't want you pissing in my mouth over it, yeah?"

  I nodded and took another drag. "Yeah."

  "Did you know anything about your brother doing outside work for that fucker before Riggs mentioned it back there? I mean, you looked and sounded surprised and asked all the right questions about it, but I just need to know the truth for my peace of mind."

  "No," I told him. "I didn't have an idea about any of this shit."

  "You're sure?" he questioned.

  "Positive. All those times he was headed outta town and coming back within the same day, he never once said anything to me about Lorenzo Bourne."

  "You call him up and ask him about this shit?"

  I nodded again. "Yeah. He's not answering."

  "Maybe you should tell him that you got hitched to his girl last night," he said. "That might get him to call you back."

  "He dialed me up this morning twice, but I blew that shit off thinking he was just calling to ask for money."

  "Maybe he was." He took a step closer and leaned against the wall. "But what the hell would he need it for?"

  "Gas, food, temporary housing... Shit, I don't know. He took off last night for good while me and Colette were out there in Vegas."

  "Took off for good where?"

  "He said New Orleans but I'm not too sure about all that, especially now."

  "Are you're sure it's for good?"

  "From the way he was sounding about it, yeah."

  He paused and looked aside. "If he's not headed off out there, where do you think he's really gone instead?"

  "To tell you the truth, brother, I don't know," I said. I tightened my fingers around the center of the joint and flicked a few ashes to the ground, then looked out to the lot. When I spotted Colette's car sitting on the other side between two broken down bikes, a half smile crossed my face and I chuckled.

  Atom frowned and narrowed his eyes. "What's so funny?"

  "Nothin'." I wagged my head. "Just that before we made it out to the chapel down there, she had called me out by his name first, that's all."

  "What?"

  "Colette," I told him. "After a few drinks, my hand went riding up her skirt; she was enjoying it, but called me Jeremiah. I figured she had just slipped up 'til I proposed, and then she said that shit to me again."

  "You're saying that you proposed to this chick while her liquor soaked mind thought you were your kid brother?"

  "Yep."

  He laughed aloud. "How much did she have to drink out there to see you and think of him?"

  I laughed to myself and dropped my head. "I don't know."

  He yanked his hands from his pockets and stood straight. "Brother, what the fuck would make you wanna still marry this chick after she was calling you out by your brother's name? And not just once, but twice?"

  I took one last drag of my joint before tossing it to the ground and stepping on the smoked-out tip with the heel of my shoe. "Because I fucking wanted her for myself," I told him. "Always have."

  "And I guess you got lucky that she wanted the same from you too, yeah?"

  "Yeah..." I bobbed my head and looked away from him. "I was lucky a few hours ago. Now I'm not too sure."

  "Why?"

  "The timing of my brother taking off being lined up with Lorenzo showing up here to check out the joint is suspect to me."

  "You think they're working together on this shit?"

  "I think he's working on something," I told him. "Either staying alive or outta the goddamn way."

  "How so?"

  "His boning Cherry last night didn't surprise me, but taking it as far as he did before skipping out of town right after is far from being like him. Son of a bitch usually revels in being an asshole when it comes to pussy and bouncing between women, but this time he made sure to get out before too much fire could land back on him for this shit. It made me curious, but I was more concerned about Colette and not whatever the hell he might've been cooking up. But in hearing this today about Lorenzo and him working those books on the low? It's got me thinking that some shit might be up. Some very bad shit."

  Atom dragged his hand across his face and groaned. "Christ. Brother, you gotta tell Prez what you're thinking about."

  "I can't tell him anything I'm thinking 'til I know for certain that Lorenzo is either planning to fuck us over or he's looking to take out my brother for whatever he might've done."

  "What if it's both?"

  "Then I guess we're all fucked," I said. "Colette included."

  Chapter Seven

  Colette

  After taking a well needed shower despite Roman's earlier demand that I wait until he was here to join me, I stepped out and grabbed one of his giant bath towels hanging on the hook near the door, to dry off. I wrapped it around myself a
s tight as I could once I was finished to keep it from falling to the floor, and moved back into his bedroom to search through his dresser drawers for something to wear until I was able to get some of my regular clothes.

  With luck and a lot of patience, I found a loose pair of blue and white shorts with a nice fat drawstring that I could wrap twice around my waist and tie into a bow at the front, along with a solid black tank with red WILD REAPERS lettering on the front that was snug enough around my stomach and tight enough around my chest to hold down my boobs since I hadn't planned to put my bra back on until it was clean again. I dumped both of our clothes in the washer, grabbed some soap to drop inside and turned it on, then flipped on the television set in the living room for background noise before heading off into the kitchen for food. I stood in the middle of it for a few seconds and looked around at whatever options I still had left to cook with, knowing that I would probably be better off at this rate with ordering a pizza instead, but was drawn out of my thoughts as soon as I heard the doorbell.

  With caution, I moved back through the living room and reached for the remote to turn down the volume on the television set. "Who is it?" I called out, tossing the remote across the room and folding my arms.

  After a few seconds of silence, I heard some fumbling against the door along with an, "It's me," from the other side.

  "Who?"

  "It's Maxine, sis, open up!" she said, her voice sounding almost too excited as if she had finally managed to score a date with one of the local baseball players she had been admiring from afar. Or was able to land that promotion she had been vying for since the minute she started working for her firm.

  I breathed a sigh of relief once she made herself clearer to me and let down my guard, then immediately went to the door, unlocked it and pulled back.

  She stood there with a bag of my clothes in one hand and her brown leather briefcase in the other. I leaned my head back to look her in the face and asked, "What the hell is all of this?"

  "What are you talking about, Colette?" she snapped, her hazel eyes twinkling with annoyance. "You called me a few hours ago to bring your clothes, remember?" She cocked a perfectly arched eyebrow and bent her head to the side. Her naturally curly dark brown hair cascaded over her shoulder and she smirked. "So I'm bringing them over."

  "I remember the clothes and thanks for them, by the way. But--"

  "You're welcome. I was in church when you called." She handed over the bag, dropping the strap of it into my hand to keep from tainting what looked to be a fresh manicure, and shuffled around me into the house.

  I turned to watch her as she roamed around the living room and peered. "Sorry, my mind has been elsewhere all day so far."

  "I called you back a few times on the number that you gave me for this place once the service was over but there was no answer. I had tried your cell before that but it just kept going straight to voicemail."

  "That's because it's dead since it hasn't had a charge since yesterday. And as far as the phone here, I didn't answer because I was in the shower."

  "For two hours?"

  "I do some of my best thinking in the shower, especially once the water turns cold. And given my current circumstances, I've had a lot to think about."

  "I figured, which is why I brought this over along with everything else." She clutched her other hand around the handle of her briefcase and tapped her index finger against the leather.

  I closed the door behind myself and lowered my eyes down to it, glaring and curious. "What's in there?"

  "Annulment papers," she replied, her tone completely nonchalant and casual as if I had just asked about her skirt and she was giving me details of the fabric.

  "What?" I squawked, dropping my bag onto the couch and moving away from the door. I pinched my brows and rested my hands against my back. "I didn't ask you to bring those by here."

  "I know." She lifted the corners of her mouth into a small grin, revealing a bright white set of veneers often hidden behind her full, red lips. "But the minute you told me that you had gotten married to your boyfriend's brother--"

  "Ex-boyfriend," I emphasized. "You know what the hell happened with that last night."

  "I do, but when you mentioned that you couldn't remember all that went down out in Vegas, I thought it was a good idea to bring these over with me so that you could weigh your options in getting out of this mess in person."

  "I appreciate that, but the fact of the matter is that I'm fine with where I am right now."

  Her mouth fell open and she guffawed. "You all but told me in that voicemail that this man kidnapped you, Colette. That he brought you here instead of taking you home first and that you don't even have your own car as an option."

  I looked aside and arched my brows. "I had the option of walking back home."

  She threw her head back and rolled her eyes up toward the ceiling. "Oh girl, please!" Understanding the crack of a joke had never been her strong suit.

  "I'm kidding," I said. "Look, I hate that my memory was shot to shit after all those drinks I had with him at the bar last night, but..." I paused to think for a moment. "If I'm being perfectly honest with you, I don't actually mind all that much in being married to Roman."

  "Really?" she questioned, her tone skeptical as all hell. "'Til death do you part and all of that as well?"

  "Or for however long."

  Her face instantly dropped like a dog being told 'NO' and she grit her teeth. "Oh my God."

  "What is it?" I asked, my voice a slight panic.

  She threw her hand above her eyes to block out a sun that didn't exist and rattled her head. "You had sex with him, didn't you?"

  I laughed, though it was almost like a nervous tick given the question. "Why did you immediately jump to that conclusion just because I'm not eager to sign a bunch of papers and end this thing before it's even really gotten started?"

  She peeked at me between her fingers before dropping her hand completely, and grimaced. "Because I know you, Colette," she said. "I have for the last three years now ever since you stole my McMuffin at the drive thru window and to this day never bothered to buy me another one after stuffing your face with it on the way home."

  I made a face at her and shrugged. "Bygones--"

  "And I know that something like this would've normally sent you flying out the door in a heartbeat unless you were getting something you wanted out of it in return. And since he's a biker, I know that he can't be giving you much else aside from a damn good lay and a few orgasms between rolling around the city on that bike." She tossed her briefcase onto the other couch and removed her dress jacket, placing it at the edge of the arm rest.

  I sighed. "We haven't had sex yet," I told her.

  She eyed me up and down with disbelief and exhaled. "You haven't?"

  "No, we haven't." I sat down near my bag of clothes and pushed them aside.

  She stepped forward and pointed. "You're telling me that you haven't done anything sexual with this man of any nature that wouldn't qualify you for having--"

  "We messed around a little bit, but that was it," I interjected.

  She threw up her hands and mumbled, "I knew it--"

  "But we still didn't have sex."

  "Whatever you did with him was just enough and the rest of it is coming, right? Just like you could be tonight and you're all for it."

  "I'm not going to deny or lie and say that I haven't thought about what it would feel like to have that man finally pinning my hands down to a bed while he was on top of me in the process of doing so." I chuckled. Maxine rolled her eyes into her head again and groaned. I pulled my legs up onto the couch, grinning as I crossed them inside each other and rested my hands in my lap. She stared down at me while standing across the room and rested her hands on her hips. "What can I say, I'm in love with him," I told her, my voice going soft as just the mere thought of that man turned me inside out. "I fell for his face and his arms and his tattoos all those years ago, and then the more I got to know him
overtime as a person, really understand who he was and the kind of man he's always wanted to be, the feelings just sort of grew. God knows I didn't plan for it or even want what I felt for him to be real. But it is and there's nothing I can do about it. And to tell you the truth, there's nothing I really want to do about it. At least not anymore."

  Her eyes softened and turned red. She swallowed hard while staring down at me. "Well does he know about them now?"

  I nodded. "He knows. Which is a good thing because it turns out that his feelings for me had been the same for just as long."

  She scrunched her brows. "If that's the case, why did you spend all of that seemingly wasted time with his brother?"

  "I cared about Jeremiah and we were really good together in the beginning, despite all the shit I had ever heard about him," I said. "And being with someone like Roman was never a real option for me, ever. Same as his in being with me; he wasn't going to go after his brother's woman."

  "At least not until now."

  "Yes, at least not until now if only because we got drunk and married in Vegas!"

  "And said boyfriend cheated on you inside your own damn house with a club slut."

  "Yeah, that too." I fell back against the couch and shifted my eyes across the room. The memory of finding them together burned in my mind for a hell of a lot longer than necessary. I felt like I needed more alcohol just to officially scrub it out for good.

  Maxine wagged her foot against the floor, the toe of her 800 dollar black pumps moving this way and that. "Where is he right now?"

  "Which one?"

  "Your husband."

  "At his club. They had church, which is what the rest of us normal people with real jobs call a 'meeting' with his peers."

  "How about his brother?" She crossed the room and picked up my bag from the couch, placed it on the floor and took a seat beside me.

  I shrugged again. "I don't know. Roman said he was headed off to NOLA because they have family down there but Jeremiah called him here twice this morning."

  "Did Roman tell him that you two were married?"

  "He didn't have the chance," I said. "I answered the phone both times he called, though the first time his name didn't pop up, so I wasn't sure who the hell it was until the second time when it did."