Fractured Promises (Reapers Reign, #2)

by Maree, Aleisha

  “This ends today. I’m taking him from this Earth! I fucking hate drugs. They took my mother from Kash and I, my dad went to prison and killed himself because of the love for the hit my mother needed to survive. I’ll rip him limb for limb. You’re mine now, Blue, as much as that scares the shit out of me, this evil won’t touch you on my watch. Let’s go.”

  Pulling into the club grounds on the back of his bike, the stares from the biker whores are boring holes into my back. It was just as fucken satisfying having him grip me around my waist, lifting me up with one arm before laying a soul-shattering kiss to my lips. Looking in my eyes he says,

  “Play nice now, baby doll, I’m not into them anyway.”

  I smile down at him, “I’ll try, them bitches have always hated me anyway so this is the fucken icing on the ‘go fuck yourself’ cake!” a chuckle erupts from his body, shaking me as it exits, his eyes look down and meet mine I’m so small standing next to him. “Hate you baby girl who could possibly hate this,” he says as he pulls me out from under his arm and twirls me around on his finger in full view of all the club girls. Throwing my head back I laugh at how in one spilt second he can make me feel like I’m all that matters and I’m all that he sees. Walking inside a smile covering my face, he picks me up in his arms kissing the tip of my nose he sits me down into the stall at the bar “let it all go by just breathing baby, cause you know what, I’ll still be here by your side even when their stares become sinkers.” My stomach does summersaults at his comment I’m rendered speechless and shit that’s hard for anyone to do. I look into his eyes and see a future we both deserve. Then Bray’s voice ruins one of the most remarkable moments in my fucked-up life.

  “Well praise the lord you got her here and you're still in one piece! You’re getting soft, Blue baby, there ain’t a scratch on his pretty little face.”

  Reaching up to kiss the brother from another mother, I smirk, as I punch him in the arm. “Well, not where you can see any way” I mouth around a wink and a giggle. I see Knox’s look change to just plain shock as a smile pulls at his lips.

  “She doesn’t like to rough up her toys too much, do you baby?” he says playful. I like this side of him.

  Kissing the top of her head as Bray orders a drink I look deep into her eyes as I mouth “I got you.” She just nods up at me, her big moss green eyes laced with tears and a hidden fear. She knows just how big this is and for that I’m fucken grateful.

  “Ready” Bray asks.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be brother, just waiting for Jamie and Kash. Jaime will be bringing in Tammy they are joined at the fucking hip. Jamie will also be joining. I don’t do anything without him and this is no exception, is that ok?”

  “I’ll swing it past my boys and father, but I don’t see why not, brother. The more Reapers the better, I say. We were looking at bringing in some from a chapter just out of town, so we will just take three instead of the five as we have you and Jamie now. I have to say, though, having you to stand with us gets my dick hard. We could use your skills at training and fighting the newbies. The fact you have lived through one of the hardest jails is also a help brother. I know you won’t waver on your loyalty to this club and Jaime’s dire thirst for blood is just as good.”

  “God, you boys enough of that in front of the lady,” chimes in the Reaper himself. Mr. John Slash Bronson is bending down as he kisses my lady’s forehead and my hackles come up right away.

  “Blue, Miss baby Blue. You’re looking a fuck load better than the last time my eyes fell onto your fucked-up body.” With a laugh and a wink, he holds out his arms.

  “Slash, ever the charmer.” She says as she rises up to meet his embrace. I pull my knuckles in tight till you can hear the pop as the presser takes its toll.

  I hear his bones pop and his energy shift. Shit’s sake, Knox, I think. It's just John, he’s, like, my fucken uncle. Watching Knox’s shoulders tense and the rest of him sit stock still and flaming, it’s like John senses something and speaks before I can reassure Mr. Assassin.

  “This, right here, this beautiful lady, has a piece of my heart and my soul. She’s been around here since forever. Her daddy has been my best friend since I was a kid. You there, boy, best take good care of her. I see you are to join us in a quest of all that’s right in the biker world where corruption rules heavy.” Knox clears his throat. Taken aback by Slash as all who meets him for the first time are, but it doesn’t take him long before he is putting out his hand to shake Slash’s.

  “Yes, sir, I sure am. I sure will try, she a firecracker though.” Knox says with a forced sense of calm in his voice.

  Laughing he grabs Knox in an embrace speaking low. “Boy that’s all I can ask and my son speaks very highly of you as does my best friend. Oh, and Jimmy doesn’t know just how messed up she was when Bray went for her. That was her one request to keep the worst away from him, so I’ll ask you to keep it from him also.”

  I know what he has just asked Knox and I know that he will keep it here, I breathe out as the great Slash pulls him into him and they head towards church. “With that being said let’s make you a brother of the Reaper himself.”

  Nodding at Slash is all I can do, as I see the pain in Blue’s eyes. I know how much she doesn’t want me to do this. Stopping I pull free from Slash to reach back for my girl. I pull her into me just as Jamie walks in, all hyped up, with little miss Tammy at his side, Kash not far behind, Lilly walking in behind him.

  “Let’s do this brother,” he slaps me on the back.

  “Bray, how’s it hanging?” Jamie says, full of true Jamie bravado and Slash? Well he just smiles as he leads the way to the ‘table of the Reaper’ where I will pledge myself to their family, to their cause. Life’s about to change, but at what cost?

  Blue

  Sitting here staring into the bottom of my whiskey glass, I am waiting for Knox to finish the blood oath to join the deadly notorious Reaper Reign for me, to look after me. I can’t let him go, as much as I know I should, he’s the light to my dark, he’s the ice to my whiskey, the fire to my devil. I won’t let Viper win, I won’t let his venom destroy what I know is going to be my happily ever after. I’ve fought for something like this since I was a little girl watching how my Mom and Dad were together, how they used to hold each other in the arms of love. How she would look at Dad each time he left, pure adoration in her eyes. Even at the end when it was her walking away, her that was leaving. Yet she still loves that man with the passion of a queen for her king. I want to be Knox’s queen. I’ll fight, bleed, shed tears, and sweat for this man. I’ll hold onto him till death knocks at my door. My minds made up, battle lines are drawn. I’m way too headstrong to allow a dirty little snake like Viper write THE END in my story; my ‘THE END’ will be in Knox’s arms. I’m going to take him and his army on, they don’t belong in this world. This is my place of rule not theirs, they made me flee Dublin. I won’t flee here, not this time.

  Coming out of my thoughts I try hard to listen to the conversation between Lilly and Tammy. It's hard with my eyes darting to the door where church is held. My mind is lost to the poison that is Viper. The room holding church is like a square glass cube, it’s all windows of frosted glass with the Reaper’s Reign logo on each pane. They can see us, we cannot see them, just the outlines of them. Blurred outlines of the bodies is all you can see, even when you look hard, real hard. I strain my eyes for the smallest hint that he’s ok, that this is ok. I feel arms wrap around me

  “He’s going to be just fine, Blue baby.” It's Lilly. Reaching my hands up to hold hers I take comfort in her words.

  “Yeah, I know.” It comes out not as convincing as it sounded in my head.

  “I’ll kill Bray for you, if it’s not babes, it will give me a good reason to beat his ass I’m over his shit.” Laughing she sits down. I look over at Tammy, really look at her, for the first time since she got here.

  “They’ll be ok.” I say with sweet fuck all conviction.

  Winking a
t me she says, “Beat your bottom dollar babes, I’ve seen the boys in way worse shit than this right here.” Waving her arms around, Lilly and I both look at her and laugh. “The thing I’ve learnt is to just drink it away so, ladies, whata say?”

  Looking over at Lilly, I smile, “I like this one. Where you been girl?” I say smirking at her.

  “Oh you know around, making sure these fools don’t kill themselves, mending them up, keeping their asses in line when needed and trying to convince Knox that you are the one for him. Oh, and trying to get Kash to talk to you, Lilly. That boy’s smitten by you but these are a different breed of boys that’s for sure, stubborn ass fools.” throwing her head back in a full body laugh and I can’t help but stare at her. She has a sort of wildness about her that fits in perfectly with Lilly and I.

  “We will keep you then,” I reply, nudging her shoulder with my own.

  “Oh, great, cause I’m in it for the long haul.”

  Casual as fuck she is. I like it a lot. Falling into idle, casual conversation, the waiting is starting to really grate on my nerves. I cannot deal any longer I’m just going to have to get drunk. Looking over to Miss Ginny, I wink.

  “Hit me Miss Ginny and hit me hard.”

  “Sure, thing darling”. She says with a look of pure ‘OH FUCK here we go.’

  Knox

  Pacing this room like a fucking caged animal, waiting for them to set this up and start, is pissing me off. Watching the way she sits out there deep in dark thoughts is fucking killing me. I know what will be going through that pretty little head of hers and I want nothing more than to go over, scoop her up and take her the fuck away from this shit right here.

  I want to keep her safe, keep the hurt out of her soul and keep the demons of her past at bay. Shaking out the tension that has a hold on my body, I wonder what this girl is doing to me. She has me wrapped up in a spell, I kinda like the way it feels when I look in her eyes, the feeling of home when I kiss her lips, the sense of belonging when I wrap my arms around her body, I don’t want to betray Sarah-Jane, my angel in lace, but I don’t want to let this girl go either. Can I love them both without the guilt or sense of betrayal eating at me? Looking over at Jamie and how easy he fits in here, I smile. It’s good, I couldn’t do this without him, he means just as much to me as Kash does. It’s always been us three for as long as I can remember.

  Bray racks his gravel over the table, it holds the most wicked craving of the club’s name with the Reaper himself, a scythe and half skull half demon face complete the vision, it’s their version of the Reaper. It works. It’s batshit crazy just like these boys I have come to respect over the years of watching them and the recent months of knowing them.

  “Let start.” Says Bray. “We are bringing in two new brothers tonight both doing the blood oath to ride and die for the Reaper. Kash will be a brother by Knox’s blood, we will still command the same respect from him as he will to us, he just won’t be doing a blood oath.” Flicking a wink at Kash he looks nervous as all hell.

  Chuckling I say, “Let’s get to it boys, uncover the utensils we shall be using tonight.”

  Catching my eye is the glint of light from the silver tray. Sitting upon it is the white cloths, sterile scalpels, and bandages. Jeez looks just peachy. Cracking out my neck, my eyes flick up to where my baby sits.

  “Ready?” Bray says grabbing me around my shoulders.

  “I’m ready, brother.”

  ‘Right.” Picking up a scalpel each, we all press it to our wrists.

  “You want to cut just below the surface to allow a nice trickle of blood to escape. Let it drop down your hand through your fingers to meet with our blood here in the Reaper. It will flow and mingle with the blood oaths of my father’s generation and continue on through ours.”

  Pressing the scalpel to my wrist, I suck in a breath through my teeth as the first sting of skin separating makes itself known. As I cut my eyes move to Bray’s and never leave. He stands at the head of the table, while I’m at the foot end. I feel the warm blood drip from the open cut in my wrist as the metallic smell of blood reaches my senses. I suck in the feeling of euphoria as it washes over my body. Pain is my friend it’s my go-to when I need a release. This is like a smooth glass of Jack Daniels, with just as much sting.

  I start the blood oath, sending it out to the men who, from now on, looking at each one in the eye I start the oath.

  “From my veins, I do drop the blood that will shield my brothers,

  Fill their souls with the fire of forgiveness from sins untold,

  To overrule evil, destroy and smother ashes to dispel,

  Hatred, protect the brotherhood, families and all.

  Withdrawn from my veins I spill an existence defined. I dispose of the weak.

  Unearth and incinerate the old ways to rule stronger, longer, in a new way.

  To ride for the Reaper, to reign with my Brothers. Blood in, Blood out, to ride and die with fellow kings upon our thrones of Hell to know our own.

  Hurrah, Hurrah, Hurrah

  Bray looks at me then Jamie before licking the blood from his wrist. He says his oath to us, their code, their own pledge which, now, will also be mine alike.

  “When evil rises up, good strong men become outlaws, we are a club, a bond of pure Brotherhood, respect, loyalty and trust mixes in our bloods. We become more than one, we ride the Reaper together, we serve to protect, we are all kings on the wings of an angel with the fire of hell licking at our heels. Brothers, we are bonds not to be broken, our honor and truth strong, you’ll learn to love this and the club as it goes by. It's not all bad. We are one big fucked up family but we got you, 100%.” Pulling out a barrel from under the table he places it down with a glass and uncorks it. “This, here, is whiskey my grandad made. It’s a rite of passage. As each new member comes we all take some and rub a drop over your cut. It will seal the bond of brotherhood, so boys we are done.”

  Passing around the glass to me, I take a sip, before rubbing the liquor onto my wrist. I wince as it stings the fuck out of, not only my wrist, but the back of my throat, hitting the bottom of my guts like a fireball thrown from hell. My eyes water as I look over to Bray.

  “You trying to kill me brother?”

  Chuckling as he brings the glass to his own lips throwing it back like it’s water. “Not yet, brother, I need you and your fucked-up friend a little longer.”

  Walking over to him he brings his head to mine. “Welcome to the Reapers, brother, now this is where I would say, “Let’s go get drunk and you mugs can have fun with the lovely ladies, who are more than willing to accommodate the dick of a Reaper.” They seem to like the ride to hell. But you two are taken and the girls have been warned to stay the fuck away! And there is no way in hell they will fuck with Miss Blue-James. They hate her but respect her standing all the same, brother, here on these grounds, no one will hurt her.”

  Wrapping my wrist, I walk out of the room I shall now spend a lot of time in. I head over to the woman who may just send me to her own hell and back. Smiling I approach her, it’s going to be a ride that’s for sure. Snaking my arms around her front I pull her close into me until her back is hard against my chest. “Miss me babe?” I mouth into her neck as I bite down on the smooth flesh. Feeling her instantly relax in my grip, I smile.

  “You wish.” She says as she brings her hands behind her finding my dick. “This, though, this I may have missed, biker boy.”

  Smiling against her sweet flesh, I lean over. I grab her whiskey, downing it in one, smooth gulp. Looking over I laugh at how Jamie thinks it’s appropriate to manhandle his women like that slamming her hard against the bar sucking Tammy’s face off while his hand fist down the front of her dress to her breast and the other he tries to hike the dress up as she swats it away. He sure as shit fits into the biker world a lot more than Kash. He’s sitting sullen at the bar, Google eyeing miss biker princess herself, God help that boy. I shake my head leaning over to Miss Ginny. “Can you line up shots o
f Jack Daniels, doll?” Flicking her a wink I slap the ass of my woman as she gets up. God did I just say my woman? Fuck, I’m hooked on this girl. Smirking, I realize I like the feeling she gives me.

  Unwinding after an intense day here is something I could get used to, comfortable and easy is the banter and feel. Watching the girls dance and sing their goddamn lungs out, sitting on the couch that wraps around the back of the club overlooking the whole place, the view of the floor, where Blue is grinding up on Lilly, is mint. It’s nice to see Lilly so happy. Looking out past them, through the double glass doors, there is a perfect view of the club’s backyard. Thinking how one could get really used to being here in this fucken place with these guys as my brothers. I now have a strong sense of pure pride, an urge to stand, to fight, to protect all that comes with this place, a sense of beolonging. Lost in thought I don’t even see Bray come up offering me a bottle of god knows what. He has a smoke in his fingers as he stands there, clutching the bottle, smoke swirling up around it.

  “Thanks, brother,” I say with a distracted nod of the head.

  “Lost in thought there, brother?” He asks.

  “Just thinking about how I could get used to the sense of belonging I feel here,” I say to him honestly, as I sit deeper into the couch.

  “Well, if you will come with me, I will show you around. It’s a large compound and now that you are patched in we have a house for you. Only the six of us have our own homes set on the grounds, the other members all have rooms in the large motel set up around the eastern side of the compound. My place is next to my dad’s place, where Lilly lives so we can watch her. Ghost has his place next to Arlam then down to the western side is three homes. One is for Cage and 81, the other two houses are for new members. That’ll be you and Jamie if you want it, but I do ask that you guys stay on compound when we have shit going on, visiting clubs all that shit. But, otherwise, you can go as you please any other given day brother. I’m not going to bust your balls but this is it.” Standing I take his lead and head out to the back of the main part of the club. Though the kitchen doors, the picnic tables and mess hall, heading down and around past the bonfire and cookout area up and over a small knob that leads to a massive field. Fairy lights scattered throughout the trees dotted over this large area.