by Jamie Begley
Reaper’s Wrath
Road to Salvation: A Last Rider’s Trilogy #2
Jamie Begley
Young Ink Press Publication
YoungInkPress.com
Copyright © 2020 by Jamie Begley
Edited by C&D Editing & Hot Tree Editing
Cover Art by Cover Couture
Photo (c) Wander Photography
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Connect with Jamie,
facebook.com/AuthorJamieBegley
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Contents
Warning
Have you ever wondered how soulmates fall in love after they meet?
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
Reading Order
Maria
Sarah Brianne
Hello…?
1. A Last Name that came with a Black Credit Card and a Crown
2. Exactly the Way You Dreamed of a Hot Teacher Doing It
Warning
This book contains scenes that some readers may find disturbing, including graphic depictions of rape and sexual assault, and is intended for adults only.
Reader discretion is advised.
Reading this book… will be like entering the dark web.
ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Have you ever wondered how soulmates fall in love after they meet?
Well, this is it…
Chapter One
Reaper felt the spell Ginny placed over him break, as the factory door closed behind her. Brushing past Shade, he started for the steps, only managing to get one foot down before Shade called out to him in a mocking voice.
“Where are you going? You just going to leave your bike in parts?”
“I forgot my water bottle in the club. I’ll finish it later.” Disconcerted by Ginny, he could only think of that lame excuse.
Hurrying up the steps past Train, he needed to be inside the club before Ginny exited the factory with Rider. She had rattled his brain and emotions the day before when he heard her singing, and being so close just now put him into the same funky headspace she sent him into yesterday.
Taking the steps two at a time, he reached the porch in record time. Moon, who was watching the door, took one look at his face and opened the door immediately.
Walking through the empty club room, he made his way into the kitchen, bypassing the crowd waiting for breakfast, and headed to the fridge for a bottled water. He’d drank down half the bottle when he saw everyone in the room staring at him.
“What?” he snarled.
“Nothing,” Nickel mumbled, switching his gaze to the back of Sasha’s head as they waited their turns to fill their plates.
Deciding to eat before he finished working on his motorcycle, he got in line behind Nickel, telling himself he wasn’t eating just because Ginny could still be in the parking lot. He remained rigid in his spot as Shade and Train came in through the door to stand behind him. At least the brothers were smart enough not to say anything to him as they waited for Nickel to fill his plate.
“Ginny came at the perfect time. Rider’s ass is always first in line, and he never leaves us any bacon.”
Reaper didn’t give a fuck if Train was talking to him or Shade. He didn’t respond, focusing on taking a plate and placing a mound of scrambled eggs on it. “You can have the bacon. I want the waffles. Jewell uses the recipe that Ginny made when she worked for us.” Shade moved from behind him to his side to take a plate.
Taking his fork, Reaper stabbed the two remaining waffles, placing them next to his eggs.
“At least you won’t have to work out in the gym for an hour to work them off,” Train consoled a Shade. Reaper glanced at him out of the corner of his eye; the brother didn’t look upset at having the waffles stolen from him.
“I’ll eat the toast. The jar of jelly that Ginny brought in as gifts is still full ...,” Shade began.
Going farther down the line, Reaper picked up the jar of jelly, placing it in the crook of his arm to carry it into the dining room where he sat at the small table farthest away from everyone. He then concentrated on eating and not on the woman who touched him and stared at him as if her heart were in her eyes.
Lifting a forkful of eggs to his mouth, his hand was shaking so badly the eggs slipped off.
When he saw Train and Shade taking a seat at table close by, Reaper knew they weren’t done trying to get under his guard.
As Shade watched him over the cup of his coffee, Reaper opened the jar of preserves, slathering the waffles with it, before closing the jar tightly. He really didn’t want the sugary fruit for breakfast; he just didn’t want Shade to have it. He wasn’t stupid. The brothers were trying to get a rise out of him about his reaction to their former housekeeper, and they were about to get it if they didn’t watch their steps. He was spoiling for a fight, needing to shake off the myriad of feelings the woman was bringing to life.
He could deal with rage, hatred, and revenge. What he couldn’t deal with was the stirring of desire that freaked him the fuck out.
He was using his fork to cut the waffle when he saw Shade start to get up from the table, his narrowed gaze on the jam. As he braced for the fight he had been trying to provoke, Train placed a hand on Shade’s shoulder, stopping him with a muttered aside that Reaper couldn’t hear.
Shrugging, Shade picked up his dry toast and started eating as his wife and children came in the dining room and took a seat at the table. When her violet gaze landed on the jar on his table, Reaper inwardly groaned.
Rising from the table, Lily approached him, innocently unaware that she just stopped the burgeoning fight between him a
nd Shade. “Excuse me, do you mind if I take the jelly? John finished the one at our house, and I’m trying to get him to eat before he has to go to school.”
“Go ahead.” Under Shade’s mocking gaze, Reaper reluctantly forced the words out.
“Thanks. I need to tell Ginny to make a few extra jars next time. She brought four, and this is the last one.” Picking up the jar, Lily started backing away from the table, keeping him within her eyeline until she was safely seated by Shade.
Lowering his head, Reaper forced down a bite of the waffle smeared with the jam, desperately trying not to overhear the conversation going on at the table just a few inches away.
“I think he growled at me.”
Not even her whispered voice could keep him from making out Lily’s words.
“He must like the jam as much as John and you do.”
“Apparently.”
Shade’s sardonic reply had Reaper grabbing his plate to leave, only to find his ass glued to the chair when Ginny entered the room. A rush of relief hit him when he saw Lily wave at her. It was short-lived, however. Other than a small wave in Lily’s direction, Ginny kept walking toward his table.
“I just wanted to tell you good-bye before I left.”
He drew a blank at what to say to the woman; he needed to shut down the attraction surrounding them whenever they were near each other. Unable to force his vocal cords to work, he became aware of the others in the room listening. The brothers were easy to decipher, waiting for him to tell Ginny that he didn’t give a fuck, tautly preparing themselves to intervene. The women members expected him to give her a cold shoulder, sympathy pouring out of them in waves.
Reaper wanted to do both. The only thing stopping him was Ginny’s undaunted strength. She was unlike any other woman he had ever met. There was no fear of him in her expression; it was the exact opposite. Ginny familiarly greeted him as if he were a long-lost lover and she had just been reunited with him. It was crazy as fuck. What was even more alarming was a part of him felt the same.
Alarms sounded shrilly in his head at her behavior and at his own. When she had touched his cheek, it were as if Ginny had touched him a million times before, yet he knew she hadn’t. The most confusing part was it had felt so fucking right.
Unable to talk with the alarm blaring in his head, Reaper sat there like an infatuated dumb fuck.
“Lucky and Willa have been kind enough to put me up at the church. If you decide to come to town, we could grab a coffee at the diner. I leave in the morning.” With her hand at her side, she tugged down the bottom of her top. The tell-tale sign of her being nervous struck him like lightening making him forget about the set down he was about to give. That was ... if he could ever get his fucking tongue to work again.
“Well ...” She trailed off when he remained silent. “I hope to see you again.” Watching her turn and composedly leave, a flash on the edge of his memory tried to click in place, then was gone just as quick.
Confused, Reaper was still staring at the empty doorway when he became aware of the voices around him.
“Did Ginny just make a move on Reaper?” Lily asked Shade.
“Yes.” Shade didn’t try to hide his amused expression.
“Are you sure? I’ve never known her to do that before.”
“Pretty sure.” Shade’s amusement deepened. “That’s not the best part,” he told Lily.
“What’s the best part?”
“Watching Reaper unable to get a word out. He had the same problem when I saw them in the parking lot.”
“He did?” Lily looked away from Shade to give Reaper a heartening smile, as if he were a thirteen-year-old boy who needed her help to pursue his crush. “You should go have coffee with her. She wouldn’t have asked you for coffee if she didn’t like you.”
“Maybe you could give Reaper a few pointers so he won’t be so nervous around her.” Egging his wife on wasn’t Shade’s best move when Reaper was in a I-want-to-kick-someone’s-ass mood.
“I’d be happy to.”
Lily’s encouraging nod toward him had Reaper seeing red at Shade’s smug satisfaction. The brother plainly wanted to rattle him. What Reaper couldn’t understand was: Why?
Reaper picked up his dishes, and as he passed in front of Shade and Lily’s table he stopped to glower down at them. “You’re lucky Lily and your kids are here.”
Shade’s smile disappeared in a split second. “No. You are.” Picking up a butter knife, Shade dipped it into the jelly jar, slathering a large amount onto his toast.
Fuck. He realized too late why Shade was trying to irritate him; it was payback for the waffles and jelly.
The son of a bitch couldn’t stand anyone getting the better of him. Shade was a dominate personality inside and out of the bedroom. In another lifetime Reaper would let it slide, not caring enough to insert his own dominance. Those days were long gone.
He couldn’t do anything with Lily and his children there, but Reaper promised himself that Shade’s enjoyment of the jelly would be a fond memory ... and the waffles ... and the fucking bacon ....
Fucking gone. Forever.
When Lily began trembling at the men’s prolonged stares, Reaper forced an amicable smile on his lips. “Later.”
Shade received his silent message and gave one of his own. “Later.”
Chapter Two
Carrying his dishes to the kitchen, he placed them in the sink, then went through the swinging door just as Rider was coming into the kitchen. He sent the brother backpedaling to keep from getting knocked to the floor.
“What’s the fucking rush?”
“Fuck off,” Reaper muttered. As much as he had wanted to fight in the dining room, he now wanted to get to his room to settle the turmoil wreaking havoc on him, like a vicious undertow he couldn’t escape. It wasn’t safe for anyone to be around him until he could gather his rioting emotions back under his control. He had no fear that he would hurt Lily or the children. But he wasn’t confident he could restrain himself from the feelings Ginny awoke within him, and he’d take out every brother in the club to combat the tender emotions he hadn’t felt since he laid Gavin to rest.
Shoulder-checking Rider aside, Reaper was disconcerted to see Ginny sitting on the couch with Winter, watching the interaction between him and Rider. Viper had also turned to look, his jaw hardening in warning to behave in front of their guest.
Held motionless—not from Viper’s unspoken admonishment but from Ginny’s gentle gaze on him—Reaper stood frozen, taking the hard shove that Rider gave him back as he went into the kitchen.
“I’m sorry, Ginny,” Winter apologized. “My brother-in-law obviously got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”
Ginny kept her gaze pinned to him as her lips curled in a calming smile that stroked over his bruised and battered soul begging to be touched again. His fight and flight instinct was working overtime.
After picking up Shade at T.A.’s wedding, he had been determined to head to Ohio this morning, and when he saw her in the parking lot, the need to escape had kicked into overdrive, wanting to avoid seeing Ginny again at any cost. The harder he tried to get away from her, the more she appeared. His failed attempts weren’t giving him any time to regroup.
“I’m sorry. I thought the room was empty.” Managing to get the words out, he was able to spur his body into motion, heading toward the front door.
“There’s nothing to apologize for. I’ve been known to use that particular phrase myself, especially when it involves Rider.”
He didn’t respond to Ginny’s humorous attempt to excuse him for the way he acted and glared at the doorway, his main objective to get away from her.
“Reaper, before you leave, I want you to meet a friend of mine and Viper’s.” Winter’s firm request had him silently cursing. He recognized her tone; she had no intention of letting him leave so easily.
Deciding that fleeing wasn’t working, he changed his trajectory, moving closer to the couch where t
he two women were sitting. Inwardly fighting Ginny’s effect on him, he coldly gazed down at her.
“We’ve met.”
His abrupt revelation had no effect on her.
“Gavin was in the parking when I arrived. I introduced myself.” Scooting to the side of the couch, Ginny patted the space between her and Winter for him to sit down.
Was the woman insane? He was making it plain that he wanted nothing to do with her, yet she sat there, patting the couch cushion as if they were close acquaintances.
If it wasn’t for her young age, Reaper would begin to doubt his recollections of the past, that the drugs had fucked with his brain, and there had been something between them. Only two things held him grounded. One, he would never have touched an underaged girl, and two, he hadn’t cheated on Taylor. Ginny was the one living in a parallel universe, not him.
“I even offered to help him work on his motorcycle.” Laughingly grimacing at herself, Ginny lightly explained to Viper and Winter, “He was smart to ignore me. I’ve never rode on a motorcycle before, much less worked on one.”