Page 10

Reaper

The door unlocked.

I’d lost count of the days. It had been so long since either of them came to see me. I knew the longer they stayed away, the more trouble they would get themselves into. They didn’t understand the ramifications of their actions. I’d bet what was left of my soul they did now. Stupid motherfuckers would never change. They only saw what they wanted.

Never the bigger picture.

Time was a funny thing. Most people used time to reflect, to understand, and to come to grips with their actions. They took time to heal and regroup, to accept the things they couldn’t change.

Not me.

Time was nothing more than wasted space, where I could think and plot my next move. I didn’t need to be present in the real world to know what the fuck was going on. I already knew.

I saw it all clearly, as if I were living amongst them.

They fucked up.

It was the only plausible reason for both of them to be here. The question was, how bad? Oh, I could take a guess. I could imagine the worst, but it would pale compared to the truth.

I sat there on the bed, holding her face in my hands.

I refused to move. I didn’t cause whatever happened. That was all on them. They only had themselves to blame.

Reap what you sow.

I believed that. Lived by it.

Now they would understand that actions had consequences.

It was a tough lesson to learn, but even the most stubborn fucker eventually learned. I wondered what it cost them.

They moved tentatively into the room.

I would too if I were them. Because of them, my wife thought I was the Devil. For that, I would never forgive them.

I’d waited for this day for months.

I knew time was on my side, and if they knew what was good for them, they better had kept their promise, because God wouldn’t be able to save them if they hadn’t.

They asked me to do the unthinkable, and now they had to deal with the aftermath. A creation of their own making. They wanted, needed a soulless man. Well, they got one, because I didn’t give a fuck about anything anymore. Only her. Because of them, I’d lost the one person who centered me on this earth.

My family, my brothers, my club, none of it mattered anymore.

Only the love of my life.

I warned them it wouldn’t work. I told them the risk was too great, but with no other options, they forced my hand. My only stipulation. That they protect her at all costs. They swore a blood oath.

No matter what, she came first.

They agreed and ensured no harm would ever come to her. Only they went back on their promise to me. Why was still a mystery and one I would unravel soon enough. But for their sakes, they better had kept their promise to her.

Leaning against the wall, I heard Maxim sigh.

“We have a problem. Petrovitch discovered our mole. He’s in the wind.”

Of course they did. They never saw the bigger picture. They wanted a quick fix. I knew that was Montana’s influence. Fucker never really liked getting his hands dirty. Just because he sat at the table, he thought he could lord his position over the biker nation. Fucker was about to have a rude fucking awakening when this shit was over.

I had plans for him and his pissy bitch fucking Soulless Sinners.

“Petrovitch has Illyria.”

I would have laughed if it wasn’t so bad. Even then, I was grateful it wasn’t my woman. Still, Illyria was bad enough. Woman didn’t deserve what was about to happen to her. Maybe Maxim would finally understand my torment. I hated he would have to learn this way, but sometimes the truth wasn’t an easy pill to swallow.

“Our plan is unraveling. It’s time. We need you to reclaim what is rightfully yours,” he added as Montana dropped a bag on the floor near my feet.

I sighed, hanging my head as I gently placed her photo on the bed beside me. What they failed to say was they fucked up big time and needed the one person they handicapped back in the game to save their asses.

I had half a fucking mind to walk away and let them deal with the consequences of their actions.

Let them fight till the death.

Let them suffer the actions of their own hands.

Bending over, I unzipped the bag as the contents shined brightly, clean and ready, as if everything inside were waiting for me. Neither man said a word as I ran my finger along the long, sharp blades, reacquainting myself with their cold feel. Grabbing the handles of the bag, I picked it up and placed it on the bed.

“Is she alive?” I asked. My hard, gruff voice echoed around the room. They knew damn well I wasn’t talking about Illyria. This was never about anyone but her . The one person on this earth who kept me sane, centered, under control.

Their next words would seal their fate.

When I saw them stiffen, I knew they understood.

“Yes,” Maxim quickly affirmed.

He fucking knew not to lie to me.

Not after everything I’d done.

Standing at his full height, he pushed off the wall, not knowing what to expect. I wasn’t the man he remembered. What stood before him was a wild card with nothing more to lose. So, when he turned his eyes on mine, he wasn’t shocked to see death looking back at him. There was no life left in me. That was on him. Him and his fucking pussy-bitch friend who hadn’t said a fucking word yet. Which was good, because I wouldn’t think twice before removing his fucking tongue from his lying mouth.

I had plans for that lying piece of shit.

Time was on my side.

Montana’s days were numbered.

I would make sure of that.

“We need to bring you up to speed as soon as you’re ready,” Montana stated cautiously as I removed items from my bag, laying them out carefully, as if they were the most precious items in the world.

“Speak.”

When Montana stayed quiet, Maxim quickly spoke.

“You were right. Sergio Pavlov worked under Petrovitch. You were right about everything. Petrovitch, Capribella, and Bianchi were all working together. The orphanage you had us look into was a front. Owned and operated by Petrovitch. Capribella sold the babies to the highest bidder. Petrovitch shipped the mothers to Bianchi’s in Italy, where he used them for his breeding farm. All three of them used Pavlov’s connection to Reynolds to smooth the way. With Benson Graves working the numbers, they had everything wrapped up tight. No one was the wiser.”

Of course, I was fucking right as I stood there waiting for them to tell me something I didn’t already know.

“Maxim’s right,” Montana cautiously added. “Everything you suspected has come to fruition. Thanks to Graves, Petrovitch knows everything about all of us. He’s been biding his time, waiting for the perfect time to attack. Well, he struck. He took Illyria and now has eyes on your wife. She’s the only puzzle piece we couldn’t figure out. There is much about her past that we don’t know. But we think it has something to do with her birth parents. Only there is nothing on them. They were fucking high school sweethearts, for crying out loud. They came from normal, everyday families. They were nobodies. So fucking far off everyone’s radar, they should have lived a relatively normal existence.” Montana growled, frustrated.

Fucking stupid idiots. They still knew nothing.

Then again, I knew they would never figure it out.

My woman’s past was buried so fucking deep in the bowels of hell that not even the Devil himself would learn the truth.

I ensured that.

There was only one fucking person on this planet besides me that knew the truth about my woman. Someone who had a stake in her survival, just as much as I did. I fucking knew that bastard would eat a fucking bullet before he ever uttered a word.

He was my wild card. The one person I knew, if these fuckers failed to keep their promise, would move heaven and earth to ensure she lived when others didn’t.

“To make matters worse, if that wasn’t enough, Petrovitch discovered our mole’s identity. Last we heard, he was close to finding everything out when we received his distress signal tonight. By the time our men got to the extraction site, he was nowhere to be found. All they found was this,” Maxim said, handing me a familiar patch.

I said nothing as I took it from him.

My fist gripping it tightly.

“Is he dead?”

“We don’t know.” Montana sighed, running his hands through his hair. “I’ve got my clubs out searching for him. He’s been under since the wedding. He could have gone native for all we know. Until we find him and he tells us what happened, we’re in the dark. Let’s hope your boy knows how to lie low. But we think he’s going for reinforcements.”

“Which means he’s putting everyone in danger,” Maxim stated, adding, “I’ve sent a message and alerted them, but after everything they’ve been through, they won’t survive another attack.”

That’s what they thought.

My fucking brothers didn’t die easily.

Enough of this shit.

I’d heard enough.

Throwing on a clean shirt, I tucked it into my jeans.

Reaching back into my bag, I pulled out my leather cut. Shaking it out, I quickly put it on. After pocketing the picture, I reached for my blades, slipping them into the leather holster on my back. After securing them, I picked up my two Glocks and checked the clips to make sure they were full.

Ready for war, I zipped up my bag. Holding the handle, I threw it over my shoulder as I walked past them, heading for the door.

“What are you going to do?” Montana asked.

I stopped, turned and looked at the both of them and said, “What I should have done in the first place.”

“And that is?” Maxim asked.

“Reap souls.”