Page 55

Reaper

It had been a couple of days since I found my wife sitting in the shower, freezing while the cold spray rained down upon her. Since that night, she hadn’t really said anything about it or what she asked me.

While I intended to keep my promise to her, I couldn’t help but wonder how Remi knew about the missing woman, and with everything going on, I knew it was hitting too close to home for her.

Leaving my office, I headed down the hall toward Phantom’s cave. The woman barely left the damn place since we rebuilt the club. If she wasn’t with Bullseye, she was in her cave, typing away on her damn computers. Therefore, I wasn’t shocked when I knocked then opened the door to find her clicking away as she looked at a black screen with jumbled codes racing past.

Leaning against the door, I shook my head because Phantom never acknowledged me. Woman lived in her own damn world most of the time, only popping out of her cave when needed.

“What are you doing in here?”

Turning, Bullseye flipped on the light next to him. Laying on the sofa in her cave, my brother looked relaxed, almost like he was exactly where he wanted to be.

“How long have you been in here?”

“Long enough for a nap before you interrupted me.”

Tilting my head toward Phantom, I asked, “How long has she been sitting there?”

“Too fucking long,” the man grumbled, sitting up and wiping his hands down his face. “Those stupid fucking files Ghost brought back with him are becoming a nuisance, brother. At this rate, your kid will be born before she unlocks all the files.”

“How many are still left to open?”

“About ninety percent,” Phantom said, turning in her chair to look at me. “Say what you want about James Doherty, but the man knew how to keep shit hidden. We’ve only scratched the surface.”

“Anything worth knowing?”

Sighing, she replied, “No. Everything so far is common knowledge.”

“Anything about the supposed ghost files going out to the underworld?”

Leaning back in her chair, she smirked. “Well, those files are a different story. I found the origin of the release, though I don’t believe they had any knowledge of what they were releasing. It seems when the Soulless Sinners found George Stone’s personal files, there was a worm attached. When Pippen unlocked the files, it activated the worm, releasing everything George Stone had accumulated over the years about everyone.”

“So those ghost files come from the Soulless Sinners?”

“Yeah,” Phantom muttered. “And like I said, I don’t think they knew it. Whoever planted the worm went old-school. Like really old-school, Reaper.”

“Benson Graves?”

“Possibly,” she replied. “He’s definitely old enough, but I don’t think so. There is something about the worm that’s familiar.”

Rubbing my head, I groaned. “Alright, I’ll bite. What’s familiar about this worm?”

“Every hacker has a call sign. Like a signature. We put it in our codes whenever we do something, kind of like a big fuck you to the powers that be. Anyway, for those who know what to look for, there is a reoccurring line of code that will always pop up.”

“The signature.”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “Well, when Sypher was going through the ghost files from the Soulless Sinners’ database, he found the signature, but he didn’t recognize it. So he sent it me.”

“And you’ve seen that signature before?”

“Yeah. But the problem is, I can’t remember where.”

“Babe,” Bullseye spoke up. “The hacker world is rather small.”

“I know,” she groaned, leaning forward. “There are only a handful of people I know who could pull something like this off. The problem is, they are all younger than me and have their own distinct signature. Whoever did this is not only smart, but cunning. They used an old-school worm and infused it with modern techniques. And while my first guess was Benson Graves, that man isn’t smart enough to pull something like this off. He’s an information gatherer, not a hacker. And just to make things more interesting. The person who uploaded the worm into the Soulless Sinners’ database, is also the same person who copied and downloaded all the files from the Trick Pony before Ace could upload all the files. I’m talking superfast on the keys. Faster than me or Sypher.”

Groaning, I rubbed my temples. I hated this computer crap. It gave me a headache every fucking time.

Pushing off the doorjamb, I was about to say something when my phone started ringing. Digging it out of my back pocket, I looked at the caller ID and sighed. “What the hell now?”

“Who is it?” Bullseye asked.

“King,” I groaned, and Bullseye chuckled.

“Let me guess. Savage is pissing King off again.”

“He better not be. I don’t have time for his petty bullshit,” I grumbled, connecting the call. “King. Whatever that fucker did, just take care of it. I’ve got my hands full over here.”

“President Reaper?” an incredibly young voice said through the phone.

Frowning, I looked at the caller ID once more to make sure I saw everything correctly. When I saw King’s name again, I frowned, putting the call on speaker.

“Yeah, this is Reaper. Who am I speaking with?”

“Uh,” the little voice whispered, before saying, “It’s Cameron.”

Grinning from ear to ear, I shook my head. “What can I do for you, Carnage?”

“Oh good. You remember me.”

“Won’t ever forget you, kid. You single-handedly took down the Sons of Hell. Gotta say, that was really ballsy of you.”

There wasn’t a biker club in the world who hadn’t heard of Carnage and the smackdown he put on the Sons of Hell. While it was all harmless, King would never live it down. The President of a motorcycle club got taken down by a seven-year-old kid.

“Yeah. It was one of my better moments. Anyway, I’ve got an issue and need help.”

“Why not go to your Prez?”

“Cause he ain’t sayin’ shit. He’s blackballed me, and now everyone refuses to talk around me.”

“I see.” I smirked, trying hard to hide my laughter. “So, what do you need from me?”

“There is something going on here. It’s big. I can feel it in my bones, but like I said, no one is talking. Lots of closed doors and secret meetings. Shit like that.”

“And you don’t like being left out of the loop?”

“Hell no,” the kid groaned. “These are my boys. How am I gonna help them if I don’t know what’s going on?”

My God this kid was a trip. He was going to be a damn good President one day. That is if he lived to see eighteen.

I really felt for King.

Brother had his fucking hands full with this one.

“Maybe King doesn’t need your help with this one.”

“Oh please. King is good, but he’s got his hands full with Banks right now. That knuckle dragger is dumber than a box of rocks.”

I laughed loudly.

Shaking my head, I said, “Seems to me, you just answered your question, Carnage. If King is busy helping a brother, then my guess is that’s where the mystery is.”

Carnage groaned. “Ain’t no mystery with that Russian asshat.”

Frowning, I straightened and asked, “Russian?”

“Oh yeah,” Carnage happily confirmed. “Banks ain’t from around here. He told the entire club a week or so ago that he grew up in protection. His name isn’t even Henry Owens. It’s Nikoli Dubrovsky. Well, at least that’s what Ms. Laurel keeps calling him.”

“Aleksandr’s brother?” Phantom whispered.

Shaking my head, I groaned, covering the phone. “Bullseye, call over to the Sons, and tell whoever answers that Carnage is digging for information. Tell them to watch their backs.”

Had love for this kid, but King would have my ass if anything happened to Carnage. King may not have admitted shit to anyone yet, but it didn’t take a fucking genius to know that King loved that kid as if he were his own flesh and blood.

“Cameron, maybe you should let this one go. Seems to me King has everything under control.”

“That’s what Nash said.”

“Who’s Nash?”

“Banks’ son. Nash was a total douche canoe before he came here. Now he’s kinda cool.”

“Well from one Prez to a future Prez, here’s some advice, Carnage. Know when to butt out of shit that don’t concern you.”

The kid sighed. “Yeah. That’s what King told me.”

“Sound advice,” I said. “Look, Carnage. You know if shit gets bad, all you gotta do is call and the Golden Skulls will come running. We’ve always got your back.”

“Thanks, Reaper. That means a lot.”

“CAMERON!”

“Oh shit. Gotta go, Reaper. Thanks for listening!” the kid said, right before the line went dead.

Chuckling, I looked at Bullseye and asked, “Who did you call?”

My brother leaned back on the sofa and smiled. “Gunner.”

The sun had set when I entered the house, heading upstairs to the sound of the shower shutting off. Sitting on our bed, I bowed my head when I remembered her whispered words as she pleaded with me. Seeing her in that shower, shivering, still haunted me.

She was holding something back.

Something from her time in captivity.

I knew it. But I also know that I couldn’t force her to speak until she was ready.

For too many fucking years, my woman suffered the unimaginable. It was a testament to her strength that she was still sane. I’d seen too many people succumb to the torment. But what bothered me the most was that she didn’t feel safe enough around me to tell me the truth.

I guess that was on me.

She may be back in my bed, but she still hadn’t truly forgiven me yet. The thought of losing her, never touching, kissing, or holding her again was too much. I fucked up so badly, I vowed, no matter what, to never hide anything from her again.

Trust was a fucking fickle thing. Once lost, it took damn near forever to get back.

“Max?”

Looking up, I smirked as hot steam wafted around her, filling our bedroom with the smell of vanilla and cherries. After all these years together, she was still mouthwatering.

I couldn’t help myself.

Wrapping my arms around her, I lifted her up until she was straddling my lap. The snugly wrapped towel around her chest emphasized her breasts, which slightly protruded over the fabric, almost like they were inviting me to kiss them. Holding her head in my hands, I crushed my lips down on hers, tasting her forbidden fruit. The lusciousness of her plump lips burst into my mouth, making me hungry for more. She was perfect in every way. She was soft, demure, sexy, fierce, strong, a survivor. She was everything I dreamed about and more.

I wanted her, all of her. Every hug, every tear, every laugh... I wanted it all.

I needed her like I needed air. I needed her goodness to balance my darkness. I could breathe around her. She calmed my demon. She was all light and pure.

I was the shit everyone avoided.

My body wrapped around hers while I consumed her, my lips crushing hers.

God, she was still innocent and sinful all at the same time.

More importantly... she was mine.