Page 113 of Reaper

The smile she gives me warms my chest. “Love you, too, Anthony.”

I pat her thigh. “Let’s get cleaned up. Smells like dinner arrived.”

Lark’s face goes beet red as she buries her head in my chest. “Oh my God! I bet they heard everything,” she hisses and I can’thelp but laugh. She playfully slaps my chest as I wrap my arms around her.

“So, what if they did? The worst we’ll get are smirks and maybe a cat call or something.”

Lark grumbles. “From the guys, yeah.” She sighs and her shoulders slump. “How bad is it that I was more worried about what the bunnies will do now?”

I sober and tighten my arms around her. “It’s not bad, Darlin’. That’s a normal reaction. If you talk to Mama Astrid, Levi, or Mae, you’ll know that that reaction is not anything to be ashamed of. It’s what you do after you have that reaction that counts. Unless all the guys decide to ban bunnies all together, there will always be bunny trouble, but from what Mama Astrid has told me, it will get better the longer we’re together. Sure, we might get some trouble from new bunnies, but hopefully the initial meetings we have with them will help narrow that down.”

She frowns. “We?”

I cock an eyebrow at her. “How much has Levi told you about the hierarchy for Old Ladies?”

Her frown deepens. “Not much, really. Actually, today she told me I needed to talk to you about the changes that will be happening in the club. What was she talking about?”

“You’re my Old Lady, Lark. The Old Lady to a President of a motorcycle club. That means, for our club, that all the bunnies and Old Ladies will report to you now. I bet Mama Astrid has even started to defer to you on a few things the past few months.”

Lark stares at me in surprise, and then her eyes go unfocused, as if she’s thinking back over things. After a few moments, she nods.

“Yeah, now that I think about it, she has. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that before. I mean, both Levi and Mae have talked to me about their lives in the club, though I only learnedMae’s side today. Even on the video chat I caught Mae deferring to Levi a few times, but I didn’t think that was because of ranking.”

I nod. “It is. A club member’s Old Lady ranking ties in with the club members. If roles had been switched and Odin where the President, Mama Astrid would be the one in charge for the ladies and bunnies. As for the whole chapter, Levi is everyone’s Queen since she’s Thor’s Old Lady. She’ll probably be calling you soon to discuss what your new duties will be like, but they won’t be as heavy as hers. One of them will be that both you and I meet with anyone that wants to come here to be a bunny. Or if they just need a job. They don’t have to choose to be a bunny. In fact, Roxy who is at the Forest Creek chapter, just works there. She isn’t a bunny. She needed protection and the club gave it to her. In fact, because of Levi about to deliver her twins soon, I bet Roxy will probably be promoted into some sort of a management role to help Levi. Roxy doesn’t work outside of the club, so it’d be a pretty easy transition for her.”

Lark nods, then sits up taller. “Okay. I’ll message Levi later then and talk to her about everything.” Her cheeks pinken slightly. “Thank you.”

Now it’s my turn to frown. “For what, Darlin’?”

She gives me a small smile. “For everything. For loving me. For being there for me. Everything.”

“I’ll always love you and I’ll always be there for you, Lark. Always. You never have to thank me for any of that.”

Chapter 42

Lark

Thispastweekhasbeen a whirlwind. I’ve talked frequently with Levi about my new duties, and those talks have also helped calm my nerves. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop me from worrying about future scenarios I’ll have to deal with. I’m afraid that I’ll do something I shouldn’t, or that I don’t handle the situation correctly. However, Levi was there through all those little panic attacks and helped ease my worries.

She also told me about her journals, and I’ve started using them myself. I never knew that the journals I would sometimes see Reaper writing in where the ones she told him about after they were kidnapped over the summer. I wish I had known about these last year after the fire, but at least now I can work on getting the rest of my demons tied to the fire sorted out in my mind.

Right now, I’m writing in my black journal, trying to put some of my frustrations on paper with my fucking stalker when Mama Astrid walks over to the table I’m sitting at in the main room.I frown when I see the worried look on her face and close my journal.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you remember us telling you about Mary?”

I nod, my frown deepening. “Yeah, she’s Patch’s girlfriend that was kidnapped and sold when she was eighteen. He recently got her and her kids away from the asshole that had been abusing her. Wait. Is she okay?” I urgently ask, sitting up straighter in my chair.

Mama Astrid makes a wishy washy face. “Sort of. She’s got a doctor’s appointment coming up and she’s having panic attacks about going out. She still has nightmares from the bomb that happened on the way back to the clubhouse from her dad’s house.”

Fuck, I would be too if I were in her shoes.

Mama Astrid sighs again as she runs a hand through her hair. “Mae just told me that the nightmares and panic attacks are getting worse. The poor girl. She’s had so much go wrong in her life. I can’t wait until they get those assholes that hurt her.”

I nod in agreement having heard some of what she’s gone through. “Reaper told me they’re planning to head down there this Friday to help with things… But Mary knows Stephan the best,” I mumble as I think over the possibilities. One comes to me and for a moment I consider not saying it, but that’s just me being selfish. I would never be able to live with myself if something happened because of my selfishness.

“Just a sec,” I tell her as I scan the room. Spotting Reaper at the bar talking to Devil and Odin, I turn back to Mama Astrid. “Be right back.”