Page 146 of Reaper

“Hey, are you okay?”

She blinks, and it takes a moment before she registers my words. She gives me a tight, small smile. “Yeah, I will be. I don’t regret what we did, but it will take a bit to process everything.”

Lark falls back and then steps around so that she is at Miracle’s other side. She takes her hand and squeezes it. “Later, I’ll show you something that might help. Reaper showed it to meand it really helped me process everything that’s going on with the stalker, the accident, and even a bit with the fires.”

Some tension visibly bleeds out of Miracle before she nods. “I’d like that.”

When we get to the main room, I’m relieved to see Captain Sam Morgan and Officer Brady Morgan, Patch’s uncle and cousin as well as Officer Dixon Hughes. I met them all when helping with everything that went down with Mary’s asshole of an ex-husband as well as some of her family members.

There’s a fourth cop that I don’t recognize. His badge reads Officer Reilly. I eye him warily, not liking the vibe he’s giving off. He’s got his thumbs hooked into his utility belt and is giving us smug looks like we’re the ones in the wrong in this situation.

Sam tilts his head at us, and I give him a chin lift. He looks around the room and frowns as he takes in the decorations for Mae’s party. When he spots Mae, his frown deepens when he notices the bandages around her upper arm. Timber has his arm wrapped around her waist and she’s leaning against him. Mama Astrid stands on the other side of Mae and they’re both holding hands.

“Just so you are aware, Officers Daniels and Richards are here as well because of the reports of heavy gunfire coming from this area. They’re taking a look around outside. Care to fill us in?” he asks Thor who dips his head. “Sure, but first, you might want to call in a few more teams. We were attacked by at least fifteen people that we could see—”

Lark steps forward. “Sorry to interrupt, Thor, but that went up to twenty-one when it was noticed some people were camouflaging themselves in the snow. There could have been more camouflaged, but we found six. There also could have been more hidden in the woods that we weren’t able to spot.”

He gives her a chin lift. “At least twenty-one people. We tried not to kill anyone, but I don’t know if we did. There could be men in the woods that are wounded and are trying to get away.”

Sam turns to Brady who turns around but then pauses.

“What directions were they mainly coming from?”

Thor looks over at Lark in question, which is odd since they told us earlier. Then again, things could have shifted some once the shooting started up again.

“There were at least five spotted from the north and the rest were from the east. Six of them were camouflaged in the snow about halfway from the trees that are at the edge of the backyard and then back to the tree line. We didn’t see anyone approaching from the west or south,” she replies.

Brady steps away and quietly talks into his radio before returning to his spot a moment later. “They’ll take a look and they are calling in Officers Bryant and Marshall. If need be, they’ll call in the ambulances.”

Smoke clears his throat. “This weekend we have Mae’s baby shower going on. The ladies were down here doing the baby shower games and us guys were up in the loft watching football. We came downstairs when we heard gunshots and the sound of breaking glass.” He points over to the window that was busted first. “Bullet grazed Mae’s arm, who was standing where you see the blood on the floor. It embedded in the middle of the table the ladies were sitting at.”

My gaze darts to the table he’s pointing at, and I grit my teeth in anger. How I missed that earlier, I don’t know. Any of them could have been hurt or killed.

“How do you know it’s not retaliation for something the club has done?” Officer Reilly sneers as he looks down his nose at Smoke.

You could have heard a fucking pin drop as everyone turns toward him, even Sam, Brady, and Dixon. I mean, he’s notwrong in that we have stopped a lot of shit that’s tied to Oasis, but that’s not what he’s insinuating. Without even looking at my brothers and sisters, I know we’re all pissed as fuck at what his unspoken words are.

Chapter 54

Reaper

“Iknowyou’renewto town, but you have no clue as to what the Steel Archangel’s have done for this town,” Dixon tells him, just barely reining in his anger. “Just because you’ve only had experience with the wrong kind of MCs doesnotmean every MC is full of criminals. In fact, the club has actually helped us lock up quite a few criminals.”

“Um,” Mae starts to say and then hesitates as she glances between Thor and Sam. “Before we go further, maybe we should call Creed. He needs to be kept in the loop on this.”

Sam, Brady, and Dixon’s backs all snap straight at that.

“Why do you think that, Mae?” Sam asks her.

Mae licks her lips nervously, but doesn’t look away from him. “Because I recognized the voice of the person shouting at us to hand over the women and children and they’d let the guys live.”

The three of them curse and Reilly frowns as his gaze bounces between Mae and Sam, Brady, and Dixon.

“He’s already on his way, Baby Girl. He was in town on other business. Should be here soon,” Smoke tells her.

“Who’s Creed and why does he need to be here for this?” Reilly asks.

Something in Reilly’s voice has me tilting my head and watching him closer. He seems pale. Or at least paler than he was a moment ago. Why? What spooked him? Was it the mention of Creed’s name?