Page 147 of Reaper

“Because there is an ongoing federal investigation into an organization that has caused a lot of problems here in town as well as across the US. The club has been working with Agent Creed Weber since a few of the men tied to said organization have kidnapped two of these ladies before, and that is all you need to know,” Sam tells Reilly and I’m really glad he didn’t mention anything about the whole Black Plague mess.

Reilly narrows his eyes at Sam and opens his mouth to say something, but Sam cuts him off.

“You may have come highly recommended to our station, but until the Chief gives me the approval, you willnotbe part of conversations going forward. The only reason you’re here is because you’ve been temporarily paired with Hughes and you two were out in the field when the call came through.”

Reilly’s eyes narrow even further, but thankfully he doesn’t argue.

Someone’s phone vibrates and Smoke grunts. “Creed’s here. Opening the gate for him,” he says as he clicks a few buttons on his laptop.

Beast steps up next to Thor, whispers something quietly to him and Thor gives him a chin lift in response.

“How about we go into Church? Mae, Wildcat, Lark, Miracle, you’re with us. Prospects too.”

“We’ll be in the kitchen then since that appears to be untouched. Erik and Dom are downstairs still with the kids,”Mama Astrid tells him before squeezing Mae’s hand and heading toward the hallway, taking up the rear of the group as they walk.

Reilly’s eyebrows rise in shock at the mention of the kids and his eyes widen even further as his gaze bounces between Mae and Levi. Did he miss the part where Thor said this weekend is Mae’s baby shower and that X wanted the womenandchildren?

Beast and Odin move to stand by the entrance to the hallway but also in front of the pass-through window, effectively putting themselves in Reilly’s way should he try to talk to any of the women.

The door opens and Creed walks in, but surprisingly, he halts in his tracks before dropping his briefcase, pulling his gun and pointing it at Reilly. A second later, Sam, Brady, and Dixon also have their guns out and aimed at Reilly.

“Hands behind your head. You’re under arrest, Mason Fuller.”

I step in front of Lark, shielding her, and I notice the others doing the same with Mae, Half-pint, Miracle and even Sasha, though Sasha scowls at the back of Cowboy’s head. At the same time, I notice out of the corner of my eye that Punisher blocks the hallway closest to us, and Ryder blocks the door to Church.

Beads of sweat form on Reilly’s, or whatever his name is, forehead. “You have me mistaken with someone else, Agent,” he replies but makes no move to raise his hands.

“No, I don’t. Now, hands behind your head, Fuller.”

Reilly smirks and I bet he thinks he’s coming off as unaffected, but he’s failing big time. His fingers are tapping on his utility belt and his right eye is twitching.

“What makes you think I’m this Mason Fuller person? You have no proof.”

Creed smirks in return and Reilly’s confidence shatters even more.

“Actually, I have a ton of proof and was just on my way to notify Chief Cane when I got Smoke’s call. Chief Cane is on his way here as we speak.”

Dixon and Brady inch closer and Reilly’s gaze darts around frantically but there’s nowhere to go. Not with all the exits blocked. And since the windows are still shuttered up, he’d be shot before he got one open to escape that way. My fingers twitch, wanting to pull my gun, but I know that would just complicate things.

At that moment, Reilly moves to pull his gun. As his hand wraps around the handle, a gunshot rings out and hits Reilly in his right arm. His gun clatters to the floor before he covers his wound with his other hand, gritting his teeth as he glares at Creed.

“Fine. You think you have proof, then prove it.”

“I will once you’re in handcuffs. Hughes, if you would be so kind?”

Dixon keeps his gun trained on Reilly until he’s close enough to nudge Reilly’s gun back away from him and across the floor toward Sam. Brady steps closer, also keeping his gun trained on Reilly. Dixon steps behind Reilly, holsters his gun, and starts to handcuff Reilly. I bite my cheek to keep from smirking when Dixon is a little rougher than necessary when he tugs Reilly’s right arm behind his back.

The others holster their guns and Brady steps forward, unclipping Reilly’s utility belt and sets it on a table out of reach. Sam puts Reilly’s gun on the same table. Then Dixon and Brady each grab ahold of one of Reilly’s arms.

“Chief Cane just arrived,” Smoke says.

“Well, then I’ll wait so I won’t have to repeat anything,” Creed says as he picks up his briefcase, which I’m surprised didn’t bust open when it dropped earlier and steps further into the room so that he’s not in front of the door.

A few moments later, Chief Cane comes in, his frown deepening as he takes in Dixon and Brady holding a bleeding Reilly in handcuffs. His gaze sweeps over to us before he glances back at Reilly and then fixes on Creed.

“Agent Weber,” he says and shakes Creed’s hand. “Fill me in.”

Creed unlocks his briefcase and pulls out an accordion style folder before passing it to the Chief.