Page 188 of Reaper

I’m broken out of my thoughts as the door opens and Igor and Anthony come back inside. Smiling, I crouch down and Igor runs over to me. I laugh as he places his paws on my knees and begs for pets with his eyes. I take off his coat, since his fur isn’t thick enough to keep him warm in the winter, and oblige him with pets.

“Happy birthday, Igor,” I coo as I continue to pet him, making sure to scratch his favorite spots and I swear he understands me because he gets the zoomies and runs around the room excitedly.

Laughing, I glance over at Anthony who is also smiling down at Igor. Picking up his cake, I set it down on the ground by his food bowl and Igor immediately digs in. Void comes over, curious about the cake but before he can take a bite, I grab a smaller plate off the island and set it down for him.

“Come here, Void. I figured you’d want a little something special too, but Igor’s cake isn’t meant for kitties. Here you go, boy.”

Void sniffs the cake and, like Igor, digs in. Standing, I take the few steps over to where Anthony is standing and wrap an arm around his waist and he does the same. Resting my head on his shoulder, I glance up at him.

“I also have a surprise that’s as much for you as it is for Igor,” I tell him and he looks down at me in question. I bite the inside of my cheek as I fight my nerves, hoping I didn’t overstep. I nudge him and tilt my head toward the bag on the counter. “Why don’t you go ahead and open it for him. The smaller bag is for Void since I didn’t want him to feel left out.”

Anthony’s puzzled look deepens, but he steps over to the counter and plucks the tissue paper out of the top of the bag. He reaches in and Igor’s head whips up to look at him when he accidentally makes one of the toys squeak. Igor’s little butt wiggles like crazy as he eyes the squeaky toy Anthony reveals. Anthony makes it squeak a few more times and Igor barks excitedly before chasing after it as Anthony throws it. I laugh as Igor skids past the toy, his paws slippery against the hardwood floors.

Looking back over at Anthony, my laughter fades at the intense look on his face as he stares down at the biggest surprise I got.

A leather jacket custom made to Igor’s size. On the back is a miniature club logo with a rocker stating ‘Property of Reaper and Neith’ under it. On the front, there are three patches. On the left side, a patch proclaims his position as ‘Top Dog’. On the right, there are two patches, one stating his name, Igor, and below it is ‘Shotgun’. I’d debated about choosing that name because when Anthony found Igor, his little body had been riddled with bb’s. However, there are two reasons why I choose ‘Shotgun’. Whenever Igor’s excited, he gets the zoomies and always takes off, fast like a shotgun’s bullet. Another is because whenever we go for a ride with him, hehasto sit in the front seat.

I swallow thickly, watching as Anthony’s fingers trace over each of the patches. “I-Is the jacket okay? Or…” my voice trails off, worried I’ve overstepped.

Anthony shakes his head, and I breathe a sigh of relief when he smiles brightly up at me. “I never thought of doing this for him, but it’s perfect.”

“And the name?” I hesitantly ask.

Somehow, Anthony’s smile widens. “It’s perfect and it fits him perfectly.”

He crouches down and calls Igor over to him. I get my phone out and pull up my camera, taking pictures of Anthony putting Igor’s jacket on him. Once it’s on, I tell Igor to sit and take a few more pictures of just him—both from the front and the back. I forward them to Levi, wondering if she’d be interested in doing something similar for Bastion, and then I send them to Anthony as well as the other Old Ladies.

We spend a few minutes playing with Igor and Void when I realize Anthony didn’t pull the rest of Igor’s present out of the bag.

“For summer,” I tell Anthony, “there’s a cut in there for him as well as some doggy sunglasses.” I pause, not able to help my grin. “I also put some of those aviator shades in there for him too because I thought those would look awesome on him.”

Anthony huffs as he shakes his head, but doesn’t disagree with me.

“The jacket and cut are fucking awesome, Darlin’. Thank you.” He leans over, kissing me and we both break away laughing when Void jumps up on Anthony’s lap and Igor puts his paws on my knees.

“How about we head over to the clubhouse so the others can see your present?” I coo as I pet him, and as if to prove I chose the right road name, he pushes off my legs and is off like a shotgun, running around excitedly. Both Anthony and I laugh as we get up and slip on our coats.

A few minutes later, we walk through the clubhouse doors and Loki is the first to spot us. He busts out laughing before squatting down to pet Igor.

“This is fucking awesome, Lark. Happy birthday, little guy.”

His laughter has the others looking over at Igor and they all grin as Igor makes his way around the room, and I swear the little stinker is strutting in his own little way.

A phone rings and it takes me a bit before I realize it’s Anthony’s.

“Hey, Lil’ Bit,”Anthony says and then a huge smile breaks out across his face.“We’ll get around and head down. Give our best to Half-pint.”

Excitement wells in my chest, hoping this is the news we’ve been waiting for. Anthony hangs up and I swear, we’re all waiting with bated breath for the next words he’s gonna say.

“Levi’s water just broke. The girls are on their way!”

Cheers go up around me and I squeal in excitement as Anthony picks me up and twirls me around, but then I sober.

“We all want to see them, but we can’t leave the clubhouse unmanned. How are we going to split up?” I whisper to him and his smile dims.

“Fuck, you’re right, Darlin’.” He sets me down and whistles to get everyone else’s attention. “I know we all want to go and see Half-pint and the girls, but we can’t leave the clubhouse unmanned. Any volunteers to stay back?”

The guys all look at each other and then Beast and Python raise their hands.