Page 70 of Reaper

I shake my head. “This isn’t something you ever have to thank me for, Lark. I’ll always do what I can to keep you and yours safe.”

Giving her another kiss, I straighten and walk over to the dresser before slipping my jeans back on. Heading out into the hallway, I go room by room up here and then head downstairs. Granny’s still in her glider and she looks up at me in question over her reading glasses.

“Just doing a check of the windows and doors before heading to bed.” Like Lark, Granny gives me a soft smile and I swear I see her shoulders drop a little in relief. “I won’t check Emma’s room since she’s asleep. Did you want me to check your windows?”

Instead of answering me right away, she marks her spot in the book and closes it before setting it down on her lap. She gestures to the armchair to her right and I sit down, slightly confused.

Granny frowns slightly as her gaze drops to my chest and worry etches her features. My muscles tense as I realize I didn’t put my shirt back on.

Clearing my throat I gesture to my chest, figuring it’s best to just get this out of the way. “This summer, me and my President’s Old Lady, Levi, were kidnapped. They did this to me, though some of it I intentionally brought on myself to try and lure their focus off Levi. The club rescued us before they could do any more.”

Her eyes swim with unshed tears, but she blinks repeatedly to keep them from falling. “Is there any chance that they’ll come back for retaliation? That they could take Lark?”

I shake my head. “Nah, the cops locked them all up. With what they did, there’s no chance of them getting out. They’ll rot there till they die.” No way am I mentioning that it was actually the Feds, not the cops, that locked them up and that they then went after the rest of Black Plague’s members. Nor will I mention that we took care of some of those fuckers ourselves.

Granny gives me a sharp nod. “Good. Now, I didn’t want to say anything with Lark around earlier, but what are you going to do about that good for nothing Zac Crawford? He’s been sniffing around Lark the past few months even more so than he was before. She doesn’t know that I’ve noticed, but I have. Khloe doesn’t know either.” She sighs as she looks down at the book in her hand, her fingers tracing over the slightly raised letters of the book jacket. “I wish Khloe would wake up and ditch his controlling ass. She almost did after that first time you came to her house to bring Lark the laptop, but somehow the asshole weaseled back into her good graces. My Khloe is way too good for that man.”

My frown deepens as my gut tightens with worry. “What do you mean he’s been sniffing around Lark?”

“He’s somehow figured out her schedule, both at the tavern and the few times she stops in to help out at the supper club and to keep tabs on how it’s doing. At the supper club, he’ll sit in the back but will make sure he can still see the bar. He pretends to be on his phone or talking to whoever he’s with, when he’s really watching everything Lark does. As for the tavern, he goes with his cousin, Darren, or his brother, Oliver, a lot. They’re the ones that come up to the bar to get his drinks so he doesn’t have to.”

Her brow creases even more and I fist my hands as anger courses through me.

“He tends to wear baseball caps and pulls the bill low on his face. She’s always noticed him though and did her best to steer clear of him. She also makes sure he can never catch her alone in the hallway to the offices or bathroom. At some point after the fire, when we were still living at Khloe’s house, Lark told me that she could always feel when his attention was on her. It’s like her skin is crawling. Kind of like the feeling of having ants walk over your skin,” she says before pausing. “These last couple of months, I think he thought you two had quit whatever was goingon between you two. Things have also been rough between Zac and Khloe from what I overheard. I don’t know what he wants with my Lark, but I don’t want to see my grandbaby hurt again.”

That would certainly explain a bit about why Zac was so angry tonight, but not all of it. Did he see me kiss her before coming in tonight? And why does he seem to have an issue with the club? I’m going to have to talk to Python about this. Maybe Smoke too. See if I can get in on the alerts they get from their security system. It seems like his focus on her has turned into some sort of obsession. If Zac’s been sniffing around like this, it won’t take much for him to get even more stalkerish.

And like I’d told Lark earlier, I’ll do whatever I can to keep her, and those she is close to, safe.

“I’ll look into things on Zac’s end and talk with Lark. If things get too out of hand with Zac, I can see if some of the guys can rotate in when I can’t be here to make sure Zac doesn’t pull anything. She might not like it, but her safety is my top priority.”

Granny nods and reaches over, patting my arm. “Good. Now go on and do your thing. It’s late and I bet you’re tired. We’ll have breakfast ready for you later in the morning.”

“Night, Granny.”

Getting up, I head to the entryway and double check the alarm is still set before going around to each window and the back door, making sure they are locked before heading back upstairs.

Shutting the door, I strip out of my jeans and crawl into bed before flicking off the lamp on the nightstand.

“Everything okay?” Lark asks sleepily as she scoots over closer to me.

Hooking my arm around her waist, I gently pull her even closer and bury my face in the crook of her neck, kissing her as I breathe in her rose perfume mixed with a smell that’s all her. My cock throbs as she wiggles closer, rubbing her ass against itin the process and I take a few steadying breaths as I try to calm my desire.

“Yeah, Darlin’. Granny and I chatted a bit before I made sure everything was secure.” Pausing, I kiss her neck again. I have to bite my lip to keep from groaning when I see her skin pebble in goosebumps as she shivers slightly. “Sleep, Darlin’. I’ve got ya.”

I won’t mention anything about Zac tonight, but soon, I’ll have to talk to Lark about him.

Lark sighs contentedly and after a little bit, I hear her breathing level out. A few moments later, sleep claims me as well.

Chapter 29

Reaper

Someoneshiftsnexttome and my muscles go taut before I remember where I am.

I’m at Lark’s.

And I just had the best night of sleep of my life since the kidnapping in June.