Page 97 of Reaper

She gives me a worried look, most likely having noticed the change in the guys but she nods. “If Erica gets slammed, I’ll hop behind the bar and help her. She’ll have to ring them up since I don’t know all your prices, but I can help with the drinks.”

I give her a tight smile in thanks and hurry down the hallway to my office. I don’t see Anthony, so he must have used his keys to let himself in. I’d given him the keys to the tavern and the supper club last week when I gave him spares for the house.

Walking in, I find him pacing the length of it.

“How bad is he?”

The knot in my gut gets worse. Was someone hurt? Who?

Oh God, please not Mae!

Wait, no. He said he. Not she.

Shit.

Was someone hurt protecting Mae or someone else? Anthony had told me a bit more about Oasis trying to get their hands on Mae.

Anthony curses and I twist my fingers as I shift from foot to foot.

“We’ll grab some gear and head your way. Do you want us at the hospital or at the clubhouse?”

After a few moments, he nods and hangs up before he curses again.

“What happened? Who’s hurt?”

Somehow, Anthony face gets even harder as his eyes go icy with rage. “Smoke. Some fucker scaled the wall and tried to shoot Mae. He got to her in time, but he was shot and got a graze. They had to take him in—it wasn’t a through and through and he was losing too much blood too fast.”

“Fuck…”

He pulls me into his arms, and I hug him tight as he buries his head in the crook of my neck. I’m not sure how long we stand like that before he pulls back. I wipe my tears before reaching up and cupping his face.

“Come back to me. Protect Smoke and protect Mae. You do what you need to do.”

“I want you to stay at my house when I’m gone. Miracle can, too. Hell, I don’t care if you bring Emma and Granny, too. Just stay safe, Darlin’. I don’t know if these fuckers will try to come here to hit us as well, or if they’re just trying to get Mae right now.”

“It will probably just be me and Miracle. I’ll warn Ma and Granny. Maybe Uncle Mark can help keep an eye on them as well. If they’ve been watching us or are still watching us, I don’t want to bring them to the clubhouse if they don’t know about them. I’ll go grab some more clothes tonight so that I have enough for a while. Then I’ll keep my distance from the house, but I can’t take more than a couple of days off here because two of my bartenders needed off this weekend.”

He hesitates but nods. “I don’t want you going anywhere by yourself. I want someone with you when you leave the compound. Please.”

My jaw clenches at having a shadow, but I nod.

A little tension bleeds out of him at that. “Thank you, Darlin’. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

He leans down, kissing me and I try to get control of my emotions.

“Be safe.” My voice cracks, and I fail. A tear falls down my cheek and he wipes it away with his calloused thumb.

“I will. I still want you to tell me if you get any more phone calls or notes. Whoever the fuck this is, is reaching stalker level. It’s going to drive me crazy that I can’t be here to protect you if you need it. Please, Darlin.’”

I nod, knowing he needs this. I reach up and give him another kiss. “Now, go get what you need and head on out to help them. They may try to take advantage of the club being split up between the hospital and the clubhouse. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt.” I pause as my grip on his cut and shirt tighten. “Please, keep me posted on what you can. I’m going to be a blubbery, anxious, and bitchy mess if you don’t.”

The corner of his lips twitches a little and he gives me another quick kiss. “I’ll fill you in on what I can, which will include how Smoke pulls through.”

We hold each other for a few moments, before he pulls back and starts texting someone, probably the guys. “I’m going to have Python, Razor, Loki, Atlas, Cannon and the Prospects stay here. Hopefully it won’t take us long to track down the fuckers that shot Smoke, but if it does, we may need to switch out.” He tucks his phone back in his pocket and kisses me. “Remember, always have a brother with you. You have all their numbers now. Might not be a bad idea to text one of them if you’re walking from the house to the clubhouse and vice versa just so everyone’saware.” His fingers trail down my cheek. “I can’t lose you now that I’ve finally found you.”

I give him a watery smile as I swallow hard and nod. “I will, now get out of here. They need you and the guys.”

He gives me a curt nod and heads out, pausing for a second at the door to look back at me before he slips out.