Page 35 of Reaper & the Lioness (Lone Star Mavericks MC #1)

I swallowed hard. “Matt betrayed me. He’s the reason they found me.”

A muscle twitched in Reaper’s jaw. “I suspected as much. He’s in the back of the SUV.”

His words were both a comfort and a fresh wound. I fought back tears.

“I’m taking you back to the cabin. I need to take care of this situation.”

He wanted to handle this the outlaw way.

“I’m coming with you,” I demanded in a hoarse, shaky voice.

“You don’t need to be here for this,” Reaper said, his tone quiet and gentle. “You don’t need to see what we’ll do. Let me handle it.”

I shook my head. “I need to see this through. Please. I want to talk to them. All of them. I need to confront Matt.”

Tension still radiated off Reaper, and his eyes raked over the bruises forming on my face before he reluctantly agreed. “All right.”

My body sagged as relief washed over me. Reaper wrapped an arm around my waist and guided me out of the warehouse to his truck. Merrick followed to join us while Jay, Bones, Archer, and Hatchet stuffed the three men, bound with zip ties, in the back of the SUV.

Reaper’s truck peeled out of the gravel parking lot with the other guys closely following. The adrenaline coursing through my veins began to slow, and I could feel the tender swelling on my face. I flipped down the visor and gasped at my reflection in the mirror.

“There’s Advil in the glovebox. It should help with the swelling. I’ll get you some ice from the breakroom when we get to the junkyard.”

I shuffled through his glove box to find the bottle, swallowing three before leaning back against the headrest. “So, what’s the junkyard? Is that code for something?”

“It’s an actual junkyard owned by Bones. It has a warehouse we use for these … situations. And, conveniently, there is an incinerator nearby.”

“I’m going to recommend we don’t do PR for the junkyard then,” I said with a tight laugh.

Reaper glared at me, his expression furious. “I can’t believe you’re making jokes right now.”

I could tell I walked on thin ice. I patted his arm. “I’m fine, Roman. The last time I faced Hale, I spent a week in the hospital. This time, I get to walk away. This time, I won. And it’s because of you. Because of the Mavericks.”

He started to respond, but his phone interrupted him. “Linc, what do you have?”

“I finally managed to hack into one of Abell’s servers. There’s enough evidence here to put them both away. I’m emailing it all to Eva right now.”

“Thanks,” I chimed in. “What about Matt?”

Reaper’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as his brother shared what he’d discovered.

“Benjamin started to work with the journalist to track you down after the night you disappeared with Reaper.”

I swore. The mention of Matt’s betrayal sent a fresh wave of pain through my chest. My throat tightened as I processed the information. I’d trusted him.

“I can’t believe it,” I whispered to myself. “We’ve been friends for years. How could he do this? How could he sell me out like that? How could he put my life at risk?”

“Matt texted someone from the coffee shop right after you walked in to inform them that you were there with a Maverick. I have a few more things to track down, so I’ll call back with an update as soon as I can.”

I wiped the tears running down my face.

Reaper took my hand and squeezed it. “Sometimes people surprise us in the worst ways.”

“I know. It’s just … I trusted him. I never thought he’d be capable of something like this.”

“Money and fear can make people do terrible things,” Merrick chimed from the back seat. He caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “Doesn’t excuse it, but it explains it.”

As we drove in silence, I reflected on the moments Matt and I had shared over the years. Late nights working on stories. Celebrations after breaking big news. Supporting each other through personal crises. This deception tainted the memories.

Merrick’s gaze lingered on me in the mirror.

“Don’t waste time replaying every conversation and interaction from years past. Some people are loyal until they aren’t.

You might not ever know when Matt decided to betray you or why.

No matter what, the Mavericks will always be loyal to you.

Reaper, me, the club … we’ve got your back. ”

Hurt and anger swirled inside me as a new resolve formed. Matt’s betrayal only reinforced why this story held such importance. It showed just how far Hale and Benjamin would go to bury their secrets.

Gravel crunched beneath the truck’s tires as Reaper pulled into the junkyard parking lot. The other SUV rumbled ahead to the large warehouse. I watched Bones key in a code to open a tall garage door before the vehicle disappeared inside.

Reaper’s knuckles turned white on the steering wheel as he guided us toward a squat, weathered administrative building.

“Stay here. I’ll be back in a minute. Merrick, you can head to the warehouse to get set up.”

Merrick stepped out of the truck and turned to face me. “Matt will answer to me personally for this.”

I swallowed hard. “Merrick, you don’t have to?—”

He cut me off with a slight shake of his head. “I do. You’re with our VP. You might not be his old lady yet, but we all see the direction the two of you are heading. That means you’re family. No one threatens our family and survives.”

I watched the dust settle as Merrick strode away. His promise offered a vow of protection and retribution. A small sense of reassurance settled into me.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and toggled to Linc’s email with shaky fingers. The evidence became more damning as I read on. More than twenty women had been paid to keep quiet. My eyes skimmed over emails, financial reports, and records, each more incriminating than the last.

Reaper’s return jolted me from my digital dive. He handed me a bag of ice, and the cold seeped through a rag.

“For your face,” he murmured. He brushed a strand of hair from my forehead with a gentle touch.

He drove a short distance to the warehouse as I held the cold pack to my eye. We entered through a rusted side door, the air heavy with tension and anger.

Hale, Benjamin, Matt, and my kidnapper sat zip-tied to chairs like macabre puppets. Merrick stood over a nearby table of sharp tools. His fingers traced their edges with anticipation.

Benjamin and Hale glared at me with undisguised hatred and malice. Matt’s eyes stared at the floor, downcast in shame and regret. My kidnapper had passed out.

“Eva, I am so sorry,” Matt began, his voice quivering. “Please, give me a chance to explain?—”

I cut him off. “Hatchet, please shut him up for me.”

Hatchet grinned at Reaper with undisguised glee as he ripped off a piece of black duct tape from a large roll and slapped it over Matt’s mouth with a satisfying smack.

Merrick’s eyes gleamed with a cold intensity different from the warmth and reassurance he’d shown me in the truck. It was a terrifying juxtaposition to the man who offered me comfort only minutes ago. He picked up a set of bolt cutters and tossed me a sinister grin that promised justice.

“Well, well,” Benjamin sneered. “If it isn’t the little bitch who couldn’t leave well enough alone.”

“You keep calling me a ‘bitch’ like it’s a bad thing. It’s not. Bitch means I’m not your victim anymore. I’m still standing. I survived. And you’re about to find out just how much of a bitch I can be.”

Benjamin narrowed his eyes. Blood, dirt, and grease stained his beige Brioni suit, and bruises and scrapes colored the right side of his face from where Hatchet had pressed it into the concrete floor.

“You think this changes anything, you stupid cunt?” Hale snarled, his words dripping with venom.

Reaper tensed beside me. He stood ready to unleash hell, but I wanted to go first. I wrapped my hand around his arm. The corded muscles beneath his cut tightened. I glanced up to give him a silent request to stand down. It was my turn.

I reached for a beautiful Damascus hunting knife sitting at the center of their tableau of torture. I wrapped my palm around the rosewood and bone handle, ignoring the look of surprise on Reaper’s face.

I paced in front of Hale and Benjamin. The click of my bootheels echoed in the cavernous space.

“We know everything. We have enough evidence to bury you both.” I twirled the knife in my hand as I considered how I might use it.

I pulled out my phone and began to read from the files Linc had sent to my email.

Benjamin’s skeptical sneer faltered, and the color drained from his face with each damning detail.

“And over twenty women have been paid off to stay quiet for what you’ve done to them. Verbal abuse. Assault. Blackmail. And not a shred of empathy for what you’ve put us through.”

Hale spat at me. A glob of saliva landed at my feet.

A strange sense of calm washed over me. It settled into my chest, and the corners of my lips quirked up as what I needed to do next became crystal fucking clear. Hale’s reign of terror ended today. I returned the knife to the table.

“Reaper, your gun.” I stretched my arm toward him with my palm open while maintaining eye contact with Hale.

I glanced back at Reaper after a beat. He stared at me with an expression of curiosity and concern.

“Please?”

He pulled his Glock from its holster. The metal gleamed under the harsh fluorescent lights.

He placed it in my outstretched hand, and his fingers lingered as if reluctant to let go.

I gripped the cold metal in my hand and smiled in thanks before returning my gaze to Hale.

My voice echoed through the warehouse, steady and even.

“I could turn you in and let you be completely humiliated by the media circus. I’d call every reporter I’ve ever met. Let the nation watch the Abell Enterprises scandal unfold. And then I’d send you letters every month while you rotted in prison, just to make sure you never forgot me.”

I paused as I collected my thoughts, dragging the muzzle of the weapon down Hale’s chest. Even though he sat tied up, part of my mind still screamed that I faced danger this close to him. The gun provided a comforting weight in my hand.

“In fact, I will leak every piece of evidence I have against the two of you. But first, I’ll ask a hacker to charter an empty plane with your names on the manifest to a country with no extradition.”

I pressed the Glock harder into Hale, a twisted satisfaction filling my chest as he flinched.

“When I anonymously send a package of files to every journalist I know, everyone will assume you fled the country. No one will even consider looking for your bodies. And, hopefully, every victim will get some sense of peace knowing you’re no longer a threat—even if they don’t know you’re dead.”

Their eyes widened as they understood they would never leave this warehouse alive. I lowered the weapon and tilted my head as I reveled in the heady feeling of power.

“You see, that’s the only option. I don’t trust the police. They can be bribed. I don’t trust the judges that will set bail far too low. I don’t trust the lawyers. They’ll certainly fuck this up. And I don’t trust that you wouldn’t do it all again. I don’t trust anyone will hold you accountable.”

I leaned in close and dropped my voice to a whisper. “Do you know what that means?”

I didn’t wait for Hale to respond. I didn’t need to. I raised the gun and shot him point-blank in the head.

The sound rang through the enclosed space, and the reek of gunpowder filled the air. Hale’s body slumped forward as the blood poured from his skull.

“You bitch,” the senior Abell growled, his eyes wide with fear.

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” I said, my voice cold as I aimed at his head. “You’re just as guilty as your son.”

I pulled the trigger again. Silence followed, broken only by the ringing in my ears and the ragged sound of my breathing.

Justice, in its darkest form, had finally been served.

I’d played judge, jury, and executioner.

And I didn’t feel sorry.

Not even a little.