Page 3 of Reaping Havoc (Royal Bastards MC Tonopah, NV #21)

“ S omebody is fucking with me,” I complained, nearly whining at my brother, whose lips twitched with humor.

“Bro, that’s an everyday occurrence.”

“I’m serious.”

He stood, pocketing the rag he used to shine and buff the chrome on his bike. “Okay. Tell me what’s happening.”

I opened my mouth but then closed it. Irritated, I speared a hand through my short hair. Was I imagining this shit?

What if this was just a few of my brothers fucking with me like they’d done at Christmas? It wouldn’t be the first time.

Chrome tilted his head to the side, watching me. My twin knew me almost better than I knew myself. “If it’s got you this worked up, I need to know.”

A sigh escaped my lips. “I saw some dude wearing the same face makeup as me the other day.”

He blinked. “Like the skeletal face?”

“Yep.”

He frowned. “That’s a little odd. Not like it’s Halloween.”

Right? “That’s what I thought.”

“Well, where was he? What was the guy doing?”

“Staring at me. From across the fucking street.”

Chrome’s eyebrows shot upward.

“Outside the restaurant, when I took Nylah out.”

“Okay, that’s fucking weird,” he agreed.

“See? Grim and Trish watched the boys for us so I could give my ol’ lady an afternoon out. That fucker probably watched us the whole damn time.”

Yeah, I had his attention now. I could tell my brother didn’t like this any more than I did.

“Well, shit. Maybe we should bring this up in church,” Chrome suggested.

That had been my thought, too. But what if... this wasn’t a club brother or some fool on the street? What if this was our past catching up to us?

“Noah,” I nearly choked, using my brother’s real name. “What if this isn’t random or one of the brothers messing with me?”

Any trace of humor vanished. “You don’t mean those fucking Russians or that Black Market Railroad shit?” He tensed. “Arthur Cooke died a long fucking time ago, Ian.”

Arthur Cooke. The doctor who took Noah and told my parents that my twin had died at birth.

That motherfucker stole a family member from us and caused a shitstorm that ended with our father, Boone’s, death at the hands of an enemy club, the Bloody Scorpions.

We wiped them out since, but that feud cost the club several members over the years.

The blame originated with the fucking Black Market Railroad and the goddamn Russian trafficking ring infiltrating Nevada.

We’d taken out several prominent leaders, including Vladimir Solonik, his nephew Alexi Voltoy, Sergei Resnikov, and several associates, including Sean Jones.

But there were rumors about another Russian, Gorbachev, who called all the shots, and we knew he wanted revenge for all we’d taken from the Bratva.

Life had been peaceful. Too quiet in the wake of all that bullshit.

“It’s not the doctor or his past I’m worried about.”

“It’s Gorbachev,” he guessed.

“Yeah.”

“But we haven’t heard shit. Not for years,” he reminded me.

Not since before my boys were born. “That doesn’t mean that Gorbachev has forgotten his vendetta.”

“Fuck,” Chrome spat. “What the fuck are we gonna do?”

“Right now? Nothing.”

Chrome shook his head. “That’s not gonna keep our families safe, Ian.”

I knew that. “We don’t panic. Nylah and Cameron don’t need to know shit until there’s something to worry about. They’re too close to giving birth, Noah. No added stress.”

He nodded.

“But we keep a sharp eye. Focus our Reapers. Nothing takes us by surprise.”

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about, brother.” Chrome cracked his neck and then rolled his shoulders. “I’m fuckin’ ready. They come for us or our families, we fucking let the Reapers handle it.”

“And my Berserker,” I added with a wicked grin.

“Hell yeah.”

Good. We had that covered.

I smacked a hand against Chrome’s back. “But that doesn’t mean we end our private war.”

He snorted. “You won’t get me.”

My brother was too fucking confident. “Just wait.”

His chin lifted. “I’m already ahead by two.”

“Don’t get cocky, asshole.”

His dark chuckle followed. “Just wait and see.”

We’d been bored this summer. Things were too fucking quiet. Both of us needed a distraction since our ol’ ladies were both about to give birth soon. Yeah, Chrome was finally gonna be a father. I was so fucking happy for him.

But since our Reapers were restless, we’d found a way to occupy ourselves.

A water balloon fight. Well, to be specific, a war.

No fucking mercy. The goal was to be the first one to hit the other with a water balloon each day.

But we didn’t make it easy. There was only one rule.

We couldn’t throw them while in the house or on the porch. The yard was fair game.

Since Chrome and Cameron lived next door to us, we spent a lot of time together. The twins ran over as often as they wanted to visit their aunt and uncle. Our families frequently shared dinner or hung out in the backyard.

But with this newest water balloon war? We wanted to keep the stress off our women.

So, it was fair game once either of us stepped off the front porch.

The Crossroads? Yep, also okay, except for church.

Grim would kick our ass if we launched water balloons in the chapel.

The bar? We hadn’t targeted each other there yet, but the summer was only halfway over.

I guessed it wouldn’t be long before one of us played dirty.

I couldn’t wait.

“I gotta run a few errands. Cameron is craving ice cream, chicken tenders, and fruit.” He shrugged. “Gotta keep her happy.”

Grinning, I nodded. Good. I could plan my next attack while he was busy.

“Stop looking so fucking creepy, Ian. I know what you’re thinkin’.”

I pursed my lips together and smacked them repeatedly in a few kisses. “Don’t worry about me, honey.”

He flipped me off, chuckling as he strode toward his bike. We both had shit to do. I promised Nylah I’d go grocery shopping and pick up a few things we needed while she napped with the boys. The afternoons were always rough on her this late in her pregnancy. She got tired easily.

But I had my own reasons for stopping at the market. I needed to stock up on more balloons and planned to pick them up as I finished off our grocery list. I walked to my bike and sat on the saddle, pulling on my gloves. As I started the engine and pulled out of the driveway, I glanced at the house.

Goddamn, I loved my life. Every fucking moment since I met my sexy nurse.

She was everything to me, along with my babies, my brother, and his ol’ lady.

It felt fucking good to be happy. After all the shit with my sister and how she died, I never dreamed I’d reunite with a lost sibling and have children with a woman who not only accepted me but also adored me. I had a lot to be thankful for.

“DADDY.”

“Whatcha doin’?”

Both Gavin and Gage spoke in unison often. It could be a bit freaky, but I thought it was fucking fantastic.

My Reaper chuckled. He loved the twins and their wild energy. I felt his affection for the boys as they approached from behind.

“Filling water balloons,” I explained.

The boys found me as I crouched in front of the tub in the guest bathroom, filling balloons and tying them off before I dropped them into a big bucket. I needed to stock up before I left the house.

“Can we help?”

“Yep. I’ll show you how to fill them.”

I didn’t anticipate how messy this was going to get. About five minutes in, both boys were already soaked from dropping full balloons. Five of them popped from overfilling. The floor was soaked. Nylah would be pissed if she saw this.

“Ian Azrael Braxton.”

Shit. Too late.

I turned my head, catching Nylah’s frown. “My love?”

“The floor is soaked. It’s trickling toward the doorway.”

Gavin giggled as Gage dropped a balloon, and water splashed both of them.

“I have it under control,” I announced, rising to my feet to grab a few towels. “I’ll have it cleaned up in no time.”

She tapped her foot. “And the wet towels?”

I winked at her, flashing a grin full of teeth. The Reaper might have helped with that. “Going in the load of laundry I’m doin’.”

Nylah rubbed her belly and nodded, nearly waddling as she walked away. Fuck me. Her ass was fucking delicious when she was pregnant. Something about that extra weight made her irresistible to me. I couldn’t keep my hands off her curves.

“Hey,” I called out.

She stopped, turning slightly to catch my grin. “Yes, my sexy bastard?”

Damn. She had a way of making my cock hard and my focus shift right to her and her tight pussy with only one look. I loved that fucking nickname, and she knew it. It was the name I put into the contacts of her phone list when we first met, and she never changed it.

“Go bare. I wanna wake you up and taste you later.”

I would have used more detail, but you know, little ears were listening.

Nylah’s cheeks turned pink. “Rael.”

“I’m serious, kitten. Bare. Easy access.” I wiggled my eyebrows. “I’ll come find you later.”

She smiled.

“And then we’ll both come.”

“Rael,” she hissed, cutting her gaze to the boys.

“They don’t know what it means,” I assured her.

And the boys were focused on popping filled balloons. Shit.

I’d have to change their clothes.

She bit her lip to keep from laughing as she realized I made this mess, and I was stuck cleaning it up. “Love you, Ian.”

“With all my heart, my kitten.”

Nylah left me to handle the boys, the water balloons, and the chores I created.

I didn’t mind. She could leave me with everything in the house, and I’d do it all alone without bitching.

Why? Because I fucking adored her and she was giving me another baby.

As far as I was concerned, my beautiful woman gave me more than I could ever hope to offer her in return.

She deserved the fucking world and to be pampered the rest of her life.

“Daddy?”

I glanced at Gavin. “Yeah, buddy?”

“I had an accident.”

Yeah, I could smell the urine. “Get too excited?”

“I held it too long.”

Yep. I used to do that as a kid, too. I wanted to play and would often push it, not relieving my bladder in time.

“Oops.”

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing when I noticed that Gage had also peed his pants. Well, shorts.

Both boys had filled their socks and now stood in pale yellow puddles inside the tub. At least it wasn’t on the floor. Win for me.

“Well, take those dirty clothes off. Bath time,” I announced.

Luckily, I had removed the last of the water balloons, which jiggled inside the plastic tub, out of reach. I helped the boys bathe and wrapped them in towels, hoisting the two of them up and carrying them into their room.

Not two minutes later, as I was sorting through the drawers to find clean clothes, I heard Gavin giggle.

Uh-oh.

I turned around, nearly guffawing, when I saw the two boys pulling and playing with their little penises.

“Boys,” I began, trying not to raise my voice in case Nylah could hear. “Stop tugging.”

“Why?” Gage asked.

“Because it’s not polite to pull on your pecker when other people are around.” Shit. Did I describe that right? Nylah would kill me if I used the wrong words.

I couldn’t remember if she wanted me to call their private parts a penis or not. Why was this so complicated?

Both boys obeyed me, which made me smile.

See? I was a great father.