Page 41 of Wild Night (Vicious Reapers MC #2)

CHAPTER FORTY

POSEY

I’m not sure what’s happening, but a loud sound, dust, and flying things fill the air. Dakota and I fall to the ground, climbing under the table. Out of pure instinct, I throw my body over the top of hers and Nathan’s, covering them to protect them from whatever the hell is coming their way.

There is screaming, men shouting, and then there is nothing. It’s too quiet. So damn quiet that I don’t move. I stay where I am. When I feel someone touch my back, I lift my head, looking over my shoulder to find Viking crouching down behind me.

“You girls okay?” he asks.

His voice sounds far away. I don’t know what’s going on. I open my mouth to ask him what the hell is happening, but I don’t get the opportunity, because he extends his hand, his palm facing up. Reaching out, I curl my fingers around his, and he helps guide me out from under the table.

Turning my head, I watch as someone else helps Dakota and Nathan out from under the table. As soon as I’m standing, I tilt my head back slightly to look up into Viking’s eyes.

“What just happened?” My voice is trembling.

He looks over his shoulder, as if that’s the only answer I need. Slowly, my eyes scan the area, and I gasp at the sight in front of me. It’s a car. A car is now in the middle of the bar, because it ran straight through the cement wall.

There is rubble all around the place, and a few men are limping and bleeding. I don’t understand anything that’s happening right now. Not a single thing. My brain can’t process any of the things my eyes are seeing.

Viking releases me and moves toward the crashed car.

I watch him for a moment before my legs begin to tremble uncontrollably.

I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to stand.

My legs are just about to give up on me, my head is feeling light, and I’m seeing spots in my vision when two arms wrap around me from behind.

I know exactly who it is.

“You okay, princess?” he asks.

Turning my head slightly, I touch the underside of his jaw. “I’m okay now.”

There is a moment of silence, of stillness, where we’re the only people in the whole world. Justin turns me around slowly, his eyes finding mine, and the expression on his face is one of concern, deep concern.

“I’m okay,” I repeat.

His eyes don’t look away from mine. He’s focused on me and only me. I want to fly away from here right now. I want to kiss him. I want him to touch me. I don’t know why, but I want to feel alive.

As each second passes, I realize I wasn’t far from that car.

Something could have hit me, and I might not be alive right now.

That realization causes my legs to tremble again.

Justin slips an arm behind my thighs, bending his knees slightly before he picks me up, my feet dangling just a few inches from the floor.

Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I look into his eyes as he carries me away from the chaos, from the screaming, from the people running around, from the absolute mayhem.

A few moments later, we’re alone in his bedroom. He sets me down on my feet, his eyes silently searching mine, and while all I want to do is physically attack him to ensure that we are indeed both alive and breathing, it feels like he is holding back something.

Then he speaks.

“One of my clients was Hazzard’s brother. I didn’t know. He never told me,” he begins. “He was charged with embezzlement of a lot of fucking money. I was able to get prison time off the table, but he has to pay all that money back.”

“What are you saying?” I ask.

“The person who bombed my office, the one who drove through this building, he did so with the help of one of our own.”

My eyes narrow on him. One of our own . Except she’s not, not really. She’s one of their women. I don’t say that, though, even if I’m thinking it. I have to remember that Monty took care of me, and I was just an employee, so maybe they feel the same way, as much as I hate everything about it.

“What happens now?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “We’ll deal with it. Well, I’ll deal with it.”

“With your arm?” My heart is racing as I think about him getting hurt all over again.

Justin lifts his hand, cupping my cheek as his eyes search my own. He shakes his head once. “Nothing is going to happen to me. Now that I know who did this, now that they’re both here, we’ll get to the bottom of it. I’m not going to let anyone get away with a damn thing.”

“They wanted to kill you,” I whisper.

I expect him to deny those words, considering Hazzard is, as he said, one of theirs . But he doesn’t. Instead, he dips his chin, and his mouth touches mine. He doesn’t deepen the kiss, much to my dismay.

My body craves his hands everywhere. His mouth, too. I want it all, and I’m trying really hard not to take it from him right now. Inhaling a deep breath, I hold it for a moment, trying to keep myself from climbing this man.

I have never wanted someone more than I do Justin.

I don’t know if it’s hormones or if it’s just because I’ve fallen head over heels in love with this man.

I don’t know, but I need him. And almost as if he understands that need, his tongue slides across my bottom lip, sending goose bumps over my entire body.

All thoughts of embezzlement, bombs, club girls, it all vanishes, and I’m only filled with desire. I curl my fingers around his bicep and the side of his neck so I don’t hurt his injured arm further.

“Princess, I gotta get this shit handled, all of it, before my mind can focus on what it needs to focus on,” he murmurs against my mouth.

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“Your cunt.”

IVY

“Lock this door behind me. Don’t let anyone in until you hear from me.”

Her eyes find mine. I stand with my back to the door, focused on her for a moment, then give her a smile. She nods once. “I won’t open the door, Justin.”

“Just in case.”

“Just in case,” she agrees.

Opening the door, I slip out into the hallway, then close it behind me. I don’t walk away until I hear the lock flip into place. When it does, I make my way back into the bar area, the completely destroyed bar area.

Bullet appears by my side a few seconds later. “Got Posey locked down?” he asks.

“Yeah. Dakota?”

He hums before he speaks. “She is. Now let’s get down to the bottom of this shit.”

I agree. Let’s get to the fucking bottom of this shit. I am ready to put this to bed. I didn’t have time for it when it started, and now I still don’t have the time, but my patience is fucking shot to shit.

Together, we walk through the clubhouse and head back toward his office. There is a moment of silence as we approach the doorway. Standing next to the closed door is Barry Scott, bleeding from his forehead, his nose, and the corner of his mouth, with Maverick and Goose flanking him.

Wordlessly, I follow behind Bullet as we walk into his office, but he doesn’t move farther than a few steps. His body stops, and I step to the side to see what has him hesitating. That’s when I see it.

Hazzard is on the floor. She’s slit her wrists with what appears to be a fucking letter opener. Maverick and Goose are close behind us, and before we can tell them to keep Barry out of the room, the man flies forward and lands hard on his knees beside his dead sister.

Nobody speaks. I’m quite sure there aren’t even words to be said at this point. We stare in silence while Barry holds Hazzard’s body in his arms. She’s limp and pale, the pool of blood thick and heavy around them.

Even though these two betrayed us in an unforgivable way, we give them this moment. We give the brother a moment with his sister. To grieve. We’re assholes, but we are not monsters.

Bullet jerks his chin, then drops it toward the two on the floor, signaling that this is done. I watch as Maverick and Goose move toward them, taking Hazzard’s body from Barry’s hands. He doesn’t fight them, likely in shock from what is happening.

Barry Scott stays seated on the floor, his ass in blood, his hands, clothes, and arms covered in it as well. It doesn’t matter. He’ll be dead, too, before this is done. And as his gaze lifts and his eyes meet mine, he knows it, and judging by the expression of calm and peace, he’s good with that.

“Who helped you break into my office and hack into my computer system?” I demand.

I don’t shout or yell. My tone is even, my voice low. This man is defeated enough. He doesn’t need me or anyone else screaming in his face. He lifts his gaze from his bloodstained hands to look at me.

“It was me,” he rasps.

I don’t believe him. Shaking my head slowly, I clear my throat. “No, it wasn’t,” I whisper. “And you know it.”

He nods a couple of times while his eyes search mine, the shock beginning to wear off. Then he shakes his head and closes his eyes before he opens them slowly. His angry gaze meets mine, and I realize he’s no longer shocked at what he’s seeing, at the death of his sister. He’s now pissed off.

Making a tsking noise, I shake my head. “Don’t even fucking think about whatever has popped into your head, Scott,” I grind out.

“You fucked us. What Hazzard did was on her, had nothing to do with us, but you used her to get to us, and she knew it was wrong. She knew she would be excommunicated. Couldn’t live with that, I guess.

What I want to know is who the fuck helped you. ”

Silence.

He’s not strong enough, smart enough. He doesn’t have enough finesse to keep it from me for long. The minute I break a finger, he’ll squeal like the weak pig he is. Crouching down in front of him, I focus on him, tilting my head to the side.

“I fucking hate you,” he grinds out.

“Why?” I ask.

He shakes his head, then clears his throat before he lets out a growl.

A long growl. It almost sounds as if he’s possessed, but I know he’s just trying to show off.

He’s attempting to appear strong, as if he is an alpha of any kind.

He’s not. I stare at him, letting him do his thing, knowing it won’t end well for him, no matter fucking what.

“Those people didn’t need that fucking money. They are greedy fucks. They didn’t need that money. They didn’t need that fucking money.”

“Who fucked with my surveillance system? Who the fuck helped you?” I demand, matching his growl with a deeper one.

He watches me, his body trembling—great, more shock. I’m about to end this shit and then go to my woman and get lost inside of her body. I’m exhausted. I didn’t picture this afternoon going quiet this way, and I’m ready for some sleep… well, a good fuck and some sleep.

“It was my sister,” he rasps finally.

Bullet snorts. “Hazzard could hack into the computer system?”

I don’t believe him, and neither does Bullet. But something niggles at the back of my mind. She showed up at my place. She had no fucking way of knowing where I lived. I keep my life very separate from the club.

A couple of the guys have been to my place, but that’s all. I’ve never had any parties, and I’m not listed anywhere. I’ve even tried Googling myself a few times to see if I could find it, but it’s not there. Everything is under my business address—everything.

“Yes,” I answer.

Turning my head, I straighten my legs and look at Bullet. “She came to my place a few weeks ago. I was so fucking drunk, I didn’t realize it. But she knew where I lived.”

Bullet’s brows rise. He knows how I’ve kept my life here away from my professional one. While most of my clients are in their own hot water of illegal dealings, they don’t want to know their attorney is doing the same shit.

I’m not sure what the fuck is going on here, but Barry Scott is a dead man. He’s breathing, but he’s fucking dead at the same time. My brows snap together. Something bothers me about this.

Hazzard wasn’t stupid, but I don’t think she was smart enough to hack into my computer. Inhaling a deep breath, I hold it for a moment, then let it out slowly. Something isn’t sitting right with me, but I don’t know how to get to the bottom of it. There may never be a bottom to it.

Instead of arguing, instead of demanding, I know it’s time for him to go, so I give the signal to end it. I’m too fucked up to do it myself. My broken arm, my pounding fucking head. As much as I want to completely fucking torture this fuck, I’m exhausted.