Capturing Cree (Kings Reapers MC Book 2)

by Nicola Jane

  Doctor Chapman smiles and nods her head. She doesn’t look disgusted at my confession but proud. “It’s past our time, Mr Cree. And for once, you didn’t spot it.”

  I smirk and stand. “Laters, Chapman,” I mutter. I leave smiling and feeling a little lighter than I did before.

  Chapter Twelve

  Eva

  I stare out over the field at the back of the clubhouse. Resting back on my hands, I stretch my legs out in front of me and hang my head back to look up at the blue sky. I feel a presence before Riggs drops down beside me. “You look so fuckin’ depressed, it’s making me sad,” he mutters and I laugh. “Your mum is in there making cookies. The guys won’t let her leave if she keeps this shit up.”

  “She’s always wanted a big family,” I smile. “She was sad to leave here before,” I add.

  “She doesn’t have to leave. None of you do. You’re Anna’s family. She loves you guys, and blood doesn’t mean fuck all.”

  I nudge my shoulder against his and smile. “Thanks. I don’t think Cree wants me here permanently though.” Cree has spent the three days since I’ve arrived avoiding me.

  “He’s busy. Since you told Michelle about you two, he’s got no way of getting close to them. He’s blind to their plans.”

  “I thought he had an inside man?”

  “It was a guy who used to be involved in that house. He isn’t part of it no more. Cree’s worried that Callum is coming for you. These people are sick, Eva. They’ll make you do shit you don’t wanna do to fulfil men’s fantasies. They’re paying money to get shit they can’t get by normal means.”

  “I honestly don’t think Callum is that bothered about me. This is one big over-reaction.”

  “Maybe, but we’re better to be safe than sorry. Anna would have my balls if anything happened to you.”

  He leaves me to enjoy the peace. I lay back onto the grass and close my eyes, drifting off to sleep. My cell beeps sometime later, waking me up. My blood runs cold when I see it’s from Callum.

  Callum: Going into hiding isn’t going to help you. I’ll take your world and turn it upside down until you have no choice but to come to me willingly.

  I scoff and delete the message. Fuck him and his bullshit threats. I turn at the sound of footsteps approaching. I’m jumpy because of that stupid message, but when I see it’s Anna, I relax. “Guess who just came back to the club? Cree.” She smiles. “I think it’s time you put our plan into action.”

  I laugh. She’s come up with a way to make Cree so weak that he can’t resist but to forgive me. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. He doesn’t like games.”

  “It isn’t a game. You’re winning your man back. It’s a mission.” She smiles smugly, and I hold my hands out so she can pull me to stand. “He was at the bar.” She pulls my hair tie out and I shake my hair loose. She tugs at the cups of my bikini bra so my boobs overflow slightly. “He’ll go crazy when he sees you like this.” She smirks. “Now, go grab some water or something. Remember what I said—brush past him. Contact is very important.”

  I take a deep breath and head inside. I spot Cree sitting at the bar chatting with Riggs. His back is to me slightly, so I make my way over and stand as close as I can without physically touching him. Frankie smiles from behind the bar. “What can I get you?”

  “Just a bottle of water, please.” I smile. Cree stops talking momentarily when he hears my voice but then continues without looking at me. Frankie plops the bottle on the bar, but the phone rings and she turns to get it, leaving the water between the guys. I chew on my lower lip. Pushing right between him and Riggs makes it more obvious than I wanted it to be. I look back and Anna is watching, nodding her head and eyeing the water, her face full of encouragement. “Sorry,” I mutter, resting one hand on Cree’s leg as I reach between the two men. I feel Cree’s eyes on me as I snatch the water and turn away. I head straight for Anna and we take a seat at one of the tables.

  “His eyes are on you,” she mumbles, her lips hardly moving. I cross my bare legs.

  “He probably wants to yell at me to put some clothes on,” I say.

  “You need to get your flirt on with someone,” says Anna, looking around for a victim.

  I shake my head. “No,” I say firmly. “I’m good with a little brushing up to get him to notice me, but if I start flirting, it’ll only annoy him more.” I stand. “I need to pee. Please behave yourself,” I warn.

  When I step back out of the bathroom, Cree is waiting for me with his feet shoulder width apart and his arms crossed over his chest. He stares at me without saying a word. I wait until it gets too uncomfortable, then I sigh. “What?” I ask.

  “You wanted my attention, you got it,” he says coldly. I hate the ache his coldness causes in my chest. “The floor is yours.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I mutter. He moves closer and I back up until I hit the door to the bathroom.

  “I don’t care if you’re walking around here half-naked,” he whispers against my hair. “Because you don’t belong to me.”

  “Good to know,” I mutter.

  Cree turns to walk away, and I ball my fists at my side. “How do you do that?” I snap, and he turns slowly to face me again. “Just turn it off like that? You’ve turned your feelings off for me, or you never felt them in the first place.”

  He’s back in my face in an instant. “I felt them,” he growls. “Don’t fuckin’ doubt me.”

  “But you don’t feel them anymore?” I ask.

  “I don’t know what I feel,” he mutters. “All I know is that you lied to me, Eva.” He stomps away. I take some deep breaths to calm myself. I hate this pain in my chest.

  When I re-join Anna, she stares at me expectantly. “I saw he followed you.”

  “He’s an ass. Who do I flirt with?” I snap. She smiles wide and her eyes light up with mischief. “Not Lake,” I add. I don’t want to upset Lake. I’ve caused enough unintentional damage between him and Cree.

  Anna looks around, then grins. “Blade. He’s always good for a flirt.”

  I nod. “First, I need to change,” I say, rushing off. I feel far too exposed in a bikini.

  I return ten minutes later wearing shorts and a cami top. I head straight for Blade, who eyes me suspiciously. “Hey,” I smile.

  “No,” he says bluntly.

  I laugh. “I haven’t said anything,” I say. He’s shaking his head and his eyes go to Cree. “Why are you looking at him? We’re not a thing,” I add.

  “That fire in his eyes and the way he’s glaring over here tells me otherwise.” He smirks. “So, you coming over here means you want a reaction.”

  I lower my eyes to the floor. “I’m such an idiot. Sorry,” I mutter. “Anna thought up a plan to try and get him to notice me. It’s stupid, but . . . ”

  Blade smiles at me sympathetically. “Anna’s full of mischief. You want Cree to notice you, then just continue being you. He hates being ignored, but he also hates you acting like you don’t give two fucks about him,” he says, lowering his voice. He moves closer so his mouth is at my ear. “But I guess annoying him this way is also fun,” he whispers before pulling back and winking. I blush. If I continue like this, it’s only going to get Cree mad and I need to work on trust. Anna is wrong about this.

  “New plan,” I say brightly to Anna. “I’m going to ignore him.”

  “Ignore him?” she repeats. “But you almost had him just then. He looked fit to burst when Blade leaned in to talk to you.”

  “No offence, but Blade knows him better than you, and he said ignoring Cree is the way forwards. I’m not listening to your crazy advice no more, starting now,” I say, and she sticks her tongue out in a childish move. I laugh.

  “The rules still apply,” comes Cree’s voice. I look over my shoulder. “Stay away from my brothers,” he adds. I roll my eyes and turn away from him. “Did you hear me?” he growls.

  “I heard.” I sigh, making sure I keep my tone bored. He stomps a
way and I smile at Anna. Maybe this will work. I’m not sure how long I can see him around here without jumping on him and forcing him to talk to me.

  I wake to another text message from Callum. This time, he asks me to meet him to discuss things. He tells me he has something important to show me. I ignore the message, just like I have all the others, because I’m certain he’ll get bored before I do, but I find it weird he’s this obsessed with getting me to sign up for his kinky club.

  I’m eating breakfast and doing a great job of ignoring Cree when my cell pings again. I feel Cree’s eyes on me, so I make sure to smile as I open the text message from Callum so Cree will wonder who the message is from. My smile almost falters when I read it.

  Callum: I have someone important to you. She’d like to see you.

  I rack my brains trying to work out who he’s talking about when another text comes through.

  Callum: If you tell anyone, I’ll kill her in the worst possible way.

  My frown deepens. He’s gone from asking me to sign to his club to threatening someone’s life.

  “What’s up?” asks Cree. His eyes are full of concern, but I’m still ignoring him, and I’m certain this is another bullshit lie from Callum to lure me to him. I leave the table and head to my room. The next message makes me sick to my stomach. It’s Emily, the girl Cree once saved, the teen I’ve worked so close with at the centre. She’s smiling at the camera. I can’t work out where she is, but it’s nowhere I recognise. I text back.

  Me: What the hell are you doing Callum?

  Callum: To save her, you need to come to the club.

  I shake my head even though he can’t see me. There’s no way I’ll get out of here.

  Me: I can’t leave here. It’s impossible.

  Callum: You’ll find a way.

  I pace the length of my room. I can’t leave the clubhouse. There’re too many people here watching. I think back to when Anna left the club against Riggs’ wishes and the problems that led to, but I have no choice.

  I head down to the kitchen, and I gasp when I see that Cree is practically hunched over Becky, one of the club whores. She’s giggling as Cree holds her arms above her head, his mouth level to her ear. I didn’t think my heart could hurt any worse, but seeing him like this slays me. He glances at me, and for a second, I see guilt, but it’s quickly replaced by a stony glare. “Can I help you?” he snaps.

  I take a deep breath and steady my voice. Emily is more important right now. “I got some messages,” I mutter, moving my eyes away from the way his body is pressed against hers.

  “So?” he growls. “Why are ya tellin’ me?”

  “From Callum. Sorry for interrupting. I’ll take it to Riggs instead.” I leave the kitchen in a rush and blink the tears from my eyes. I lean against the wall outside Riggs’ office to give myself a minute to gather my heart. The kitchen door slams open and Cree glares at me.

  “Come here,” he commands, but I don’t move. He’s lost the right to boss me around. Instead, I knock on Riggs’ door. “Eva!” Cree yells, making me jump. “Come here.”

  I give him a scathing stare over my shoulder as Riggs tells me to enter. “Fuck you, Elijah,” I mutter. “You’re not the boss of me!”

  I hold out my cell for Riggs. “Callum texted me.” He takes it and reads over the messages.

  “Fuck,” he hisses. “Why didn’t you say he’d been messaging you? Has Cree seen these?”

  I shake my head. “He was busy when I went to show him.” Riggs’ eyes linger on me a second longer, trying hard to read my mood. I’m struggling to hold myself together and it shows in the way my eyes glisten.

  “Can I call him in here or is that gonna—” begins Riggs, but he’s cut off by Cree entering without an invite. “Come in, VP,” says Riggs sarcastically.

  “Do you mind if I go?” I ask, staring directly at Riggs.

  “Yeah, I fuckin’ mind. Stay where you are,” snaps Cree, walking around the desk to Riggs. He looks at my cell and then his eyes burn into me. “Why didn’t you tell me he was messaging you?”

  “I thought they were idle threats,” I say, refusing to make eye contact.

  “Jesus, Eva. How fuckin’ stupid are you?” he yells. “Now he has Emily!”

  “I didn’t think he was serious!” I shout back. “Why is he so desperate to have me there?”

  Cree steps towards me, but I don’t shrink back as his huge frame shadows me. “Because the second you stepped into that hellhole, he would have had a buyer lined up for you. Somebody will be paying him big bucks for you.”

  Cree

  Of all the moments for Eva to walk in, it was when I was threatening that stupid bitch to keep her hands off me. Becky won’t leave me the hell alone, and today was the final straw when she ran her hands along my chest. She’s new, I get it—she doesn’t know my boundaries. But I had to make it clear. My heart is already taken, and I might still be mad as hell at Eva, not helped by the fact she’s kept more information from me, but fuck, she owns me.

  “Who does that? Who pays for a woman? What do they want with me?” Her eyes water and a tear rolls down her cheek. I want to wipe it away so badly, but I hold myself back.

  “Whatever the person wants from you, Callum will be the one who trains you,” says Riggs.

  “Train me?” she repeats. “I’m not a fucking dog.”

  “The buyers have specific tastes—sex slaves, hardcore BDSM, and god only knows what else,” says Riggs.

  “And now they have Emily?” She wails.

  “She looks happy enough in this picture.” Riggs sighs. “I think it’s just a ploy to lure you out of here. Well done for bringing this to us and not going there alone.”

  “What are we gonna do?” she asks.

  “You’ve done enough,” I snap, and she rebukes at my sharp words. “Let us handle this.” I take her phone and then glare at her. “You can go now,” I snap.

  She leaves and Riggs flops back in his chair. “Fuck, Cree, you’re an ass. She was upset.”

  “She needs to know I’m mad at her,” I mutter, going through all of her messages.

  “I think she got the fuckin’ message,” he snaps. “That was cruel.”

  “It’s better she sees that now than when she falls in love with me,” I say, opening messages from any male contacts I find and reading them.

  “When she falls in love?” Riggs laughs. “Brother, you’re late to the party. That girl is head over heels in love and you are blowing it completely. Stop being an ass.”

  “Let me deal with Eva. You work out a way to get this girl back,” I snap, showing him the picture of Emily again. “She’s a good girl.”

  “I’ll call the mayor now,” he mutters, picking up his phone.

  I take the stairs two at a time and burst into Eva’s room. She’s on her bed sobbing so hard, she doesn’t hear me. “There’s a lot of men messaging you,” I say, and she wipes her eyes quickly and sits up. “Who the hell is Craig? That’s a dick name, and he calls you ‘flower’!”

  “He’s a childhood friend.” She sniffles.

  “Why are you crying?” I ask, stepping into the room and closing the door.

  “What are you doing in here, Cree?” She sounds so tired and worn down.

  “Why are all these men messaging you? Are you fuckin’ any of ‘em?”

  “All of them.” She sniffs, wiping her eyes again. “Now, get out.”

  I place her cell on the side table as she lays back down and turns her back to me. I hesitate and then climb behind her and settle down. I wrap an arm around her and hold her to me tightly. She tries to squirm away, but I hold her tighter. “Shh,” I soothe. “Let me make it better.”

  “You make it worse,” she cries. “Why do you hate me so much?”

  I bury my face into her hair and inhale the sweet smell of fruit. “I don’t hate you, Eva,” I mutter. “I fuckin’ love you so damn much, but my stubborn ass was hurt when you lied to me,” I admit. She stills. “I don’t know ho
w to do all this. I keep fuckin’ it up,” I add. “But I’m done seeing you cry and I’m done being mad.”

  “You love me?” she asks as she sniffs.

  “More than anything,” I say. She turns to face me, and her beautiful face is red and puffy from her tears. “I don’t like seein’ you sad.”

  “I’m sorry I lied,” she mutters. “I wanted to help.”

  “I know you did. I know. But do me a favour—next time you want to help, speak to me about it first.”

  She nods in agreement. “Do you think Emily is okay?” she asks.

  “We’ll get Emily home. Things will be fine.” I place a kiss on the side of her head. “I’m so tired. I hate sleeping without you,” I say. I feel my eyes drifting closed. Being with her feels like I’m home.

  Somewhere in the room, I hear the ringing of a phone. It takes me a few seconds to wake properly and realise it’s my cell ringing from my pocket. I take it out and answer before it wakes Eva, stepping out into the hall. “Yeah?”

  “Cree, it’s me, Emily.”

  “Fuck, Emily, where the hell are you? I was worried.”

  “Why?” she asks. “I’m fine.”

  “Are you home?”

  “No. I’m with a friend.”

  “Okay. Does your dad know?” I ask. I check my watch. It’s almost midnight. “Why are you calling so late?”

  “My friend wants you to meet us. He said it’s very important.”

  “Who’s your friend, Emily, and why does he want to see me?” I know exactly who she means, but I want to hear her say the words. I make my way down to Riggs’ office and pray he’s still awake.

  “Callum said you know him,” she says.

  “I know him. You need to get far away from him. Do you hear me?” I’m relieved when Riggs looks up from his desk. I mouth the word ‘Emily’ to him and he sits up straighter.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Eva

  I’m lying on my stomach as Cree flanks my body. He kisses along my thigh and over my ass. “Morning,” I whisper, even though it’s only just past midnight. He reaches my neck and flutters kisses at the top of my spine. His hand brushes over my ass and then runs between my legs and moves over my pussy.