by Sam Crescent
“Not like my friend to let his son slip through his fingers. He must be getting sloppy in his older years.”
“Have you seen Robin? It’s her birthday soon, right?” Trick asked.
Reaper looked toward his friend. He wanted to hurt someone, but instead, he sat there as Trick did his work. “Yes, it is her birthday soon.”
“Why haven’t you taken her back yet?”
“None of your business. Robin will come to me when the time is right.” He looked down at the ink as Trick finished up. “Perfect.” Beneath Robin’s name, he’d added another, Bethany.
Robin would come back to him because he held someone precious and there was no way she’d ever walk away from him. Preacher could fuck up his own messes. At the end of the day, he’d won.
Chapter Thirteen
Her time with Reaper
Robin didn’t get a beating.
Much to her surprise.
No pain.
Nothing.
Just … a sense of guilt.
A month after her last attempt to run, she sat in a shopping mall surrounded by his club, waiting for Reaper to return to her.
The malls were all the same to her. The way people responded to the club’s leather cuts was nothing new. Some looked on with disgust and walked in the opposite direction. Others were more intrigued and loved the sense of adventure. Whatever their poison, Robin wanted none of it.
She dropped the burger onto the paper wrapping. She felt a little sick. The constant moving around had really worn thin. She ran the back of her hand over her brow, wiping the sweat off. With every passing second, a wave of sickness kept on washing over her. Looking around the food court wasn’t helping either.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Reaper arrived.
“Your food is cold,” she said.
He sat down beside her, taking a huge bite out of his burger.
The world had started to spin. Shaking the fog from her thoughts, she looked toward Reaper, but with him eating, it wasn’t helping the sickness twisting inside her gut.
“What did you do?” she asked.
“I went to get you a present.”
“A present?”
“It’s not my birthday.”
“I can only get you a gift for your birthday? I can’t treat you any other time of the year?”
“Why would you get me any other present?” The conversation made no sense.
She leaned forward, rubbing at her temples. She was going to be sick.
“You okay?”
She got to her feet. “I don’t feel so good.”
The world was spinning, and before she knew what was happening, the world had gone black.
****
Reaper didn’t wait for one of his men to catch her.
He was on his feet, sweeping her up in his arms, and he felt how hot she was. “She’s burning up. We’ve got to go. Pay the bill. Meet me outside.” He picked Robin’s dead weight up in his arms, carrying her out of the shopping mall. That very morning, she’d looked awful, but he’d put it down to her not sleeping well.
One of his men had run on ahead to get the truck. He’d ridden his bike here, but one of the guys would bring it back with them. For now, he had to get Robin back to the hotel.
Climbing into the back of the truck, he signaled for them to get him to the hotel. She was still out cold as he held her. He put his hand to her head, and it felt like it was getting hotter.
“What do you think’s going on?” Pete, one of his closest men asked.
“She’s sick. I don’t know when she could have picked anything up.”
“You don’t need to be near people to pick shit up,” Pete said. “This could draw attention to us.”
“It’s not going to do anything. Just make sure the bikes are all back in the lot by the end of the day.”
They arrived back at the hotel and he’d paid a great deal of money for the reception guy to turn the other way. He knew a lot about lying low, and there was no chance of Preacher ever fucking finding him, not unless Reaper wanted to be found.
After carrying her up to their hotel room, he kicked the door open, and Pete followed him inside.
Robin came to, mumbling about being too hot.
He had to cool her down. After carrying her through to the en-suite bathroom, he climbed into the shower. Then he turned the spray to cold, holding her close as he got into the shower with her.
“What are you doing?” Pete asked.
“I need you to go and get me a doctor. Call Trick, ask him if he knows a guy. I need someone who’ll keep their mouth shut. One that isn’t associated with the Twisted Monsters.”
Robin couldn’t keep herself upright. They both collapsed into the bath and he didn’t care about the cold. He held on to her as he felt her head. In one moment, she went from boiling hot to cold.
“Fuck! Shit!” He got out of the bath and removed her clothes before carrying her through to the bedroom, trying to warm her up.
She was shivering.
Climbing into bed with her, he removed his clothes, dried his body, and tried to warm her up, but she was shaking too much.
Pete came in. “Trick is on his way with a guy he knows. Someone he says we can trust.”
“Good. Get the fuck out until he arrives. Find some way to get some fucking soup up here.”
“Soup?”
“Yeah, soup is supposed to be good for illness, right?”
“How the fuck should I know?”
“Just fucking do it. Don’t make me shoot you,” he said. Reaper didn’t know what the fuck to do and he was panicking. He’d never been sick, at least not like this.
What was he supposed to do to keep Robin warm? What was this illness? Why the fuck did he really care?
If she died, it wouldn’t matter.
Would it?
She wasn’t that important to him. This meant nothing.
Pete left and Reaper held a shivering Robin. She came around. “So cold.”
“I’ve got you.”
“I’m going to die.”
“You’re not going to die. I’ve got you.” He wasn’t ever going to let her go. She would be fine so long as he held her through the pain. The doctor, whoever he was, had better be a fucking good one. Reaper didn’t know if he could handle bullshit right now.
“Isn’t this what you wanted?” Her speech was slow, filled with chattering lips.
“This isn’t what I wanted.”
She chuckled. “We never get what we really want. You took me and now I’m going to die.”
“You’re not going to die.”
“You don’t know how I feel, and I’m going to die,” she said. “It is probably best. With all the ink, Preacher wouldn’t want me now anyway.”
“Then he doesn’t deserve you.”
“You only want me because of him.”
He held her even tighter. Before he could respond, she passed out again, and he cursed. “Fuck!”
It felt like hours before the doctor finally arrived and when he did, Reaper was pissed for waiting so fucking long. “Fix her.”
He didn’t want her to die, and he also didn’t want to think about the reason why he didn’t want her to die. All he wanted was for the doctor to fix her.
Climbing out of bed, he pulled on a pair of jeans and waited.
The doctor made some assessments. “She needs to go to the hospital.”
“No,” Reaper said. “You need to keep her alive here. Whatever life you think you have waiting for you back at home, I will take all of that away if you don’t heal her.”
“She’s very sick. I’m suspecting hypothermia.”
“Then do what you need to do. My boys and I will get what you need, but do everything you can to make her well, otherwise, I’m going to use you to practice all of my painful torture methods.” Reaper stepped away and watched the man work.
He hated to see Robin so ill.
Running a hand down his face, he thoug
ht she looked close to death.
What would he do if she did die?
When he first took her, he’d intended to cut pieces off her and send them to Preacher to taunt him. He’d given up the very idea of that. Now, he … he enjoyed her company. What the fuck was wrong with him? All of this started purely for his hatred of Preacher, and now, well, he didn’t even know what to do with his feelings.
Preacher had always had a superiority complex and as the years went on, it had only gotten worse. He believed he was better than anyone else, harder, stronger, fiercer, but he wasn’t anything, not to Reaper.
Look at the way he was running around like a fucking loser trying to catch him. The prick couldn’t find him, and why would he? Preacher thought his reach and fear were so great but they weren’t even close. He would make sure Preacher knew real pain in this life, but he was starting to believe Robin wasn’t the key to do it. Not anymore.
The doctor finished his assessment. “I need these supplies,” he said, handing him over a list.
Reaper looked over them and didn’t understand what they were, but he knew he could read. “Keep her alive.”
****
Robin opened her eyes. Everything seemed a little … slow. She lifted her hand to touch her head and even her arm ached. What was wrong with her?
“You’re awake,” Reaper said.
She turned her head. Reaper sat in a chair beside the bed. He got up and stepped closer to the bed.
“What happened?”
“You were sick. The doctor suspected hypothermia and there’s been a bug going around. A strong one.”
She closed her eyes, wincing at his talking.
“Am I speaking too loud?”
“Yeah, sorry, and a little too fast.”
“I’ll slow it down.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for.”
“For being sick. I don’t remember anything.” She frowned. “We were at a mall, right?”
“Yes.”
“That makes some kind of sense. Who am I kidding? It makes no sense.”
He chuckled. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been run over by a truck. I think I’ll live though, right?”
“Yeah. Let me go and get the doctor.” He looked reluctant to leave.
When he did, she sat up, trying to clear the fog from her brain. It didn’t take long for him to return. The doctor asked her a bunch of questions and checked her pulse and blood pressure.
“You’re over the worst. I recommend resting for a few more days. No strenuous activity and continue taking the course of treatment I’ve set until it’s all gone. You were lucky. This could have taken your life.”
“I’m a strong woman, Doc. It’s going to take a lot to get rid of me, or for me to give up that easily,” she said. Her voice sounded croaky even to herself.
Reaper saw the doctor out, and she pushed the blankets off her. She was wearing a long shirt.
“What are you trying to do?” Reaper asked, coming to her side.
“Go to the bathroom. How long was I out? Do I need to shower?”
“You’ve been out of it for a week and a half. Let’s not worry too much about showers and all of that.”
“I really need to use the bathroom.” She lifted her arm and sniffed. “I don’t stink. Did you shower me?”
“I’ve been taking care of you.” He helped her to her feet.
“You have?”
“Who else do you think I’d trust with your care?”
“One of the women you steal from the streets? One of your men? I don’t know. Anyone who will get the job done.”
“I don’t trust anyone else with your care apart from myself. This is how I make sure you’re okay.” He helped her into the bathroom.
“Isn’t this job beneath you or something?”
Reaper laughed. “You think caring is beneath me?”
“I don’t know. I don’t really know you. You’ve taken me to hurt Preacher. What more could I expect?”
“Tell me, Robin, did you ever suspect Bishop’s hatred ran so deep?”
She clenched her hands into fists at the mere mention of his name. “I don’t want to talk about him.”
“You know he picked the easy route, right? He picked the one he wanted.”
“I know Bishop always had an issue with his dad. He hated being referred to as Preacher’s son. He always wanted to be his own man.”
“He was in love with you,” Reaper said.
“No, Bishop was in love with himself. He believed he was entitled to me, and he didn’t like it when I didn’t fall completely in line with whatever it was he wanted.” She sat on the toilet, looking up at Reaper. “Privacy?”
He surprised her by stepping out. “You think he was entitled to you?”
“Hell no. Not me. No, I think he believed he was entitled. I had nothing to do with that. He was always only my best friend. I … everything we did, it wasn’t what I wanted.” She finished on the toilet, flushing.
She went to the sink to wash her hands as Reaper entered. “What you two did?”
“You know, sex and stuff.”
“You fucked Bishop?”
“No.” She cringed.
“You may as well talk. I’m not going anywhere.”
“And neither am I?”
“You can do what you like so long as you know you can’t leave. You’re staying here.”
“Wow, okay then.” She picked up a toothbrush and quickly brushed her teeth. After that, she washed her face, and there was a knock at the door.
Reaper helped her return to bed before answering it.
“The food you ordered, boss.”
“Thanks, Pete.”
“Look, the guys are wondering when you’re going to want to be heading out.”
She watched Reaper. His jaw clenched.
“We’ll move out when I say we’re ready to.”
“It’s just, the guys have been worried.”
“If they can’t handle us staying in one place, then they should move out and not come fucking back. It’s not up to me to babysit.”
“What about Preacher?”
“What about him? He’s not going to find us. Stop fucking talking.” Reaper slammed the door closed.
She flinched at his anger but when he turned toward her, there was no anger or aggression. He looked calm and relaxed. “How about some breakfast?”
“Preacher is getting close?”
“He’s nowhere near finding us.”
“You haven’t moved?”
“The doctor believed you wouldn’t make any kind of trip. He didn’t know how strong you were and so we stayed here.”
“But Preacher could find us.”
“There’s always a risk. Tell me more about Bishop.” He placed a tray in front of her, and when she lifted the lid, she found a bunch of pancakes waiting for her.
She licked her lips and breathed in the scent. They were … amazing. “I think I’m starting to become addicted to these.”
“They’re one of the better addictions to have. Why don’t you tell me all about Bishop?”
“You want to know every sordid little detail?”
“Why not? It’ll pass the time.”
“Because it’s boring. Look, I don’t even want to talk about Bishop, okay? I find the whole thing with him boring and tiring. I don’t even want to remember him.” She cringed. “Wow, even after all this time, it still shocks me the way he makes me feel.”
“It does?”
“You sound surprised,” she said.
“Wouldn’t you be? I figured you and your little boyfriend were always so tight.”
She took a bite of her pancake, feeling a little sick. “We were. We were the best of friends, but with Bishop, it was always about sex. I never slept with him and it pissed him off.”
“Why didn’t you sleep with him?”
“Because sex is just part and par
cel of everyday life, right?” she asked.
He held his hands up. “I didn’t say that.”
“No, but you implied it. Sex … I wasn’t ready. I don’t know why I wasn’t ready. Not that it made much of a difference. I lost it when I wasn’t ready.”
“Preacher?”
“I’m not telling you about what went on between Preacher and me.”
“But you love him?”
“Why do you want to know so badly?”
“Call me curious.”
“When it comes to Preacher…” She paused, thinking of the right words to say. “I don’t … I can’t … yes, I love him. I still love him. He’s always been there. With Bishop, he was always fighting his father’s name, and trying to make a name for himself, but it didn’t matter what he did, or how hard he worked, he would always be Preacher’s son. It’s how he was seen. Nothing I did or said would change that.”
“Do you love Bishop?”
“You’re really determined to find out who I love, don’t you?” she asked.
“I’m curious.”
“I love Bishop as a friend. Not as anything else. He hated me for it. When I was pregnant, he couldn’t stand to know his father had what I wouldn’t give him. I didn’t always have feelings for Preacher, they developed.”
“How did they develop?” He held his hands up. “I’m asking as a friend.”
“Do you really think you can just be a friend?” she asked.
“I can be whatever you need me to be.”
“Apart from taking me home, you mean?” she asked.
“Anything but that.” He winked at her. “Besides, what is there not to love? You’ve brushed death and had some kickass fun, right?”
She rolled her eyes.
“So, tell me. How did your feelings for Preacher develop?”
“If I tell you this, you cannot use my feelings or what I share with you against Preacher.”
“I won’t.”
She didn’t know if she believed him, but seeing no other reason to argue with him, she tucked her hair behind her ear and stared down at her nearly empty plate of pancakes. “He was the only one who wasn’t going to force me to give up my baby. He simply wanted me to be happy and comfortable and the only way to do that was to, you know, get to know each other. He was there at every single scan without fail. Bishop was supposed to be there, but he would always leave me. I hated to be alone. I was pregnant and I’m not going to lie, I was freaking out a whole lot. This was all new for me, and he just left, which sucked. I hated him a little for that. Okay, I hated him a lot, but you get the drill. Preacher was merely happy to be there with me. Nothing was complicated with him. I liked that.”
