Reaper's Claim: Satan's Sons MC Romance Series Book 1

by Simone Elise

  Normal people would be scared of Reaper. His dominating strong shoulders, strong jaw line, everything about him just caused women to look at him. So it didn’t surprise me when two nurses were openly checking him out.

  For fuck’s sake, why was I jealous?

  He’s a prick. A stubborn, annoying, selfish prick. I crossed my arms.

  “Fine, I’ll talk to him. Are we done now?” I drew the conversation to a close.

  He leaned against the wall, his stone cold eyes running up and down and examining me.

  “I don’t like you pissed off.”

  “Then here is an idea, don’t piss me off.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that before.”

  I doubted he even meant it. He snapped at me last night and just thought that it was ok? Well, it wasn’t. I needed him on my side last night. I needed him, the way Kim had Trigger, reassuring her. Instead, I had Brad, and I still didn’t know how I felt about that.

  My eyes dropped to the ground while my mind went wild with thoughts of Brad and what last night could have meant to him.

  “Abby.” He gently cupped my chin, lifting my head. “I’m really sorry about last night. I was freaking the fuck out and took it out on you. I’m sorry.” Honesty lingered through his words, and the soft smile he gave me just was the cherry on top.

  I should be happy with that.

  But I wasn’t.

  “Ok.”

  He frowned, “You still don’t believe me, do you?”

  “If you’ve done it before, what is stopping you from talking to me like that again?”

  “My word. I’ll never speak to you like that again. Fuck, Abby, you know how I feel about you.”

  I pulled away from his hand and took a step back, “Well, sometimes feelings change. I’ll talk to Sebastian, can I go now?”

  He stepped out of my way with a hurt expression on his face. “Sebastian is on ward four.”

  I walked quickly down the hallway and back to Dad. Maybe it was because I was so tired and angry that I couldn’t take his word. I don’t know. All I knew was I wanted my dad to wake up.

  I needed him to wake up.

  ***

  I felt a bit more refreshed after a few hours sleep on the spare bed and a shower. Now that I was thinking clearly and didn’t look like complete shit, I decided I might as well handle this business with Sebastian now.

  I knocked on the room, and when I heard a weak come in, I entered.

  His eyes widened when they met mine.

  “Abby Harrison, what did I do to deserve your visit?” He straightened up in bed, clenching his right side.

  “I think you know why.”

  “My sister told me that they ran into you.”

  “And did you correct them, or are they still under the impression that it was us?”

  “I corrected them. Wasn’t your fault I got my ass handed to me.”

  “Your sister opened up a shitstorm by doing that.” I dragged a chair to his side. “Really, she couldn’t have picked worse timing to lose her shit.”

  “Heard you were with a patched member when they confronted you. Any chance of damage control?”

  “Nope.” I crossed my arms. “The boys are handling it now.”

  “Which means they’ll be knocking on my old man's door soon.”

  “Most likely.”

  “So why did you come here? I know that kiss was something, but I didn’t think it was good enough for you to turn your back on your club.”

  “It wasn’t, and I’m not. I’m here under club orders.”

  “What, to give me a warning?”

  “No, to find out who really gave you that beating.”

  “It was a drunken fight I picked in a pub. Sorry, the story isn’t more eventful.”

  “You lost badly.”

  He cracked a grin, “Yeah, I fucking did.”

  Sighing, I leaned back in the chair, feeling some stress lift from me. “Did they break much?”

  “A few ribs, swollen face, as you can tell.”

  “Could be worse then.”

  “Yeah, they could have broken my arm or leg, I guess. Still, hurts like a mother fucker.”

  “The ribs always do.” I remembered when I broke one of mine when I was little. I fell from a tree that I wasn’t meant to be climbing, and Dad was so mad.

  My stomach twisted thinking about Dad. God, I wanted him to wake up.

  “So why are you in the hospital? Apart from visiting me, of course?” Sebastian asked, his face covered in pain for a moment when he moved.

  I doubted he would care, hell, he would most likely be pleased to hear it. Still, I found myself wanting to tell him.

  “My dad had a heart attack.”

  “Shit Abby, how bad?”

  “Bad.” My voice croaked with sadness. “He still hasn’t woken up.”

  “You should be with him, not wasting your time up here with me,” Sebastian said kindly. “I know I’m charming and all but seriously, you should be with your dad.”

  “I will be. I just had to check on you first.” I forced a small smile.

  “Hope he recovers.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “Nah, I do.” His voice was serious, “Nothing worse than losing a parent.” He sounded to be speaking from experience.

  “Thanks.” I got up from the chair. “Hope you recover quickly, Westbrook.” I patted his leg, and he tried to give me a charming grin.

  “Yeah, same to your old man, Harrison.”

  I opened his door and slipped out.

  Well, that was handled. Now it meant I had to report back to Reaper. Well, maybe I didn’t have to do it face to face.

  I pulled out my phone while walking to the elevator.

  Spoke with Sebastian was a drunken pub fight.

  I sent the message and pressed the elevator button.

  “You look cold.”

  I glanced to my right. A young doctor was standing next to me, looking me up and down.

  He was right; I was cold because Red hadn’t packed a fucking jumper.

  “You don’t,” I responded blankly and entered the lift. To my disappointment, so did he.

  “You’re Jed Harrison’s daughter, aren’t you?”

  “How did you know that?”

  “I’m one of his doctors. We spoke late last night?”

  “Sorry.” I felt rude immediately. “I couldn’t take my eyes off Dad last night.”

  “I’m due to do my rounds soon, so I’ll be seeing you shortly. Perhaps this time I’ll leave more of an impression.” He smiled at me.

  The lift doors sprung open, and he smoothly walked out.

  Why did that feel like he was hitting on me? I frowned. Maybe I was just thinking that lately about every male I was near.

  God, I needed a good night’s sleep, or at least my brain did.

  ~

  “Abby, look at me. Tell me why you did it.” Dad looked down at me, hands on his hips.

  “Because I wanted one.” I looked up at him, close to tears. “Kim dared me.”

  “If you want something, you tell me next time, you don’t steal it.” He huffed. “Just because your sister dares you to do something, doesn’t mean you do it. Got it?”

  This was all over a lollipop I took from the corner store. Wasn’t like the grumpy old man caught me. No, Dad did, when I was sucking on it in the backseat.

  “You’re my little girl, and you want for nothing,” He dropped to his knees, looking me in the eye. “So next time, kiddo, you open your mouth and tell your old man you want a lollipop.”

  “Ok, Dad.”

  “Now give me a hug.” I wrapped my arms around him tightly, and he easily lifted me off the ground, standing back up. “And stop crying. Harrisons don’t cry; we make others do the crying.”

  I wiped my eyes and nodded my head.

  For some reason as I walked back to Dad’s room, that memory bounced into my mind. What I would do right now ju
st to have a hug from my dad.

  I turned the corner, and immediately I knew something was wrong because Kim was banging on Dad’s door, screaming.

  “Kim!” I yelled, breaking into a run. “Kim, what’s wrong?” I attempted to pull her away from the door as she banged on it with closed fists, tears streaming down her face.

  “Kim, what the hell happened?” I forced her to look at me.

  “I don’t know. One minute he’s fine and then next he started jolting and then the machines started beeping.” She spoke in a rush, sobbing, “Then they pushed me out of the room, and I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on.”

  I wrapped my arms around her. “It’s ok. It’s ok. Just, just keep breathing. Breathe through it, Kim.”

  Her head dropped to my shoulder, and her body shook as she sobbed.

  I glanced over Kim’s shoulder, watching the doctor who I had just shared a lift with running toward us.

  I pulled Kim out of his way, and he didn’t give me a second glance. He went straight into the room. I could hear a lot of beeping, rushed voices, and then the door shut and then all I could hear was Kim’s sobbing.

  I hugged her tightly, and tears slowly ran down my cheeks.

  He wasn’t meant to die.

  He can’t die.

  I couldn’t face the world yet without a parent.

  I couldn’t face this world without my strong dad behind me.

  The doors burst open, and Dad’s bed was rushed out. I pulled Kim and me out of their way just in time.

  “What’s happening?” I asked anyone, everyone who was rushing Dad’s bed down the hall. I let go of Kim and jogged after them. “Please don’t just take him, tell me what’s happening!”

  “There has been a complication; he needs to go back into surgery. I’m sorry Abby, I don’t have time to explain it to you right now.” The young doctor spun me a quick reply just before the lift doors slid shut, leaving me standing there staring at the metal doors.

  A complication.

  My body went numb with fear.

  “I’m sorry, Dad,” I whispered to myself as I let the tears fall freely; sometimes Harrisons do cry.

  Chapter 66

  Abby

  Sometimes numbness can overcome you to the point you lose track of time and day, what is happening. Your grip on reality loosens. I stared out the hospital window, down at the busy street, watching the people live their lives while mine crumbled apart.

  Kim was whimpering, sitting in the corner. We hadn’t called anyone. I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I knew as soon as I spoke on the phone my voice would crack and I would lose my self-control again.

  I barely had a grip on the tears.

  “Are you going to call the boys?” Kim wiped her nose and looked at me. “They should know.”

  They should know what? That Dad was losing his fight? That he had been rushed to surgery and we had no fucking idea why apart from knowing there was a complication?

  I pulled my phone out.

  Staring at it.

  I should have made more of an effort to make sure Dad had his heart medication. I should have stopped him smoking. I should have made him stop drinking so darn much.

  I collapsed in a chair.

  Who was I calling again?

  My mind was flying from one thing to the next. Right. The boys needed to know.

  Just as I was about to scroll down the list of names, a name popped up on the screen.

  Brad.

  I answered.

  “Abby, just checking how things are going?”

  I stayed quiet, letting the tears slid down my face.

  “Abby?”

  I cleared my throat. “He’s back in surgery.” I could only string a few words together.

  “I’m coming.” What followed was a beeping. I pulled the phone away from my ear.

  “They're coming.” I looked across at Kim, and she nodded her head.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Kim moved a seat over, sitting next to me. “We should call the Shields.”

  That wasn’t a terrible idea. They had a right to know. Doubted they would care, but they did have a right to know.

  “I’ll call Amber,” I said.

  Kim nodded her head. “You should do it now. Just in case.”

  I knew what she was referring to. Just in case Dad didn’t make it. Then they knew he was sick before he passed.

  I was so numb now that it wasn’t even causing me to cry.

  I reached for my phone and scrolled down to her name.

  The ringing tone followed.

  “Hello?”

  “Amber, it’s Abby Harrison.”

  “I know, I saved your number.” Her voice wasn’t hard or cold. She sounded perhaps friendly.

  “Dad’s had a heart attack.” I was straight to the point. I couldn’t be bothered with small talk.

  “How bad?”

  “He’s just had another attack; he’s been rushed into a second surgery.”

  “Are you ok?” Her words were genuine, kind, and caring. “And Kim?”

  “No.”

  “We’ll ride out this afternoon.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I said we would be there; we will be there.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Abby, he’s a strong man. Don’t give up on him yet.”

  “Thanks.” I felt like a frozen record.

  “I’ll be seeing you soon,” Amber said before she hung up.

  “They're coming.” I sighed. Kim dropped her head on my shoulder, and we sat in the empty waiting room.

  “I just want him to be ok,” she whispered.

  “I know.”

  ***

  Brad entered first, followed by Reaper and then Trigger. Trigger went straight to Kim, dropping to his knees in front of her.

  She broke out in tears immediately and wrapped her arms around him.

  “You ok, Harrison?” Brad stood in front of me, “Fuck, you look freezing.”

  He pulled his leather vest off and peeled his jumper off. “Arms up, Abby.”

  I did as he asked and he threaded the jumper on. His scent engulfed me, making me feel safer for some strange reason.

  “Come on Harrison, no tears,” he said, wiping them off my cheek. “He’s a fighter, and he hasn’t given up yet.”

  “It’s been hours.” My voice was dry, and the numbness I felt could be heard within my tone.

  Reaper moved behind Brad, and my tear-stained eyes landed on him. The pity he was feeling for me could be seen across his face.

  Then someone stepped out from around him, someone I wasn’t expecting.

  “Drake.” I couldn’t believe my eyes.

  “Hey, baby girl.” He walked towards me, and Brad stepped to the side. “Heard you were having a rough time.”

  My throat tightened, and that was it. As his arms wrapped around me, I broke down, and I cried and cried into his shoulder.

  He just held me tighter, and I squeezed the life out of him as I wailed into his shoulder.

  And it was in Drake’s arms that the grief I was feeling overtook me.

  Reaper

  I watched Abby cling to Drake, crying into his shoulder, and I was forcing myself not to rip his hands off her. I knew it would be hard seeing them together, but I had made the decision I would rather see her leaning on Drake for support than fucking Brad.

  Cause her and Drake were only friends.

  Brad and she could become something more.

  Which would be happening over my fucking dead body.

  She was mine.

  It was fucking killing me, not knowing how to help her right now. I wasn’t good with words like Drake. Didn’t have the smooth words like Brad either. When it came down to feelings and emotions and crap, I fucking sucked.

  Which meant right now, I was useless to her.

  The only thing I could do was protect her from the fucking pieces of shit known as the Westbrooks. I could do that.

&nb
sp; I could run the club for her old man, but I couldn’t give her what she needed now.

  Because I wasn’t even sure what she needed.

  A hug?

  Fuck if I knew. I ran a hand over my head and took a step away from them. I needed a motherfucking smoke and a hard drink.

  She pulled away from him, wiping her eyes. “How did you know?”

  “Kade called me,” Drake answered her, and I cringed hearing my real name.

  Still, don’t know why I liked it when Abby said it but when anyone else said it, it made me cringe.

  Her swollen eyes landed on mine, and she almost looked thankful. First time in days she hadn’t looked at me with anger or given me this empty expression.

  I wanted to say something, anything that would cause her to keep looking at me like that, keep her from going cold on me again.

  But I had nothing.

  “Harrisons?” A doctor stepped into the room. Immediately Kim and Abby sprang up from their seats.

  The doctor’s eyes landed on Abby, and they softened. “Jed has been moved to the ICU. He’s recovering but needs to be closely monitored.”

  “So he made it.” Kim seemed amazed.

  The doctor nodded his head “Your father is a strong man. But his heart can’t take much more, if he has another attack like that, we won’t be able to do much. Which is why we will be monitoring him extremely closely.”

  Abby sighed in relief and closed her eyes. That would have taken some stress off her.

  “Can we see him?” she asked, opening her eyes and looking calmer.

  “Of course, I’ll take you myself.” The doctor smiled kindly at her, but there was something about that smile I didn’t trust.

  You had to be fucking kidding me.

  She had a motherfucking doctor chasing her now as well?

  What the hell was it with this woman causing men to follow her and drool over her?

  Great, another one to deal with.

  At least he was a citizen, and if there was one thing about Abby, it was she never went for a straight-cut type of guy.

  Chapter 67

  Reaper

  You don’t get to where I am in life without doing a lot of shit you shouldn’t. When I took the Vice President patch, I never thought for a moment of being the President for the mother charter. I was happy to sit back and back up when required.