Reaper Unleashed

by Michelle Woods

  He thought in plural now. It wasn’t just about Sarah anymore, somehow Josh and his joyful innocence and lack of the annoying characteristics that most children possessed had captured him just as much as his mother had. Although the kid’s fascination with trees was just odd.

  His gaze was drawn back to Sarah, who lifted a fork to her mouth and closed her eyes in bliss before she swallowed, making his dick throb. This was what he suffered every night. Everything about her was seductive; somehow even while she ate she seduced him. He didn’t know what it was about her that caught his attention so starkly. She wasn’t a great beauty and her rack was moderate at best, but somehow he couldn’t seem to think of any other woman but her.

  He’d turned down three of the girls’ offers over the last two weeks and it was starting to become apparent even to the men that he was fascinated with her. Reaper wondered what it would take to break him out of this need he felt for her. He didn’t want an attachment to her or the kid. He knew that down that road lay despair and destruction. He’d lived it and swore it would never happen again.

  He felt a vibration in his pocket and dug out his phone. “Yeah?” he answered it.

  “We found the place they are keeping four girls. Topper and Deck are watching the place. You’re closer,” Death Rider told him, his voice grim.

  “All right, let me lock things down here and then we’ll ride out.” Reaper looked across the table seeing Sarah’s frown. She didn’t like when he took calls during dinner, but she’d have to get used to it. The problem with being a club’s vice was that he had to be ready to ride at a minute’s notice, like tonight. He thought about having some prospects watch his place, but decided against it because he could lock the loft down and she and Josh would be safe.

  “The boys will meet you at the Diner on the way out of town in thirty. I want to know when this is wrapped up. This shit has to stop. Do we have any word on the mole?” he asked

  “No, damn it. It’s starting to piss me off too. We can talk about this later. I need to get ready. You riding over to chat with our new friends tonight?” Reaper asked, scooping the last mouthful of casserole into his mouth.

  “Yep, I’ll be there by ten. Have them ready to go. I’ve had enough of this shit and I’m sure you have too. Topper says these girls are young and I am fucking tired of this bullshit happening in our territory.” Death sounded like he was already in a rage over this and Reaper couldn’t blame him. He wasn’t too freaking happy about it either.

  “Sounds good, see you in a few hours.”

  “Ride hard,” Death told him before hanging up. Reaper slipped his phone back into his pocket.

  “I have to go. Club business,” he told Sarah, peering at her while he stood, lifting the plate that was now empty off the table. He walked it to the sink, dropping it inside.

  “I heard,” she clipped out and he figured she wasn’t too happy about him leaving. He grinned at the wall in front of the sink at that. She liked having him around whether she admitted it or not. She was pissed that he had to leave and he loved it.

  “You need to lock the loft down tonight. I won’t be back till morning. Don’t bring the shutters up once they’re engaged.” He moved back towards the table.

  “Okay, be safe,” she whispered.

  He moved to her side. Leaning down, his kissed the top of her head, pulling her face into his stomach in an awkward hug. She leaned into him, her arms wrapping around his waist.

  “I’ll be back, baby, don’t worry,” he whispered against her hair.

  “You’d better be,” she told him looking up at him, her eyes bright with worry. Leaning down, he brought his lips to hers in a soft caress. His tongue slipped inside to embrace hers and they warred for a moment before Josh tugged on his pants leg hard. He looked down at the boy, surprised he’d managed to get out of the belt he’d put on him.

  Josh scowled at him and demanded, “Mama, kiss,” while making a smacking motion with his lips, which made Reaper laugh. The kid was jealous. Sarah lifted him into her lap and peppered his face with kisses and Reaper hugged them both, something inside him easing a bit at the joy on their faces.

  “Eper, kiss,” Josh demanded, pointing to his cheek and Reaper leaned down, putting a kiss on the boy’s cheek as he’d demanded.

  “I have to go.” he finally said after another few minutes of soaking up the moment.

  “I know.”

  “Lock up behind me and engage the security doors,” Reaper told her.

  “I don’t think they are really necessary. We will be fine. Go take care of whatever it is you need to,” Sarah told him, still holding Josh on her lap.

  “No, you engage the shutters and don’t argue with me. The Headhunters aren’t anyone to play around with, Sarah. I want to be sure you and Josh are safe and if I’m worried about the two of you I’ll be distracted.” He brushed a hand through his hair looking at her with a dark glower.

  “Fine, but you’re being paranoid. We aren’t even on their radar, I’m sure,” she huffed.

  “You’re living with me and that makes you both a target, Sarah, don’t forget that,” he told her, his hand running down her cheek in a light caress before moving into the living room, headed to his bedroom to grab his guns.

  “Is that why those two prospects keep following Josh and me around?” she asked innocently. He stopped, his hand on the door to push it open, and almost swallowed his tongue. Those idiots. They must have followed too closely and she’d noticed, when he had told them not to be seen. He should have put Iron or even Bull on her instead; at least they wouldn’t have slipped up and gotten caught.

  “Yes, that’s why.”

  “Well that’s good because that was one of the other things I wanted to talk to you about. I thought you were having me watched to be sure that I didn’t leave. That wouldn’t have gone over well, Reaper.” Sarah’s amber eyes had narrowed when he glanced back at her over his shoulder. He held his tongue about that being the other reason they were following her. Although, from the raised brow and the way she was gazing at him, he wasn’t sure she didn’t already know that.

  “I have to go, baby,” he finally managed to get out and turned, hurrying into his room to get his guns. He grabbed two Glocks and a pocket-size magnum from the safe and two extra magazines for the Glocks. He locked the safe back up before grabbing his knife and his brass knuckles from the locked cabinet in his closet.

  He was nearly out the door when he decided that he didn’t need the magnum. Checking his watch, he realized he didn’t have time to lock it in the safe so he went over to his nightstand, shoving it inside. He wasn’t sure why he’d even gotten the damned thing out. He rarely carried it. He would tell Sarah not to let the kid come in here tonight. Not that Josh normally tried but Reaper didn’t want him getting hurt because he was in a hurry.

  “Baby, I’m leaving, but don’t let Josh in my room tonight. I left a gun in the nightstand and I don’t want him hurt, okay,” he said, entering the kitchen to find her cleaning up the dishes.

  “I don’t normally let him in your room, Reaper,” she told him as she dried the last dish and set it into the cabinet.

  “I know, but I wanted to be sure that he didn’t get away from you and get hurt because I don’t have time to lock it up.”

  She nodded before lifting the boy up. “He’s going to bed soon anyway and I’ll lock our door tonight to be sure he doesn’t get out.”

  “Thanks, baby. Engage the locks as soon as I leave. I’ll wait till the shutters are in place before I leave, so don’t take too long.”

  Rolling her eyes, Sarah shooed him out the door. Once in the garage, he waited for the clicks that let him know that she’d locked them safely inside before climbing on his bike and heading out to meet the boys.

  Sarah sat up, looking around for what had woken her. It was still dark in the house, but light was streaming into the room from the window as the shutters slid up. That was wrong. Why was that wrong? Then she remembered; she’d
locked them down after Reaper had left. Looking at the moonlight now spilling into the room, she knew somehow that something wasn’t right.

  Reaper had told her that he wouldn’t be home till tomorrow, so if the shutters were up he was either early or somehow someone had overridden the security. Sarah didn’t know why she was sure that it wasn’t Reaper. Maybe it was what had happened to Hank, her twelfth and final father figure, when she was seventeen. That night so many years ago had shaped more of her life than she’d ever realized.

  Slipping from the bed, she opened the door, peeking out into the hallway. She didn’t see any movement. She left the room, shutting the door after locking it from the inside. She could pick the lock later, but for now she wanted to make sure that Josh was as safe as possible. She snuck towards Reaper’s room, entering it silently and heading to the nightstand. She pulled out the small 9mm pocket gun with a dismayed look. Fuck, this thing had seven bullets max.

  She’d have to make them count then, wouldn’t she? She felt a sense of dread as she searched the drawer for another magazine. There wasn’t one but there was a phone. Pulling it out, she began dialing the number Reaper had made her memorize the first few days after they had moved in with him.

  After two rings Reaper picked up. “Kinda busy right now,” he growled.

  “Someone’s in the loft,” she whispered.

  “Sarah?” Reaper asked, shocked. “Fuck, are you sure, baby?”

  “The shutters are up and I was sleeping so I didn’t do it; did you?” Sarah asked, wondering why he thought she was incompetent. She made sure her irritation with that was evident in her tone. She checked that the safety was off on the magnum and moved towards the door, peeking into the hallway.

  “Hell no, I didn’t. How the fuck did they get in? They had to have the fucking code. Once the system goes into lockdown there is nothing getting in or out without the damned code. Baby, you need to get Josh and…” Sarah stopped listening. She’d walked out into the hall standing against the wall. She could hear talking in the kitchen. A male voice was loud in the silence of the loft.

  “Fuck, it’s dark in here,” a man was saying.

  Another voice hissed, “Shut the fuck up or you’re going to wake the damned bitch.”

  “Who cares? We can handle one woman and a little brat. We’re here to steal the bitch, so we can sell her and kill her kid. That way Reaper and Death Rider understand we can get to whoever we want whenever we want.”

  “It’s easier if she don’t fight though, you idiot.”

  “Sarah, Sarah, baby, listen to me!” Reaper demanded in her ear, but she was only half listening as she eased out down the hall towards the bathroom. There was a small portion of the wall that stuck out there that she could hide behind. She’d be able to see the whole living room from there. She knelt down beside the wall, her heart pumping in her ears.

  Adrenaline rushed through her and she felt her breath come in quick pants as she knelt on the floor waiting. Her ears picked up the noise of footsteps moving out of the kitchen.

  “Get here, Reaper. I only have seven fucking bullets in this gun and I don’t know how many of them there are.” She hung up even as he screamed at her.

  “No, fuck! Don’t engage them. Sarah, hide in the gun room, the code is…” But she’d already hung up and didn’t hear the rest of what he said. She was not the type to run and hide and she never would be. She was crouched at the wall that separated the hall from the living room and waited. She needed a better idea how many of them were here. She felt a tremor in her legs and thanked Hank for the steadiness in her hands.

  Sarah saw a shadowed form move out of the kitchen. He was big, likely seven foot, wearing a cut that she couldn’t see clearly but knew was from the Headhunter’s MC. She waited, seeing another smaller form moving around behind him. She had only heard two voices so maybe that was all there were. That would be good; she could handle two men with seven bullets.

  She waited, holding her breath as the first man approached, coming nearer to her hiding spot. She waited until he was close enough to see her before she aimed. She estimated the kick back from the weapon and shot the man in the chest. He went down immediately.

  “Fuck, fuck, that bitch shot him!” the second man screamed, shooting wildly in her direction. She ducked back behind the wall hoping the rounds wouldn’t pass through it and hit her. It wasn’t very thick and depending on the weapons they had, she could be in trouble. After a moment, when none came bursting through, she was grateful.

  “Get in here!” the man screamed and her stomach sank. Fear made her palms sweat and she wiped them on her pants, switching the gun from one hand to the other. Damn, there were more of them. She knew that Josh was safe, but when he started screaming for her she still wanted to go to him. It tore her heart out that she couldn’t. His voice was hysterical as he cried out for her. Every call of ‘Mama’ pierced her like a blade, burning through her like fire. Tears stung her eyes; she wanted to comfort him but right now she needed to protect him.

  Peeking out of her spot, she saw another man crouching in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. Seeing her, he shot towards her spot, making her duck back again. The smaller man who she’d first seen when he’d exited the kitchen was moving towards her hiding spot steadily and she needed this shot to count.

  Peeking one more time to gauge his trajectory, she ducked back down when the man in the doorway fired at her. It was now or never, she realized, and she rolled out across the hall aiming for his head and fired off two rounds. The first one was too high and she knew it, so she squeezed off a second one. The man fell to the ground and another voice came from the kitchen. She saw the man in the doorway pull back and she scrambled into the living room behind the leather sofa. A hail of bullets flew by her, one coming perilously close to her head.

  She aimed over the couch shooting off two more shots for cover before snatching up the gun the second man had dropped. Checking the magazine, she found only five bullets. What the hell? Why hadn’t the idiot refilled his magazine? And a better question was why hadn’t she let Reaper give her the code to that fucking safe? Not that she would have hidden, but another gun right about now would be great. She wasn’t getting a break tonight, it appeared.

  Leaning her head back into the couch, wanting to beat the idiot for not refilling his gun, she ducked back behind the couch as another barrage of gunfire forced her back. She moved down when a few bullets popped through the leather, hitting the wall and one of Reaper’s statues. It teetered for a moment before a chunk of the head fell to the floor shattering into shards of plaster on the floor. That was going to piss Reaper off, she thought suddenly, before realizing that was the least of her worries at the moment.

  “Bitch, you’re going to die tonight and so is that brat of yours. We were only here to kidnap you, but now we’re going to rape and kill you instead. Then we’ll leave your cold dead bodies for him to find,” one of the two men who’d entered the loft yelled at her.

  It was fine that he was talking, not that she cared to listen. But it meant she knew where he was and right now she was more worried about the one who wasn’t talking. She edged around the couch, trying to see into the darkness. She needed to find the other one; he was too silent and he hadn’t fired off a shot in a while. He was the threat. He was stalking her; she could feel it. The other one was trying to distract her.

  She was holding a gun in each hand. Using the gun in her left hand, she shot off another round at the man who’d spoken, knowing that he’d think her focus was on him, but she was really searching for the other one.

  She waited for the second man to reveal himself. She almost missed it. He’d snuck into the corner across from her and she saw the gun at the last second. Diving to the left, she felt the sting of the bullet as it tore through her shoulder and cried out, shooting the man in the knee. He went down screaming and she scrambled back behind the couch, shooting another two rounds at him so that he moved back into the kitchen.<
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  Her shoulder stung like a fucking bitch, but she’d managed to get the man to move back. She felt light-headed for a moment before the pain eased from all the adrenaline in her system. She knew when she finally came off that high that it would hurt like a son of a bitch, but for now she could bear it.

  If only she could keep them pinned in the kitchen without using her last four bullets before Reaper got here. He was giving her the code to that gun safe when he got home, her savage inner voice growled. She shot off another single round and rolled back towards the hall.

  The men where in the kitchen and she could hear Josh screaming as he kicked the door. Her shoulder ached and her heart broke again that her baby was frightened and she couldn’t go to him. When Reaper got home he was getting an earful about who he let have the code to their home. He would have to ask her if she trusted them first next time, because she was going to start figuring out who they were able to trust.

  She could read people like a book most of the time. Well, except for him; for some reason she couldn’t read him. Maybe it was her attraction to him that prevented her from making a proper assessment. Frank had always said that emotions clouded the mind when you were trying to read people and you had to let all that go.

  That was why first Cody, and then his mother, had fooled her: emotions. She had let herself believe that they were good people even when she’d known better. She wasn’t mad about herself for Cody because he’d given her Josh and he was the light in her life. Marta though, that one she hated herself for. If she hadn’t lost sight of the skills she’d learned when she was younger, she’d never have been drawn in by her. A voice broke across her musings and she waited for him to get close enough to shoot.

  “You fucking whore! You’re going to die tonight, you know. Reaper’s busy with the shit we leaked to him and you’re alone here. How many bullets you have left? Huh, whore? How many?” The man was moving closer and she shot around the corner in the direction his voice was coming from hoping she’d hit him. Only two bullets left, she thought with dismay. She’d have to save them and make them count; she steeled herself with grim determination. She hoped Reaper hurried up getting here because she wasn’t going to be able to hold them off for much longer.