Reaper Unleashed

by Michelle Woods

  “Geez, woman, you’re too skinny, eat something!” Rebel growled and Sammy shot him a bird. Sarah wanted to second his cry. She was really beginning to worry about her.

  “Mature,” Sarah laughed.

  “Shut up, he’s freaking annoying,” Sammy growled. Animal walked over to the waitress. Sarah figured he was ordering something for himself and didn’t think much of it until their food came about twenty minutes later and Sammy got a salad and a rather large ice cream and a smaller one that she knew was for Josh. Sammy glared at Animal. “I’m not eating this!” she growled.

  “Eat it,” Animal said and proceeded to stare her down until she turned away with a huffy “Fine.”

  Sarah was glad when Sammy ate the ice cream. She had noticed for the last month that Sammy was different. She didn’t go to Spangles as much as she used to and she had been acting strange, and her eating was becoming an issue. She barely ate at all and it bothered Sarah. Sammy had lost more than ten pounds in the last two weeks and Sarah was scared she was starving herself. She didn’t know what had happened but whatever it was had hurt Sammy.

  Josh woke up and she set him at the table with them letting him have his apple juice and his fries. He began eating his fries and Sarah turned back to Sammy asking her about the boots she’d bought. She wondered if she should have gotten the red pair instead of the black.

  “Uh-oh,” Josh suddenly said as his apple juice spilled across the table.

  “Oh, darn. Shoot, we need more napkins,” Sarah said, standing to clean the table. She turned to the two men and Animal nodded.

  “I’ll get them,” he said before taking off to get napkins from inside.

  “Dang, I should have asked him to get him another one. Rebel, can you get him another apple juice?” she asked and he nodded.

  “Sure.” He took off too, following Animal inside. Sarah continued to wipe up the mess as Sammy helped by moving stuff. She was bent forward when it happened. A hard blow came down on the back of her head making her feel dizzy and fall forward onto the table. Sammy was screaming before Sarah saw her shoved down by––Marta? Josh was screaming but she couldn’t seem to move or stay awake. She fell forward as she passed out.

  Sammy was hovering over her screaming at her, “Wake up, Sarah. Oh God, please wake up.” Animal was standing behind her and she heard the squeal of tires. Then she was being loaded into the back of Sammy’s little Pinto. Sarah felt like she was in a haze; things seemed to fade in and out. One second things were clear and bright and the next they were faded and dull.

  “Sarah, they took him. I tried to stop them, I really did,” Sammy was saying, tears running down her cheeks. She looked dirty and Sarah could see her hands were covered in scrapes. Her clothes were also torn in two places and Sarah realized she must have fought them hard.

  Sarah felt the fog beginning to clear from her head as she realized that someone had taken Josh. No, not someone, Marta. Marta had take Josh.

  Sitting up, she saw Animal in the seat beside Sammy with her in the back and Rebel in the front seat, driving. She knew they were headed to the club and she also knew that Reaper would take care of this. Reaper would get their son back. Everything would be okay, she thought, even as cold panic settled in her chest. She’d get him back, she told herself, her heart pounding loudly and sweat flooding out of her pores in waves of fear.

  Feeling hands on her shoulders, she realized that Animal was talking to her. She tried to focus on him but his words seemed to be fading in and out. Her head felt like it was being stabbed over and over and her ears kept ringing. She could hear things but they seemed so far away.

  She wasn’t aware of much but she did know that they were taking her to Reaper. If her head didn’t hurt so much she’d go after them herself and to hell with going to get Reaper first. She knew that with her head still buzzing and the pain she could cause more harm than help trying to go after him so this time she’d let Reaper take care of it.

  “Sarah, are you okay?” Animal was asking.

  “Head. My head hurts.”

  “Fuck, call Lance, have him meet us at the club. She’s bleeding and she’s likely got a concussion,” Animal said loudly. Too loudly; why was he yelling?

  They screeched to a halt in front of the Blue Bird and Animal tried to stop her from getting out of the car but she jerked away. Sammy caught her and helped her into the club screaming from next to her, “Reaper! We need Reaper.”

  “Fuck! What the hell happened?” Lock demanded of Animal and Rebel.

  “Someone hit her over the head and took Josh,” Rebel told him grimly.

  “Fuck, Reaper’s going to go apeshit,” Lock muttered, running a hand over his head.

  Sarah made Sammy lead her down the hall towards the office. They were halfway there when Reaper came bursting out the office door ahead of Bull who’d gone to get him. He caught Sarah lifting her into his arms and carried her into the office setting her on the couch.

  “What the hell happened, baby? Are you okay? You’re bleeding,” he rushed out.

  “They took him, Reaper. You have to get him. It was Marta, she took him!”

  “What the fuck is she talking about? Who did they take and who the fuck is Marta? And where the fuck were Animal and Rebel when this happened?” Reaper demanded, trying to see her wound, his heart pounding because Sarah had blood running down her face. He was going to kill those two idiots for leaving her.

  “Marta’s Josh’s grandmother and she means that they took Josh,” Sammy told him, her face pale and her eyes filled with sorrow. “I’m so sorry. I tried to stop them. I really did.” Sammy moaned mournfully.

  Suddenly Sarah’s hands were in his cut jerking him forward. “You have to go get him, Reaper, she took him. Get our son.” He had already felt the cold beginning to overtake him when Sammy had said they took Josh. He had only stayed seated because he wanted to be sure that Sarah was going to be okay. His son needed him to find him and he wasn’t going to let him or his mother down.

  “I will, baby, but you have to calm down. Get Lance here now. And tell Rebel and Animal they better run.”

  “He’s on his way, they called him from the car,” Sammy quietly told him.

  “No, Reaper. You can’t hurt Animal or Rebel. It was my fault. I sent them inside and I was the one who wasn’t paying attention. You can’t blame them and you have to promise me you won’t and then you’ll go get our son,” Sarah told him, her hand wrapped in his cut as she pulled him to her. Her head felt worse; a sharp stabbing pain was still piercing through it.

  “Okay. Baby, I won’t punish them, just calm down for me, okay,” Reaper said, trying to get her to lay back. “And I will get our boy back. You see Lance and I’ll bring Josh back to you. I promise,” Reaper said, kissing her forehead. His guts were burning with the need to find whoever had done this and kill them. They’d hurt Sarah and taken his son and he wasn’t going to let that stand. Nobody fucked with family.

  “I will let you handle it, but if you’re not back by midnight I’m coming after you.” Sarah collapsed back onto the couch then, her eyes closing and he worried. She likely had a concussion and those were dangerous. He didn’t want to leave her but knew he had to; Josh needed him.

  Standing, he looked at Sammy, who hovered close by. “You keep her here even if she wants to come after me when she wakes up. Sit on her if you have to. Bull, stay here with them and make sure that she’s seen by Lance.”

  “Sure thing, Boss,” Bull replied.

  Reaper went to find some men. He had to go get their son from his grandmother. At least since she was his grandmother she wouldn’t hurt the kid. Well, he fucking hoped she wouldn’t. If she did, he’d bring her back to Sarah and they would handle the woman together. She’d better pray if that was the case because if she’d hurt their son, she’d learn what had prompted the men to call him Reaper.

  It took them five hours to locate Marta and her two mercenaries. They where holed up in a motel about two miles from town. The
y went in, taking out the two mercenaries easily, but when they found Marta she was sitting with Josh behind her in a playpen. She was holding a gun and stood in front of him so they couldn’t shoot her. If any of the bullets passed through her body, they might hit Josh. He wasn’t willing to risk that.

  Reaper walked into the room with his hands raised, Lock and Rebel behind him.

  “I’m here for the boy,” he said, looking at Marta. She looked crazed. Her hair was matted in places and she was unable to stand straight.

  She was waving the gun at the boy and appeared to be swaying back and forth. It was obvious to him that she was drunk. He couldn’t believe that she had somehow gotten a jump on Sarah. It must have been the mercenaries who planned the snatch.

  Reaper was providing a decoy while Iron, who’d gone around the outside of the building, came in through a window to grab Josh.

  “Well of course you are. Cause she wants the brat, right? I don’t get her. She had the perfect chance to get rid of it. My son gave her all those credits. My credits, ones he stole from me. He gave them to that bitch and she didn’t even get the abortion.” Marta waved the gun towards Josh, shaking her head.

  “But now I get to offer you a deal, Mr. Biker Man. You can get rid of him without her ever knowing you did it. We can sell him and make a pretty bundle too. Twenty thousand credits apiece. Then you don’t have to deal with her brat anymore. Just tell her you looked and couldn’t find him. Who wants to raise someone else’s brat. Am I right?” Marta laughed wildly, her eyes glassy and her movements jerky.

  Reaper saw Iron enter the window, which was cracked just enough that he could open it. Iron paused against the wall, then began moving slowly forward towards Josh.

  “How much?” he asked when she started to look around the room. He was trying to distract her from Iron, who was almost to the playpen.

  “Twenty thousand. I was surprised too. Forty thousand for a kid? Couldn’t be worth that much, right? But people will pay that, I’ve talked to them. If we did an auction it could be more. Weirdos mostly want the kids, you know, the perverts who like kids young. I don’t care though, I just want my credits back, you know. I’m sure you want the kid gone too. I still can’t believe that she kept him. But just think of it, all those credits and the brat is gone. No more annoying clingy kid to deal with and you get lots of credits. She’d never know about it.” Marta looked gleeful as she relayed her plan. Reaper felt horror that this woman was such a waste of space that she wanted to sell her own grandson to perverts.

  Josh was crying behind her and Reaper wanted to kill the woman for that alone. Josh was frightened and it made the coldness inside him melt because the fury burned so bright it was blinding. He needed Josh out of the room; he didn’t need to see his grandmother killed.

  “Dada, Dada,” Josh cried, reaching his arms out for him when he was close enough to see him. It broke something inside Reaper that he couldn’t grab the boy to reassure him when that was what he wanted to do.

  “Wow, that must be annoying. Him calling you dada when you aren’t even his father. This is a win, win. See you get more credit and you don’t have to deal with the brat anymore,” Marta said, waving the gun again. Iron grabbed Josh and he quickly began moving out of the room. Reaper smiled coldly as he moved past him with Josh.

  “Hey, where’s he taking the kid?” Marta demanded.

  Reaper stepped up to her knocking the gun out of her hand easily. Lock and Rebel moved, grabbing the woman and shoving her to her knees with her arms behind her back. She looked shocked to find herself on the floor.

  “Want me to kill her, boss?” Lock asked.

  “What are you doing? You can’t just kill me. I’m doing you a favor. Why are you doing this? Why?” Marta asked.

  “You took my son, bitch! Nobody messes with my family. What did you expect?” Reaper asked, truly wanting to know for about a second.

  “No, I…” But she never finished because Reaper had lost interest. It didn’t matter because nobody threatened his woman or his son.

  Exiting the building, he went to Iron who was holding Josh. He held out his arms and the boy jumped at him. Reaper held his sweet little body against his own, grateful that his son was okay and safe. Josh held his face for a second after a long hug.

  “Mama go sleep, Dada. She not wake up.” Tears ran down his face and Reaper couldn’t stand it. Reaper hugged him, kissing the boy’s forehead.

  “Mama’s okay, buddy. She sent daddy to get you. Want to go see her?” he asked, hoping that Sammy had forced Sarah to clean up, otherwise she was going to scare Josh. Josh nodded his head vigorously. Then he lay his head on Reaper’s shoulder, clinging to him.

  “Gama mean. Hurt mama. Osh no like Gama,” he said.

  “I don’t like her either, buddy. I made Grandma go, she went away,” Reaper said as they climbed into the cage they’d brought with them so that they could bring Josh home.

  “Gama no see Osh?”

  “Not anymore, buddy. Daddy made sure,” Reaper told him. He wanted to tell Josh that he’d killed her and that she was never coming back so that he would feel safe but he didn’t think that was something a two-year-old should be told. He was innocent and should be protected from the harsh reality of their life until he was old enough to handle it.

  He knew that being snatched from his mother had scared Josh enough for one night without exposing him to the harsh realities of life. Josh clung to him and Reaper didn’t force him to let go so that he could put him into his car seat because he knew Josh needed the contact. Hell, he needed the contact. Reaper had been worried for hours and he was grateful that his son was okay.

  He smiled into Josh’s hair thinking of Sarah’s reaction if she knew Reaper hadn’t put Josh into his seat. She’d likely shoot him.

  They pulled up in front of the club. Reaper got out with Josh and headed inside. Sarah was in his booth waiting surrounded by Burner, Sammy and Bull. When she saw them she jumped up, running over to hug them. She looked better and they had cleaned her up.

  “Josh, baby,” Sarah cried, grabbing him into her arms as she cried. She would have fallen if Reaper hadn’t caught her when her knees gave out, so great was her relief.

  She peppered kisses on Josh‘s face holding him tightly. Reaper half carried her into the office where he sat on the couch with Sarah and Josh in his arms, kissing the top of her head.

  Burner was standing in the doorway and Sammy stood along the wall watching them. Reaper felt a sense of peace settle inside him. It had evaded him all night but holding Sarah and Josh in his arms reassured him that everything was going to be okay. He knew that as long as the two of them were okay, everything would be fine.

  Chapter 25

  Sarah walked into the main area of Ink Bandits where Animal and Flame were playing cards. Pansy had the day off. She still couldn’t wrap her mind around the large hulking figure being called Pansy. Every time she heard them say his name she wanted to laugh. She didn’t want to offend the man because he was nice so she did her best to refrain. If he was here tonight she would have asked him to do the ink she wanted to get as a surprise for Reaper.

  Earlier today she had called Sammy to ask her to pick up Josh tonight from Derik, who was keeping him because Mrs. Black’s daughter had a recital at school. Sammy was picking him up so that Sarah could surprise Reaper. She had planned this for weeks and when Sammy had finally finished the design to her satisfaction, she had formed a plan. Now she just had to get one of them to agree to do the work. She felt more comfortable asking Flame because Animal was still a bit of a mystery to her.

  “Will you do some ink for me?” she asked Flame.

  “Sure, where do you want it?” he asked, looking up at her grinning. Sarah showed him the design she had Sammy draw a week ago. Sammy was actually a really good artist. She’d drawn what Sarah wanted perfectly.

  “Wow, nice. Did you draw this?”

  “No, Sammy did.” Sarah saw Animal shift to look at the design before
she glanced back at Flame.

  “So, where are we putting it?” Sarah pointed to her hip, seeing him pale and begin shaking his head frantically. He then stared at her in silence for what seemed like forever before he blurted, “Oh hell no! I am not getting killed for putting a tattoo there!”

  His eyes were hard and he crossed his arms, looking grim. “You want him to kill me, don’t you? I’ve been nothing but nice to you and you want me dead,” he accused.

  “For goodness sakes, it’s my hip, not my vagina! He won’t kill you, that’s crazy,” Sarah said in an exasperated tone unable to believe that he was refusing because he’d see her hip. Reaper wouldn’t kill him for putting a tattoo on her hip for goodness sakes.

  “Nun-uh, I am not doing it. You’d have to pull your pants down so I could do the work and that would get me killed. Not happening!” Flame growled.

  “I’ll do it,” Animal said from across the table and Sarah beamed at him.

  “Thank you, Animal. At least someone around here has some balls!” she grumbled as she followed Animal into his work area.

  “Yeah, and they will be cut off right after Reaper sees that tattoo!” Flame called after them, earning a dark glower from Sarah.

  Sarah waited in the bedroom. She was naked and Reaper should be home any minute. She inspected the ink in the mirror, smiling. He was going to love it. Animal had done an excellent job and she loved it. It was exactly what she had wanted.

  She heard the door and grinned as she heard Reaper calling out for her. “In here,” she called and Reaper appeared in the doorway.

  “Where’s Josh a– you’re naked.” His eyes widened and he stared at her naked back.

  “I am,” Sarah said, coyly looking over her shoulder at Reaper who looked like he was about to swallow his tongue. He blinked several times before he stared openly at her bare ass.