by Simone Elise
“He nodded off. He is in his crib.” She sat up on her elbows. “You look tired. Maybe you should come to bed.”
She was fucking with me, right? I just stared at her. Nope. She was serious. She was right, I was tired. I didn’t sleep last night and it was showing.
“Yeah, I will.” I moved toward her. A satisfied smile spread across her lips.
“You know Abby knew this would happen. That’s why she hated me so much.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Every president has a mistress.”
“Is that so?” I stood in front of her. She was lying on her side. It only occurred to me now, but what had Kaylee said to get Kim so upset?
“Yep. I can handle her sister. And it’s not like I have Abby to worry about.” Kaylee lay back, looking like a woman who had gotten everything she wanted. “Anyway, you won’t let anything happen to me.”
I grabbed her wrist. She smiled. Then my grip tightened and, with one pull, she was off the bed. She was on Abby’s side of the bed. But that was only her first mistake.
“REAPER! That hurts!”
“What did you say to Kim?”
“The truth! Now I’m all for rough play but you’re hurting me.” She pushed against me, but I only pulled her closer.
“Look at my neck.” I had to keep my temper in check. I couldn’t lay into her. She was a girl. Though I doubt Abby would mind. “Is that your name?”
“No.”
“What does it say?”
She pursed her lips. “Abby.”
“That’s right. I’m Abby’s. So stay the fuck away from me and our son. I suggest you find a new charter.”
“But I came here for you!”
“I don’t fucking know why.”
“Because you need a woman. Who is caring for Tyson? Think about it, Kade. You need me.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Fine, Reaper. Either way, you need me. Abby isn’t coming back. You should know that by now.”
Abby. My Abby. Was she still breathing? Had she done it? Was I too late? Why was everyone talking like she was dead already? Didn’t they know I wasn’t going to let that happen?
“You’re leaving.” It wasn’t a question or maybe. It was happening. If Abby ever found out Kaylee was here doing this crap, I wouldn’t be able to stop her from killing her. My wife was actually good with a gun. I had experienced that when she shot me and watched her take a headshot without a flinch. She was a target shooter. She didn’t spray bullets, hoping to get lucky. She aimed for the kill spot and she didn’t miss. She only needed a gun and one bullet.
“Stop dragging me!” Kaylee tried to pull her arm free, but it was useless. She tripped down the stairs behind me, falling into my back. But I kept moving, The crowd parted.
“BRAD!” I shouted across the room. I bet he was regretting ever taking that vice president patch about now.
“Yeah, Prez?” He put his pool cue down and strolled toward me, his eyes on Kaylee, then back on me. “What you doing with the girl?”
“I need you to get her on a train, a bus, fuck, a flight. Just get her out of here.”
“What, to another charter?”
“No, she’s done serving the club.”
“I AM NOT!”
I pulled her back as she fought me off, a pointless attempt on her behalf. “You are because I say you are.” I threw her at Brad. “Fuck her off. I don’t care how you do it.”
“Righto, Prez.” Brad gripped Kaylee by the shoulders as she attempted to bolt. “Consider it done.”
“Thanks.” I turned, ignoring Kaylee as she threw a tantrum in the middle of the bar. She was childish. Now I had to find Kim before she did something stupid. I knew Abby and she could be reckless when she was upset. I had a strong feeling Kim was the same.
***
Kim
I twisted her doorknob. It was unlocked. Thank Christ for that. It saved me picking the lock. I put my picking tool back in my boot and I flicked on the lights. My stomach dropped.
Someone had already been here. I looked at the drawer. It had been overturned. Who would know about Abby’s hiding place? Reaper didn’t even know, as far as I knew.
But clearly he did now.
Bastard.
Had she kept her will there?
Darn, I wished I had paid more attention to her when she came to me about it when she was pregnant. God, she was so doomsday. But she did give me a copy... I cursed. Why didn’t I remember that earlier? I’d been waiting and waiting for people to fuck off from the hallway to come in here.
I poked my head out. No one. Good. I darted up the hallway, heading for my room. I glared at Reaper’s door before I walked the next few rooms up and opened my door.
No way was I letting another woman bring up Abby’s son. No way in hell. My fingers dashed across the PIN code for the safe. Opening it up. I moved my passport, cash and finally found what I was looking for.
I pulled the letter that was paper clipped to it off. This I hadn’t forgotten about. Abby’s letter to Reaper.
She said if something happened to her I was to give it to him. Something had happened to her. Still I hadn’t done it.
But I knew I had to.
Because something had changed. I didn’t know what. I didn’t know how I knew but something had changed. I guess you could call it a twin thing. But my blood was running cold. I was tearing up nearly every minute I was with Tyson.
All this time, I had been confident we would get her back. But now I knew. I knew something else was going on. Abby had done something or was going to do something. Either way, I was getting the feeling I would be seeing my sister soon. She just wouldn’t be alive.
There was a knock on my door and it opened. I spun around, putting my hand with the letter behind my back.
***
Reaper
I knocked on her door and opened it. “Kim?”
She was standing next to her open safe. Her eyes narrowed when she realized it was me. Guess I deserved the dirty look she was giving me.
“What the hell are you doing here? Did I not make myself clear?” Kim clicked her tongue, eyeing me like I didn’t deserve a second of her time. God, I hadn’t seen this side of her in a while. It reminded me of when she was younger and would fight with Abby.
“I got rid of Kaylee.”
“Before or after you fucked her?”
God, she had an imagination and she really didn’t think much of me. That bit was clear.
“I got rid of her, OK? She’s gone.”
She narrowed her eyes at me as if deciding whether to believe me or not. She continued to give me a dirty look, till she finally sighed and walked toward me.
“Well, if I shot straight she would have been gone this morning,” Kim said, frustrated with herself. A small smile spread across her lips. “Should have taken lessons from Abby.”
It sounded like she was forgiving me.
“I can give you a few.”
“Really?”
“Every girl should know how to shoot. Especially when you live here around this lot.” I didn’t know if it was a good thing to encourage Kim’s ability with a gun. I didn’t want her walking around shooting people. If she had a real concern, I’d take care of it.
Then again, if I had listened to her this morning, she mightn’t have been as pissed off as she was.
“I’ll take you up on that.” She stood in front of me and then went on her tippy toes, putting her arms around my neck. “Don’t disappoint me again, OK?”
I wrapped my arms around her. God, she was tiny.
“Yeah, you got my word, Kim.”
She pulled back, looking at me. Why was she crying?
“You should have this.” She stepped back, handing me an envelope. “Abby said to give it to you if something happened to her.”
“Nothing has happened to her.” I saw the pain in her eyes. What did she know that I didn’t? “Kim? What’s wrong?”
&nb
sp; “Abby’s not coming back.” She wiped a tear from her cheek and crossed her arms. “You aren’t going to get to her in time.”
“What do you mean by ‘in time?’” Did Abby contact her again? Without me knowing? Had Abby told her? I thought I was the only one she had messaged. Maybe I was wrong.
“Just call it a feeling,” she muttered and dropped her eyes to the ground. “I know Abby. As much as I know she is strong, I know what I’d do. And we usually think alike.”
I stepped forward, gripping her chin gently and making her look up at me. “What would you do?”
She took a staggering breath in. “I wouldn’t let him win.”
Sick. I thought I was going to be sick again. If Kim was thinking that, I knew then that Abby was serious about it. Abby was deadly serious. She wouldn’t let him win. She wanted to go out on her terms. I had heard it. Fuck, I watched her say it. But now...
I needed... I had to...
“Here, Reaper, sit down.”
“Do you think she will do it?” I muttered. I was hoping that Kim would say that Abby didn’t have in her, that she would never do something like that.
But then Kim nodded her head. “I don’t think. I know she would. She’d rather die at her own hand than let him get the pleasure.”
“He would have to give her an opportunity to, though. It’s not like he would hand her a loaded gun.”
Kim pressed her lips together.
“What?” She was thinking something that I was missing.
“Well. She could just provoke him. She would already know his weaknesses. That’s what I’d do.”
Was that what Abby was thinking? Did she really want to be beaten to death? Of course she didn’t want to be. She just saw no other option. Didn’t she know I wasn’t going to let that happen? I had already put the message out that I wanted to speak with Jake.
Now I was just waiting on one of his muppets to get the word to him.
The waiting was the worst. But it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours.
***
Abby
I dropped the dishes in the sink. Another meal done. I was so sick of cleaning up after them. I’d rather be locked in my room but Jake liked having me in view. He liked reaching for me. He liked touching me.
Like I was the forbidden fruit and he was hungry for something that he shouldn’t dare touch.
He was signing his own death warrant.
“Abby?”
I looked over my shoulder. “What?”
“Wanna play a game?”
Words I had been longing to hear since I sent Kade that video. Finally. I wiped my hands on a dishtowel. Jake was sick and twisted. He was doing it to torment me, to prolong my suffering. But didn’t he realize when you take everything away from someone, they have nothing to lose? He was making me dance on the line of death. This time, though, I wasn’t dancing on the line. I was going to jump across it.
I walked to the table. I could do this. I could totally do this. I wasn’t nervous. I had thought it through. I didn’t want to give him the pleasure of killing me. But if this plan failed, I had another one to back it up. I was ending this on my terms.
I took the seat across from him and smiled. “Always.”
“See, boys, she looks forward to my games.” Jake pulled the revolver out, putting in a bullet and spinning the barrel. He then handed it to me. “Let’s see if you are as lucky as my wife.”
I should be saying a prayer or something. Instead, I was thinking of one thing. One memory flooded back to me. I was getting a drink from the bar. It was a club party. And I felt him standing behind me, his arms locking me to the spot at the bar, his fingers wrapping over my hand clenching a beer. The coldness of his rings as they pressed into my fingers. The shiver he sent down my spine as he talked with me.
I left with him that night. Me. I left with the biker. I chose him that night. I chose the Reaper.
I put the gun to my temple.
I had thought about turning the gun on Jake and shooting him. But that plan would fail. I wouldn’t get the time to get out alive. And then Andrew or Billy would kill me.
This was the better option.
I pulled the trigger. Nothing. Jake smiled, but I wasn’t done. I pushed the chair away from the table so he couldn’t stop me and I kept pulling, counting the chambers.
Jake’s eyes widened and he lunged across the table at me.
But I had already reached the last chamber and I pulled the trigger.
Chapter 14
Abby
Nothing happened. A noise. That was it. You had to be fucking kidding me. I breathed heavily in and out. It was a blank bullet. I glared at Jake as he scrambled off the table and laughed.
“Now, sweetheart, you didn’t actually think I’d give you a loaded gun.” He stood up. “Billy, how about you get Abby something stronger than beer? Would have taken a lot of courage to pull that trigger.”
He laughed. OK, fine. Plan B. I threw the gun across the table at him. It missed his head. I walked around. I was still ending this on my own terms.
“You said your wife had a painless death.” I was standing beside him now, and he slowly got up and towered over me. From the edge in my voice, he knew I wasn’t finished with him.
“You want to tell me different?” Jake was daring me to ruin his little bubble where his wife got a peaceful ending. The tint in his eyes told me I had him exactly where I wanted him.
“Just when Reaper got back, he told it a bit different.” I had to lie. I would lie. I wanted this over. My cheek stung as Jake backhanded me. Bring it on.
“He didn’t gloat about my wife’s death. He was ashamed of it. Still is.” Jake had me by the neck and pushed me backward till I was against a wall. My back ached as he slammed me against it. But this was only the beginning.
I laughed, mocking him. “Do you even know Reaper? He is made of stone. Heartless. He is no hero. And he’s on the wrong side of heaven but the right side of hell. He is called the Reaper for a reason.”
Jake let go of my neck, only to punch me in the stomach. I collapsed, gasping for air. I could do this.
I turned and looked up to him from on the ground.
“He said she screamed. She was terrified. But–” The air was squeezed from lungs. Jake straddled me. His hands tightened around my neck.
“What were you going to say?” Jake spat down at me, daring me to keep going.
I pried at his hands. Now for the knockout. This would make him go through with it. My voice was raspy and just above a whisper. I gulped down the tiniest amount of air. But it was enough.
“But that was nothing to when she screamed as he raped her.” It was low but it was enough. He heard it. I saw the fury. The need for revenge. The despair. I saw it all flash through his eyes as he squeezed tighter. My eyesight became blurry and then bloody. Then I was choking.
It was an automatic reaction. I couldn’t stop myself from prying at his hands, trying to get air.
“Boss, you got a message, something about the girl and cash.” Andrew stood over us. “You sure you want to end it like this?”
My eyes closed. I fought underneath him, even though this was what I wanted.
I gasped. Nothing happened. I was going numb. Each body part was slowly stopping. First my legs stopped kicking. My arms got heavy and my hands, locked over his, went limp.
All energy gone.
I wasn’t looking up at Jake anymore. My eyelids were too heavy to open. It was ending, on my terms.
Images flashed through my head. The first time I saw Kade. Him saving me in the alley. Crying into him. The sound of us laughing, shopping on the night of my eighteenth birthday. Him leaving. So much time we had spent apart. Then him holding Tyson, smirking at me like he had won the jackpot.
Then finally him at the hospital, giving me a lecture about driving. It was as if I was back there, standing at the car, watching him walk to his bike. It was my la
st memory of him and my last thought.
***
Kim
“I can’t do it.” I gave up and spun around. Brad had been working on Reaper’s bike. He kept saying it was an embarrassment seeing Reaper on something that wasn’t as mean as him. But Brad had stopped to watch the show. He was standing next to Cameron, who laughed every time I missed.
Lucky for me, a few other members were enjoying my lack of gun skills as well. They had all given their input. But basically, they put it down to me being a girl.
“Come on, Kim. Try again,” Trent encouraged me.
It made it worse that he was witnessing this. It may also have been affecting my ability. I swear I was getting worse.
I pointed the gun and fired it. Missed the beer bottles that were lined up on the cabin of the truck and I watched the tire of the truck deflate.
Cameron burst out laughing again. I glared over my shoulder at him. Maybe I would do better with a human target. It didn’t help that the other bikers sniggered.
“Kim, maybe you should aim for the truck and then you might get a bottle.” Cameron stopped laughing for a minute to give his words of wisdom.
“That’s it. I’m done.” I turned back to face them. I was not doing anything more embarrassing. I had my limit for the day.
Reaper got up off the picnic table, leaving Tyson in his stroller and walked toward me. He reached into his leather vest, holding his cigarette in his mouth, and pulled a gun from his holster.
“Here, try this.” He handed it to me. And he took my gun from me. “This is old.” He gave me a look to say he wasn’t impressed.
I rolled my eyes and gripped his gun. This was pointless.
“Both hands.”
I brought my other hand around it. “Abby can shoot with one hand,” I grumbled.
“Move this foot back.” He kicked at my right foot, causing it to go back. I staggered back. “Now square your shoulders.”
I pulled my shoulders forward.
“No.” Reaper’s hands were on my shoulders and he pulled them back. “Now bring your left hand underneath.” I was gripping it with my left hand! “No, like this.” He readjusted my grip on the gun. OK. I had that wrong.
