“Oh Dove, I’m so sorry.” Mouser whispers, rubbing my back with his hand in a soothing manner.
We stand there for minutes wrapped in one another’s embrace. I’m sure he doesn’t realize it, but I’m holding onto him for dear life because I don’t have anyone else to lean on. I thank the kami right now that we crossed paths with one another and they’ve sent such a strong man into my life.
“Thank God Amara pulled the trigger when she did. I almost lost you, Sakura.” Mouser says, forcing me to look at him. “I couldn’t ever make it through this life without you, because I love you more than life itself.”
With tears pouring over my cheeks I confess my feelings, “I love you too, Christopher Michael Valentine.”
He pulls me back against him, holding me so tight I think I’m going to break, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
And I need you, not in the ways to survive, but in the ways that make life worth living
~ JM Storm
Mouser
All my life I never expected to open my heart up to another woman. At least, not the way I have with Sakura. When I was in my teenage years I was the prey of a black widow of sorts. She was beautiful, intelligent and had loads of guys chasing after her in our town. She was practically the whole package. I took this woman to prom, out on dates, picked her up from her job and did everything the perfect boyfriend would at the ripe age of seventeen.
But, like everything else in life, reality came crashing down on me. She started distancing herself slowly and in the pit of my stomach I knew something wasn’t right. I remember staying after school for tutoring one day because I sucked ass when it came to calculus. My teacher was great and offered to help me get the gist of it on Wednesday afternoons until four.
Well, Stephanie was part of the dance team so she was gonna be after school until five. I thought it was perfect that I surprise her. So, I didn’t tell her about my after-school tutoring and went down directly after my tutoring was over. Hell, I thought I might even be lucky enough to get a good view of the girls practicing their routine.
Only, that isn’t what I walked in on. I found Stephanie and Chad, the captain of the football team lockin’ lips. To this day I still don’t know if they were fuckin’ but it doesn’t matter. She betrayed my trust and had been doin’ it for God knows how long.
I saw us goin’ off to college together, movin’ in, gettin’ engaged and all that jazz. She was the first woman who ever broke my heart. After her, I didn’t risk my heart ever again. Not until Sakura.
Now the two of us are at some casino in Las Vegas named Chase’s. Logan Steele called Damon and let him know Lucian would be meeting us here this evening because we need his help on ensuring Sakura stays safe. Lucian can’t even say no because he’s gotten a direct order from his boss to ensure Sakura remains under the radar.
The hope is that the same way Lucian has the masking program on her, he can find some roundabout way of planting her face in certain cities over a period of time. We’d prefer if he’d plant her somewhere in South America, where one could disappear in the blink of an eye.
Sakura sits across from me at our booth in a sparkling silver gown, her hair is up in a bun and her eyes are lined beautifully to the point where her eyes glisten in the light.
“I’m kind of wondering what you have on Logan to make him send me out here for a face-to-face meeting, Saki.” The mere sound of his voice makes me want to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze until his face turns a lovely shade of blue.
“First of all, I told you to never call me that again.” Sakura sneers, turning her face up to the bastard. He must be in some designer suit. If he isn’t I’d be surprised, but this dude looks the part. Fuck, he looks like a total womanizer.
How did she go from a man like that to someone like me?
“Oh, you’re so cute when you get riled up. So, what am I doing all the way out here?” Lucian asks her, still makin’ me wanna choke the man out.
“You’re a smart man, right, Lucian?” I ask, forcing my tone to come out grumbled. I’m losing my patience here.
“Some would say I’m one of the smartest,” He smirks, diggin’ his hands in his pockets.
“Great, so you can find some way to make it look like Sakura’s in South America.” I state.
Lucian grimaces for a moment. “Why would I do something like that . . . unless,” He shifts his stance and looks back to my woman. “Oh sweetheart, what have you got yourself mixed up in?”
I can’t do this anymore. I won’t stand by and let this bastard think he can talk to her this way. I shoot up to my feet and grasp the collar of his shirt, shoving him harshly against the wall. “You’re gonna keep her motherfucker of a father off her trail, wiseass. But if you don’t wanna do that I can find someone better than you, and if I have to do that, well . . . I don’t have to keep your ass alive I suppose.”
Glaring right at Lucian I watch him gulp and wait for his reply. One of two things will happen, he’ll either be a smart son of a bitch and do as I say, or he wants to be put six feet in the ground. Regardless, I can make it happen.
“Okay, Jesus. I’ll do it. Let me go now, will you?” I release Lucian and take a step back, making sure I sit next to Sakura this time.
“You can send an update to Logan once it’s done. He’ll find a way to relay the information to us.” Sakura speaks up, meeting her eyes with her ex.
“Need anything else while I’m here?”
“Yes, actually. I need you to take this, and make it look like my mother is still alive. I’ve been impersonating my mother in text messages to my father. I’m sure you can figure out some sort of way to do it, but, just make sure you don’t get caught.”
Lucian nods and walks off, leavin’ me alone with her. Everyone at the club knows we’re gonna be gone for a while, so we might as well have some fun while we’re here. If you ask me, we’ve earned a little bit of a break.
Epilogue
I may never find words beautiful enough to describe all that you mean to me, but I will spend the rest of my life searching for them.
~ John Mark Green
Sakura
It’s hard to believe today is the fourth of July. The last couple weeks have flown by, and to be honest, it’s been nice. The best part of it all is how we haven’t had to worry about anything. Thankfully, since we were able to have that meeting with Lucian and he implemented the program to be able to leave fake imprints of my whereabouts. Well, let’s just say I don’t expect my father to be able to track me down.
Today is going to be the most special though. Why you might ask? Because two of my good friends are going to get engaged. That’s right, today is the day Hawk picks up the ring he bought for Raven. I of course am going along with him to meet this Indra character and see if we should set her and Dixon up on a blind date. Izzy came along with us since she’s known Raven since they were little girls.
Hawk rode up on his bike while Izzy drove me to the store. Now we’re here, sitting next to Hawk and waiting for the girl to fetch Indra from the back. It’s so warm in here from the lights that shine down onto the gemstones and diamonds. To top it all off, we’re having another hot as hell day. They said it could reach a hundred and ten today. I really hope it doesn’t, but alas we’ll see.
“I can’t believe you’re really going to propose. What do you have planned? Are you taking her on a romantic dinner on the strip, or are you going to take her on vacation and propose on a dinner cruise?” I can practically see hearts in Izzy’s eyes.
Hawk chuckles, stares at her for a second and then finally speaks. “Hell no, I’m gonna propose today at the club cookout. Why the fuck would I keep this sparkler in my pocket for weeks on end? I want Raven to be mine now, so fuck waitin’.”
I can’t help but break out into a full smile. One thing I’ve grown to love about all the men who are a part of the Reapers MC is how they somehow have this knack for knowing what they
want. It causes them to be unafraid of putting their necks or heart out on the line. I admire that.
“Raven views the Reapers as her family, so I’m sure she’ll love being proposed to in front of everyone who means the world to her. Even her little sisters.” I say. Izzy then nods her head, smiling.
“Yeah, Sakura is right. I know you must’ve figured out some way to incorporate the girls in this too.”
Hawk smirks, “Of course I did. You’ll see. Just wait for Indra.”
The door on the left of the jewelry store opens up and out comes the most beautiful black woman I’ve ever seen. Her skin is lighter in a sort of caramel color while her natural black hair is in a full-on afro. She has light eyes. They’re brown, but they’re more of a peanut color, so light and delicate. She’s slender, having a little bit of a curve but I can tell she must be one of those women who practices yoga or does intense cardio.
As she grows closer to us, I see the silver lip ring sticking from her bottom lip, and when she smiles it’s infectious. Automatically I can tell she’s the type of woman who lights up the entire room when she walks in.
“Hi Hawk, lovely to see you again. Are you ready?” Indra sets the black box that must be around six inches long on each side down onto the top of the glass.
“I sure as hell am. This here is Raven’s best friend, Izzy, on my left.”
“Hello, nice to meet you.” Indra says
“Likewise,” Izzy replies.
“And this is Sakura, one of our friends.”
“It’s great to finally meet you. Hawk has said such lovely things.” I say first, causing Indra to smile.
“Thank you, that’s so sweet. Now, let’s get to it. Shall we?” Indra opens one side of the box, and then the other. In the center is a beautiful emerald cut diamond with smaller diamonds around it but as Indra picks it up, I can see a smaller stone settled on the band of the ring. She turns it, and I see another color.
“Are those Danica and Bridget’s birthstones?” Izzy asks, immediately getting a confirmation from Hawk.
“They sure as hell are. I know they’re her sisters, but those little girls mean the world to her.” Hawk goes on to tell us.
“That isn’t all though,” Indra states, and I can tell there’s a small dip in the box. She pulls out three white gold necklaces with four stones on them. “These necklaces have Hawk, Raven, Bridget and Danica’s gemstones.” And then grabs another, with a sturdier chain which seems much more masculine if you ask me.
“Wow. They’re better than I imagined. Thank you for helping me design them.”
“It was my pleasure. Thank you for trusting me. I’m still a novice at this, so it meant a lot.” Indra replies and I think she genuinely feels honored to help create something so special.
We stayed and chatted with Indra for a bit while she boxed up the jewelry. Hawk ended up putting his necklace on, tucking it securely under his shirt. I found out a little bit about Indra, everything that makes me feel she is as sweet as pie and would be a great woman for Dixon to go on a blind date with. She’s definitely not a slutty girl like he usually goes for so I believe we have a real winner here.
Now we’ve been back at the clubhouse and everyone is outside. The sun is starting to set so thankfully it’s slowly cooling down. The guys have beer bottles out, Ivy and Tania both have one of the twins in their arms and Raven’s little sisters are running around with Widow’s daughter, Zoe.
Cobra’s sitting a couple feet behind Izzy, staring at her as she talks to Kat, smirking like he’s up to no good. Izzy has her hand on Kat’s stomach since she’s just now starting to show. It’s hard to believe in just five or so months we’re going to have another little one here. Everyone that lives at the Vegas clubhouse is here today. Even the girls who work in the brothel are here, chatting together, enjoying the cookout celebration we’re having.
I’m drinking a chilled glass of sangria and Mouser is standing a foot or so in front of me, half turned to where he’s chatting with Damon.
A loud gasp causes me to look in the direction of the sound and I see Hawk on one knee, kneeling directly in front of Raven. Everyone suddenly goes quiet and Hawk starts, “Raven, I don’t think this is any sort of shock to you, but you’re the light of my life. Ever since we crossed paths, I’ve never envisioned my life without you. And after everything we’ve been through, I know we’re strong enough to withstand any storm that comes our way. So, I ask you, will you do me the honor of standing by my side for the rest of our lives? Will you make me the happiest man in the world and put up with at least forty more years of my bullshit? Will you trust in me to do everything to protect you, Bridget and Danica? And if all of your answers to the previous questions is yes, I pray you’ll say the same to this last question. Will you be my wife?”
While everyone else is paying attention to Raven I look around the crowd to see smiling faces, and the overall hope that these two will live happily ever after.
Raven nods her head repeatedly, “Yes, of course. Yes, yes, yes!”
A round of applause combined with hooting and hollering breaks out amongst the club. Even though this is one of the happiest moments I know we won’t all be feeling this way for long. I overheard Damon and Mouser talking earlier.
Apparently, Titan had another son. The ironic part is that his name is Lucien and he’s the Vice President of the Greensville, North Carolina Lucifer’s Heretics. Whenever news breaks that Titan is dead, I can feel the terror that will come down upon us.
The worst part is I remember Damon told Mouser Cobra doesn’t know about having a half-brother, or anything else. He didn’t want to tell him until he had to. If you ask me, that’s just starting trouble, but I won’t worry about it. Right now, the only thing I need to do is be happy for my two friends.
Sneak Peek
WHO’S NEXT IN THE REAPERS MC?
Grab it here: https://tinyurl.com/DixonReapersMC
Authors Note:
Dear Readers,
Thank you so much for reading another of the Reapers MC books. I’m sure many of you have questions. One of my beta readers even asked me what happened after Sora Kobayashi’s death. I’m going to give you the answer right here— nothing happened. At least, not yet. In Dixon, Sakura’s father may cause some mayhem but I genuinely feel the most prevalent threat is going to be the Lucifer’s Heretics MC.
Dixon releases in about a month, so I can’t wait to see what y’all think.
Xoxo,
Liz
Mouser (Reapers MC Book 9) Page 13
