by Bo Reid
“Here? Or total between all of us?” Hunter asks.
“Uh, total, I guess.”
“I think forty residential buildings across the US,” Hunter says.
“And I think Aeron had at least, what, twenty himself. Plus, all the commercial lots he owns,” Nash adds.
“Then why don’t we move to any one of the sixty properties you guys already own?” he asks.
“Naw, those are like disappearance houses,” I say, waving him off. “They’re for either hiding out in, disappearing to, or using while on a long-term job. Stuff like that. We all can’t actually live in one forever.”
Talin just shakes his head, bringing his hands up to rub his temples as if a headache’s forming. I bet it is. This is a lot to take on, no doubt about that. I was born and raised into this life, and the guys have become acclimated to it over the years. But Talin and Emma are from a different way of life. It’ll take some getting used to.
“Anyway, what do you guys think?” I say, motioning to the screen. We’ve been looking at houses again for the last two weeks.
Emma and Talin have officially left the FBI. Emma’s going to do online stuff from home, mostly just to give her something to do with her time. Talin hasn’t really decided what he’ll do now. He’ll have to figure it out when we get to Aspen. He doesn’t have to do anything, none of us do, but it’s kind of our time to figure out what we really want to do.
Ranger’s mentioned working in a mechanic shop. I may or may not have inquired about purchasing one in Aspen already. I wouldn’t do it behind his back, but when he’s ready all he has to do is sign.
Hunter mentioned building stuff. He’s always been great with his hands. And the property we’re looking at now has the perfect space for a workshop if he wanted to build one.
Nash has started drawing again. I always tried to get him to talk to Ricky, but the stubborn man wouldn’t do it. Hopefully, he finds his path.
And as far as things go for me, I don’t have a fucking clue what I want to do. I guess I’ll figure something out.
“Whatever you want, Love,” Ranger says, kissing my forehead.
“Emma!” I yell into the kitchen.
“What!” she yells back, and I laugh.
“Get your ass out here and look at this house,” I say, and she rounds the corner with a spoon and a jar of peanut butter. My kind of girl.
Emma and I have actually been getting along great, and she’s looked past the whole death threat thing. So that’s good.
She and Nash are great together. She makes him happy. I see this light in him that he didn’t have before. And the best part? She never made him choose, and they’re moving with us.
We all work together, as a family. A family created by the spilled blood of others, but still a family.
“Damn, that’s fancy! Is the whole side giant glass windows?” she asks, climbing over the back of the couch to sit next to me.
“Yup, and look at this view,” I say, clicking through the pictures.
“Well, damn, I’m sold. How much?” she asks.
“Don’t worry about it,” I say smiling, and she rolls her eyes and bumps my shoulder.
“Okay, if we’re decided I’ll call the realtor and let her know to go ahead with the sale. Hunter, can you call our realtor here and let her know we’re putting this place on the market?”
“Sure thing. Any other houses you want to list?” he asks.
“Yeah, actually. Can you have her list the smallest property in each state for sale? But I want to keep the Victorian for now.”
“Actually, the Mayor wanted to talk to you about making it into a historic landmark,” Nash says.
“The Victorian?” I ask.
“Yeah, something about it being one of the oldest residences in the county, and you guys being the most affluent family line.” At that I roll my eyes. Affluent is such a nice way to put it.
“Okay, well, I’ll deal with him later. There’s just one other thing I want to do before we leave here,” I say.
“I’m sorry I haven’t come to visit much, Hades,” I say to the headstone in the small private cemetery in front of the grave of my brother.
“I could make an excuse and say shit’s been crazy, cause it has. But we both know I haven’t come by because it’s too hard.” I sit in front of the headstone, crossing my legs and picking at the grass in front of me.
“We’re leaving, the guys and I, moving to Aspen. You would’ve loved the house we got. Well, it’s a big-ass mansion. You actually would’ve hated it.” I chuckle softly, “You would’ve said it’s too big, costs too much money, has too many bedrooms, just too much. You would’ve wanted a tiny cabin somewhere, but the property you would’ve loved. It’s huge and overlooks a valley. Little over two hours from Breckenridge, so I’ll get to go a lot more.” I sigh, reaching my hand out to trace the words carved into his headstone.
Hades Michael Valdis
Loving Brother and Son
02/20/1995-01/14/2010
I look to the grave plot next to his, and the almost blank headstone.
Morana Haven Valdis
02/20/1995-
On a scale of one to ten how morbid is it to have your grave plot and headstone picked out and placed before you’re even dead?
A part of me died when Hades did. A piece of me went into this ground when he did. But a part of me is alive today that I thought I lost a long time ago. It’s alive because of a family I don’t deserve, but somehow I’m lucky enough to have.
“I’m not sure when I’ll be back, so I guess I just wanted to come and say goodbye for now. And that I’m sorry.” A tear slips from my cheek and lands on the grass underneath me.
“I’m sorry for everything I did after you died. I know that isn’t what you wanted me to do. But I was just so lost without you. That’s a horrible excuse for everything I’ve done, but it’s true. I was lost, I still am, but I’m slowly starting to find my way back to the person you saw me as. I think as long as I have them I might actually be able to be who you thought I could be.”
I feel a weight on my shoulder like a hand, and when I look up no one’s there. Smiling I turn back to the headstone.
“I love you too, Hades.”
Turning to the headstone marking the grave to the other side, I sigh.
“Hey, dad. I’m sorry there was so much distance between us at the end. I never should’ve let that happen. I’m sure you never thought I’d become the monster that I did. I’m sorry I disappointed you for all these years, and you’ll never know how sorry I am every day that Hades died that day instead of me.”
I reach up and wipe the tears from my eyes as I stand from my place on the grass. “I love you, daddy. I always have. And I never stopped. I just wish it wasn’t too late. I wish I told you sooner.” I lean over and plant a kiss on his headstone.
Sighing I turn to walk away. Glancing over my shoulder I whisper, “I’ll miss you, daddy. Catch you on the flip side, bro.”
Chapter 24: Phenol
Hunter
Two Years Later
I watch Ranger tackle Morana into the snow while she laughs and giggles, fucking giggles. And it’s the best sound in the goddamn world. Talin bumps my shoulder and hands me a cup of hot chocolate from the lodge.
For a fed he isn’t such a bad guy. On the plus side, he and Emma quit the FBI shortly after we got our girl back. We all moved to Aspen, Colorado two years ago after all the fucked-up shit went down with Malic Connors, the FBI, and the Fallen Angels MC.
Nash and Emma live in the house with us. They might as well since the damn thing can probably fit ten families.
Marcus is still taking care of business back in California, but we don’t concern ourselves with any of that these days. And it’s freeing.
Emma and Morana have become surprisingly good friends. Since Emma’s a bit of a tech genius, she decided to use her skills to fight child predators and sex trafficking rings on the dark web. Maybe Morana spends a bit of
money to send mercenaries to find said child predators and sex trafficking rings. It’s a bit of a hobby for the girls, one they take very seriously and for good reason.
Morana finally let us all in fully. She told us all the secrets she’d been keeping, about her yearly birthday trips and what she really did. That was a hard pill for us to swallow, but we’re all in a better place these days.
She’s been trying to teach us all to snowboard for the last two years, says we can’t live in Colorado if we can’t stand up on a board. We still suck, except Emma, but Morana’s just happy that we’re always here with her.
And every trip we take out to Breckenridge, her final run of the night is the same one she did every year for their birthday, except now it truly is a run in Hades’ honor. Emma isn’t quite good enough to do a run that size, but I don’t think Morana would let her go even if she was. That’s still their run, and we all respect that.
“Pretty Girl, it’s getting late. You going to catch the last lift up?” I call out to her as she throws a snowball at Ranger’s face.
“Yeah, I’m going to head out. Meet you guys inside?” she calls out as she picks up her board.
“We’ll be here,” Ranger says before planting a kiss on her lips.
She smiles over at us before turning around and heading for the last lift of the day. Her smile almost never leaves her face these days; it’s like she’s free here. And we’ll do anything it takes to keep her feeling that freedom.
“Hey, guys, let’s grab some food for the road before the kitchen closes. You know she’s going to want to make the drive back home,” Nash calls out from the lodge door.
He and Emma called it a day an hour or two ago. They normally tap out first. But more because they like to do couple shit like snuggle in front of the lodge fire, instead of freezing their faces off messing around in the snow.
“Yeah,” we call out as we watch Morana’s small figure disappear up the mountain.
It’s nearly dark by the time Morana comes peeking out of the tree line. We let out the collective breath we always seem to be holding if she’s ever away from us for too long. She cuts her board to the side, spraying a layer of powder all over us. She laughs while bending over to undo her bindings.
“Every time?” Nash asks as he brushes the snow off his clothes.
“You’d think you would’ve learned by now,” she says, laughing. I pass her a mug of hot chocolate while Ranger picks up her board and tucks in under his arm with his.
“Let’s go home, Love,” he says and kisses her forehead. She reaches her hand out to lace our fingers together and gives a gentle squeeze. Talin bends down to give her a quick kiss on the lips.
“How you feeling Darlin'?” Nash asks as he wraps his arms around Morana.
She sighs. “Free.”
If there was ever anyone who deserved a happily ever after, it would be our girl.
Walking to the car I see a man standing next to our vehicle and I stiffen. Looking to Ranger, Talin, and Nash, I see that they spotted him too.
We haven’t had any problems in two years, and I don’t want to start having them now. We almost lost Morana in more ways than one the last time chaos was dumped on our plates, I don’t wish to repeat any of that.
We slow our approach, trying to keep Morana back just in case. But of course, she doesn’t care. The young man steps into the light of the parking lot and the first thing I notice is his nearly glowing green eyes that match Morana’s to a-fucking-T. His dark brown hair and his facial features alone could place him as her twin. My eyes widen and I look to the guys to see that they notice the same thing.
“Morana Valdis?” he asks, taking a step towards her, and she does the same.
“Yeah, who are you?”
“I need your help,” he says.
“Who are you?” she asks again.
“I’m your brother.”
The End… For Now
Thank you for reading Deception, the second book in The Reapers series. You crushed that read through! If you love Morana and her Reapers, please take a moment to leave a review.
Feel free to stalk me and be the first to get updates on where The Reapers go next, trust me guys our M-Girl gets even bloodier!
Fun Fact:
The chapter headings are labeled with various types of poisoning agents. They range from minor pesticides, chemicals extracted from plants or animals such as Ricin, to highly toxic substances such as Strychnine.
Acknowledgments
The Hubs, thank you for supporting me on this journey. For listening to me blab about murder, and for offering the worst suggestions for things — but always making me laugh. Also thanks for warning me not to use Siri to ask weird questions like the best way to blow up a building; as if I’m not already on a watch list — or five.
Broski, you don’t know what it means to me that you have my books in your home, regardless of if they ever get read — it’s enough to know that you support me.
Liz & Joan, I appreciate all the coffee house book club meetings, gushing and ego fluffing.
Katie, you my dear are more than just my cork board for pinning random ideas and my sounding board for all my crazy; you’re truly one of my best friends, and I am beyond thankful to have met you. I’m keeping you.
Danielle, I cannot imagine more perfect timing for us to have met, and I truly do not want to find out what it’s like to not have you as a friend. I’m keeping you.
Further Acknowledgments
Beta Bitches, thank you ladies for reading through this, helping me polish it up and for forever loving my Reapers.
Whip Mistress, Omega Wolf, Bo’s Dirty Girl, Sex on Legs, Smexy Queen of Hybrids, Kelly with the Biscuits & Gravy, The Other British Kelly, Kitty with Claws, Alpha Wifey, The Big D, The Other D, The Other other British One
ARCers, I appreciate you guys being willing to read this story, and for patiently awaiting book two.
There are far too many of you amazing readers to name, just know I appreciate each of you.
YOU, my Reaper, I mean Reader. Without you I wouldn’t be able to do this, so just know that I am beyond thankful to have you here. Recently someone described my amazing readers, and I couldn’t pass up the chance to put that description here.
The definition of a Reaper: A Group of Loyal Readers. A Cult like following of The Murder Queen.
The Sexy Author Harem, for I truly do not know where I would be without you ladies.
MayDay, MotherFucking Jezebel, CherryPie, Beautiful Jill, Jo Jo on a Roll, Great Jodie, Lovely Leanne, Queenie, and Hubba Bubba
Law Enforcement, First Responders, and Medical professionals, I want to thank each of you for answering my questions, explaining in detail what happens if I do XYZ. And for not thinking I’m crazy — or if you do, you don’t say it which is nice.
You know who you are, but mostly the spouses or parents of my dear friends.
About the Author
Bo Reid is addicted to coffee, swearing, sarcasm, and true crime. She loves hiking, traveling, books, and pit bulls. A mom to one sarcastic little boy, and wife to the perfect book husband. She lives with her family in the mountains of California.
Where to find Bo:
Also by Bo Reid
The Reapers
Betrayal
Deception
The Hart Duet
Broken Hart
Wild Hart (coming soon)
