Page 19 of Mercy for Reaper

I pull her into my side and hug her tightly. “I told you, the club takes care of its members. All of my brothers are grateful to you for saving me. And I may have told Priest how I feel about you. I think this is also his way of welcoming you to the family. From now on, your problems are ours.”

“Hmm,” she hums, burrowing closer to me. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like part of a family. I’m still not sure how to feel about it all, and part of me feels guilty for breaking my promise to my aunt, but I can’t deny my feelings for you, and I know she’d want me to be happy.”

Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, I assure her, “We’ll figure it out. And you’ll see the truth of what I’ve told you about the club for yourself. We have time; I’m not going anywhere, angel. You’re it for me. Ride or die.”

This time, when her breathing evens out, I realize it’s from sleep, but I don’t let her go. These past few days have been quite eventful, and tomorrow, I will need to head to the clubhouse to discuss with my brothers what to do about the Broken Chains and whoever is behind what happened at the warehouse. The thought of leaving Holly’s side even for a day pulls at my sanity.

I have no fucking idea how I went from living like a lone wolf, despite having found my MC family, to Holly becoming the most important person in my life.

This makes me a very dangerous man. The thought of someone doing anything to threaten this new happiness has my teeth clenching tightly.

So, I don’t sleep, choosing instead to bask in her warmth. “It’s my turn to take care of you now, angel,” I whisper, brushing my lips over her temple.

I listen to the sound of her breathing all night, reacting to every noise she makes, and when dawn breaks through the window, I have to pry myself away from her.

Before Holly, the most important thing to me was my bike. Riding it gave me a sense of freedom I never had in my childhood, but now that I’ve met her, I find it hard to walk away. Despite my excitement over finally getting back on my bike after so long, walking away from Holly physically aches, but I’ll be back.

After a kiss goodbye that quickly turns to making love, I make my way out of the home I first stumbled into clinging to consciousness. I’ve never been more grateful to be shot because it brought me to her.

My love and life.

When I come back, I am driving Holly straight to the courthouse and sealing this. I don’t want to wait. It’s taken me thirty-five years to find my way to her . . . I refuse to wait any longer to make her permanently mine.

Chapter Nine

Holly

“Someone’s in a good mood today.”

I look up just in time to catch Kate sliding into the seat across from mine. She sets a small plate with a piece of chocolate cake on the table between us, and my eyes narrow at her.

“Are you talking about me or you, and why the hell do you have a chocolate cake on your plate? They don’t sell that here.”

She flashes me a grin before nodding past my shoulder. I turn around and find the cute doctor trying and failing to pretend he’s not staring at my friend. “He is the reason for the smile on my face and the cake too.”

“When did that happen?”

“Yesterday,” she says smugly, digging a fork into the cake before lifting a bite to her mouth. “I was leaving work yesterday after my shift, and I was too tired to drive and was thinking of taking the bus. He saw the state I was in and offered to drive me home.”

“And you said yes?”

“Of course, I said yes,” she replies excitedly. “We drove to my place, and I invited him inside for some coffee.”

“But you hate coffee,” I say, using my salad fork to steal a bite of the cake, humming when the it practically melts in my mouth. “This is good cake.”

“I know. He says he made it last night and brought it for me to try. Apparently, he likes to bake to relax. Ugh, I already have the names of our future kids picked out. We’re going to attempt to make some babies this weekend.” Her eyes shift from the man she’s ogling over my shoulder back to me. “So, am I to assume I am not the only one who had a good time last night with a handsome devil?”

My cheeks flush, and I’m suddenly more invested in her chocolate cake than our conversation.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, c’mon, don’t be a prude. Tell me everything. I need details.” Much to her dismay, I flash her a smile, and without saying another word, grab my salad plate and get up to leave. “Hey, I shared my chocolate cake with you. Don’t leave me hanging.”

I wave and leave to dispose of my leftovers, but we both know she’ll pry the truth out of me before the end of our shift. My grin stays with me until I finish my shift at eight, I am excited to get home and see Reaper. Heck, even my grumpy supervisor couldn’t dampen my good mood.

I find myself still smiling alone on the bus, feeling like one of those characters in romcom movies. I’m so happy, I don’t even mind taking the bus. Reaper had wanted to give me a ride, but he had to go to the clubhouse to check in before I left for my shift. He still wasn’t done when I was finished with my shift, but had texted to say he’d meet me at home.

My heart hammers in anticipation when I step off the bus at my stop, skipping the rest of the way home. It occurs to me as I walk that now that my mortgage is paid—which I still can’t quite believe—I can afford start driving my aunt’s car again. It’ll need a tune-up first, but I bet Reaper can help me with that.

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