Page 30 of What Lies Within

"She's Reaper property now," Digger gloats, arms folded high on his chest. “Ourproperty.”

I swallow the swell of pride that hearing him say those words creates. Yeah, she is ours. She's where she belongs—with a family that'll love and treat her right. Encourage her.

“She like hearing you call her that?” Connor taunts. “Last I checked, Rae ain’t the kind of woman who likes to be owned.”

Can’t say I’ve asked her direct, but "Yeah. She is." Pretty damn sure she would be considering the look in her eye when she got her patch.

"You offer a whole lotta advice about what Rae does and doesn’t like for a guy who couldn’t get it right.” Digger smirks. “You need to let it go, Connor." He shakes his head, settling on the arm of a sofa. “She’s doin’ well here, and that’s not somethin’ you need to take to heart.”

Connor’s nostrils flare, jaw twitching as he presses his teeth tight. "It's fuckin' shit."

"Yeah, it is," I agree. "You want to hear her say it's over between you for the millionth time? Would that get it through your skull? Because I'll fuckin' bring her in here so she can break your heart all over again if you like, but I'm not that fuckin' mean to do it for kicks."

The kid stares off to the side, jaw working the problem in silence.

I exchange a look with Digger, which suggests he should track her down anyway, and he nods, turning heel to do as asked.

Connor glances up as the door clicks behind my brother, sighing and dropping his head back on the sofa. "I can't believe I'm gonna say this but treat her right, yeah, Tyke?" He meets my eye before adding, "Like the fuckin' queen she is."

"Wouldn't dream of doing anything less." I rub my palms down my jean-clad thighs. "What will you do with yourself, Connor? What'syourexit strategy from this mess?”

He rubs a hand over his face and sinks into the seat. "I don't know. I guess I'll help you find Maddie and then figure out what the fuck I want from my future. This shit with Rae? It got between the old man and me. He doesn’t trust me anymore; I fucking know it. But I'll be real with you, Tyke. I don't know if I'm better off staying close so that he doesn't suspect a thing or taking my chances and getting as far away as possible, hoping one day I get a call to say he’s dead."

"You won't miss him when he's gone?"

Connor snorts.

"I get he's an asshole, kid, but he's still your father." Fuckin' hated what mine did as well, but he was the man who took me in and raised me when he didn't have to. I could never lose the respect for that, no matter how bad Shotgun fucked up in his final years.

"Yeah." He works his jaw left to right and back. "He's my father, but he's never been mydad. You hear me?"

"I hear you." Same thing I'd say about Charlene. She was the kids’ mother, but she was never their momma. Not an ounce of care or love in those years, just a whole lot of resentment for duty. I scrub a hand over my face.Can't believe I'm about to say this."You want me to table you stayin' here for a while?"

Connor's sharp gaze flicks to mine, his head still at an angle. "Pardon?"

"You need somewhere to lay low until you figure out where you’re headed?”

"Well, yeah, but fuck, Tyke. We hate each other." He chuckles. “You just told me I need to let Rae go and stay the fuck away from her.”

That I did, but "I don't hate you, kid." I rise and head for a fucking drink. "I hate where you've come from. I hate the things he had you do and that, because of what he did to you, you probably enjoyed doing them." I pull the crystal stopper with a sigh. "I hate what he made you."

"You never asked Kane to kill a man?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Nope." Fuck that.Asked your damn brother, though, you hypocrite.As though Digger means less.What the fuck?"Not my son's job. I got an enforcer for that shit."

"Minion," Connor states. He sighs. "I don't know, Tyke. I appreciate the offer, but I don't think it would do either of us any good."

He’s probably right—nothing but my big heart getting me in the shit again.

I smash back two fingers of whiskey and then stare at the photo in front of my face, the tumbler still clutched in my hand. It's a foundation photo of the men and women who assembled the club close to sixty years ago. Twenty-one like minds who started something they never dreamed could become this big. One mother chapter became two when the membership exceeded fifty, eventually becoming the nine-chapter monstrosity it is now, with almost two hundred paid members on the books.

And yet, the main principle those founding members agreed on still stands firm, even after all these years and all the shit the world's been through. We welcome all kinds. We don't discriminate.

Unlike our brethren clubs, we let our women ride. Female members can hold officer positions if the bill fits. All races andgenders are welcome in our ranks. I don’t give a fuck about your pronouns, just if you do your goddamn job right.

We also never turn a person away because of their last name.

We do what we can, even if that means extending our reach outside the club walls.

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