Page 19 of Reaper's Rage

He frowns at me as I study his handsome face. Most of the girls on the team have a crush on Coach Matthews, especially Briony. He’s the epitome of a nice guy. Good manners, kind and never creepy. “If you need to talk…” He starts, but I grin at him and shake my head.

“No. Really. I’m fine. I found a dead body this morning. Looks like the victim of a gang fight.” I tell him. “Somebody dumped his body at the apartment complex my mom manages.”

He glances over at Axel and narrows his eyes. “Was it his gang?”

I glance at my brother and frown. “Axel isn’t part of a gang. He’s a prospect for the Demon Dawgs MC. They aren’t a gang, they’re a motorcycle club.”

He doesn’t look convinced, but nods his head. “As long as you’re ok. If you need anything, you only need to ask.”

I thank him and run back to my friends, just as he blows the whistle to end practice. Together, we walk back to the locker room to shower and change back into street clothes.

“You all run like girls.” Axel teases us.

I glance back at him. “Thank you. And if you could run a little faster, you could, too!” Causing him to scowl and the girls to laugh.

Briony and Jessica both finish before I do, calling out their goodbyes as I open my locker. When I pull out my clothes, a piece of paper comes floating out. It’s folded in half. I open it to find a type-written message.

“Keep yourself pure for me. I’ll be coming for you soon.”

I crumple the paper and rush through getting dressed. Talking to Professor Addington has to wait. I need Reaper.

I find Axel outside and show him the note.

“Shit.” Axel says, reading it and looking at me. “You found this in your locker? Can you show me?”

“Let me make sure the no one is inside.” I tell him as I go back in, keeping the outside door open just in case. I thought I was the last person to leave, but I find Coach Matthews in his office. He’s on the phone, so I return to Axel and let him come in.

We leave once Axel finishes examining my locker.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: REAPER

I help Flame lock up the apartment complex before we head back to the clubhouse. We arrive just as Dante calls for Church. I spy Cecilia sitting with the Old Ladies and glance at Flame.

“She looks like she belongs.” I tell him and he nods.

“That’s my mom. She fits in no matter what the group.” He says with pride.

Cecilia is a strong and confident woman. I don’t know why their father left her, but I know he’s an idiot who made a terrible choice. My woman takes after her mom. I once heard that you should look to the mother to see how the daughter turns out. I’ll be a lucky bastard if Ashlyn turns out like her mom.

I follow Flame and take my seat as Dante slams down the gavel. He starts by explaining about the two dead bodies and what we know of each. Which isn’t much.

“They’ve id’d the body found at Styx.” Shield speaks up. “His name was Alan Webber. He’s a lawyer. Works at the DA’s office. I left a message for Clayton Turner to see if he can give us any background on this guy. The detective in charge has found no reason why anyone wanted him dead or why he was at Styx dressed like he was ready for a heist.”

“Are they looking at us?” Dante asks and Shield shakes his head.

“The detective in charge checked the footage. They think a street gang targeted the victim. He’s prosecuted several cases involving various gang members.”

“Including the Spades?” I ask, and Shield nods.

“I have the video.” Byte says as he types on his keyboard. We all turn to watch. “It confirms Mark’s story.” He says, glancing at me, I nod in understanding.

We watch the video which was taken using a night vision camera. Three men dressed in dark clothes with hoodies hiding their features make their way through the storage units to the place where I found the body. Two start messing with the lock on one unit, which draws the attention of our security guard, Mark. Once Mark arrives on the scene, a third guy steps up behind Mark and slams something into the back of his head, causing him to crumble. The other two rush over to help move Mark into the container where I found him.

“That matches what Mark said.” I confirm, causing Byte to pause the replay. “He said he heard two people arguing and then someone knocked him out when he went over to investigate. I think they lured him there. We don’t have many unused containers. That’s the closest one to the front. While we were waiting for the police, I examined the locked storage areas and didn’t see any signs of tampering.”

“They likely lured Mark to get him out of the way.” Grimm says. “What about the dead guy?”

“Watch.” Says Byte as he restarts the video.

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