Page 38 of Reaper's Rage

I feel my eyebrows raise because I’m surprised he told me all that. I’m not an Old Lady or a member of the club. He smirks at me.

“It’s club business, but I figure Reaper will tell you.” Hawk replies. “Besides, this mission affects those you care about.”

I nod in agreement. “Where is Reaper?”

“I think he’s in his room. He went back there as everyone was leaving and I haven’t seen him since.”

I carry my garment bag along with my other bags to our room. When I enter, I see Reaper sitting on the bed, his head in his hands as he stares into a black duffle bag sitting open on the floor in front of him. When he doesn’t glance up, I set everything down and move closer to him. Placing my hand on his back, he jolts in surprise. His tear-stained face leaves me terrified.

“Are you alright? Did something happen to Puma and the guys?” I ask, wondering how he would hear before Hawk and Spark.

“What?” He asks, running his hand down his face. “Puma? No, he’s fine. I think. I don’t know. They just left. I think.” He shakes himself before focusing on me. “Sorry. I didn’t know you were back. How long have you been here?”

I frown at his ramblings but answer him. “We just got back. Hawk said everyone got off ok and they’re on their way to Chicago. But you aren’t ok, what’s wrong?”

He takes a deep breath before shifting so his back is against the headboard. He pulls me onto his lap so he can bury his head in my hair. “I’m ok. Just had a flashback that knocked me sideways.”

“Something to do with the bag?” I ask, glancing down to see a jumble of clothes and what looks like the handle of a pistol. I get a whiff of some smell, but I can’t place it. “What’s in there?”

“I forgot about that bag.” Reaper says, glancing over and down, his eyes cloud over with some memory. “Just found it when I was looking for something nice to wear for your birthday dinner.”

“So the bag is yours and it’s been here since when?” I ask.

He shifts me so I’m sitting next to him, then he leans over and lifts the bag to set it on the bed.

“Wait!” I tell him, causing him to freeze. I jump off the bed and return with a towel. I place it on the bed so he can lay the bag on it.

“Good idea.” He says. “I can’t remember all that is in here, but from the smell, I know the clothes have blood on them.”

“Blood from what? Or better question, who?” I ask, sitting on the bed again and glancing inside the bag, unable to keep my lip from curling in disgust.

“His name was Wylan Oaks.” Reaper says, pulling out a wallet. “I didn’t know I had this.” He opens the wallet and pulls out a California driver’s license and hands it to me. The photo is of a young man with dreadlocks piled on top of his head, the sides shaved short. He’s smug smile makes me grin. But I remember Reaper’s words. This is a photo of a dead man.

“What happened to him?” I ask Reaper in a soft tone. I feel like this is his memory and while I want to push the narrative forward, I don’t want to jar him.

“He wanted to join the Spades. I never understood why. He wasn’t like me or the other guys.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wanted to join because I was angry. Angry at the world after my arrest. I decided that if they were going to see me as a criminal, I might as well be one.” Reaper responds, shaking his head. “I was young and stupid.” He leans over and kisses my temple. “I’m so glad I didn’t meet you back then. I think I would have driven you away.”

I lean into him to give him my strength. “And the others?”

“They were in it for the money and the violence. They wanted to terrorize the city and have people fear them. But Wylan wanted something else. I don’t know what, but he came to us looking for something. I never discovered what that something was. Every new member has to prove themselves before they can join. I think I told you that Deion asks all the newbies to record themselves stealing something of value. This way, Deion gets something to sell, and he gets proof to keep the members under his control.”

“Which is why you pretended to steal something of value from Puma?” I contribute.

Reaper nods and gives me a slight grin. “Yeah. Deion switched things up, he wanted a current member to monitor the initiation. Make sure the candidate goes into a place and comes out with something of value and the recording. I volunteered to monitor Wylan. I honestly didn’t think he’d go through with it. He didn’t have the same drive as the others. Something was off about him and I knew if one of the other guys went with him, they might kill him.”

“Did you think he was an undercover cop or something?” I ask, not sure where he’s going with the story.

Reaper frowns in thought, but then shakes his head. “No, I didn’t think he was a cop. It was more like he was searching for something. Some guys joined because they were from broken homes or lived with parents who either didn’t care about them or were too busy to pay attention to them. Wylan was seeking something, but I don’t think it was a pseudo-family he was searching for. I don’t know how to explain it. It was just a feeling I had.”

“So you went with him that night?” I push.

“Yeah. Deion, let you select your own target or he’d choose one for you if you didn’t have one in mind. Wylan already had a target selected. I drove that night and he directed me to a house in one of the nicer neighborhoods. He went in and I waited for him across the street. A few minutes after he entered, I heard gunshots. I didn’t really think about what to do. I started the car and drove to the front of the house. Wylan came staggering out.” He stops and I can see the vein in his neck pumping faster and faster and a dark stain on his shirt.

“What happened?” I whisper.

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