Page 1 of Fear the Reapers

ChapterOne

BRAX

Ash drove around the corner,the sound of his engine gradually fading away. I rested on Harleigh’s ride for a moment and re-evaluated the situation.

Harleigh had parked her motorcycle in a spot that was far from any passing eyes, allowing her to be as inconspicuous as possible. Which would have meant she was on foot. She’d had no other means of transport, so there would be no way she'd left without her ride. She would have called one of her brothers to come and get it if she needed them to. And if something hadn’t happened to her, she sure as hell wouldn’t just leave it here without telling someone where she was going.

The only plausible conclusion was that someone took her.

Either that or she was being held somewhere against her will.

Harleigh was determined to find her stalker ex, no matter the cost. The asshole seemed to evade her at every turn. She tried her best to keep us in the dark, but based on the snippets of conversations I could hear, it seemed like her disappearance was connected to Loraine, and possibly Dirk. It wasn’t a coincidence she had shown up at this trailer park.

Nor was it one that she didn’t come home.

Which meant one thing.

Loraine was involved in this whole thing somehow.

With her strong-willed and independent nature, she probably began snooping around and was discovered. I would have given Erik a piece of my mind about him allowing her to go off on her own half-cocked, if it didn’t mean signing my death warrant.

For weeks leading up to this, she had been searching for Dirk. It wouldn't surprise me if the creeper had discovered her first. I had to check the last place she could have been before I left, my heart beating faster as I tried to find her. The gravel crunched beneath the tires of my ride as I drove up the road, towards the clusters of trailers.

Sure, I knew the sound would announce me coming, but that was part of the plan. I had to make sure the person living in the trailer park grasped that we would relentlessly search until we found her. If Loraine was the one behind Harleigh's disappearance, she would not be able to escape her punishment.

I shone my flashlight between each of the trailers as I passed, its light cutting through the darkness. All of their curtains were closed, but only a few of them had lights on inside. Five trailers in, the blinds moved, and a small child peered out through the opening. The little girl's eyes widened with surprise, and she quickly let go of the curtain.

Her parents must have taught her to be wary of bikers.

Smart move with the way things were going right now.

And if the Crows had anything to do with what happened with Harleigh, there would be hell to pay. I would hate to see what type of hellfire would rain down on this city. Historically, the two clubs had coexisted without a lot of bloodshed. In fact, up until this, they were able to resolve disputes quickly and avoided escalation.

With many biker rivalries, they sweltered before fizzling out.

When I rounded the bend in the road and saw Loraine's mobile home, I was still yet to catch a glimpse of Harleigh. I wanted to prevent the Reapers from banging on everyone's doors, but I feared the consequences of my actions would get back to the precinct.

I had to be more strategic in my tactics.

What I really needed was backup.

Me:

Hey. How far away are you? Signed out yet?

Ash:

Just pulling into the station. What’s up?

Me:

Can you circle back? I’m calling in that favour.

Ash:

On my way.

Me:

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