Page 21 of Reaper

“Would you want to date one of them?”

She snorts. “Maybe a visiting member, but honestly, they are usually either so scared of my brother or all about the easy pussy that I wouldn’t waste my breath.”

“Oh. I see. Jacob seems nice,” I tell her.

“Oh, he is. He’s a prospect though. The gopher of the group. Usually they have several, but Edge got patched in a couple months ago and they haven’t had any new requests for prospecting yet. He and Larry are the only two. Besides, he’s a bit young for me. I like older men. Don’t tell my brother though.” She winks.

“Really? How old are you?”

“Oh I’m twenty-six. Jacob is twenty-one, so not that much younger, but I find older men to have more maturity. Jacob will make some girl a great old man one day, but he has some growing to do.”

I laugh, then freeze. That’s the first time I’ve laughed in a really long time.

“Sorry, that surprised me,” I tell her. “I used to think I wanted an older man too. That’s how I got with William. He was older and well put together. He was kind to me. I didn’t even realize what he was doing until it was too late.”

She hesitates before asking, “What about your family?”

I give her a sad smile. “Not involved in my life. I had some friends, but after blowing them off so many times, they dropped me too. I really let him take over my life.”

Evelyn hugs me. Even with her being mindful of my ribs, it takes my breath away. “You have your life back now. We won’t let that happen again.”

“We?” I ask as I awkwardly pat her back.

She pulls back, cupping my face. Her touch is gentle, but it still hurts. “We are best friends now. I’ll never let you blow me off. If any man tries to fuck with you, you will have me and the full weight of the MC behind you.”

My eyes grow teary. “I’d like that very much.”

four

Shit is going to hell.

The more I think about it, the more I know that William is involved somehow. He’s stayed under the radar though. While we reside in Nye County, just outside of Las Vegas, we don’t pay too close attention to what actually happens in Vegas. There are too many tourists.

Somehow, William was able to use that as a cover.

I have Trigger looking into shit, but this is really bothering me. Why can’t we find him?

I’ve had my men out all day looking for any trace of him.

He’s abandoned the condo he shared with Natalie. That was the first place we looked. Natalie was sure he would come after her, but it looks like all he did was pack his things hastily and leave. It makes me wonder about her. Was she really that important to him? Does he have other women scattered throughout the city?

I want to ask Natalie more, but I’m also afraid to trigger her. While she did well last night, she’s in a delicate place right now, and I don’t want to overwhelm her. She was with my sister earlier. Evelyn called to give me an update. It seems my sister has adopted Natalie as one of her own. Still, she’s not safe as long as William is still on the loose.

My men are out looking for him, but we ran into a dead end. I know the fucker hasn’t left yet. He’s like a cockroach. He won’t die until I see his guts scattered on the floor.

I should be out there with them, but the pretty young thing down the hall has me sitting here in church waiting for news. I don’t trust some of the old timers, and I never know when they will make themselves known and show up. They were loyal to my father, but not necessarily me. They didn’t take too kindly to me switching things up when I took over after my father’s untimely demise. We’re still on the wrong side of the law but not on the 1% side anymore. Some have even whispered that I’m the reason he died. It’s bullshit, but I knew I would have my work cut out for me when I took over.

A knock at the door draws my attention.

“Reap, I got the footage you asked for.”

Trigger, my main tech guy, comes in bringing a laptop.

“What did you find?”

He queues up the footage before placing it in front of me. Then he leans against the wall behind me.

“I spliced them together, cutting out anything that wasn’t relevant.”

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