Page 71 of Reaper Razed

“How’s that working out for ya both?” Steel asks.

Ray gets up and leans a hand down to help Dane, who grabs it, but when she’s got him halfway up, she lets go, so he falls on his arse and sticks her tongue out at him.

“Yep, we’re good.” She smiles at Steel.

I just shake my head as I’m too old for their shit.

Mine, Ray’s and Dane’s phones bling all at the same time. We all pale, and we look at each other. Shit is about to get worse.

MEETING AT THE TOWER 07.00 TOMORROW

“Fuck,” I spit out, and Dane and Ray cast glances at each other.

“So, little brother, are you in or out?” Ray turns to face him.

He slowly turns his head to look at Dice, and they make eye contact. It’s the most Dane has given Dice since we got back, and Dice gives him a shallow grin. Dane lets out a shaky breath before replying, “I’m out!”

“We end this tomorrow!” Ray informs us, and we all nod. “K.F.D!” She grins. “K.F.D,” we repeat, and all hug.

“Yeah, that’s great and all, but what the fuck just happened!” Steel sounds pissed.

“We need to head out first thing. We’ve got some shit to clean up, and then we’re done!” Ray explains without explaining anything. “I need to stay with my brothers tonight.”

Steel nods and stands, pulling her in tight. “Remember what I asked?”

Ray nods. “I promise!” She kisses him like she’s not kissed him in forever, and they both groan. Dane and Dice look really fucking awkward as I turn and leave. Dane is right on my heels, though.

“I thought you might wanna talk to Dice,”

“I just can’t right now. I’m too drunk, and I will say something stupid again!” he slurs, and I nod as we head into the lodge, followed by Ray.

White Knight

I’m pacing backwards and forwards. My mind is racing. I'm chewing at my thumb as the last few weeks' events swirl around in my brain.

“I need to tell them!”

“Brother. This will not end well!” White King tells me as he sits at the desk while I wear the carpet out in front of it! Don’t you think there’s enough shit going on at the minute without throwing a Molotov cocktail at the situation too?”

“We’ve lost too much. I can’t not tell them! I’m retiring!” I blurt out, and he just glares back at me.

“I think that’s for the best. I’m retiring, too. I’m too old for this shit, and we have enough teams active to not notice the loss.”

“I can’t believe it’s come to this! I mean, what the fuck were they thinking? It was fucking reckless.” I sigh as I flop into the chair opposite. “They should never have been there in the first place.”

“At least we agree on that!”

The alarm goes off in the office, telling us they’re here. I take my place beside White King and stand at ease. They walk in, nod, and assume the position before flopping into the chairs. My eyes go wide, and White King jumps to his feet.

Ray lifts her finger as if to say wait a minute before talking. “I’m here to speak to my dads!”

“This is not the time or the place. This is an official meeting. You will remain respectful and behave appropriately,” White King barks.

Ray takes a long, slow blink as Reaper steps into the driver's seat. Bran and Dane fold their arms across their chests in unison. She slowly rises from her chair, glaring daggers at him. “Bull-fucking-shit!” She places both her hands on the table and leans towards him. “This is exactly the fucking time and exactly the fucking place. Firstly, we lost two more of our fucking dads this month on a job they should never have been on.

“Secondly, not seventy-two hours later, the police inform us that there’s been a fire! A motherfucking fire tore through the whole Adventure Centre, leaving nothing but ash while we were all apparently on a family fucking holiday in the States.

“Thirdly, you took off and left us when we needed you the most. If Steel hadn’t found us, we would be in our room dead from the amount of fucking tequila we were drowning ourselves in.

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