CHARLES

 

One week later…

 

“How are things?”

“About as well as they can be, given all the shit that just went down.”

“Lieberman?”

“Pissed.”

“It’s hard to tell with that permanent bitchface she’s got going on.”

He laughed so hard that it took him a few seconds to respond.

“I know she’s mad. She didn’t get her man. Either one of them.”

“But there’s still you.”

“There’s still me. With Holmes out of the spotlight, she could turn her attention back to the MCs.”

“The Triads?”

“I still keep in touch with them. They’re not interested in doing business with us. Not as long as she’s around.”

I sighed a deep breath as I thought about it.

“I’m sorry—”

“Don’t apologize. Lieberman was here before you got here. She’s still here now that you’re gone. You’re a nomad. This ain’t your problem.”

“I’m still a Reaper. I still wear the patch.”

“All the more reason for you to have our support.”

Garnet had done more than I could ask for. I’d never be able to pay him back but I fully intended on trying to do what I could.

“Garnet—”

“Listen, brother. I know what it’s like to be in love. You said it yourself. When you’re in love, it’s the only thing that matters. Every man who patches up dreams of finding that special woman. It makes the rides a little more special when you’ve got an old lady to share it with.”

“…Are you sure you can handle things? We might’ve pulled one over on Lieberman but she’s not anybody you can fuck around with. Shit’s not a joke.”

“And I’m not treating her like one. We’ll keep our heads down and our noses clean. She’s been trying to bust us for a year now. Even if she’s stockpiling evidence like she was with Holmes, she doesn’t have much. But if she wants to start a war, I’m ready. I’ll do everything to maintain the peace in Ivory for now.”

“Let’s hope it stays that way… Maybe Lenora and I will come back one day. Hopefully the Reapers will still be around.”

“As long as I’m around, BRIC will stand proud.”

“Good. I still have to pay you back 50-grand. You know, I took some of Holmes’s stash on my way out. The 50 Gs is chump change to me now.”

Garnet let out another hearty laugh.

“Glad to hear it… Is it such a good idea to be carrying that kind of cash?”

“I’ve been on the road for a long time now. I know how to hide money. Lieberman would have to go through a lot of trouble to trace it back to me.”

“Then it’s probably a good idea for you to keep the money I gave you. Consider it a gift for the honeymoon.”

“We’re not married.”

“Not yet…”

I smiled thinking about Lenora.

“What about Sutton?”

“Lieberman doesn’t believe him. She’s not that stupid. But she’s not gonna question him either. He’s still in charge of the Sheriff’s Department around here.”

“It must be strange… Working with the sheriff. The same man who’s been trying to put the MCs on ice.”

“He knows what the right move was. The Reapers do a lot of good in this town. Even Sutton knows that with Holmes out of the picture, Ivory is a better place.”

It was a relief to know that neither the club or the old sheriff were suffering for their part in what they did.

“Where are you headed?”

“Don’t know. We might just stick around where we are.”

“Lieberman is keeping tabs on all of us. It’s probably best that we don’t stay in touch. Any chance she could catch up to you. But it’s not anything you should worry about. She won’t leave Ivory to go look for you. Keep doing what you’re doing.”

“Right… Then I guess this is goodbye.”

“For now. You take care now, Char. Rep the Reapers wherever you go.”

“It’s an honor to wear the patch.”

“Yeah… That’s for damn sure.”

I listened to the phone disconnect. I held it up to the side of my face for a few seconds before lowering it down onto the bar in front of me.

“Did I miss anything?”

I looked to the side and saw Lenora standing there.

I always thought she was gorgeous. Ever since I first laid eyes on her. But now… I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

Gone was the slutty dress she tried to entice men with. Just a pair of tight jeans and a plain t-shirt. Her hair was shorter. There was less makeup. Her injuries had healed. Everything about her seemed different. But the way she looked at me… Those hypnotizing green eyes that seemed to shimmer. And that pixie smile on her lips. It was like falling in love with her over and over again whenever I saw her.

She took a seat next to me.

“You didn’t miss a thing,” I said. “Things in Ivory are…”

I looked at her and paused for a moment. I stared into her eyes and saw all of the shit she’d been through. All of the loss. All of the pain and suffering. That shit was over and done with, stuck in Ivory in a past I knew she didn’t wanna remember.

“…Everybody in Ivory is fine,” I said. “The people you care about anyway.”

“That’s good to hear. How’s the MC doing?”

“Garnet’s a good president. I’m not worried about them. Whatever chaos comes his way, he knows how to deal with it.”

“Is he mad about the money?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of it.

“Money is the last thing Garnet is worried about. He said… He said that I should consider it a honeymoon present.”

“Honeymoon?”

Lenora raised her eyebrows at me. The devilish grin on her face made me chuckle.

“Don’t get any ideas,” I said.

“What ideas could I possibly be thinking about?”

She leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek.

“It doesn’t matter,” she whispered. “Ring or no ring. Just as long as I’m with you.”

“I’ll give you a ring eventually.”

“I’m yours no matter what. For now, I say we have some fun.”

She hopped up off of her seat and held her arms out.

“Our plane just landed and here we are sitting in the airport bar. What do you say we go exploring?”

“Yeah… That sounds like fun. If we don’t like what we find—”

“—Then we can just find somewhere else to be together.”