Xavier

 

The Scythe didn’t look like much on the outside, with its ancient brick exterior and heavily tinted windows. There was only the smallest sign to advertise its name, and the public seemed automatically to know that it wasn’t welcome. Only those who were official members of the Reaper’s Hearts had seen the battered wooden beams of the ceiling or the dark walls. They weren’t privileged enough to examine the numerous badges under the glass top of the bar or see the retired vests that hung from the ceiling.

 

It didn’t take long for the rest of the Reapers to assemble once they got the emergency call from Xavier, and they piled into the private bar with concerned looks on their faces. “I don’t think we can put up with any more drama for a while,” Crocodile advised as he watched a few more riders come in the door. “Losing Spider and Slime was enough.”

 

“Just have a seat. And a beer. You’re going to need them both.” Xavier waited until everyone was there before he spoke. He didn’t want to have to say any of this twice.

 

Asphalt was the last to arrive, walking in the door fresh from a visit to a bike club in Nevada. That was his right, as the president of the Reapers, but it made Xavier’s heart jump. He didn’t want to risk losing his position as VP just because he had been foolish enough to sleep with the wrong girl. He might have messed up his entire career in one night. The president slapped him on the arm, his dark eyes meeting his. “I’ve had a long ride on the road, and I’m ready to go to bed for about a week straight. But I have a feeling you’re about to tell me that’s not possible.”

 

Xavier pressed his lips together. “Maybe not.”

 

For the next half an hour, the members sat in respectful silence while Xavier filled them in on all the details. Well, he left out the parts about the amazing sex and what a hot body Kenzie had. Those things only mattered to him, and the club needed to know about the threats against them. “At the moment, Matteo is only threatening me personally. I don’t think it’s going to stay that way, though. The Labriolas are pissed about us taking their business away from them, and I don’t think Matteo is the kind of man who will stop at just one biker behind bars.”

 

Throttle slammed his fist down on the table. “That’s a bunch of shit. You did the right thing, Xavier. There’s no way we should have to pay him.”

 

The other members clapped and cheered, supporting the statement.

 

“All right, all right.” Asphalt stood up and came to the front to stand next to Xavier. His long, black beard moved as he spoke. “Let’s settle down for a moment so we can get this taken care of. I think we can all agree that Xavier handled the situation as best he could on his own, but it’s clear that this needs to be taken to the club level. If Matteo were to get one of us in jail, he would probably enjoy it so much that he would just keep on doing it.”

 

“We need a plan of attack,” Crocodile volunteered. “Hit ’em right where it hurts.” He punched his fist in the air to emphasize his point.

 

“First, we’ve got to spend the time to do some hardcore surveillance, just like they probably had their guys do on you. That way we know what their movements are like, when and where to find Matteo, and how many thugs we need to take down in order to get to him.” This came from Chrome, who was eager to get back into the world now that he was on the right side of the jail bars.

 

“I agree, and I know that with all of our different specialties we can make this work.” Some of the Reapers were former military and a few had been mercenaries. All of them were good with guns, and their connections to the black market meant they could get any weapons or monitoring equipment they wanted. Combined with the intuitive street skills that were ripe in most of them, they could be just as good as Labriola’s hired men. “I know I’m asking a lot of you guys, but there’s one more favor: I want Kenzie Labriola unharmed.”

 

Chrome leered over his beer. “Sounds like someone’s going to get himself a trophy out of this.”

 

“You’re damn right,” Xavier agreed.

 

“She got a sister?” came a shout from the back.

 

The rest of the men shouted and thundered, working out different parts of the plan even in the uproar. As Xavier looked on, he had never been prouder to call himself a member of the Reaper’s Hearts. These men were his brothers, and his problem was their problem. He couldn’t stand alone against Matteo, and he didn’t have to.

 

An arm slid around his shoulders as Asphalt pulled him aside. Xavier was ready to get chewed out for this, but he saw a surprising amount of pride in the president’s eyes. “You know, when you first came to me with the idea of stealing some business away from the Labriolas, I thought you were crazy. I mean, more money for the club is always a good thing, but those guys are pretty serious. We’ve lost a couple of good men, but I have to say we’ve made money hand over fist on the deals that we got. A few of the dealers said they prefer working with us, so we know we’ll continue to get their business. And I have to say I can see that our guys have really come together under your leadership. I know that when I retire someday, I’ll have a good man behind me to step into my boots.”

 

Xavier shook his head, embarrassed at the praise. “Don’t make my head swell too much. I think you know just as well as I do that my motives weren’t entirely selfless.”

 

“Maybe not, but I think it’s working out well. We outnumber the Labriolas, and I think we’re braver than they are. We can do this.”

 

“You guys might be able to, but I expect the police to come knocking down my door at any moment. Matteo released that fake information already, and I’m sure they’ll act quickly.”

 

Asphalt ran his fingers through his beard. “I’ve got a few connections, better ones than I did when Chrome got himself in trouble. I think I can at least buy us some time.”

 

Xavier nodded, thinking. “That would be good. I think Chrome is right about doing some surveillance. We don’t know enough about the Labriolas to do this successfully, and we can’t just storm his mansion like a bunch of wild animals. They’ll be ready for that.”

 

“You’re thinking like a president already. We don’t need to rush into anything. Now go get yourself a beer and help these guys organize themselves. They’re all thirsty for blood right now, but I think Chrome was right. We need to bide our time and formulate a good plan, so we’ll have the best chance of succeeding.” Asphalt moved off to talk to Throttle, who was eager to take stock of their current weaponry.

 

Stepping over to the bar, Xavier thought about their conversation and the true meaning behind all of it that neither of them would say out loud. He had been avoiding thinking about it, and he had tried to imagine that his ideas about stealing the crime family’s business were purely about money. Though it had been almost fifteen years since his father’s death, Xavier understood that he was still motivated by those events from when he was just a teenager. He still remembered what it felt like to know his father had been killed, and he knew the heat in his blood was fired by his need for revenge on the man who had done it. Matteo Labriola hadn’t been the mob boss who had killed Jack Flynn in cold blood, but it had been a mob boss just like him. Sure, taking business from the Labriolas lined the Reapers’ pockets, but it was also his own form of revenge. It had gotten out of hand, but it would all come to a head soon enough.

 

That was only part of what worried him, though. He had seen the wild fear in Kenzie’s eyes when she had come to his house and held him at gunpoint. She was sexy when she was playing the badass, but there had never been a point when he thought she would actually shoot him. Between that encounter and the last one he’d had with her at the Labriola mansion, Xavier had a nagging feeling that none of this had been her idea. She was a pawn in her father’s grand scheme. What choice did a girl like that have with such a powerful man for a father? He had to admit that he wouldn’t mind sleeping with her again once he extracted her from that situation, but neither did he want an innocent woman to die.

 

Shaking off his reflections, he decided it was time to get to work. The other men were already working out their plans, eager to get started. Nothing would happen right away, but at least they were headed in the right direction.