Xavier

 

Asphalt shook his head and handed Xavier a mug of coffee. “It’s just not going to be simple. Nothing that has to do with the Labriolas is easy; that’s why they own so much of this town. They’re ruthless, and they’ve got more money than they know what to do with. Anybody who tries to leave the family ends up mysteriously dead within days. People think the Reapers are scary, but they have no idea.” He poured a mug of coffee for himself and added a heaping spoon of sugar.

 

“You know I can’t just let this go.” Xavier stared down at the black liquid in the mug, still seeing Kenzie’s empty room in his mind’s eye. There was no amount of caffeine or alcohol that could ease his mind right now.

 

“I hate to say this, and I know you don’t want to hear it, but how do we know she’s still alive? Like I said, the Labriolas are heartless. I now it’s his daughter, but still.” He shook his head, uncomfortable with the thought. “We could be chasing after a ghost.”

 

But Xavier wasn’t ready to think about that. “I don’t think so, not according to what she put in her note. Labriola wants the baby, and like it or not, he needs Kenzie in order to get it. He’ll keep her alive, at least as long as he has to. She might not be happy or well, but she’ll be alive.” He hated to think of her locked up somewhere. Her bedroom had seemed like a plush enough place to make imprisonment at least tolerable. Had Matteo given her the same kind of comfort wherever he had her right now? “I just don’t know how I’m going to get to her now.”

 

The president swirled the contents of his mug and then tipped it back and drained it. “I should be furious with you, you know. Charging in there like a young bull wasn’t exactly a bright idea, and it’s only by the skin of your teeth that you came out alive. You should have waited or at least talked to me first. I could have helped you.”

 

“You would have tried to stop me,” Xavier replied somberly. “That wouldn’t have gone well.”

 

“Maybe not,” Asphalt agreed. “But you couldn’t really have expected to be successful going in there by yourself. Matteo is good, Xavier. You have to give him credit for that.”

 

“I don’t have to give him credit for shit.” Xavier set his mug down, disgusted with it and everything else in life. Some of the coffee sloshed over the side and onto the counter of the bar. “He’s an asshole who abuses his daughter. I don’t care how wealthy he is, or how smart he is, or how powerful he is. When it comes right down to it, he’s a dirtbag and nothing more.”

 

Asphalt nodded. “I tend to agree, which is why I have something to show you. Come with me.”

 

The two men headed outside. Asphalt fired up his bike and Xavier followed suit, threading through town with him and wondering just where the hell they were going. He wondered for a moment if the guys had gotten him a hooker to get his mind off of Kenzie, and he already vowed to himself that it wouldn’t work. He wasn’t going to be able to concentrate on anything until he had this resolved.

 

But they made their way to the industrial part of town, and Asphalt pulled over at the warehouse the Reapers used for repackaging their shipments. He didn’t say a word as he unlocked the door, went inside, and began climbing a ladder that went up to the roof.

 

“You’re really starting to make me wonder about you.” Xavier climbed the ladder easily behind his leader, but he couldn’t help but wonder just what the hell they were doing here. Hanging out at a warehouse wasn’t going to save Kenzie. “You didn’t fall off your bike and hit your head while you were on that trip, did you?”

 

The older man laughed, and it echoed in the big metal building. “Nope. I promise, I’m just as crazy as I ever was, no more and no less. I know what I’m doing. You just have to be patient.” He shoved open a trap door and stepped up onto the roof.

 

They could see a good deal of the city from here. The skyscrapers bunched together in the distance, but most of the buildings in this part of town were about the same height as the warehouse or lower. They were surrounded by other industrial buildings, and small clusters of poverty-stricken residential neighborhoods gathered near the edges. Even though he didn’t want to admit it, Xavier took a deep breath and just let himself enjoy the view for the moment. He had been in his own head too much over the last few weeks, and it was starting to get to him. It was good to be outside and away from everything.

 

“You know, when I first took over as president of the Reapers, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to do things. I didn’t want to be the kind of leader Matteo Labriola is, where his men are beholden to him for their very lives. That was more responsibility than I needed, and I wanted my men to follow me because they wanted to, not because they feared me. I thought keeping some distance between myself and the men would be a good idea. But then there have been guys like you, Xavier, guys who needed a family whether they wanted to admit it or not.”

 

Xavier, struck dumb for the moment, stared at him. The word “family” had caught his attention and held it tightly. When was the last time he’d really had a family? It had only ever been him and his father, and his father hadn’t needed anyone around. The club had been his family for years, but now there was the prospect of a woman and a child. No, he couldn’t allow himself to think like that. Kenzie didn’t want the baby, and she probably didn’t want him, either. She just needed to get out of Matteo’s house, and she knew Xavier could do that for her. And he would, but that would be the end of it.

 

“The Reapers have gathered around you in a way I never anticipated,” Asphalt continued. “They look up to you, but it’s more than that. They’re your brothers, and you mean a lot to them. I’m not saying this to embarrass you, but I want you to understand what you’re about to see. This wasn’t my idea, but I definitely supported it.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Xavier watched Asphalt closely, wondering just what was going on. The president was known for being cryptic when it suited him, and he was definitely doing it right now. This was an odd conversation to have on the rooftop of a warehouse.

 

“Look right over there, just past that green warehouse.” Asphalt pointed off in the distance and checked his watch. “It’s almost time.”

 

The silence that descended on them as they waited was almost too much, and Xavier was just about to turn to Asphalt and ask him what the hell was up when a building in the distance exploded. A ball of flames billowed out, sending bits of roof and wall with it that could be seen even from this distance. Thick black smoke penetrated the late afternoon sky. The shock of the blast vibrated through Xavier’s chest, making him take a step back.

 

“Here.” Asphalt handed Xavier a pair of binoculars.

 

As he peered through them, he could see most of the parking lot near the warehouse that had just been damaged. It was quickly filling with sleek black luxury vehicles. Men in suits and sunglasses piled out, each of them armed as they dashed around the building and looked for the perpetrators. But these weren’t cops, not yet. The sirens had started in the distance, but the officials hadn’t arrived yet. “I don’t understand.”

 

“That warehouse belongs to Labriola,” Asphalt explained, his black beard splitting into a grin. “From what we gather, it was chock full of illegal weapons that they had just gotten in. The guys knew how eager you were to get one in on the mob, so they planned a little show for you. That’s why I told you all that about us being your family. They didn’t do this because I asked them to or because they knew it could help out the club. They did it to show that they stand with you, and that Labriola has to be stopped.”

 

Xavier couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t going to change his problems, but it did feel good to see Labriola get at least a little bit of what he deserved. Once again, the other Reapers stood behind him. “I’ll have to be sure to thank them.” He looked through the binoculars again and noticed something interesting. “It looks like he’s sent most of his men to check this out. You’d think they have better things to do.”

 

Asphalt shrugged. “From what I can tell, they spend most of their time driving around and pretending to be badasses. They each think they can show up here and catch the asshole who did this to them, but they don’t understand just how good Throttle is with explosives and remote detonators.”

 

Impressed, Xavier nodded and put the binoculars down so he could enjoy the whole scene. He had known Throttle had skills, but he’d never seen him use them before. “We should use him more often.”

 

“We really should,” the president laughed.

 

As much as he appreciated the light show, Xavier’s mind was churning rapidly. “Labriola owns quite a bit of property, doesn’t he?”

 

“Oh, yeah. He’s got several warehouses, a dry cleaner’s, a Chinese restaurant, several slums, you name it.”

 

“And they’re spread out all over town, as opposed to all being in the same spot, right?” The gears were turning in his head, examining all the possibilities and outcomes.

 

Asphalt nodded.

 

“Good. Then I think I know just how we can get them. Chrome has been working on surveillance, and we know Throttle has a big part to play. I just need to gather everyone together and solidify things. I’ll be taking Matteo down before the week is out.”

 

The dark-haired man grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. “Sounds good to me.”