Reaper
“It’s gonna take for fuckin’ ever to get my shop back up and runnin’,” Jase groans, flopping back in his chair and running his fingers through his already messy blond hair. “They trashed the place, and they did it on fuckin’ purpose. I’m willin’ to bet they knew they wouldn’t find a damn thing.”
Ryker shakes his head in frustration and twists the cap off another beer. “Cocksuckers. And you said he brought up Tiny’s name?”
“Said he was a friend of his,” I confirm. “Said Tiny used to keep him up-to-date on the local crime before he disappeared. Wanted to know what I might know about that. He didn’t question either of you?”
Ryker shakes his head. “Soon as Lawson got wind Belanger had arrested us, he talked to some of the crew that’d been there, determined our arrests were bullshit, and had me pulled outta there a few minutes later.”
“He started to question me,” Jase says. “I refused to answer any of ’em, and he was gettin’ real nasty. That’s when Lawson sprang me.”
I chew on my lip, trying to piece it all together. “He came to tell me I was free, but wanted to ask a few questions first. I let him ’cause I wanted to know what his fuckin’ angle is here. He asked about Tiny almost straight away.”
“Fuckin’ Tiny,” Ryker growls. “Even dead, that bastard’s still causin’ shit for the club.”
Tiny had been a fat fuck that bitched about everything. I don’t think the guy had a friend in the world. He was mouthy and rude, and everyone hated him. I did, anyway. How he got patched in, I’ll never fucking know. He was buddies with Ryk’s old man at one point, but Ryker’s dad was a dick too.
Back when Anna had gotten into shit with Krueger, we’d had problems with his club. They’d always seemed to be one step ahead of us when we attempted to sort shit out, and in the end, it’d turned out that Tiny was the reason why. He’d been feeding them intel on our whereabouts and plans the whole time.
Bad move on his part. Within minutes of finding out, Gunner had put him down. We were Tiny’s only family, so nobody noticed he was missing. Or so we’d thought. Seems like Tiny had been narking on us to more than just the Devil’s Rejects.
As Ryker and Jase start sorting out a plan to clean up his shop, I see movement through the sliding glass door at Jase’s back. Inside the house, Anna and Charlotte are working away in the kitchen, getting things ready for Ryk to make his famous burgers. Really, I think they’re Charlotte’s famous burgers, since she’s the one who does the making. All Ryker does is slap them on a grill. Regardless, they’re fuckin’ delicious, and after the day we’ve had, I’m as hungry as a pissed off bear.
I watch with interest as Anna slices up potatoes, her face fully focused on the task. She really is beautiful. It’s strange, really, that I never noticed that much before. I mean, I’d known she was hot; you’d have to be blind not to. But I’d never really appreciated it until last night.
Her admission about Krueger holding the knife to her throat when she’d made that selfish deal had unknowingly rocked the very foundation of the hatred I’d formed for her. I don’t know why she’d ever allowed herself to become involved with a man like Krueger in the first place, but knowing that she hadn’t been a willing participant in his sick plan to possess Charlotte makes her more of a victim than I’d thought.
Even from here, I can make out the swollen blue bruise on her cheek, and her lower lip looks purple and sore. I don’t realize I’m staring until Anna looks up from her chore, her eyes meeting mine through the window. A soft smile forms on her lips for a moment before she flinches and brings the back of her hand up to press against her mouth.
“We have one more problem we need to deal with,” I state, tearing my eyes away from her to look at Ryker. “Did Anna say anything to you about what happened to her lip?”
A small frown forms on his brow. “No. I thought you said she fell?”
“She did, but she was at my place for a reason. I went to the Pig’s Ear to talk to her, and found her on the floor of the break room, crying, her lip bleeding and already turning fucking blue.”
Ryker and Jase both sit forward, and Ryker turns his head toward the kitchen, his eyes locking onto Anna. “What the fuck happened to her?”
“I don’t know the whole story,” I say, suddenly not liking that fact very much. I wasn’t wanting to get involved in Anna’s mess because my own life was a never-ending mess of its own, but remembering the look on her face as she realized that goddamn pill was still in her hand has me changing my thoughts on that. “All I know is that when she was here before, she knew a guy that wasn’t exactly a good guy.”
Jase snorts out a quiet laugh, and Ryker just shakes his head. “What else is new,” he says. “Seems Anna likes the bad ones.”
Their attitude is exactly the same one I’d had, until last night. “Whatever the reason,” I push on, brooking no argument with my tone, “he fuckin’ laid his hands on her last night. Scared the shit out of her and bit her lip.”
Jase and Ryker both lose the sarcasm at that news. “Shit,” Jase mutters.
“Who the fuck is this guy?” Ryker asks, now all business.
“Name’s Shiv. He’s a junkie fuck up, and obviously has no problem laying his hands on a woman.”
Ryker leans forward, his arm coming across the table as he turns to watch Anna once more. “Seems like Shiv needs a little visit from the Kings.”
Anna
After we’d eaten, Ryker had ordered a protesting Charlotte off to lie down, and I’d set to work cleaning up the leftovers and washing the dishes. I’m almost finished when Reaper walks into the kitchen to get himself another beer.
Mindlessly, I pick up a plate and dip it into the water, my eyes focused on the soapy water before me, but every other one of my senses are focused entirely on him. I listen as he opens the fridge, and hear the clinking of glass bottles as he digs out his prize. He pops the cap and tosses it into the garbage. I listen as his heavy footfalls walk back toward the door, and my heart nearly stops when I hear them pause.
My hand moves the cloth over the plate again and again, even though I’d been washing the same damn one since he walked in. I hear the sound of his bottle being set on the counter and his boots approaching me now. My eyes blur a little as I try to remind myself to breathe.
“Anna?” he says from behind me, his breath fanning across the back of my neck.
My hand stills. “Yeah?”
“Babe.” His voice is softer than I’ve ever heard it, likely an attempt to put me at ease. “Lot easier to talk to you if I’m not starin’ at the back of your head.”
I close my eyes and draw in a fortifying breath, then I place the plate in the drying rack, grab the dish towel and dry my hands. Finally, I turn to face him.
“Give me your phone,” he says, his tone more of an order than a question.
I frown a little, unsure of why he wants it, but you don’t argue with a man like Reaper. Leaning to the far side of the counter, I snatch up my phone and hand it to him. He opens it right up and I watch as he taps away at the screen, then I hear a ping coming from his own phone at his hip. He holds the phone out to me, his eyes boring into mine.
“Now you’ve got my number, and I’ve got yours. That son of a bitch shows up anywhere you are, you fuckin’ call me, yeah?” Shock keeps me silent, but I do manage a slight nod. His gaze drops to my lip and I watch as his eyes darken. “Fucker’s gonna bleed for what he did.”
One rough finger comes up and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “When do you work next?”
“Night after tomorrow,” I manage through the lump in my throat. “Seven, till two in the morning.”
“From now on, you’re on my bike, to and from work. If I can’t take you, one of the others will. As for work, I’ll be here by six thirty to take you in.”
He’s back outside before I can even think of a response. I turn back to the sink and just stand there, my fingers gripping the edge, trying to wrap my head around Reaper’s change in attitude and what it’s doing to me. He seems almost protective, and I can’t help but be both humbled by that, and maybe a little uneasy.
I’ve never seen myself as a victim. Sure, I’ve been in my share of situations where I was one, but I’d gotten myself into them, and I damn well made sure to pull myself out. There has never been a Ryker waiting to sweep me off my feet and place me on his Harley to drive off into the sunset.
I know I can’t deal with Shiv on my own, though. I’d like to think I’m strong enough to resist the lure of what he has to offer, but after the last couple days, I know I’m not. Not only that, but last night, he’d gotten physical. It wasn’t the first time, but it was the worst. Why, though?
That question has been floating around in the back of my mind since Shiv had first approached me in the parking lot. Why does he want me to fall back into the drugs he pushes to anyone he can sell to? It’s not like Shiv doesn’t already have a solid customer base. Why is getting me back into his clientele so important to him?
The questions play over and over again as I finish up in the kitchen and make myself a cup of tea. All I want to do right now is curl up in my bed with my book and this tea, and forget about real life.
Just as I’m about to walk out of the room, the door slides open and Ryker, Jase, and Reaper step inside. They’re faces are all so handsome, but carrying the heavy burdens of exhaustion and determination.
“Hey, Anna,” Jase says. “We’re doin’ a big clean up at my shop tomorrow. Care to lend a hand?”
My eyes sweep to Reaper, but he’s not even looking at me. Will he be there? “Uh…yeah,” I say, glancing back to Jase. “Sure. What time?”
“We leave at seven,” Ryker says. No matter what the topic, every time he speaks to me, Ryker has a way of dismissing me.
“See you then,” I say to Jase and hurry from the room.
“What the fuck did you ask her for?” Ryker asks, his voice drifting down the hall and stopping me in my tracks.
Jase just laughs. “I need all the help I can get, brother. Besides, it’ll give Ellen someone to talk to besides you assholes.”
“I don’t like it,” Ryker grumbles. His attitude hurts, but I can’t fault him for it. It looks like Ryker may be the one I have to prove the most to.
It’s then that I hear their footsteps coming toward me, likely heading for the front door, so I stop my eavesdropping and rush as quietly as I can to the bedroom.