Reaper's Fire
You don’t.
Cooper should be innocent until proven guilty. Things didn’t sound good, but until I knew the full truth, I needed to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Taking another drink of my wine, I looked up to see someone walking quickly toward the building along the sidewalk, arms hugged tight around her body. Sadie Baxter. Damn. There was something about her . . . she didn’t look so good.
“Hi, Sadie,” I called out. She startled, looking up at me, and I gasped.
Her eyes were a mess of purple and black and . . . Jesus. Someone had hit her. Looked like she’d tried to cover it with makeup, which was now smeared all over her face. There was dirt, too, and a nasty scratch on her cheek. Setting down my glass carefully, I walked down the steps toward her. She trembled like a baby deer, and my heart hurt. I wanted to demand what the hell had happened to her. Maybe wrap her up in Bubble Wrap and lock her in my basement.
Instead I took a calming breath and smiled.
“Do you remember that time I was babysitting you and we built that giant fort out of pillows and blankets?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Sadie said softly, refusing to meet my gaze.
“Do you remember why we did that?”
Sadie’s lips tightened as she blinked rapidly.
“Because I was scared of the monsters,” she whispered hoarsely. “So we built a castle and then you used the monster potion to kill them all.”
“Yeah.”
“What was that, anyway? The potion, I mean.”
“Aqua Net hair spray,” I told her. “I’ll bet your mom wanted to kill me for getting it everywhere. But it worked, didn’t it?”
She gave me a sad little smile, pushing a chunk of hair back behind her ear. “I guess it did. We were safe in that fort. I loved how you read me stories in there.”
It took everything I had not to react, because when she’d pushed back her hair, she’d revealed a nasty cut that’d been hidden along her hairline. Looked like it needed stitches, but the girl was so skittish . . . Couldn’t risk scaring her off.
“Sadie, I think maybe you ran into another monster,” I said, feeling my nose tingle as water built in my eyes. “I want you to know my house is full of pillows and blankets. We could go inside and build one hell of a castle if you’d like.”
The girl smiled sadly, then shook her head.
“Monster spray isn’t real, Tinker. I gotta go now.”
With that, she turned and started walking away.
“Sadie!” I called after her. She stopped, looking back.
“Let me take you to the hospital.”
“I’m fine,” she said. “And I don’t need you interfering in my life. I’m not a little girl anymore.”
“Okay,” I said, thinking about her as a little girl. She’d been such a beautiful child. “Just answer me one thing—was it the motorcycle club that did this to you?”
She turned away without speaking.
Guess I had my answer.
GAGE
“You’re actually serious about going to see this woman before we take care of the Nighthawks?” Ruger asked, cocking an eyebrow. We’d stopped at a gas station about halfway to Hallies Falls.
“Yeah,” I said, sliding my card into the gas pump. “Thought we covered this already.”
“We did. I just didn’t believe you.”
“Why not?”
“Well, there’s the fact that I’ve never seen you fuck the same woman twice,” he said.
“That’s not true,” Horse chimed in. “There was that dancer in Vegas. He spent a whole weekend with her.”
“Did you know her real name?” Ruger asked me.
“No.”
“Doesn’t count,” Ruger declared. “So what’s up with this Tinker bitch? She have a magic pussy?”
“None of your fucking business.”
Horse paused to look me over.
“He hasn’t fucked her yet,” he announced.
“We aren’t discussing this.”
“Damn, you’re right,” Ruger said, nodding sagely. “I get it. Sometimes you just want one so goddamned bad and you can’t have her. Messes with your head. But this is club business. Priorities, bro.”
“What would be more important to you—dealing with the Nighthawks or taking care of your old lady, Sophie?” I asked him.
“Trick question,” Ruger replied. “If there was a problem with Soph, nobody’d expect me to be on this run.”
“Yeah, well what if Tinker is my Sophie?”
Both men stared at me, speechless. I took a moment to savor the silence, because it sure as shit wouldn’t last long with Horse around. Fucker never knew when to shut his mouth.
“You shittin’ me?” he finally asked.
“No,” I admitted. “I mean, it’s early days. Haven’t gotten to spend much time with her, and through it all I’ve been stuck with that crazy cunt Talia. But there’s something there. Feels real to me. I’m not gonna walk away until I know what it is.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I waited for the shit to fall. I figured it would come on two levels—first about the club, because it was always about the club. There was also the mandatory torment about me turning into a pussy.
Instead Horse shrugged.
“I knew with Marie,” he said. “I mean, I didn’t know that she’d be my old lady, but I knew she was different. Wanted her, and not just under me. Never really saw you with a woman of your own, but if you’re into that and she’s the right woman, you’d be a fuckin’ moron not to give it a shot.”
“What he said, only smarter,” Ruger chimed in. “Fill in the blanks. I think you better call Pic, though. He’s expecting you to come straight to the hotel.”
“That’s it?” I asked, wary as hell.
“What else do you want?” Horse asked. “You need love poetry, go write it yourself.”
“You’re letting me off too easy.”
“You’re too pathetic to abuse right now,” Ruger said. “And if it’s like it was with me and Soph, you’re gonna be useless until you figure it out anyway. Now call the boss. If we’re changing plans, he needs to know.”