REAPER'S KISS Page 2

  “I need to talk to you,” Sid said as he sat down and waved two fingers, signaling for a shot.

  “I can see that,” I said. “I don’t like our talks, Prez. Not when we’re alone.”

  “I need you to check a place. On your own.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  “We never roll alone,” I said.

  “This time you do. I can’t have a bunch of you rolling up on a store.”

  “A store?”

  “The last fucking corner shop in Bishop.”

  “That shit hole down on Barker?” I asked.

  “That’s the one. Chief wouldn’t get into details but he casually hinted about it. A lot of foot traffic. Back door foot traffic. Doesn’t make sense that a place like that stays open either.”

  “So you want to… what? Go in and buy a soda and some potato chips?”

  “Whatever you need to do to get a feel for it. Check for cameras. Tell me who’s working there. Just get the general vibe and see how you’re treated.”

  “So if someone comes out of the back with a shotgun and blows my fucking head off…”

  “Then we’ll know not to send anyone else there.”

  “Thanks, Prez,” I said.

  Sid laughed and slapped my back.

  My beer and his shot came. He held his glass out and I held mine out.

  “You’ll do this?” he asked.

  “Of course I will,” I said. “Anything for the MC.”

  “Good man. Enjoy your food.”

  I ate my burger, drank my beer, and then left the clubhouse. I walked to my motorcycle and climbed on. When I started up the steel beast, I looked around. I always took stock of what I had and what I knew.

  I learned a long time ago that you never knew when shit was going to hit the fan.

  Or when shit was going to crush your heart.

  chapter four

  (jace)

  *THEN*

  I was just a rider with a black leather cut. I was cruising along the riverbed, taking the turns too fast, testing the limits of my motorcycle. My hair was long and kicked out the back of my helmet. I used to not wear a helmet but Sid told me if I ever wanted to get patched in I’d need all the brains I could muster.

  We had come off a great score and I was given the thumbs up to be the getaway driver. It was a huge step forward into becoming a real patched in member. Shit, riding with those guys from the Bitter Aces MC made life worth living. It took all the wild bad shit and tossed it aside.

  I had no choice but to bolt from home when I was sixteen. I hung around here and there, battling my way into finding something that made sense. That was working on cars and motorcycles. The pay was shit, most of my bosses were dicks, and I couldn’t hold a job for more than two weeks. Most of the time it was my fault. The last job I had I fucked the boss’s wife. Too be fair, we were drunk, she was lonely, and she all but begged for it.

  I took a wrench to the jaw for that one, but I did get my final paycheck.

  But that was months ago.

  I met Sid at a bar, gave him some advice on his motorcycle, and then he told me to meet him at the clubhouse for a chat. That chat ended up with me getting beat up by the patched in members of the MC and offered a chance to be a prospect. I told Sid I would only do it for a month or two. I was made to ride outlaw. With a full cut. With my brothers around me.

  He agreed.

  I cut around the next bend, throttling my ride. I felt my back tire bounce a little and I thought I was going to lose it.

  “Fuck!” I screamed and hurried to save the motorcycle.

  I pulled off a fucking miracle and slammed on the brakes. I brought my motorcycle to a complete stop and threw my arms in the air, like a fucking champion. I cheered to the birds and squirrels.

  My life was starting to finally come together and make fucking sense.

  There was only one little problem.

  The rumble of my motorcycle didn’t let me hear the SUV as it came up on me.

  I felt a presence and managed to turn my head just in time to see the barreling vehicle smash into the back of my motorcycle.

  chapter five

  (ava)

  *NOW*

  I worked the register on another slow day. The only people that consistently came into the store were the regular older people who enjoyed the small town feel of a store. They’d stand at the counter and recount every memory they had of Bishop. All the places that were opened and closed. The way the town changed. Who owned what building. And then of course the fresh round of people who had died in the last week.

  It was early afternoon when Dad came rushing from the back of the store. He rushed around the register and punched it open. He took all the twenties, tens, and fives. He held them in his hand as it shook furiously.

  “Ava, don’t move,” he whispered to me. “You stay put. If I scream, you run.”

  “What?” I asked.

  I grabbed for him and he looked ready to burst into tears. He waved his other hand at me. “You heard my words. This will not happen again to me. I cannot lose you. But you might lose me. I’ll always care for you.”

  “What’s happening right now?”

  Dad looked to the back door and shook his head. “You have to stay right here. Right here. You do not move. I will figure out something for you, my sweet Ava.” Dad touched my cheek. “Oh, you look like your mother. Just so beautiful. Always beautiful. From the day you were born.”

  Tears glistened in his eyes as he spoke.

  He moved away and I took a step toward him. He put a hand out and shook his head.

  Dad turned and hustled away as someone came into the store. Of course this lady wanted to buy almost everything in the store. A damn near week’s worth of groceries and supplies. I had to ring her up, one item at a time, then haggle over an expired coupon. I kept looking to my right, wondering what was happening in the back of the store.

  The woman asked me to help her to her car. So I threw a smile on my face and helped her. I loaded up her trunk, declined a one dollar gratuity, and then rushed back into the store. I paced up and down the aisles, wondering what to do.

  Who could be in the back? Is someone hurting Dad? Are there more people outside? Am I in trouble? Is someone going to hurt me?

  I walked back to behind the counter and figured I would take a chance. I would call for the police. Even if it resulted in Dad getting into trouble, at least he’d survive. I knew a lot of what Dad did was illegal but I couldn’t stand the lose another parent.

  I reached for the phone and someone walked into the store.

  I dropped the phone and stepped back.

  He turned his head and looked at me.

  Black hair, piercing green eyes, everything about him screaming wrong, bad, and outlaw.

  I swallowed hard.

  I wasn’t going to make out of today alive.

  He had a cocky strut about him as he grabbed a bottle of soda. As he walked toward the counter, I watched as he looked around the store. His hand then shot out and grabbed a bag of chips. Then he came to the counter. Next he grabbed a pack of gum and put his hands on the counter, grinning at me.

  He was dangerously beautiful. Wearing a black leather cut, I knew he was a member of the motorcycle club in town. They were all bad guys, no matter how you looked at it. They hurt people. They stole. They strong-armed the police into doing what they wanted.

  I reached for the chips with my hand shaking.

  “Hey, you okay?” the outlaw asked me. He touched my hand. “You’re shaking like crazy.”

  “Don’t hurt me,” I blurted out.

  My face turned red.

  “Hurt you? Why would I hurt you?”

  “Where’s the rest of your guys?” I asked. “Is that what this is?”

  “Sweetie, I’m trying to buy a soda and chips.” He reached for his leather cut and slowly opened it. He took out some money and tossed it to the counter. “Look. Okay?”

  I
rang up the items and couldn’t help myself as I was stuck between fear and attraction. He was so fucking good looking it was ridiculous.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, leaning forward.

  I grabbed a bag and he grabbed my wrist.

  That’s when the world stopped.

  I just stared at him. Those eyes ripping into me.

  I shook my head.

  “Something’s wrong here?” he asked me.

  I nodded.

  “You can’t say though?”

  I didn’t move.

  He reached back and pulled out a gun. I jumped back and let out a whimper.

  Suddenly, he was in hunting mode. Looking all around the store. He rushed around the counter, coming at me, gun in hand. I slid into a corner and sat down on an old stool where Dad used to perch himself for hours. The outlaw was taller than me to begin with, but with my sitting, he was like a giant towering over me.

  “You sit here and don’t fucking move,” he said to me.

  I swallowed hard. “That’s what my father said…”

  “Your father? Is he in trouble?”

  I slowly nodded.

  The outlaw curled his lip and looked over his shoulder.

  I saw an opening and I stupidly took it.

  I lifted my foot and kicked forward at his balls as hard as I could.

  My mind had only one thing screaming at itself.

  Run.

  chapter six

  (jace)

  *NOW*

  Her foot connected a centimeter away from my balls. I jumped back, caught myself swinging the gun in self defense, but I held back. Christ, the last thing I needed on my conscious was hitting a woman with a gun. I stumbled back and into the counter. I knocked over a display of gum.

  The woman jumped and lunged at the counter.

  She was freaking beautiful. From the second I walked into the store I picked up on the vibe that something was very wrong. At first I thought it was just because someone so pretty was working at a shit hole store.

  She was on the counter, crawling across it. The back of her shirt lifted up, showing some skin. She was also showing me a pink set of panties that were clung to her body as her jeans pulled down a little.

  I hurried to tuck my gun away and move to the counter. I slipped my hand around her waist and grabbed her. My face was damn near pressing against her ass as I pulled her off the counter. She threw an elbow and cracked me in the side of the head. I walked backwards and put my other hand around her chest, securing her arms. Shit, if anyone walked in and saw the scene it would look like I was hurting this beautiful woman.

  But I didn’t want to hurt her. I wanted to know what the fuck was going on.

  My forearm pressed against her tits. They were fucking full and soft. Fuck, was I really going to get hard while holding some random chick back from hurting herself?

  I twisted to the side and leaned against the wall of cigarettes.

  “Hey,” I growled. “I’m not going to fucking hurt you, sweetie. You can’t run right now. You need to tell me what’s going on.”

  Slowly, she succumbed to me.

  When her body relaxed, she eased against me. My front against her back. My arms still around her. I moved my hands one a time and inched back. My cock was slithering down the inside of my jeans. I ran a hand through my hair and watched as she turned around.

  “What the hell was that, sweetie?” I asked.

  “You’re one of them,” she said. “The bad guys. The outlaws.”

  “I’m not here to hurt you.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  I bit my tongue a little. I wasn’t there for anything good. But I wasn’t going to give up club business to her.

  “What’s happening in the back right now?”

  Her lips shivered. She was damn terrified.

  I gritted my teeth. “Look, I have a gun, which you saw. I’m going to take it out and I’m going to walk to the back. If something happens to me, sweetie, my crew is going to be here and really fuck things up. And if you’re holding back on information I need to survive…”

  “He’s in trouble,” she said. “My father. I don’t know what’s going on. He told me to stay here. He took all the cash from the register and went to the back. I don’t know how many are there.”

  “Who is it?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. Guys in suits.”

  Fuck.

  That’s why Sid sent me. This must have been a spot where the gambling shit went down. I was supposed to scope the place out and bolt. Whatever the fuck was happening right then wasn't my business. It wasn’t MC business either. If someone was getting tagged because he was fucking around with some underground gambling shit, then so be it.

  But I looked into the woman’s eyes and I couldn’t just walk the fuck away.

  “What’s your name, sweetie?” I asked.

  “Ava.”

  Goddammit.

  “Ava,” I said, her name rolling off my tongue with ease. I’d love to spell out her name a hundred times with my tongue as I was buried between her legs. “My name is Jace, sweetie. I’m part of the Bitter Aces MC. And I’m not here to hurt you. You’re going to sit your pretty ass down in that chair again and stay there.”

  “Don’t hurt my father,” Ava said.

  “I’m going to figure out what the hell is going on here.”

  I turned and crept toward the back door of the store. I assumed it led to the back room storage. I held my gun and couldn’t believe what I was about to do. Putting my ass on the line for some random woman and her father.

  But maybe it would benefit the MC.

  Something big was going down.

  I just had no fucking idea how big it actually was…

  I snuck through the door without much of a sound. The bottom flap scratched the floor but it didn’t echo. A second later I heard a voice, followed by another. I waited and didn’t hear anything else.

  As far as I knew there was only two people in the back. And one of them was Ava’s father.

  I took a few more steps and turned to the right.

  That’s where the floor was wide open. The back room had the perfect setting and aura for nothing but trouble.

  On the floor was an older man, on his knees, holding up cash. The man in front of him wore a nice suit, no tie, and had a set of knuckles on. The old man’s face was fucked up. He had definitely taken a few hits already.

  “You see, Jake,” the suit said, “this doesn’t work for me. I’m not going to stop by and clear out your register. I don’t want that filthy cash. I want clean cash. The good cash. You know how this works.”

  “This is all I have,” Ava’s old man - Jake - said. “We had a bad turnout, okay? Ava was home, sick. You know that. You were here, Frank. You saw…”

  The suit - Frank - swung the knuckle and smacked Jake hard. He fell to the floor, dropping the cash. Frank then started to kick Jake. Shit, it looked like a scene out of a mafia movie. Right here in my fucking town?

  I stepped around a giant storage shelf and walked slowly, positioning myself behind Frank. I moved forward and took my fate into my hands. I smacked my gun to the base of Frank’s skull. He instantly fell forward, grabbing for his head. He tripped over Jake and went down to the ground.

  He quickly turned and grabbed for a weapon. I jumped forward and dropped to one knee, putting my gun to his forehead.

  “Touch the gun and I’ll spray your brains all over this back room,” I warned.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Frank growled at me.

  “You’re worst nightmare. Now tell me what the fuck is happening here.”

  “Business,” he said. “And you better fuck off real soon before it gets bad.”

  I looked over and Jake as he was climbing to his feet. His face was bleeding everywhere. Even his crumbled up cash had blood all over it.

  “Looks like it already is bad,” I said. “Stand the fuck up.”

  I dragged Fr
ank to his feet and threw him against a wall.

  “You have no idea,” Frank said. “You know who I am?”

  “Do you know who I am?” I asked. “You’re in my town doing what?”

  Jake stumbled to his right and leaned on a shelf. “Go away, Frank. You’ve done enough here. I have no money for you.”

  “Now you get a set of balls?” Frank asked. “Tell you what, Jake, let’s keep it simple. I’ll call it even if you let me take your daughter for a few nights. I’ll bring her back in one piece, I swear.”

  “Ava?” I asked.

  Frank looked at me. “You know her?”

  “What the fuck do you want with Ava? What does she have to do with this?”

  “Nice tits and a round ass,” Frank said. “I’d fuck every hole…”

  I threw my head forward and smashed it against Frank’s face. He started to crumble and I let him fall. I then started to throw my knee forward against his face over and over. The rage was white hot as it burned inside me. I couldn’t believe the feeling… jealousy.

  “Stop!” Jake’s voice yelled. “You’ll kill him!”

  I jumped back away and collected myself. I was almost out of breath. Frank fell to the side and curled up in the fetal position. He was making noise and I couldn’t tell if he was crying or trying to talk.

  I was done with him for now. I turned and set my sights to Jake.

  I went right after him, no matter how old he was. I grabbed his shirt and slammed him against a storage shelf. Boxes toppled off the top and back, slamming to the floor with a heavy echo.

  “What is this?” I asked.

  “Personal.”

  I shook him. “Don’t fuck with me, man.”

  “Don’t hurt me,” Jake said.

  “Hurt you? I could have killed your daughter. But I didn’t. I could make one phone call right now and have the entire MC here. You know who I am, right?”

  “Yes,” Jake said. “God, yes.”

  “So if I wanted you hurt or dead, it would have happened by now.”