Reaper, page 11
“Now that I think about it, he let me make the first move when it came to kissing and sleeping in his bed.”
She nods as if happy with my answer, but her eyes go wide, and she points at me and scowls. “And don’t you dare talk about your body like that again! I think it’s unfair you got all the boobs and ass.” She looks down at her breasts, then back at me. “I think you got both of ours.” We both laugh at that. “Reaper’s got the best of both worlds.”
My insecurity lessens. “I didn’t think of it like that.”
She points to under her eye. “Look!”
I lean in further, not sure of what I’m supposed to be examining. “I don’t see anything.”
“My first fine line. The wrinkles have begun.”
She sounds devastated, but I see no line.
I snort. “You’re still in your twenties. Don’t be ridiculous.”
She rolls her eyes. “How can you not see the line there?”
“At least I don’t have to worry about wrinkles.”
She quirks a brow. “Hmm, and why is that?”
“Fat don’t crack, baby!” I say with a wink.
She smothers a laugh before her face falls back into seriousness. “You’re not fat!”
A phone rings, and I know it’s Elena’s because it’s a Cardi B song. She brings it to her face, grimaces, but doesn’t answer it. She just lets it ring. She peeks at me from under her eyelashes, then back down at her phone.
“It’s our parents, isn’t it?”
She smiles sadly. “Don’t worry, I won’t answer.”
I let out a long sigh. “It’s okay, I’ll talk to them.”
Her brows rise high. “Are you sure? You don’t have to.”
My hand comes out as I wait. She hesitates before putting her phone in my hand. I answer it. “Hey, it’s me, Ava.”
“Ohhh . . .” I have to pull the phone away from my ear at Mom’s squeal. “Ava, finally. What happened? Why didn’t you call us?” Her voice is filled with concern.
Guilt leaves as quickly as it came. “I told you things weren’t good between me and Beau.”
There’s a momentary silence.
“But it’s a marriage. You don’t leave when it gets tough.” The clip in her tone makes me choke. I have to pat my chest to get my bearings. Did she really just say that?
“He hit me. That isn’t what a loving marriage is about.”
“He told us he accidentally pushed you and you fell. He feels terrible. Look, you just need to give it some time. You two will work it out.”
“He said that, did he?” I ask, spitting venom. That distinct burn fires through me. “He lost control and hurt me,” I say, louder this time. “I was black and blue. How can you defend a man that abuses his wife? I’m your daughter! In what world am I the villain and he’s the victim?”
She breathes heavily through the phone. “You know I love you, but you’re saying he hit you, and he’s saying he accidentally pushed you. Then you leave without a word. Is it possible that you misconstrued the situation, thinking the accident was deliberate?”
My heartbeat is frantic, and my breathing is out of control. I’m desperately trying to reign in my emotions. “Why aren’t you listening to me? He is lying to you. I refuse to live like that anymore. He controlled every aspect of my life and made me miserable. I want the parts of me he stole. I want to be happy again.”
“Beau has been over here every day, seeing if we have spoken to you. He was crying, Ava. If he doesn’t reconcile with you, he’s thought about killing himself. He’s sorry, and he loves you.”
I laugh, but it’s cold and flat.
“There’s nothing funny about this!” Her tone is curt.
“They were crocodile tears, and I don’t believe him. It’s the ultimate manipulation, threatening to kill himself, so that I’ll return. He shows you what he wants you to see. You haven’t met the other side of him. He didn’t love me. He liked to control me. He’s mentally ill, Mom. He needs help.”
I’m baring my soul to her, but I wonder if it’s a waste of time.
“How do you have empathy for him and not for me?” My voice is uneven as I struggle not to cry. “Would he have to beat me so bad that I’m hospitalized or dead for you to understand how dangerous he is?”
She sniffles and a muffled voice chimes in, “Ava, it’s Dad. Your mom’s very upset about everything.”
“She’s upset?” I ask in a high-pitched tone. I’m the one tormented in a domestic violence relationship for years, so how are my mom and Beau more upset than me?
“She has been beside herself since you left. We put up posters and were calling around town. We were so worried.”
“I’m sorry for worrying you, but do you understand that this is the reason I never called? You two are encouraging me to go back to an abuser. You would rather me be unhappy or end up dead so no one in the church finds out your daughter left her husband.”
“How could you say that?” he asks, sounding offended.
“Beau will not change! I want to feel safe, and I want to be loved. Why won’t you support that?”
“You’re going from a person who you said abused you to staying with a motorcycle gang? You must see how that is hard for us to comprehend. One day you’re smiling with Beau, and the next we find out you’re having an affair with a biker.”
“Excuse me? What makes you think that?”
“A woman who was living in the MC ended up connecting with Beau, and she said you were with the president of the MC called Reaper. Reaper . . . really, Ava?”
I think back to Vera. She’s a pain! But I’m not embarrassed at being close to Reaper, either.
“Of course he told you,” I reply sarcastically. “Well, Dad, you know it’s bad when I have to go to an MC clubhouse for safety and that man Reaper,” I mock in the same tone he used, “has treated me better than Beau ever did.”
He lets out a long sigh. “We miss you. When are you coming home? You can stay with us.”
Holding the bridge of my nose, I take two breaths before answering. “You live in the same town as him, and you welcome him into your home. There’s no way I am going anywhere near him. I’m getting a divorce.”
Dad sighs again. “Your mother won’t be happy about that.”
“I’m the one who has gone through hell. If you want to talk to me, I guess you two will have to come to the clubhouse and then you can see both of your daughters.”
There’s a pause.
“We love the both of you . . . I’ll try to get your mother there.”
Good luck with that, I think.
“I love you.”
My hand rubs down my face. “I love you, too, Dad. Bye.”
I hang up and pass Elena’s phone back to her. Her smile is wide and she claps slowly. “Well, you sure told them!”
Anger, disappointment, and annoyance clashes inside of me. “I shouldn’t have to explain why I don’t want to stay married to an abusive husband. Going against their beliefs is one thing, but Beau has been going over there every day, trying to make our parents believe me and him can overcome it. I’m getting treated as if I’m blowing all of this out of proportion.”
Elena sits up straighter, then blinks rapidly as if she’s trying to process what she’s hearing. “Are you serious?”
“Beau plays the part of the victim so well I could vomit.”
“He needs to get over it and move on with his life.” She cringes. “God help the next woman he ends up with.”
A shiver travels through my body, and I glance at the goose bumps on my arms. “No one should go through what I had to go through. I don’t want it to ruin our day. Did you want to go shopping now?” I ask as Twitch passes us, going into the kitchen.
“I’m ready,” Elena replies.
I walk over to see Twitch and find him in the pantry. I can hear him unwrapping something. He’s hunched over, stuffing something in his mouth. I peer around him. He’s holding a big box with anchovies written on the side. I step back, not wanting to interrupt his feast, but he stands straight and slowly, then turns around while chewing, and it takes everything in me not to laugh. He has chocolate on the side of his face near his lip.
He swallows his food. “Don’t tell anyone where my stash is, since you chucked out my last box!”
My mouth gapes open. “I knew something was wrong with you that day. You should have told me. I chucked everything that was out of date.”
“What was in the box was perfectly fine.”
Elena walks in, and her eyes bulge. “YOU better share that, or I’ll tell everyone you’ve been holding out on us.”
His gaze sharpens, and he shakes his head at her, then glances at me. “Your sister’s not being very nice, making threats like that.”
“You’re not very nice!” Elena says to him. “Do you know where Rage is? We want to go shopping.”
“He’ll be getting ready for tonight. I’ll take you.” He wraps up the top of his precious chocolate and puts it back in the cardboard box marked as anchovies. He pulls out the rice and puts the box at the back of the shelf. He places the rice in front of it.
I bite my bottom lip as I smother a laugh at the effort he is going through to hide chocolate from everyone.
“I’ll meet you two at the truck.” He shoots a wary glance at Elena.
Elena and I go to our rooms.
I pull out my bag and unzip the front section. As I pull out the notes, I gasp. This is way too much. I take one hundred dollars out of it and place the rest back, making a mental note to give it back to him. I open the top of the bag, take out my wallet, and place the money inside it. I get up and close the door behind me. I hurry along in case they are waiting for me.
When I open the back door, there’s no sign of Elena, so I take a seat in the truck and close the door.
“If you were so worried about your chocolate, why don’t you store it in your room or somewhere private?”
When Twitch glances over his shoulder from the front seat, he’s smirking at me. “Because I have no self-control.”
“So you sneak into the cupboard and hope not to get caught?”
His hand goes to his chin. “I guess I do, but did you know anchovies are one of the most hated foods in America?”
“No, I did not know that.”
“See!” He gives me a playful glare. “It was a perfect plan!”
“You know you’ll have to find another hiding space. Elena will tell Axle.”
He lets out a long groan. He turns the ignition at the same time that I see Elena approaching the vehicle. When she gets closer, the truck jolts forward and stops. I’m grinning, knowing what Twitch is doing. Elena stamps over, but the truck accelerates, making me giggle.
“Twitch!” Elena yells.
The doors lock as she walks over to us again.
“Twitch! Open the door,” she warns, with a hint of amusement in her voice.
I lean forward in my seat to get a better view of their bickering.
His window slides down. “Yes, Elena, how can I help you?” Smug and oh so cheeky!
“Let me in the truck.”
“Hmm . . . it depends.”
“On what?” she asks with suspicion in her voice.
“If you’re going to tell Axle or anyone else where my chocolate is.”
There’s silence.
“Okay, fine . . . I won’t.”
“You won’t what?”
“I won’t tell Axle or anyone else where your stash is.”
The doors unlock.
“Well, hurry up, then. I don’t have all day.”
The shopping was uneventful. Twitch was in surveillance mode, scanning every store we went to.
As we drive back into the driveway, my eyes skim the clubhouse. The men’s motorcycles aren’t there, so they still aren’t home yet.
“How long do the men usually stay at the other MC for?”
“Not too long. Why?” Elena asks, then smirks. “Are you worried?”
“No . . .” I answer and see Twitch watching me in the rearview mirror. “Maybe . . .” I answer truthfully. “The way Reaper’s mood changed when that MC was here was unsettling.”
The truck comes to a stop out the front. We get out and move to the back to get the bags.
“I can’t believe you’re going to be living here . . . with me!” Elena squeals and jumps up and down.
“Let’s take it one day at a time.”
A part of me is scared—disturbed, even—that I would think of being with someone else so fast. But by being with Reaper, I’m feeling like the old me again. Or better yet . . . the new me.
“Well, if Reaper didn’t bag you, someone else would have. We weren’t letting you go anywhere.”
My mouth falls open at the compliment—or the insinuation of a suggested kidnapping. “I know you’re joking, but when talking to a woman, maybe . . . think about your choice of words.”
He gives me a lopsided grin. “It’s a good thing. You’re a catch!” He playfully elbows me as he takes about eight bags in two hands.
There’s the distinct sound of motorcycles, and it’s like music to my ears.
“They’re . . . back!” Elena says in an upbeat voice.
We get the rest of the bags out, and Twitch parks the truck while we wait for the men. They come in single file, and it’s the first time I notice their custom bandanas covering the bottom half of their face. They all have similar skulls, but each has their own personalized edition.
As the men park, I squint to get a better look. Reaper has the grim reaper, Viper has a snake intertwined through the skull, Bomber has fire around the skull, and Demon has a scary skull with horns, which I assume is a demon. I have to take a few steps to my right to see Cash. His bandana has a skull surrounded by dollar signs.
Reaper walks toward us, his hair flipped in different directions from the helmet.
I giggle to myself. “Can you bend over and—”
A loud laugh interrupts me. Then I see Axle with his arm around Elena.
“It’s always the quiet ones you have to be careful of.” He gives Elena a pointed look, and her jaw drops, eyes bulging.
She whacks his chest and goes bright red. “I have never asked you to bend over!”
“It’s okay, baby,” he purrs. “You don’t have to lie to them. No judgment here.”
Elena looks like she’s about to die from embarrassment. She smacks him twice more. “Stop lying!”
He laughs. I cringe. I don’t want to hear about what goes on in their bedroom.
“You couldn’t help yourself, could you?” I ask Axle.
Amusement swirls in his eyes. “Don’t be like that . . . I’m your favorite brother-in-law.”
“You’re my only brother-in-law,” I deadpan.
“You’ve been spending too much time with Viper. He’s rubbing off on you,” Reaper says.
Viper strides forward beside Axle. “I heard my name.”
They keep walking, but I tug Reaper’s arm to get him to stop. When he does, I stand on my toes. He tips his head forward, and I run my hand through his hair, trying to tame it. It’s like silk between my fingers.
“There,” I say. “Much better.”
His genuine smile hits me right in the chest, but it’s the flash of heat in his eyes that makes me blink a few times to check it was real. As we walk inside, he asks, “How are you coping with the swearing and all the shit-stirring between the men?”
I shrug. “I’m not a fan of the swearing, but it doesn’t bother me, and I try my best to ignore anything sex related that comes out of their mouths.”
“It’s only friendly banter. The men can’t help themselves.”
Axle and Viper come straight to mind.
“I noticed.”
“The fight’s on later, but we’ll be leaving soon to check the warehouse is ready.”
I frown, thinking about Rage fighting, but I try to hide it by changing the subject. “Did you want dinner?”
“Most of us won’t be here. I’ll give you money to order pizza. I pay them extra to come out our way. Leave the boxes in the fridge, and some of us will eat it when we get home.”
I shake my head, narrowing my eyes at him. “On that, you gave me way too much money. So I’ll use it to get the pizzas.”
He snorts. “Like hell you will. It’s your money. You earned it.”
“You overpaid me!” My mouth presses into a hard, flat line as I exhale through my nose. “I want to earn my way and be independent. It’s important to me.”
“I understand—”
“But?” I ask, beating him to it. He’s not taking me seriously. The humor in his eyes only proves me right.
“I’m not having you pay for dinner. The MC paid you what you earned, and I put in the rest.”
My eyes widen. “That makes it worse!” I screech. “I’m getting the money now and giving it back to you.”
As I turn, he grasps my wrist. “I have heaps of money, and I want to help you.”
With a shake of my head, I tell him, “You’ve done too much already, and I can’t take money off a man.” I peer at the ground. “Not again.” I have to earn my own way and anyway, I’m not that person who takes and takes and takes.
His hands move to my cheeks, tilting my head up. His eyes are intense as they gaze into mine. Up close, the gold flecks sparkle in his hazel eyes. “I. Want. You!”
I gasp, surprised by his forwardness. “Why?” He could have anyone.
“I was in the Special Forces. I always trusted my instincts, and they never let me down, so I’m not going to stop now. From the moment I saw you, I knew you were different. Tell me, did you feel anything for me when we first met?”
I hesitate. He says nothing, just waits for me to talk. “Yes, I did.”
“And now, how do you feel?”
I swallow thickly as my heart hammers. “Those feelings are stronger now.”
He slowly nods. “I’m not going to rush you, but I’m hundred percent in this. I don’t give a shit about money, but I care about you, so whatever’s mine is yours. I’ve got your card linked up to my account. I’ve already organized and picked it up.”
