Reaper: Lotus MC Motorcycle Romance, page 13
“That’s not the kind of ride I was talking about.” He chuckles. “Go. I have shit here covered.”
Turning, we start walking back to the clubhouse side by side. Neither of us says anything until we part ways.
“I’ll be back later.”
“Sounds good.” He nods as he breaks off to put the shovels away.
Rounding the clubhouse, I walk toward my bike.
“Hey, man.” Colt jerks his chin up.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“I’m riding out to the Cheekies. They are having an issue with the girls' private bathroom and the plumber can’t make it out there for a few days. Figured I’d go out there and try my hand at it.”
I shake my head as I rub my jaw. “You know, I never thought we would have so many plumbing issues with the private restrooms when we opened the place.”
Colt chuckles. “Right. Fucking baffling. What are you up to?”
“I was going to go for a ride.”
“Want to go with me?” he asks as he swings his leg, getting onto his bike.
Do I want to go to the strip club when I have the woman of my dreams inside? Hell no. Am I going to go? Yes. Not only do I need to clear my mind before I go back to my woman, but I need to keep an eye on Colt. What better way to do that then go on routine jobs with him. Maybe I can catch him in a lie or overhear one of his many secret conversations.
“Why not?” I tell him.
“Your chick won’t mind?”
Will she? Hell, will she even know?
“I’ll lead, you follow,” I say as I get onto mine.
“Always.”
We take off down the road, but the familiar calm doesn’t wash over me right away. Instead, my mind runs through all the stresses from the day. Could the man next to me really betray our club? I haven’t known Colt as long as Wrath, but when my dad brought him in, I accepted him with open arms. We learned the ropes of running this place together.
All the good times we had flashed before my eyes. Riding our bikes down the strip like the badasses we thought we were before peeling off so as to not get caught by the cops. Smoking weed behind the shed because Dad never wanted me to get addicted to any substances. Hell, he was there the first time a girl claimed I knocked her up. He’s the one who kept a level head and questioned her. Turns out, she was lying as they almost always are.
The hurt settles in my chest at the thought of Colt being our traitor. I’m not sure I’ll recover from that hit.
When we finally pull up to the club, Colt turns to me. “You good?”
I nod.
“Word of advice, Pres? Don’t let any of them touch you,” Colt says as he gets off his bike.
“You know I don’t touch the staff.”
“Yeah, yeah. Trust me, I’ve heard them bitch enough.”
We walk into the strip club and can instantly feel the vibrations from the music.
Looking around, I see that the place is busier than I thought it would be during the day. One girl is on stage hanging on the pole upside down.
“Hey boss,” the bartender says as we walk by.
“Hey,” Colt and I say in unison.
I raise a brow. If they are considering him the boss, what else is he doing behind my back?
He shrugs, looking bashful. “She says it every time I drop by.”
“Uh-huh. As long as you know I’m the boss.”
“Of course.” He nods.
We make our way into the back room where the girls are getting ready.
“Hey, Colt, thanks for stopping by,” Nadia says without looking away from what she’s doing.
“Of course. I brought company with me.” He jerks his thumb over his shoulder toward me.
Nadia raises her head, and her eyes widen when she sees me. “Reaper. To what do we owe this pleasure?”
“Just thought I would swing by with this guy. It’s been a while.”
Nadia is the den mother. She handles all the hiring and firing of the girls and makes sure they have everything they need.
“It has. Would you like an update?”
“Sure.” I turn to Colt. “I’ll meet up with you in a minute.”
“Take your time.” He looks toward Nadia. “I’ll try and get the toilets fixed.”
“Thanks.” She smiles at him before turning to me. “Let’s head to my office.”
I follow her back to her office and shut the door behind me.
“Sorry about the mess,” she says as she grabs a box off the chair in front of her desk.
“It’s fine,” I reassure her. “Now tell me, how have things been here?”
Nadia moves around her desk and sits in her chair, and I follow suit. “I don’t want to say it in case I jinx it, but no complaints outside of the restroom.” She rolls her eyes. “I don’t know what the hell they do in there or who it is, but once a month like clockwork.”
I chuckle. “Is it annoying? Yes, I’m sure. But honestly, if that’s the worst of it, I feel like we can’t complain too much.”
“Touché.” She smiles.
“How’s the new bouncer?”
“Awesome. Thank you for sending him my way.”
About a month ago, I met a homeless guy at the gas station. He was built like a motherfucker, and I started chatting him up while I got gas. After hearing his story, I couldn’t walk away without offering him a job.
For the next thirty minutes, Nadia fills me in on all things Cheekie until Colt knocks on the office door.
“Did you get it?” she asks as he steps inside.
“I don’t know exactly what I did, but it’s working now.”
“Good.” Nadia sighs, and her shoulders relax. “I’ll cancel the plumber.”
“No, don’t.” I shake my head as I stand. “Keep the appointment and have him scan the pipes. Maybe he can figure out why we have a monthly issue.”
“Okay, will do.”
I turn and look at Colt. “Ready to head out?”
“Yeah, let’s go.” He looks at Nadia. “You have my number in case you need anything.”
“Thanks, guys.” She waves us away.
We head out the back door of the strip club and see the sun is starting to go down.
“How crazy do you think the clubhouse is tonight? Sex on the pool table? Wet T-shirt contest?”
“I guess we’re about to find out.” I chuckle as I get onto my bike and turn it on.
I hadn’t thought of it until now but I hope this isn’t the night that Natalie decides to venture out of our room. Who the hell knows what she could walk in on.
“Keep your head tucked in. If you keep throwing punches so wildly, there’s no way you can recover quick enough to protect yourself,” Wrath growls.
I am panting from the workout he has been putting me through. This is our fifth training session, and the man has not been taking it easy on me. The last one I thought I was going to have to sacrifice my lung. I don’t understand how I see this man smoking. How can he ruin his lungs in such a way then work this vigorously?
“I’m dying,” I whine.
He smacks me on the head with his punching mitts. It doesn’t hurt, but it does annoy me.
“Of course you’re dying. Right now, you are moving slower than molasses in Antarctica. Jesus, Nat Nat. Are you trying to let yourself get caught?” he eggs me on.
The first time he did this, I burst into tears. After calming me down and muttering about losing his dick to Harrison, he explained that I needed to toughen up. That it sucks that my life has been so hard, but that I should take those emotions and harness them into protecting myself instead of letting them own me.
That whole first session, he poked and prodded me into many tears. I learned though. Now, his words only infuriate me.
Swinging out, I punch him in the head instead of the mat, making him laugh.
“There you go. Give me that fire.”
His praise is few and far between, but it’s the little bit of accelerant I need to go at it harder.
Every single time I’ve thought I couldn’t push any further, Wrath has been there telling me I can give him more. Encouraging me to keep pushing past my mind’s limitations.
“Alright, let’s get some water. I’m scared you might pass out on me the way you’re heaving like a braying donkey.” He snorts.
“Ass.” I breathe out. “Hole.”
He pulls off his glove, grabbing a water bottle before opening it and giving it to me. “You love this asshole.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Whatever you say.”
That only makes him laugh harder.
Truth is, Wrath has been a rock for me. He filled a part in my life I didn’t know I was missing.
Harrison has been giving me support the best way he knows how, but he almost handles me with kid gloves. He asks questions when he needs to but doesn’t push.
Wrath is that wrecking ball who is going to come in, say it like it is, fuck shit up, then leave.
Only with me, he never leaves. He sits in the destruction with me while I work through whatever I’m feeling.
“What is your motivation today?” he asks as he sits on the floor, patting the mat next to him.
This is another thing he does. He doesn’t want me coming in every day using the same motivation. He wants me to continue to find new ones. New reasons why I will never be that girl who barely made it to the gates of this place.
“I want to be able to punch the next person who orders me to do anything for them. I am a human being. I deserve the respect of being asked to do whatever task they want and I have the right to say no. They must respect that right.”
“Good. And if they don’t?”
I side-eye him. “I punch them in the mother fucking throats.”
It still feels weird saying the phrase he has been having me say at the end of all of our sessions, but I like it.
He smirks. “That’s fucking right. Punch every mother fucker who has ever hurt you or thought about hurting you in the fucking throat. Make them choke on their own air until they realize who exactly they fucked with.”
“Can I ask you something?” I look across the gym.
“Sure.” He seems hesitant.
“Why are you so angry? I mean, you have said you are yourself and some of the girls mentioned you have a reputation. I was just curious. You don’t have to answer that.”
“Hey.” He nudges my leg. “Stop second-guessing yourself. You are a boss bitch. You asked if you could ask me something which is respectful. I said yes. So ask the question and leave it at that. You don’t have to follow it up with a reasoning as to why you are asking or to tell me I don’t have to answer. Understood?”
I nod at him.
He lets out a breath. “When I was a kid, I lived with my mom. She dated a lot of losers. They would often hurt her. I don’t want to go into the details, but one of them killed her one day. I don’t think I ever really got over it. Growing up in violence like that? I think it wired me for violence and anger. There’s no changing it.”
My eyes tear up at his admission. He looks resigned to the fact that he feels he is broken. I don’t think he’s broken though. He’s an amazing man.
“I wouldn’t want to change you for the world, Wrath. You are one of the best people I know.”
He gives me a sad smile. “You only say that because you haven’t really seen who I am. I keep the demons at bay around you. If you saw them, they would scare you. Hell, it would scare anyone.”
It all makes sense to me now. Why he avoids the girls? He’s scared. The rejection he felt with his mom choosing all of those men over him. He doesn’t want to face that with the girls.
“I think if you opened yourself up to others, you’d be surprised. A little demon isn’t so scary when you know that demon is on your side. I would have killed to have someone like you on my side before I came here. Hell, I still would.”
He grows serious. “If I ever get my hands on that man, I will snuff his light out so fucking quick. He won’t even know what hit him. I promise you that. He doesn’t deserve to even breathe the same air as you.”
My eyes start tearing up again. Hearing how vehemently he says the words speaks to the broken part of my soul that has only recently begun to be repaired.
“That means everything to me, Wrath. If you can’t see how good of a person that makes you, you are blind.”
He ducks his head slightly. “Thank you.”
Then he jumps up, shaking off the intimacy of the moment. “Now do you want to go another round or are you done?”
I see what he’s doing and I allow it.
“I’ll never give up.”
fifteen
Today has been a rough one. I wanted to stay home all day with Natalie, but being the man in charge means added responsibilities.
Mostly, those are easy, but lately they have been difficult.
Micromanaging was never my way, yet I find myself doing it now because I can’t trust most of the men at my back.
Our code has been broken. Until we find the person responsible, we will all be walking on eggshells.
If only we could get a hint as to who it is. Right now we are flying blind with nothing to show for it.
I’m headed back to the clubhouse when the call I’ve been waiting for finally comes in.
“What’s up?” I answer.
“I have something. We need to meet.” Trigger’s voice comes through.
I curse under my breath. “Do I need to grab Wrath?”
He’s training with Natalie right now. I wanted to sneak in and see her in action. Wrath made me promise to leave that time to them. If I didn’t know Wrath the way I do, I would be concerned. I’m not though.
It doesn’t change the fact that it drives me crazy not to know what they are up to.
“No. You can give him the information later. I’m in my hideaway.”
He hangs up without letting me respond.
Fucker probably already knows where I’m at. Creepy fucker likes to track our phones.
It only takes me ten minutes to pull up to his desert hideaway. It’s legit a bunker built into the ground. Unless you know what you’re looking for, you would walk right past it.
The door opens before I even get close. I head down the dark stairs, hating the musty smell.
“What couldn’t wait?” I ask as I open the door to his lair.
I guess it’s more like a computer lab. This part of the bunker is air conditioned with several computers running all at the same time. Lines of code and other shit I could never begin to fathom.
“I have been following the guys. All of them. I have a few suspects, but it’s all circumstantial at this point. Each one has been on at least one run. Now more than one of them could be working together, but I think we need to start here.”
“Okay, show me.”
He types something on his computer and a file pulls up.
“Okay. So number one, we have Colt. You were already worried about him. He has been making a lot of calls to Texas lately, by his own admission. As we have established, it’s not on his personal phone. I have yet to be able to figure out his burner phone situation and I’ve been trying. He’s still unknown. Then we have Muscles. He has been getting a deposit into his account recently, but I haven’t been able to trace it. Whoever deposits it does so in person at the overnight drop and it’s done in cash. It’s only a couple hundred here and there.”
I look over the deposits. He even has the night camera up from the bank, but it’s not Muscles making the deposit. It’s a woman.
“Hawk is my third suspect. He has been texting someone off the dark web. Not sure what it’s for but seems suspect. Could be William. Last, we have Jug. He hasn’t done anything suspicious per se, but he has been talking a lot about you and your girl. Seems he doesn’t appreciate your brand of leadership. He’s quite butthurt over losing out on Natalie. At least that’s what the chatter says.”
I frown. “The hits came before Natalie got here. So that wouldn’t be his motivation.”
“Like I said. It’s just circumstantial. All of this could be explained away easily. I’m still digging, but those are the ones that we should keep a closer eye on.”
I nod. “I don’t want any of them on runs until we have this under control.”
“What are you going to do about Colt? He’s going to get suspicious.”
“Fuck him. If he wasn’t acting so cagey, it wouldn’t be an issue. Until he comes clean about whatever the fuck it is he’s doing, he’s top of my suspect list. As far as I know, he could be undermining me to take over my position. Lose respect of the brothers, I lose the respect of the club.”
“We won’t let that happen.” Trigger is quick to come to my defense.
“I know we won’t. We are going to find out who the fuck is selling us out and then we are going to bury them six feet under.”
“Aye aye, captain.” He salutes me.
I shake my head, laughing as the tension breaks.
“Good work, Trigger. Glad to have you on my side.”
“Always.”
As I turn to go, Trigger calls me back, “Reap, what if it’s not anyone I’m watching? What if someone has thrown doubt off of them so far that we never find them?”
I grimace, looking back at him. “Then we burn the whole fucking house to the ground and start anew. If we let this poison live too long, it will take the entire crop out.”
“Agreed. Just wanted to make sure we are on the same track. We should fill the council in on this.”
I shake my head. “Until Colt is clear, this stays between me, you, and Wrath.”
“Understood.”
As I leave, I think about what he said.
What if we never find the mole?
I hate to see all of the work I’ve put into building this club into something sustainable go down in flames, but I meant what I said.
If we don’t find this person soon, we will have to scratch the whole lot of brothers and start fresh. Each man will have to be vetted and prospect again.
It’s going to cause a huge fuss not only within our chapter, but with the other chapters.
