“—motherfucker—”
Razer started revving his motor, then Knox … then Rider … then Cash.
Reaper knew he was beaten when Train started revving the van’s engine.
Raising his hand in the air, the motors went back to idling.
“Well? Which one?” Viper asked, his hands on the clutch and throttle.
“Treepoint!” he snapped.
“Cool. We were hoping you’d pick that one,” Viper joked with a grin.
Killyama rolled her window down. Hanging out the van, she shouted, “So, where in the fuck are we going?”
Reaper saw the grin on Viper’s face.
“Cool.” She hit the side of the van door. “If you fuckers see us pulled over and the van is rocking and shaking, we’ll see you back in Treepoint.”
Viper’s look turned into one of concern. Getting off his bike, he went to the back of Train’s van and took out Reaper’s flamethrower, putting it in Hammer’s van. Back on his bike, he saw Killyama looked like a kid at the fair who had dropped her ice cream cone.
“Never mind, you all can eat our dust.” She gave him the fuck you sign with her hand before she rolled the window back up. The woman wouldn’t be receiving more roses from him.
“You know, if you do want to go to Ohio, we can ditch Train before we get on the interstate,” Viper offered.
He didn’t want to go back to Treepoint, but another ghost needed to be put to rest, and he couldn’t accomplish that in Ohio.
“Treepoint will do,” Reaper stated, letting Viper ride off before completing his sentence. “For now.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Reaper followed Viper down the hall, bittersweet memories of how proud he had been when the work on the club had been going on. It was yet one more thing that he could add to the growing list of what he had missed out on.
Would he and Taylor have lasted? Would they have had children by now?
He shoved his hands into his back pockets as they entered the bedroom at the end.
“Rider packed your suitcase up while we were in the kitchen. Can I get you anything before I go home?”
“Yeah, you can stop walking on pins and needles around me and tell the others the same thing.”
“They’re just glad to have you home.”
“This isn’t home, and it’s never going to be. I’ll stay here until I take care of the Road Demons and a few other things I need to take care of. I’ll stay out of everyone’s way, and I’d appreciate the same courtesy.”
“Gavin …” Viper’s face twisted in torment. “I’m sorry.”
Reaper winced at the name of the ghost he had put to rest.
“Don’t call me that.” Picking up his suitcase, he tossed it onto the bed. “If you don’t mind, I need to take my meds and get some sleep. Could you ask Knox if his wife has any appointments in the next few days? I have some legal business that needs to be taken care of.”
“I’ll tell him to give Diamond your number.” His brother moved to the door. “That way, you both can work out what’s convenient for both of you.”
Reaper heard the door close.
Taking his meds, he then took a shower. He checked to make sure the windows and doors were locked before sliding the large desk in front of the door. Tomorrow, he would go to the hardware store and buy stronger locks. Zipping up the suitcase, he didn’t bother to unpack before lying down on the bed naked. Turning the light off, he tossed and turned, trying to get to sleep.
After an hour, he got up and started pacing around the room, counting how many pictures were on the walls. Done with that, he started counting the floorboards. Then he wearily glanced at the clock on the wall.
Trying to go back to sleep again, he turned the light back out. The stuffy room had him beginning to sweat, but he didn’t want to open a window.
Turning on the television, he sat watching the news until his eyes grew heavy. Leaving the television on, he turned the light back on and went to the small refrigerator, taking out a bottle of water, then gulping it down while he stood in front of the fridge, letting the cold air hit his sweaty skin. Throwing the empty bottle in the trash can beside the refrigerator, he took out two more before closing the door.
Setting the bottles on the nightstand, he lay down again, staring at the news channel with the volume muted. The nights were the worst since his rescue. It took pure exhaustion for him to sleep for a few hours at a time.
Getting off the bed again, he started doing pushing ups and crunches. When sweat was pouring off him, he went back into the bathroom to take another shower. Toweling his hair dry, he lay back down on the bed. He was watching the morning news when he finally fell asleep.