“Just do it,” I demanded, not giving a fuck how many people tried to talk me out of it. “I want her name,” I slurred, slapping my chest over my heart, “Right here with a star.”
“S-t-e-f-a-n-i-e?” Diablo asked, double-checking the spelling as Grim placed his hands on his hips and shook his head.
“Isn’t anyone going to talk sense into him? Rael?”
“Don’t look at me, pres. The kid has a right to remember his love, and I can’t fault him for it.”
Grim huffed a breath and turned to Mammoth. “Well, VP?”
“Damn, pres. I ain’t got shit to say about love. You’re barkin’ up the wrong goddamn tree.”
“He’s drunk off his ass,” Grim muttered. “We got him plastered for his club patch, and then he has to go and get a second tattoo in the same night.”
“I’m not so drunk,” I argued, blinking as Diablo pushed me back up in the seat.
Rael had already moved me upright twice since I fell over and nearly passed out. He snickered, shrugging a shoulder. “Let him have this, pres. It’s all he’s got.”
“No. He has us.”
“I know I do, pres,” I promised, staring right into his eyes, “but I need her there too.” I pointed to my heart, and he nodded, understanding what I meant for the first time.
This club was family. Stefanie was my family too. Dead or not, I wasn’t giving her up.
CALEB GIBBONS.
That was the second name. The man who cut up Stefanie with a knife and slashed her torso, ripping into her flesh to warn the club. The Russians and their Black Market Railroad would hunt us down and destroy everyone we loved if we didn’t toe the line and leave them alone.
Fuck. That.
Seeking vengeance a second time had flooded my body with warmth. I could practically taste the blood and carnage, and I swallowed hard, kind of hating the fact that my Reaper tended to enjoy the sick parts of tormenting people.
Standing in front of the mirror in my bathroom, I wiped the fog from my shower and stared critically at my face. There wasn’t a noticeable change, but I could sense the Reaper also wasn’t revealing himself yet. He wanted to deepen our connection first.
The bond we had was new, and it wasn’t hard to figure out we were both stubborn assholes sharing the same skin.
“That’s fine,” I assured him, staring at my reflection, “but remember this is my body first, and I get the final say in all decisions.”
For some reason, I felt he was mocking me.
“Don’t be a smartass.”
I didn’t feel a response to that, but it didn’t mean that he didn’t have anything to say. This bond between mortal man immortal Reaper was intense. How the fuck did you merge two different beings like that?
I had so many questions.
Good thing Rael offered to talk anytime that I wanted.
I dressed, put on my cut, and ate breakfast, heading off to ride into the desert. I didn’t have a chance to visit my girl last night, so I drove to the cemetery and sat beside her grave, telling her about the Reaper and how fucking crazy Lucifer was, unloading all of these new experiences in the hope that it would feel like we were still sharing important things with one another. She couldn’t speak, but maybe her spirit was with me.
“I’m going after Caleb tonight,” I whispered as I stood. “Number two.”
A light breeze blew across the ground, and I could swear that she was here. I felt her presence somewhere out there, and it shook me to the core. My hand slapped against my chest as the Reaper rumbled inside, angry and ready to claw his way out.
“Woah. Hang tight. We’ll figure this out.”
I rode for the address I learned belonged to Caleb and noticed the black limo parked outside his place. The shadows emerged as I parked a short distance away and hid my bike behind an abandoned trailer.
It wasn’t hard to spy on the men inside as I approached, moving with the stealth of an experienced hunter.