My gaze met Ex’s and he ticked his head toward the door, a cruel smile twisting his lips. “We’re gonna have some fun.”
I didn’t hesitate to leave the room, my thoughts a chaotic mess. Biff’s screams echoed in the hall as I trudged upstairs. Most of the brothers and cookies were already busy in their rooms. A few were passed out on the leather couches spread around the perimeter. No one was behind the bar. I poured a shot of Jack and tossed it back, letting the burn tickle my throat. After another, I set the bottle down and exited the clubhouse. Shadow, Toad, and another new prospect were posted at their usual positions.
I needed a ride and a smoke.
Even though that interrogation was over, I still felt restless, like my skin was crawling with unruly veins beneath the taut layers and an itch I couldn’t quite scratch tormented my every waking moment. The need to claw at the walls of my body until they were neat, slithering little ribbons of perfectly torn flesh pulsed underneath my skin. It wasn’t the first time I had daydreams or visions of blood, horror, or carnage.
The Reaper was a crude and vicious bastard. He always received what he wanted.
In this life, you reap what you sow. A lesson I learned all too well. Time was a brutal teacher as much as experience. Blind vengeance had ruled my actions and decisions for so long I wasn’t sure how much was my own desires or how much belonged to the Reaper. We were too integrated now. Too woven together to know where I ended, and he began. It was what it was.
A choice made out of desperation. Binding for eternity.
Not everyone wanted to run from their past. Some souls embraced the chance to hunt their prey and seek vengeance. To inflict suffering and bring death, and to wield the power of the Reaper until vengeance had been served. I was one of the ruthless Bastards that liked the carnage just a little too much. Victory drew closer with every breath I took.
But the past never left me, never completely diminished, and constantly haunted my dreams as much as my reality. Every minute of the day brought my vengeance closer to completion. A bitter and resolute countdown that began six years ago. The day I lost it all. And it wasn’t just me. My best friend Jameson’s suffering was as great as my own . . .
It was time to exact justice. I was going to find that Russian fucker Solonik. And my Reaper would make him pay.
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