“Ari. She saw me. She was going to help me, but they took her. I saw them, Reaper. I know I did.”
“Look, Dylan,” Reaper whispered. It was the first time he ever used my given name. He never did that. Ever. “So much shit has happened. Ari is dead. Ghost has gone off the deep end. He’s not himself anymore. Grimm is still missing. Your wife keeps busting my balls, and you’ve been fucking sleeping for two damn months.”
“But I saw her alive. They took her!” I shouted. I was getting really tired of everyone telling me the same damn thing.
Nobody was listening.
Sitting up, my head pounded, and it took me a few seconds to focus, but when I did, I said. “I need you to listen to me for one fucking minute, Max. I saw her alive. She was there. She saw me. She was coming to help me. They came up behind her, grabbed her, and stuck a needle in her neck. She is alive, and they have her.”
Reaper’s eyes turned molten. Yeah, I knew using his given name was a big fuck you right in his face, but I needed his attention. So, when he yelled, I braced myself for the repercussions. “I’m gonna ignore that fucking slip, only because you just woke the fuck up, but hear me when I say this. She’s dead, Bullseye. Several brothers saw her plane explode. There were no survivors. We buried a fucking empty casket!”
“No.”
“What do you mean no?” Massacre asked, stepping forward. “Reaper’s telling the truth. I saw it myself. The fucking plane blew up.”
“I don’t doubt you saw that, or that’s what you believe. But what I’m trying to tell you is that she isn’t dead. I saw her, and they took her!”
“Who took her?” Phantom asked. “Who took Ari, Bullseye?”
“Jekyll and Grimm!”
And that was the moment everyone started arguing.
Twenty-Three
Bullseye
Two weeks later…
“Okay, settle down,” Reaper said, taking a seat. He had called church a while ago but put it off until some of the brothers could finish whatever they were working on. Now that we were all here, I just sat and listened to everyone laugh and chew the shit as if it were another fucking glorious day.
The only one missing was Ghost.
He hadn’t left his room in months, still grieving for Ari. Everyone felt his loss. Never in my life had I ever seen a man love a woman as much as Ghost loved Ari. It was humbling, and even I would admit to appreciating Kitty and Hailey more. Being there for them, telling them I love them more. In a way, we all did to those we cared about.
It sucked big time, that was for sure, but Ghost was still alive, and that’s all that mattered. I didn’t want to think what would have happened if he’d pulled that trigger a few months ago. That was a bad day for all of us. None of us talked about it. We couldn’t.
That night I just hugged my wife and daughter and thanked God for every second I had with them. It was all I could think to do, so I did and every night since.
“All right,” Reaper began. “Before we get down to real business, we have some petty shit that needs to be taken care of really quick. First, we have the upcoming Christmas toy drive for the town.”
Everyone grumbled.
“Boss, it’s only June. Why is the town starting the drive this early?” Player asked.
“Because last year Brian was overworked, and nobody volunteered to help. I will be damned if a child wakes up on Christmas morning without a toy under the damn tree. Not gonna happen. Not in my fucking town. This means all available brothers will participate this year. And I’m specifically talking to you, Savage.”
“What?” The big buffoon grinned. “I like kids now.”
“Whatever,” Reaper chuckled. “Just be there and help. Also, Brian has asked for volunteers for security for this year’s Fourth of July Parade. Get with him if you can help. Also, Remi wants the clubhouse cleaned again. She said we are all pigs, and there is no way in hell she will allow my kid in this place unless it’s spotless. So, let me be very clear, if I can’t see my kid, I will beat the living shit out of every one of you slobs. Do what you have to, but I want this place clean before my kid is born.
“Boss, your kid ain’t due for another four months.” Chains stated as Healer nodded.
“Exactly, I figure it will take you pigs that long to get this place cleaned. Now that’s the last of the boring shit unless anyone has anything else to add?”
When none of the brothers said a word, Reaper nodded to Phantom, who said, “Okay. Matrix, Sypher, and I worked around the clock to figure out why Grimm went off the reservation. What we found was just…I have no words. Okay, there have been three big deposits of a mil each into his private account over the last two months, but each time the money hits, it’s bounced to an offshore account. That’s why we didn’t find it sooner. It was only by chance because Sypher set up an alert on all of his accounts for any kind of activity.”
“So, he did this for money?” Chaos asked. “That makes no sense.”