(King) *NOW*
THE CAR CAME TO A STOP. I had nothing on me to throw at the driver, but I was told he was already taken care of. I opened the back door and stepped out onto the sidewalk as a free man.
A free fucking man.
The car sped away and I was left with a bag of clothes and notebooks to carry toward the garage. It was almost night, the garage already shut down for the day. On the right side of the lot were cars, trucks, SUVs. On the left was the line of motorcycles.
I spotted my black beauty of a ride and felt my heart race.
I walked right to it, touching the handlebars, the leather seat, crouching down to look at the engine. She smelled amazing. She felt amazing. I couldn’t wait to climb on her and ride her into the horizon.
I stood back up just as the door to the garage office opened.
Noah stood there holding a couple folders in his hand. The second he spotted me, he froze. It was like he saw a ghost. And, shit, that’s what I was to the Reap right then. Nothing but a fucking ghost.
He dropped the folders from his hands and started to run toward me.
I wasn’t sure if word was going to get out about my release or not to the boys. Everything became a fucking whirlwind after I signed the papers with Anderson. He was going to keep tabs on me and I was going to give him whatever he wanted. At least that’s what he thought. My job was walk the very fine and dangerous line of keeping Anderson happy and not turning my back on the Reap.
I needed to talk to Knox and get a sit down with Uncle Jakey.
Before that…
“Holy fuck!” Noah screamed as his big arms flew around me.
I hugged him back. We smacked each other’s backs like we wanted to hurt each other.
The door to the office blasted open again and out came the rest of the guys.
Matteo, Elijah, Ari, Liam, Slam, and Knox.
We were in a big huddle that stunk of grease, sweat, and smoke. We were fucking filthy outlaws. We had always been filthy. The good boys of the town got sweaty playing football and then would part their hair on the side to go to church and praise whatever they believed in for their ability to throw a football. Me and my boys were the wild ones that walked along the football game, picking out the player’s girlfriends to have a little fun with. The star QB may have had the cheerleader on top of the pyramid Saturday through Thursday, but on Friday night, the only thing she was on top of was me.
And, fuck, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
Slam grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me in for a big, sloppy kiss to the cheek. I swore the old softy was fucking crying.
When I finally faced Knox, it was so intense. He slapped my face and shook his head. “All because of guards fucking around and new evidence. That’s what did it.”
“That’s what I’m told,” I said. “But I have to talk to you, brother. You and me. Okay?”
“We have plans first,” Matteo said.
He swatted at my back and it was like getting whacked with a bag of bricks.
These were the biggest and strongest guys I’d ever known.
“Plans?” I asked.
“Reaper’s Bastards,” Knox said. “Come on. Let’s have a meeting.”
Knox slid his arm around me and led the way to the office.
We went through the office and hooked a left where Knox opened another door.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
It was a true chapel. A place for the MC to meet and discuss business. A table with chairs. A chair for all the members.
My eyes quickly saw a chair with a leather cut on it. The only chair with a leather cut on it.
“I can’t believe this,” Ari said. “Our lost brother is back.”
“We need drinks,” Liam said. “We need to get on our rides and hit a titty bar right now. I’ll call Sabrina. We’ll go over there and shut the place down.”
I smiled. I looked around the room. I looked at all my brothers. My boys. I thought about what Anderson wanted to achieve. I wasn’t sure what he could possibly get the MC for, if anything. More so, he wanted Uncle Jakey. The problem with that was that Uncle Jakey was old blood, going way back to the days of Knox’s old man running the MC. And Uncle Jakey had ties to outside organizations. So that meant things were still very touchy.
“Before we get out of hand,” I said. “Let’s take a breath. I’m still in a world of shit here. I don’t know how this is going to play out.”
“That’s why we go for the throat while you’re here,” Elijah said. He shoved at my back and let out a cackling laugh.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Knox said. “Before any of that… everyone shut up and line up. Right now.”
The guys all got in a long line. Side by side. All of them wearing the Reap cut. Looking rough and tough, ready for a fight and fuck. Funny how I hadn’t seen these faces in hundreds of days and yet within seconds of seeing them it was like we hadn’t missed a beat. Like I had gone to take a long shit or something.
Knox walked around the table and pulled out the lone chair with a leather cut on it. He lifted the leather cut up, showing it to me.