Reaper's Fall by Joanna Wylde
For Dawn Dawn and Colleen.
Every writer needs a nurse and a lawyer in her corner, and I got the two most badass ones available.
Thank you.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you very much to everyone at Berkley who made this book possible, especially Cindy Hwang. Thanks also to Jessica Brock, the Goddess of Publicity who not only works hard to sell my books, but also gives my online readers’ group fabulous, shiny stickers. They like the stickers. A lot. (I’m also a huge fan of the stickers, but I’m far too cool and fabulous to ever publicly admit that.) I owe much to Amy Tannenbaum, my incredible agent who I’m fairly certain is secretly a superhero. Someday I’m going to catch her riding a unicorn while wielding a rainbow sword against all who oppose me. (Okay, probably not, but she’s really good about returning my emails and never makes fun of me even when I’m crazy.) Amy, you kick ass. I’m pretty sure you’re already aware of this fact, but it never hurts to repeat it.
My writing friends keep me sane(ish) and I couldn’t do it without you. Thanks to Rebecca Zanetti, Cara Carnes, Kim Jones, Renee Carlino, Katy Evans, and the ever dreadful Kylie Scott. I love all of you except for Kylie, whom I tolerate.
Every day, I’m supported by amazing friends online, including the Sweetbutts, the Junkies (dino-power!), Hang Le, Kandace, Danielle, Lori, the other Lori, Milasy, and Lisa. “Thanks” seems fairly inadequate for all that you’ve given me.
Special thanks to Matt “Boo” Hintz, who taught me all about paint, boards, matte medium, the art world, and Willie G. I’m still fangirling a little that you were willing to talk to me.
Finally, thanks to my long-suffering husband and kids, who still love me despite my writing career. I’m not sure how you put up with me, but it’s much appreciated.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thank you so much for giving my book a chance. As with the previous books in my series, this one has been read by a woman who has lived the MC life for accuracy, although I never let reality get in the way of telling the story I want to tell. For that reason, it’s worth noting a few realities that I’ve deliberately chosen to ignore while writing it.
In this book, the words “jail” and “prison” are used interchangeably by several characters. In real life, they’re two very different places, but for the sake of word variety I’ve opted to ignore that.
Rodeo is a complicated sport that I’ve described in a very simplistic way for the sake of brevity. Please know that I made a deliberate choice to streamline my description of events.
Finally, I’d like to make it clear that any officials or law enforcement personnel portrayed in my books as corrupt are not there because I believe they’re corrupt in real life. My stories would be very boring if there was never any conflict, which means someone has to be the antagonist. Because of the nature of the stories, that antagonist is often connected with law enforcement. Please know that in my own life, I have the utmost respect for the law enforcement officers who risk their lives daily to protect the people of Coeur d’Alene. Thank you so much for your service.
CONTENTS
PRAISE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING REAPERS MOTORCYCLE CLUB SERIES
BERKLEY TITLES BY JOANNA WYLDE
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
AUTHOR’S NOTE
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
EPILOGUE
BONUS EPILOGUE
SUGAR AND SPICE
PROLOGUE
CALLUP, IDAHO
PRESENT DAY