Chapter 67
Reaper
Movement and whispering have me blinking awake and I glance at the alarm clock to see that it’s a little after eight in the morning.
Lark shifts in my arms but doesn’t wake up.
I catch Devil’s eye and tilt my head toward the other room.
He gives me a chin lift and as they filter out, I gently slide my arm out from under Lark.
My heart squeezes when she whimpers and reaches for me.
Grabbing my pillow, I slide it toward her, and she wraps her arms around it, humming softly in her sleep before she settling back down.
Grabbing clean clothes, I quickly change and then cross the room to the bathroom.
After taking care of my business, I check on Lark one more time before heading into the adjoining room.
I nod in approval when I see Darren is still out of it and Doc gives me a chin lift.
“About half an hour ago, I gave him another dose, so he should be good for the ride back to the club.”
“How are the roads?” I ask as I walk over to the window and look out towards the street.
Snow is still continuing to fall, but it’s the light fluffy stuff.
The amount of snow on the ground is surprising—it looks like we got a foot or so overnight.
Another surprising sight is that the plows have already been out.
“According to local weather and the 511 Wisconsin website, it looks like we should be okay to head out. There are still some icy stretches, but I bet by the time we get to them, the plows will have spread more of that sand and salt mixture shit,” Devil responds, and I nod before turning back to Darren, frowning.
“Already thought of that, Pres,” Punisher tells me as he pulls out a big black duffle bag. “I grabbed this and a few other goodies before we left.”
I smirk at the dark looks Punisher and the others are giving Darren. They are all going to enjoy getting their pound of skin from him.
“Alright. Let’s pack up and get the trucks cleaned off and warmed up. I’ll go wake Lark up.”
Heading into the other room, I find Lark just starting to wake up.
“Hey,” she says, her voice raspier than usual from sleep. She rubs the sleep from her eyes and sits up. “How are the roads?”
“Good. We may run into a little ice here and there, but otherwise it looks like the plows have been working overtime to clear the foot of snow we got.”
Her mouth drops open in surprise and she scrambles to untangle her legs from the blankets and quickly crosses the room to the window to see for herself.
“Damn. I’m even more glad you were able to get here before the roads closed from the snow.”
A tremble runs through her. I cross the room, pulling her into my arms, turning her so that she’s facing me. Seeing her misty eyes and the haunted look in them breaks my heart.
“Darlin’, I would have commandeered one of those fucking snowplows or found a snowmobile to get to you. Nothing will ever stop me from coming to save you.”
She gives me a small smile. “I know,” she says and then her face hardens. “I would have done the same if it had been you that had been taken. Nothing would have stopped me from coming after you, either.”
I pull her closer to me, slamming my lips down on hers at her declaration. Fuck, this woman is perfect for me. After a moment, she breaks the kiss and looks up at me with a dark, mischievous glint in her eyes.
“We should probably get ready. I don’t know about you, but I’m itching to get back home and find out more about why Darren did what he did.”
I grin and kiss her forehead. Yeah, this woman’s fucking perfect for me.
I watch as she gathers her things and slips into the bathroom.
Once the door shuts, I pick up my own things and pack my backpack.
Scanning the room, it looks like everyone else has packed their things and I add my bag to the pile of bags on the other bed in the room before heading into the adjoining room.
On the bed, Smithy and Loki are holding open the large duffle bag Punisher brought.
Beast, Punisher, and Python pick up Darren and lay him down inside the bag.
His hands have been tied together in front of him and another rope has been wrapped around his torso which continues lower to wrap around his stomach, trapping his arms against his body.
Glancing down, I notice his legs have been tied together and another rope has been tied around his thighs.
I look back up to his face and am relieved to see that he’s still out of it and that a piece of duct tape has been placed over his mouth.
I run my finger underneath each section of rope, nodding in approval.
“Is everything else ready to go?” I ask and they all give me a chin lift.
“Doc, Atlas, and Cannon went down to clear off the trucks and warm them up,” Devil tells me right as Lark walks into the room.
My cock twitches in my jeans at seeing her chocolate hair piled up on her head in a tight bun, and although I can tell she’s dressed for what’s to come later, the confidence she exudes is sexy as fuck.
Her eyes darken and her jaw clenches when she sees Darren trussed up and laying in the bag. She tests each of the ropes and nods in approval when she sees for herself that there’s no way he can get out of his constraints. They’re tight, but not so tight that they cut off circulation.
“You ready, Darlin’?”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Okay, let’s head out.”
As I turn down the street leading to the clubhouse, I eye Lark again.
She’s been quiet the entire ride home, staring out the window with a contemplative look on her face.
I stop to let the gate open and then park in front of the clubhouse.
I share a look with Loki in the rear-view mirror and he nods, getting out of the truck, and heads inside.
I shift and look Lark over more closely. She’s still staring out the window in thought, not even realizing we’re back home.
“You alright, Darlin’?”
She startles and blinks repeatedly before looking around. Her cheeks pinken a little when she realizes where we are. “Sorry about that. Guess I zoned out.”
“You sure you want to do this?”
Her face softens and she reaches over, placing her hand on mine. I turn it over, lacing our fingers together.
“I’m sure, Anthony. I want to put my name in to Prospect, and I want to be included in everything that’s going to happen with Darren.
” She sighs and shakes her head, her forehead creasing in thought.
“I was just thinking back to everything Darren told me and was trying to see if there was something I missed over the years. Some point where I could have ended this a long time ago… but I can’t think of anything other than that first time.
” She sighs heavily again. “I just want this to be over with so we can live our lives without having to look over our shoulders for these assholes.”
Lifting her hand, I kiss her knuckles. “We’ll see what we can get out of Darren. Who knows, there might be something that points us toward the second stalker.” I squeeze her hand and then let go, shutting off the truck. “Let’s head inside, Darlin’. We’ll have Church after lunch.”
Releasing each other’s hands, we climb out of the truck. As we walk into the clubhouse, Lark is immediately wrapped in Mama Astrid’s embrace. Both of their eyes are misty when they pull apart.
Then Mama Astrid starts her usual mother henning. “Here I am, damn near mauling you as soon as you come into the clubhouse when you’re probably starving. Hotel and road food are no match for our cooking.”
Lark laughs as she nods and wipes her eyes. “Food would be most definitely welcomed. We just stopped for snacks and coffee on the way here, worried we might get caught in the next system that’s coming in later today.”
“Well, then let’s get you all fixed up,” she says as she links her arm through Lark’s and leads her into the kitchen.
Punisher, Loki, Beast, and Doc break off to take Darren downstairs. The rest of the guys and I follow behind Lark, all of us eager to get some food. Gas station snacks don’t last long between guys that are used to eating a couple of helpings damn near every meal.
Twenty minutes later, I kiss Lark’s forehead as the guys head into Church. “Give us a few minutes, Darlin’, and then I’ll come get you.”
She nervously gnaws on her bottom lip as she nods.
She hadn’t said anything when we got in the truck other that she’d like to wait so that she could say everything once and only once, which none of us questioned her on.
Well, I should say I wanted to only because I wanted to know the reasons behind why Darren did what he did.
I follow behind the guys, shutting the door behind me. Walking over to the head table in the room, I bang the hammer against the table.
“Alright, most of you know this, and for those that weren’t there, you might have heard by now. Before Lark comes in, we need to do a vote. She’d like to put her name in to Prospect.”
Odin frowns as he leans forward and rasps his knuckles on the table in front of him.
“I’m not speaking against it, I’m actually for it, but I think we need to think about this a bit more.
Lark is already an Old Lady, and with that comes a shit ton of respect from everyone.
How exactly, or I should say, what duties of a Prospect’s would she be doing?
She already oversees all the bunnies; our supplies, other than our guns and ammo, I mean; the books; and her and Astrid are usually the ones cooking and planning all the parties.
I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t exactly feel comfortable ordering an Old Lady to clean the toilets or something similar.
Let’s not forget, she owns two businesses as well.
Then there’s the matter of her cut. Personally, I think she continues to wear her Old Lady cut even if she is a Prospect. ”