Chapter 49
Reaper
The clubhouse was buzzing. Brothers gathered around the table, faces grim, eyes sharp. The usual chatter was gone, replaced by the weight of what was coming.
Before I started the meeting, I caught Lucy by the elbow and steered her down the hall, past the noise and curious stares, until we reached the back rooms. I pushed one open and shut the door behind us.
She stood her ground, arms crossed, eyes sparking like she was still daring me to try to cage her.
“Sorry,” I muttered, “for yelling earlier. It scared the hell out of me when you went missing, Lucy, and not a lot scares me.”
Her jaw tightened, but she didn’t flinch. “You asked me to get intel. You can’t lock me up forever, Jay. I’m not fragile. You’ve got to stop treating me like I’ll shatter if I step outside your shadow.”
For a moment, the fire in her eyes caught the steel in mine, and neither of us moved. Then I reached into my kutte, pulled the folded sheet she’d handed me, and held it out. “Rail yard, two days from now. You’re sure?”
“Positive,” she said without hesitation. “They’ll be moving heavy, but it’s their weak spot. If the club hits hard, they’ll fold.”
I studied her a beat longer then nodded once. “Alright, then that’s the plan.” My hand brushed hers when I slid the paper back. “For the record, I know you’re not fragile. That’s what scares me most.”
Her breath caught, but she didn’t look away. “Then trust me enough to stand with you, not behind you.”
Her words hung between us, sharp enough to slice, soft enough to tempt. I didn’t think, just moved. One step, then another, until her back pressed to the wall and my palm landed beside her head.
“Luce...” My voice came out rougher than I meant, low with the kind of hunger I usually kept buried. “You think I don’t trust you? I trust you more than anyone. That’s the problem. You’re the one person who could wreck me if I lose you.”
Her lips parted, the spark in her eyes shifting as heat replaced fire. She didn’t back down. She never did.
“Then stop trying to cage me,” she murmured, her breath brushing my jaw, her hand rubbing against my erection. “Stop treating me like I’m breakable and start treating me like I’m yours.”
That snapped whatever leash I had left.
I dropped to my knees before she could argue, hands at her waist, my eyes locked on hers as I snapped open the buttons of her jeans and shoved the denim down over her hips. Her sharp intake of breath hit me harder than any punch.
“Jay...” It was half a warning, half a plea.
“Don’t tell me to stop,” I interrupted, dragging the fabric down. “Not when you asked me to treat you like you’re mine.”
She braced against the wall, wide-eyed, caught between defiance and the heat already breaking across her face.
My mouth found the soft skin of her thigh first, teasing, tasting until she trembled.
When I finally pressed in closer, claiming her with every slow, deliberate stroke of my tongue through her folds, her hands flew to my shoulders, clutching hard.
Her breath came ragged, broken by gasps she couldn’t swallow. “Jay... Oh, God.”
I anchored her with my grip, refusing to let her slip away, drawing out every whimper, every shiver, until she shattered against me. Her head tipped back, her body giving in completely.
When the tremors eased, I rose, catching her mouth with mine and swallowing the taste of her sigh. She sagged into me, lips swollen, pulse wild under my fingers where I still held her.
“Now,” I rasped, brushing her hair back, letting her see the wrecked hunger still burning in my eyes. “I can face the brothers, but after the meeting”—I kissed her hard, sealing the promise—“you’re mine for the night.”
She gave a breathless laugh, still trembling, and whispered, “You’d better make good on that.”
I adjusted my kutte, waited for her to straighten up, and offered her my hand. Together, we stepped out back out into the smoke and noise, straight into the meeting.
I stood, all eyes on me. “Listen up.”
Silence. Riot and Link, always ready for a fight, looked serious.
“Lucy dug up something big. The Fangs are moving a shipment in two days, rail yard outside town. Heavy security, but it is their weak spot. We hit it hard, we take ‘em down.”
A murmur ran through the space; anticipation mixed with caution.
“This isn’t only about taking down a rival,” I said. “It’s about protecting what’s ours.”
I met every eye in the room, and nobody backed down. “Everyone has a role. We move fast, hit hard, and get out clean. No loose ends.”
Riot cracked his knuckles. “We’re ready, boss.”
Link nodded. “All in.”
The brothers roared a sound of loyalty, of a family ready to bleed for one another.
“Okay, let’s go cause trouble, brothers. Take down a few small places before we hit big in forty-eight hours.”
By dawn, the clubhouse had quieted. The rumble of bikes had faded but tension lingered. Faces were grim, but the fire in their eyes was unmistakable. We’d hit the Fangs that night, but only small places to distract from the big fight coming.
I gathered the brothers again. Riot and Link flanked me, bruised but standing tall. The room circled in, waiting for our next move.
“Good work out there,” I said. “We scattered their men, took their gear, but this isn’t over. We’re closing the net. No more running, no more guessing. The next supply drop, rail yard, heavily guarded—that’s our shot. That’s the big one.”
Riot nodded. “Hit hard, fast. No mistakes.”
I outlined the plan—split teams, tight comms, extraction points, backup. Precision only.
“Lucy’s got eyes inside the city,” I added. “Her intel is solid. We’re not riding in blind.”
A murmur went through the room.
“We’re taking this fight to them, ending it.”
The roar that followed shook the walls.
Inside me, the weight settled. The next move could break us or make us whole again. Either way, there was no turning back.