Chapter 57 Reaper
Reaper
The church meeting room was packed, the worn, wooden chairs creaking under the weight of restless brothers. The air buzzed with tension and hope, heavy with the aftermath of war but charged with the promise of what was to come.
I stood at the front. Around me, every brother’s eyes were locked on the man who’d led them through the fire. Pride surged through me and made me feel ten feet tall.
“We’ve survived the worst the Fangs could throw at us,” I began, my voice steady but low. “Now, it’s time to build something that lasts, something cleaner, stronger.”
Each brother nodded.
“Finn.” He’d stood beside us through the last raid, earning every scrap of respect and trust. I glanced at him, alert and quiet. “He’s shown what it means to have our backs. Time to patch him in.”
The vote was called, and voices rang out. When the last vote was cast, the room erupted into approving grunts and slaps on backs. Finn was in.
I smiled slightly, the weight on my shoulders lightening. “Welcome to the family, Finn. You earned it.”
Turning back to the room, I laid out the plan. “Tattoo shops, betting offices, bars... we’re moving legit. Link, you lead on the intel side, find us the cleanest ways to make this work. We’re done running in the shadows.”
Riot leaned forward, eyes sharp. “This is more than business, it’s our future.”
I swept my gaze across the roomful of brothers ready for whatever came next. “We rebuild, we protect, and we ride together. Always.”
The meeting closed with a low roar of agreement. Brothers began to drift away, leaving the echoes of commitment and bloodlines in their wake. Finn lingered near the doorway, catching my eye.
“Thanks, Pres,” he said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. “For the vote. For giving me a shot.”
I nodded. “You earned it, Finn. You didn’t just cower away, you had our backs when it mattered.”
He shifted, a small smile breaking through. “Lucy tell you? I kept her company while you guys were out on the raid.”
My lips twitched into a grin, but there was a flare of something else underneath, annoyance, with a twinge of jealousy.
“Yeah, she did. Said you’re like the little brother she never had.
” I told him, my grin tight. In my gut, the thought of her name on his lips stirred something darker.
She was mine to protect, mine to hold, not his, not anyone’s.
Finn laughed, oblivious to the storm of thoughts behind my eyes. “Guess that means I gotta keep her safe too, huh?”
I clapped him on the shoulder, firm, protective. “That’s right. You’re part of this family now. We look out for each other.”
For a moment, we stood side by side, a silent pact, a bridge between old scars and new beginnings.
But even then, I couldn’t shake it. The thought of her, her soft weight pressed against me, the way she’d trusted me even when the world screamed otherwise, pulled at me harder than any plan or vote.
My hands itched to hold her as my mind replayed the sparks of the morning and the frustration of being torn away before I could claim her properly.
She was mine, that much was certain, and damn it, I’d make sure nothing—not raids, not meetings, not the chaos of the streets—ever came between us again.