REAPER'S KISS(32)

I leaned in a kissed him.

Then again.

And again.

I ran my hand down his chest, knowing right where I wanted to go.

But Jace stopped me.

“Fuck, sweetie, we have to talk,” he said. “The reason why I wanted out of there.”

“I love talking to you, Jace, but the subject matter usually sucks.”

“Yeah, this is going to suck,” he said and grinned.

“How bad?”

“Glen.”

“No. I don’t want to hear that name.”

I started to slither away but Jace grabbed me. Kept me close to him.

“Listen to me. We have to finish this thing. We have to end it for good here. There’s no other choice.”

“Your version of end it doesn’t mean him going to jail, does it?”

“No.”

“You’re going to kill him.”

Jace gritted his teeth. “Sweetie, the right thing has to be done. He murdered your mother. I want that wound closed for good for you.”

“Closing a wound doesn’t stop the pain.”

“Of course it doesn’t,” Jace said. “But you can heal. You can scar. You can have the memory. And I want to be the man that holds you when you’re in pain. But I want you to feel something knowing that he received the right kind of justice.”

The words were so honest and powerful. I believed everything Jace said. Call me crazy. Maybe I was falling in love with him. But when he said that to me, I believed him. Every. Single. Word.

I kissed his leather jacket, right at his heart.

“Okay. Go on.”

“We kept the clubhouse on somewhat of a lockdown,” Jace said. “That’s why you weren’t allowed to split. We needed you safe. We were out trying to track down Glen. We found him.”

My heart pounded. “What?”

“We’ve been breaking up gambling and drugs for years. Sometimes we hand it over to the PD to deal with. Sometimes we take it on ourselves. If the cash is big, we want it. The last thing we did f*cked up everything for Frank. That’s why Frank was taken out. Sid called Glen and we’re settling this.”

“He agreed?”

“This is where you’re going to hate me, sweetie,” Jace said.

“Why?”

“Remember when you said you’d do anything?”

“Sure.”

Jace touched my face and moved hair behind my ear. “Sweetie, we offered Glen a truce. He’s going to take back half the money. The other half we’re keeping as a warning. But there’s one more factor.”

“Which is?”

“You,” Jace said. “We agreed to give you to him…”





I never moved so fast in all my life. One second I was on Jace’s chest, the next I was flying through the house. I went out the backdoor and stood on the porch. I slammed against the railing and thought I was going to flip over it. Luckily I caught myself and just stood there staring out to the night.

Give me up?

Glen wanted me for one thing. To kill me.

I heard the door open behind me.

“Sweetie, you know damn well I would never let anything happen to you.”

“What if I say no?” I asked without looking back.

“Then the deal is off. Glen is on the hunt. The MC could only do so much. If you turn your back on the MC…”

I looked back at Jace. His face looked worn.

“And you’re okay with this?”

“No,” he said. “I hate this. I f*cking hate this. But to me there’s no other choice in the matter. It’s the only way to isolate Glen. And confuse him. The second he sees you, Ava, he’s going to lose his mind. That’s where we come in.”

“Where is this happening?”

“The store,” Jace said. “It’s the most logical place. It’s the only place. Play into everyone’s emotions.”

“Including mine!” I yelled. I turned and leaned against the railing. “I hate you for this, Jace.”

He stepped toward me. “I know you do, sweetie. I hate me for it too. Look, I care about you, Ava. Goddammit, the feeling…”

I threw my hand forward and covered his mouth. “It’s my turn to talk for a second. I feel it too, Jace. Whatever this is. I hate you for making me trust you so much. But I do trust you. Whatever you need from me.”

I slid my hand away.

Jace grabbed my waist and lifted me, sitting me on the narrow railing. “Sweetie, I’ve had nothing in my life. The MC was a last resort that worked for me. Until I met you, I never knew what real was. All I did was chase the reaper… or let the reaper chase me… Bouncing around the club. Taking my orders. Taking my hits. I ended up with this f*cking house and nothing to do with it. Now your shit is all over the place. The house smells like you. Smells like a woman. I’m okay with that. I’m okay with all of this happening right now. I want you to understand that.”

“Okay. I’m sorry I stormed away. I feel like everyone in my life is suddenly letting me down. Pushing me away.”

“I would never push you away, sweetie,” Jace said. “But I have a loyalty to the patch. To the cut. I have honor there. You see criminals, I see freedom. Glen was a criminal. He took your mother’s life. I’m going to take his freedom away.”