Reaper's Stand (Reapers MC, #4)(54)

I rolled my eyes and flipped him off, standing up.

“Okay, we’re good here,” I said, glancing pointedly toward the door. London was waiting for me, which meant fightin’ with Horse wasn’t exactly a priority.

“Painter stays out here tonight,” Gage said. “Don’t want to step on your toes, prez, but you need backup. If that really was the cartel, we can’t leave you uncovered.”

I sighed, because I knew he was right. As sergeant at arms, it was Gage’s job to worry.

“Okay, kid,” I said to Painter. “You take the guest room. Tomorrow you head home, grab some shit. Might be stuck here for a while. If Jessica comes back from California, the hands stay off. Don’t care how convenient it would be. Got me?”


Painter gave a sharp nod, and then the meeting was over. Shitty night, but at least I’d be bedding down with London soon. Not sayin’ I was happy her house had blown up, but I guess there’s always good with the bad. Probably best not to share my theory with her under the circumstances, though.

Women get all touchy and shit sometimes.



LONDON

I woke up in a man’s arms for the second time in twenty-four hours. Reese. His body surrounded mine, and I wore a T-shirt that was far too big for me. Not mine. Why was I here?

Then it came back to me.

My house was gone.

My clothing, my pictures, my books . . . All of it. Gone. For no good reason. I lay still in the early-morning light, wondering what the next move should be. What I really wanted to do was cry and feel sorry for myself, but I’ve always been practical. With my life, I’ve had to be—no point in wasting time whining when there’s work to be done.

First up, I needed to call Jessica.

I rolled over to grab my phone and felt Reese’s arm tighten on me. He pulled me back into his hips, the press of his morning erection sending tingles radiating up between my legs to my nipples.

“I need to make some phone calls,” I told him softly. He nuzzled the back of my neck and I squirmed, because I couldn’t just lie down and pretend last night hadn’t happened.

He sighed and loosened his grip.

“I’m here, babe,” he said softly, kissing my shoulder. Three little words, but they felt so good. He was here, with me. For once I wasn’t on my own, and while I wasn’t fool enough to think his presence changed anything in my big picture, just waking up in his arms meant more than I could have imagined.

“Thanks,” I whispered. Then I took my phone and pressed my finger to Jessica’s number. Surprisingly, she answered on the first ring, her voice alert, almost strained. Had Melanie called her already?

“Hey, Jess,” I said softly. “I have some bad news for you.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“I don’t know how to say this . . .”

“Just spit it out,” she snapped. I heard a cracking noise and then she coughed suddenly, gasping.

“You all right?” I asked quickly.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied, her voice more subdued. “Sorry, just dropped something. What’s going on?”

“The house blew up.”

Silence.

“Excuse me?”

“The house blew up,” I repeated, the words sounding unreal even to me. “I don’t know how or why. Probably a gas leak. I’ll talk to the police later today, but it all burned down. There’s nothing left.”

“Is Melanie all right?” she asked, her voice full of dread. I paused, wondering how she knew about Mellie.

“She got out. They took her to the hospital because she hit her head. I’ll go get her in a bit, but I stayed with her long enough to know she’s going to be just fine. Nothing serious. You should know that her mother—”

“I know about her mom,” Jess said softly. “She called me last night after she got to our place. I’ve been thinking of her.”

“I’m just thankful she’s okay . . .” I said. “And I have a place for us to stay, at least until I get the insurance worked out.”

“With Nate?” she asked quickly. Awkward question . . . I hadn’t actually told her about the breakup. Oops.

“Yeah, I should probably talk to you about Nate,” I said, feeling Reese tense behind me. I decided not to worry about him for the moment. “I’m not actually with him anymore. I’m seeing Reese Hayes.”

“That’s fantastic,” Jess said, surprising me with her enthusiasm. She’d never approved of me dating anyone before. Huh. “You’ll be safe with the Reapers.”

“And I wouldn’t with Nate?” I asked, biting back a startled laugh. She didn’t respond. “Well, anyway, I’m with Reese now. I’m out at his place—he was actually with me when the house blew up. He took care of me last night and he said we can stay with him while we get things figured out. He’s got a room upstairs for you.”

“You don’t need to worry about that,” she said quickly. “I was planning to call you anyway. I changed my mind. Mom and I just had a little fight, nothing big. I was exaggerating things. You know how I get all worked up. It’s no big deal.”

I stilled. Reese started rubbing my back soothingly.

“It was a big deal,” I said slowly. “You were scared of those men. I heard it in your voice.”