Page 61 of Finn's Future

“I don’t care who you want,” Reaper continued, “but feelings don’t come before the club. Ever.”

The words landed hard because there wasn’t anger behind them this time. Just fact.

“You don’t get reckless,” he said. “You don’t make us reactive instead of prepared.”

“I know.”

“You sure?” Spider muttered.

Reaper lifted one hand slightly and Spider shut up immediately.

Then Reaper looked back at me. “You fucked up,” he said bluntly. “But you owned it. That’s the only reason you’re still sitting at this table instead of prospecting again.”

That got everyone’s attention.

Reaper leaned back slightly in his chair. “You wanna earn trust back?” he asked. “Then prove you can think clearly when it matters.”

“How?”

“You stop acting like a man chasing a woman and start acting like a patched brother again.”

The words stung more than I expected, because he wasn’t fully wrong.

A long silence followed before Reaper added, “And if Kate asks for you again . . .”

Every muscle in my body locked tight as his gaze stayed on mine.

“That becomes a different conversation.” Reaper had acknowledged something nobody else would touch out loud.

Kate mattered.

Whatever had happened between us, he’d seen it too.

His expression hardened again. “Until then, you stay focused.”

I gave a single nod. “Yeah, Pres.”

Reaper studied me another second before looking away. “Church is done.”

Chairs scraped back as conversations started again around the room, but I stayed where I was for a moment longer.

Chapter 27

Kate

9 days back

The truck rattled over the uneven road, every bump making Noah’s car seat shift slightly beside me.

My hand stayed on him anyway.

Outside, town had long disappeared behind us. The roads had narrowed into thick forest, trees crowding close on either side until it felt like they were swallowing us whole.

I checked the side mirror again.

Keno’s headlight still cut through the dark behind us.

It should’ve made me feel safer, but it didn’t.