Page 85 of Finn's Future

The man gave a small, predatory smile. “You used to do good business. You know how this works.”

I didn’t understand what that meant, but I didn’t like the way it sounded.

“If my people handle this,” he continued, “the Dead Knights owe us.”

The words settled heavily in the room.

My fingers curled around the baby monitor as my heart started to pound. Owe them? What did that mean for Finn?

Reaper didn’t answer straight away. His attention moved across the room, calculating, then back to the man.

“I’ll take it to church.”

Not yes, but not a refusal either. All I could think was, please, whatever it takes, just let him come home.

Chapter 39

Kate

Iwatched the man sitting too comfortably in the bar, like he belonged there, like he wasn’t surrounded by people who could break him without blinking.

Moretti.

I said the name over in my head, then grabbed my stomach, suddenly feeling sick. Moretti was the man my parents had been arguing about.

It made my skin itch. Only powerful or stupid people would sit in a bar full of bikers and not be worried.

Reaper had left the prospects scattered around the room while most of the patched members were in church. It should’ve made me feel safer, but it didn’t.

Not really.

Still, I was closer to the stairs. Closer to Noah. That mattered more than anything.

If something went wrong, I could get to him faster than anyone else. That thought was the only thing keeping my breathing steady.

The door opened and everything shifted. Reaper stepped out and the air changed, like the room itself knew to brace. His eyes landed on the man. “Come with me.”

No hesitation.

The man stood and followed like he’d been waiting for it, like he knew he would get to speak at their table.

As he passed, Reaper’s gaze flicked to Lucy and I caught it before I could stop myself from noticing. Something in that look made my stomach roll even more.

Lucy’s hand curled harder around her glass, her knuckles turning white, but she didn’t say a word. Maria placed her hand over Lucy’s and squeezed. They knew something I didn’t.

Maybe because I wasn’t an old lady yet and didn’t know how their world worked.

The door shut behind them and the silence that followed felt heavier than any shouting ever could.

Time dragged.

I couldn’t stop staring at that door, couldn’t stop thinking about what was happening behind it, what kind of things men like them did when no one was watching.

When it finally opened again, the men came back out one by one. Some of them looked almost pleased, like whatever had happened had settled something for them. Others wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes. Not one of them spoke.

My chest ached, like I’d swallowed something I couldn’t get rid of. I didn’t want to be down there anymore.

“I’m going up,” I said, my voice sounding smaller than I wanted it to.