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“The Reapers may be a club filled with bikers, but we are also a community. The guys are just part of that, and you will find many women only too happy to talk to you about life there. My wife Ashton will be waiting to offer a warm welcome, along with Bonnie, Snake’s much better half.”
The man himself heads our way and rasps, “I heard that.” He turns to Faith and winks. “You’ll soon see why Bonnie stays. She adores every bad bone in my body.”
“Keep telling yourself that and one day you may even believe it.”
Ryder shakes his head. “If you have any questions, ask the girls. If they can’t answer them, ask Sinner and if he gives you any trouble, you come to me.”
I say fiercely, “She won’t have any problems with me. You can be sure of that.”
Faith laughs softly as the two guys wink and head toward the door, and I say softly, “I wouldn’t bring you here if I didn’t think it was the best place possible for you and Hope. As I said before, just trust me sweetheart, I only want what’s best for you.”
I stand and hold out my arms to take Hope from her, so she can organize herself before we head outside. As my daughter snuggles against me, I love hearing her soft breath against my ear. She feels as light as a feather and as fragile and is obviously an angel because she has not complained once in all the time I’ve known her. The fact I wasn’t there when she was born is something I must let go because I’m here now and intend on treating them both so well they will never want to leave.
* * *
Blade is waitingand I curse the fact he was sent at all. He’s not a great advert for my cause because he is one scary motherfucker. We call him Blade because he wears a six-inch scar down his right cheek, and he loves to wear a bandana around his shoulder length hair that is currently tied in a ponytail around the back. His dark unshaven jaw is brooding and rarely smiling and his eyes flash with animosity even when he is. He is larger than most of the Reapers, courtesy of his insane height and triceps that could wrestle a bear. Blade is not the best walking advert for normality, and I sense Faith stiffen as I whisper, “This is as bad as it gets, Faith. Underneath it all, he’s a pussycat.”
Faith colors up when he nods and throws his cigarette to the ground, stamping on it hard.
“Welcome, darlin”. He growls in a deep voice that I liken to rusty nails on a chalk board. Rough, unrefined, and crude, much like the man himself, and I’m wondering if this is a shock tactic because nothing at the Rubicon will be as bad as him.
“Hi.” Faith says shyly and I almost detect a gleam of humor in Blade’s eye as he peers at my daughter.
“What’s her name?” he says, jerking his thumb to the bundle in Faith’s arms and she says shakily, “Hope.”
He grins, revealing a strangely perfect set of white teeth and says more gently than I have ever heard him speak, “She’s a beauty.” He flicks his gaze at me and shakes his head.
“What?” I say scratchily and he grins. “She sure doesn’t take after you, Sinner. How the fuck did you create something so perfect?”
From the expression on Faith’s face, she is already happier than when we met him, and I sense myself relaxing. Yes, sending Blade was a stroke of genius and whoever’s idea it was, has earned my undying gratitude.
Once they are settled in the car, I sit beside Blade and join the line of Harleys, all heading in one direction. My own bike has been loaded on a separate truck, along with our baggage and despite how much I love riding with my brothers, riding with my family tops it every single time.
“I heard the mission was a success.” Blade makes conversation and I nod, glad to be away from that fucking town.
“You could say that.”
I look behind me and am rewarded with the sweetest smile from two angels, and it makes my heart lurch when I witness the desire flashing in Faith’s eyes. I know that look. I’ve seen it countless times before and I didn’t really expect to see it again. As we lock eyes, there is a stirring in my pants that tells me only one thing. Tonight is going to be a bastard if she doesn’t feel the same.
Hope is awake and smiling as Faith tickles her under the chin and holds her little hand as she plays with her fingers. I can’t tear my eyes from them because this is like a hammer delivering blows to my heart.
This is everything to me and I steal many a glance in the rear-view mirror and hope like crazy everything works out for us.
Blade turns on the radio and sweet country music fills the car and I tease, “I didn’t have you down as a country boy, Blade.”
“It was my grandma’s favorite. Dolly Parton was her idol, and I grew up on it.” He shrugs. “It has its place, but I prefer heavy rock, if I’m honest.”
It makes me laugh because why am I not surprised?
“I was in a band once.” He says suddenly.
“What happened?” I’m interested because Blade doesn’t open up much about life before the Reapers and he shrugs. “The usual shit. Manager got greedy. The rest of the band pissed away our fortune on drugs and whores and we ended up in a blackmail plot to expose us to the press.”
“Yeah, usual shit.” I shake my head as Faith giggles, and I say with interest. “What was the band called?”
“Hell.” He says with a shrug, and I catch Faith’s eye and we share an amused grin.
“What happened after Hell froze over?” I joke and he sighs. “Things were hot for a while, so I enlisted. Didn’t take long to reach the marines and after an unfortunate altercation with my commanding officer, I was sent to Ryder.”
