“I’ll bring her back,” he swore through gritted teeth, walking back toward the truck. “She might not be able to sit for a week when I’m done with her, but she’s coming back.”
Reaper hadn’t thought the women could hear his threat, but Sex Piston had excellent hearing.
“Save some of that ass for me!” she shouted. “I’m going to—”
Inside the truck, Reaper slammed the door shut on whatever she was saying.
Fuck, now he was going to have to go gentle on her ass, knowing Sex Piston and her crew were going to take their own turns walloping her for scaring the hell out of them.
As Cash backed out the driveway, neatly avoiding the onslaught of motorcycles, Reaper turned around to face Rider and Shade in the back seat. Holding onto the back of the seat as Cash forced his truck down the road, tires squealing, he stared at Shade. “What I’m about to ask is shitty of me,” he began. “You’ve got Lily and kids, and I’ve been a dick to you since I was freed, but I’m going to ask anyway.”
Holding onto the door handle to keep himself from being flung into the front seat as Cash whipped around, blowing through a red light, Shade tightened jaw before he seethed out, “We’ve got three minutes before we’re at the airport; quit blowing smoke up my ass and tell me what you need.”
Reaper knew he didn’t deserve his friends. He never had.
He shook the morose thought out of his head. He wasn’t going back down that fucking road again. He was going to take advantage of what he had available to him, and Shade was more than an advantage; he was the elite in a category of men, who could name their own price to get a job done, and Shade didn’t fail.
Reaper was still outlining what he needed when Cash brought the truck to a stop only feet away from where Train’s chopper sat on the helipad with its blades whirling overhead. The four men jumped out of the truck. Reaper had been so intent on talking to Shade that he hadn’t noticed the rest of the brothers had been following behind on their bikes.
Stopping beside the truck, Viper got out of his SUV, carrying a duffel bag. Reaper was taking it from him when Knox pulled up next to them in his squad car, lights flashing. Getting out of the car, Knox handed him a yellow envelope.
“All the paperwork you need is in there.”
“Thanks, Knox.” He’d have time later to appreciate whatever strings it took for Knox to get him legal marriage certificates in less than an hour.
Knox held his hand out to him, and Reaper took it, finding himself pulled into a bear hug.
“Make sure you bring your asses home.”
“I will,” Reaper said, giving the brother a hug back before pulling away.
Looping the strap of the duffel bag over his shoulder, he mimicked Knox’s show of affection, pulling Viper close. “Thanks, bro.”
“Anytime. That’s what I’m here for.” Viper hugged him back.
When Viper released him from the tight hug, he took a step toward Rider so he could be heard over the sound of the helicopter. “You once offered to have my back, and when I didn’t take it, I paid for my stupidity with ten years of my life. I don’t want to make the same mistake twice. I need your help.”
“What’d you want?” Rider walked next to him, moving toward the chopper.
“Allerton, I want his nuts in a vice,” Reaper yelled over the sound of the blades.
“The Last Riders are comfortable, but we don’t have the kind of money to break that fucker. He has billions, and his friends have even more.”
“We might not have billions, but we have something he doesn’t have. We have Crux.” Giving Rider a fist bump on his shoulder, Reaper then got in the chopper, giving Train a thumbs-up as he buckled in. A key to any successful mission was to know when to divide-and-conquer. Crux’s and Shade’s skill sets couldn’t be beaten. Crux would devise a way to get Ginny and him out, while Shade could dispatch anyone who stood in their way going into hell.
Train immediately went airborne.
Looking downward, Reaper saw The Last Riders lift their fists in unison. Seeing the number of men sprawled out on the tarmac below and more motorcycles still arriving, their support for him hit him harder than any punch to the face could have.
Despite everything he had put them through, they were just as willing to support him now as they had been when they had become friends in the service. He deserved the dick award for being the biggest jerk alive, not deserving the loyalty they were showing him.
He had been so locked in his hatred-fueled rage that it seemed insurmountable to get back on an even keel with them, but as Train flew higher, gaining clearance to avoid the looming mountains, Reaper realized he no longer needed to climb out of the depths he had been swallowed in. He was now able to fly because of one person. Ginny.
He had to get her back, and not only for T.A., Sex Piston, and all her friends and family, but for himself. She was his, had always been and would always be until the end of time. He now accepted her term: soul mates. Allerton might be the richest man in the world, making him believe himself invincible living on his fucking island. What the fucker didn’t know was, no matter how rich he might be, he could never cheat death, and death was unquestionably coming for the motherfucker.
Chapter Five
Viper watched the chopper fly away, and every part of his being wanted to be on board with his brother.
Lowering his fist when the chopper was out of sight, he turned to the brothers lined up behind him. “I want every Last Rider in Kentucky at the club in one hour,” Viper ordered of Cash. “If they can’t be there, tell them I want their fucking cuts and bikes. Call Stud and Calder; they’ve got an iron in this fire.”
Going to his bike, Viper was the first to leave the airport, the brothers riding behind him in formation. Reaching the clubhouse, Viper then directed the brothers to wait outside in the backyard as he directed Nickel to organize a Zoom call so the club in Ohio could listen in on the meeting.
He waited for a moment before joining the brothers outside, forcing himself to appear calm while his thoughts were with Reaper. Self-doubt assailed him. He should have gone with him.
Viper needed to think analytically and started making plans to support Reaper and to organize what he could do from here. It was going to be a fucking miracle if Reaper managed to get on the plane with Ginny, and he would need an even bigger miracle to be allowed to accompany her to the island.
During any military operation, it was intrinsic to the plan to have someone on the ground coordinating the attack, and as much as Viper wanted to have Reaper’s six, he was equally useful accomplishing their goals here, to ensure his brother returned safely with Ginny.
Most of the brothers were already here, waiting for their orders. One by one, the women began arriving, as well. Lucky had escorted T.A., Dalton, Sex Piston, and the Coleman brothers, except for Silas and Fynn, to the side yard where they could distance themselves and still be able to hear what was being said.
King and Evie were the last to arrive. Evie went to stand with the women while King positioned himself with the brothers, next to Shade.
Taking a final calming breath, Viper walked out to the backyard and recapped what had happened in the courthouse that morning. Then he went on retell the story T.A. had provided about Allerton and Ginny.