Page 20 of Reaper's Rival

Sometimes there was no arguing with Dad. This was one of those times where you just backed down because he had his head locked on to what was going to happen and there wasn’t anything changing his mind.

So this was one of those times. You either folded and gave in to his will, or you stood strong and fronted the storm by yourself.

Why did I feel this was questioning my character and who I was, or more importantly, who I should be?

Was I the girl who ran home to Dad to solve my mess, or was I the girl who took the gun pointed at my head and twisted it back in Damon’s face?

Guess it all depended on one thing.

I pushed back on the table, my chair dragging backward.

“Can I talk to you?”

Kade’s eyebrows arched as his eyes stuck to mine. “Sure, why the fuck not.” He rose from his chair and, in silence, we walked out of the boardroom. He pushed the door open for me and held it.

When it swung shut, his eyes were locked on me. My eyes drank in the man in front of me. Tall, covered in leather, tattoos, and scars. Those soul-sucking eyes of his that I could lose myself in.

I took a sharp breath in. “I love you.”

He frowned. “Where’s this coming from?”

“Do you love me?” It was a simple question. Yet I knew it would have a complicated answer.

But after all these years, surely he knew, right? Surely deep down he would know.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and just stared at me. “Never been hooked on a woman as much as I have been on you. Done a lot of shit to try and keep you, and then done a lot of shit that should have driven you away. So no, Abby, I don’t love you. I fucking love you. I would kill for you, die for you, and what I feel for you is fucking unhealthy, but I wouldn’t change it. Does that answer your question?”

It answered a hell of a lot more than one question.

“Then I will fold. Let Dad take over.” I took a step forward, placing a hand on his chest, feeling the leather under my hand. “It’s not easy to swallow my pride, but I will. For us. So we can move forward.”

“Babe, as soon as you drove into the lot, I wasn’t letting you leave.”

A smile spread across my lips. Guess I should have expected that.

Chapter 6

Abby

They say you have to meet the devil before you know the important things in life. I learned my lesson the hard way that running doesn’t get you anywhere. You can run, but what you are really running from just follows you. That shit follows you to your early grave.

The door swung closed behind me. The door that had Reaper’s name painted on it in red writing. You would think by now I would have learned this lesson, but I just kept going back to the devil and each time I left him, I lost more of myself.

The leather vest slid down his arms; he hung it on the back of the chair. He undid the holsters and placed them on his bedside table. The tight-fitting tee shirt was on the floor within a minute, and he slumped down at the edge of his bed.

The beautifully inked skull across his chest that mixed with black roses and thorns caught my eye. He lita cigarette and placed it between his lips.

How could a man that screamed danger be so alluring?

And I just stood at the door.

Watching.

His tattooed hand handed across the lit cigarette. Taking the few steps toward him, I took it.

Maybe when it came to him, I was just stupid.

Sighing, I sat down beside him on the bed, still keeping some distance between us.

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