Page 160 of Resurfaced Passion

Keeping her in the curve of his arm, Reaper turned to Archie. “What we looking at here? I’m taking her home,” he added more forcefully with a warning shaking his voice. If any fucker tried to stop him they’d see what kind of psycho he could become.

Moving his briefcase from one hand to another, Archie glanced at Rider. “Maybe give me more than a five-minute heads up next time with drug charges.”

“Will do. What’s happenin?”

“Fortunately, Miss Simmons didn’t tell them too much before I got here.” Reaper squeezed her tightly. “If charges are to be brought, they’re going to be minimal at best. I did what I could under the circumstances.”

A dark growl formed in his mouth. “This is bullshit.”

“I agree. Which is why with my counsel, my client told everything she knew about her father dealing drugs and to whom and as of right now, the man in question should be getting picked up.”

“Paige…” He rasped, looking down at her. She was deathly pale and all he could think about was shepherding her out of the cop shop and getting her home into a hot bath. Maybe a locked safe room where no one else could try to take her from his arms.

“I had to,” she said quietly. “I’ll go to prison, I don’t care.” Another animalistic sound from Reaper. Over his dead fucking body. He wrapped an arm around her waist. “Don’t say anything else, baby, until we’re out of here. I can take her, right?” He phrased the question to Archie.

“Yes, she’ll need to come back for questioning at some point. I’ve signed all the necessary paperwork for now. I’m available twenty-four-seven if they should come to get her and remember, Miss Simmons, not a word this time before I get here.”

“Thank you,” Reaper said, offering his hand and the other man grinned. “It’s what you pay me for. Miss Simmons, we’ll speak soon. Try not to worry so much.”

En masse, with Paige’s hand firmly locked inside his, they made their way out to the bikes. She pulled him up short before he could get her onto his bike. “You took… care of Sony properly, didn’t you? There’s nothing to discover?”

“There’s nothing,” not unless you could glue ashes back together. “Is that what he was holding over you, Paige?”

She looked away and whittled her lip, he brought her gaze right back by cupping a hand under her chin. “I panicked. He said he’d get you thrown in jail if I didn’t do his jobs again. But then something occurred to me, if dad had anything on you, he would have used it long before now, he’d do anything for a quick buck. He’s good at blackmailing.” laying her forehead to his chest, his boys began to climb back onto their bikes, he vaguely heard Rider tell him he’d seen him at the club before he got on his Harley too.

She sighed and went into a string of apologies he stopped with his thumb on her lip.

“I fucking love you. I was gonna kill him, bug. Your father. When I worked out what that asshole was doing, I was gonna put him in the soil.” Her eyes widened at his confession, but she didn’t pull away, wasn’t disgusted in his claim. Taking his thumb over the apple of her cheek, he didn’t like seeing her so pale, so fatigued.

“We do what we do for love,” she said finally, and he felt himself exhale. Thank fuck she didn’t hate him. “Let’s put him away, baby, so he can’t hurt us ever again”

The endearment speared his heart. A long time ago she called him baby all the time, he’d waited so fucking long to hear it again.

“I love you,” Paige whispered, the breeze carrying her hair around her face as she lifted it up for him to press a gentle reaffirming kiss to her lips. “I love you, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It won’t happen again. And spank me later?”

All her words ran into one and he found himself smiling before kissing her again as motorcycles thundered off around them. “What the fuck am I gonna do with you, ladybug, huh?”

“Keep me, love me forever, spank me. Hint, hint.”

Reaper would swear there was no more threads to vine him to Paige, but as her words warmed the inside of his eyelids, he felt the vines reach out and crawl around Paige, locking her tighter to him in all ways possible.

Husband.

Boyfriend.

Friend.

Protector.

Sidekick.

Caveman.

He was all things to Paige, as long as he was hers, he was a happy asshole.

“Let’s get you home, I have an ass to redden.” He growled in her ear.

They had a lot to go through, serious shit before he could love on his woman, but to hear her giggle again? He would have lifted her skirt right there and palmed her cheeks, if not for him being a possessive motherfucker who would gauge out anyone’s eyes for seeing his girl like that.

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