Page 101 of Reaper

“You already do.”

twenty-one

The longer theraces go on the more tense I become. Nothing has happened outside of the usual drunken fight and hotheaded argument, but nothing aimed our way. Scanning the crowd, I spot Spider making his way through the crowd.

“Look, it’s Roxy.” Natalie taps my chest with the back of her hand.

I look down and see my girl smiling from ear to ear as she bounces on the balls of her feet.

“Do you think she will win?”

“The other car does look nice but I think Roxy will win,” she says adamantly.

“Good because I had Wrath put a grand on the race with her winning for you.”

Natalie whips her head toward me, eyes wide. “I’m sorry, I think I just heard you say you bet one thousand dollars on a race for me.”

“Technically, Wrath did, but I had him do it.”

“Harrison Kingston, that is way too much money. Why would you do something like that?” she scolds.

“What, you don’t think your friend will win?” I tease.

She looks back at the cars and nibbles on her lip before looking back at me. “Of course I think she will win, but that’s a lot of money.”

It hits me all at once that she once told me Danworth didn’t allow her access to money. So the amount I just dropped for shits and giggles probably makes her uncomfortable.

“It’s just money. Is it a lot? Yes, but if, on the off chance, she loses and we don’t win, that’s okay. I will just make more money later.”

“But if she lost, won’t you get mad at me for picking the wrong person?”

I shake my head and touch her chin. “Never, you didn’t ask to bid, I did it to surprise you. If we lose, that’s on me, not you. Understood?”

“Driver ready?” the flag girl yells.

“Okay,” Natalie says softly.

“Okay, now watch your friend kick some ass.”

As soon as the flag drops, Natalie goes wild.

“Go, Roxy, Go!” she cheers.

I can’t help but laugh at her excitement as I hold her close.

Sure enough, Roxy crosses the finish line seconds ahead of the other guy.

Movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention. I turn and see Roman next to the starting line with his arms crossed and a wide smile on his face. He looks proud as fuck that his woman is such a badass. I know that feeling all too well.

Natalie isn’t the same broken woman I picked up off the ground outside of the gates of the clubhouse. She’s slowly becoming a force of her own and I love it.

Natalie turns in my arms and looks up at me. “What now?”

“Well, let’s go collect your winnings and then we can get out of here. Maybe have someone order food so it’s at the clubhouse when we get there.”

“Hmmm…do you know what sounds really good?”

“What?”

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