Page 138 of Reaper

“When the fire was out, and they recovered the bodies…” He hesitates.

“They never recovered Danworth’s body,” Midnight finishes.

Fuck.

“I was worried about that. He was wearing a vest. I was sure of it, but without compromising Natalie, I couldn’t be sure to eliminate the threat,” I admit.

“You made the decision every single one of us would make. Family safety above all else,” Colt reassures me that I did the right thing.

“Goddammit.” I slam my fist on the table.

“He could be dead. You could have hit him somewhere vital. He could have lived long enough to get out. We just have to wait and see,” Trigger says.

“Okay.” I nod, running a hand over my mouth. “We go on as normal. If shit hits the fan, then it’s safe to say we know it’s him. What about the Renegades? Anything from them?”

“Not a peep. We will have to reach out and see where we stand. None of the guys at the motel were theirs, though,” Midnight tells me.

“We’ll wait for now. Let the dust settle. Keep an eye on them to see if they do anything.”

“Sounds good,” Colt says as everyone nods.

“Wrath, give me an update on Tara and Jacob.”

Wrath shifts next to me. “Tara is in pain but will be fine. She’s already bitching that she’s fucked up some job she got outside of the clubhouse.” He rolls his eyes.

“You can’t keep claiming her as your personal sweetbutt, Wrath,” Twitch goads him.

Wrath grumbles, “Fine, then she’s my old lady. As of right now.”

The entire room goes stock still.

“What did you say?” I ask.

He grimaces at me. “I never planned to have an old lady anyway, and if it offers her protection, then I claim her. She’s mine. She gets a club job and can help run this thing with our Queen Bee.”

“I was kidding, brother. You don’t have to claim her. We will respect your wishes,” Twitch adds.

Wrath shakes his head. “It’s been decided.”

“Does she get a say in it?” Midnight teases.

“No. Now onto Jacob. He is off the pills and regulating his pain with over-the-counter shit. Evelyn says he will make a full recovery and as long as he does his physical therapy, he will regain full motion of his shoulder.”

We all let the Tara thing go, focusing on our prospect.

“Where does everyone stand on promoting him to a brother?”

“He’s been a prospect long enough,” Colt says.

Midnight nods. “He’s paid his dues.”

“He’s a good kid. Will make a good brother,” Pinky adds.

“Then it’s decided as soon as everyone’s ready, we throw a patching party.”

“I’ll talk to Honk and Elenore. I’m sure they would be willing to plan it for us. That way, you and Natalie don’t have to worry about it.”

I nod. “I’ll mention it to Natalie. I’m sure she would like to work with Elenore on it. Give her something to funnel all of her energy into right now. Anything else?”

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