Joanna Wylde - Reaper's Property

I want to express my appreciation to Raelene Gorlinsky, the editor and publisher who wouldnt give up on me, and my test readers, Mary and Alicia. Thanks also to my husband who is endlessly supportive of all my creative efforts. Finally, a special thanks to my first editor, Martha Punches, who has continually encouraged me to keep writing even though I took so many years off. Martha, you were right about past progressive tense verbs, and I was wrong

Eastern Washington, Yakima Valley

Sept. 17Present Day

Marie

Crap, there were bikes outside the trailer.

Three Harleys and a big maroon truck I didnt recognize.

Good thing Id stopped by the grocery store on the way home. It had already been a long day and the last thing I wanted to do was to run out and buy even more food, but the guys always wanted to eat. Jeff hadnt given me any extra beer money and I didnt want to ask himnot with his money troubles. It wasnt like I paid rent. For a guy whose entire mission in life was to smoke pot and play video games, my brother Jeff had done a lot for me over the past three months. I owed him and I knew it.

Id already grabbed some beer and ground beef thatd been on sale. Id planned on burgers, buns and chips for the two of us, but I always made extra, for leftovers. Gabby had given me a watermelon shed picked up in Hermiston that weekend. I even had a big potato salad all made up for the potluck after work tomorrow. Id have to stay up late making another one but I could handle that.

I smiled, thankful something in my life was going right. Less than a minute to plan and Id figured out a mealmight not be gourmet, but it wouldnt embarrass Jeff either.

I pulled up next to the bikes, careful to leave them plenty of room. Id been terrified of the Reapers the first time theyd come over. Anyone would be. They looked like criminals, all tattooed and wearing black leather vests covered in patches. They cussed and drank and could be rude and demanding, but theyd never stolen or broken anything. Jeff had warned me about them lots of times but he also considered them friends. Id decided he was exaggerating about the danger, for the most part. I mean Horse was dangerous enough, but not because of any criminal activity

Anyway, I think Jeff did some web design for them or something. Some kind of business. Why a motorcycle club needed a website I had no idea, and the one time Id asked him about it he told me not to ask.

Then hed scuttled off to the casino for two days.

I got out of the car and went around back to grab the groceries, almost scared to see whether Horses bike was in the lineup. I wanted to see him so bad it hurt but wasnt sure what Id say if I did. Its not like hed answered my text messages. But I couldnt help myself, I had to check for him, so I grabbed my groceries and walked over to the bikes to scope them out before going inside.

I dont know much about bikes, but I knew enough to recognize his. Its big and sleek and black. Not all bright and decorated the way you sometimes see bikes on the freeway. Just big and fast, with giant, fat tailpipes off the back and more testosterone than should be legal.

The motorcycle was almost as beautiful as the man who rode it. Almost.

My heart stopped when I saw that bike, right on the end. I wanted to touch it, see if the leather of the seat was as smooth as I remembered, but I wasnt stupid enough to do that. I didnt have the right. I really shouldnt even be excited to see him, but I felt a rush knowing he was right inside my trailer. Things werent smooth between us and I honestly didnt know if hed even acknowledge me. For a while hed seemed almost like my boyfriend. The last time Id seen him, hed scared the crap out of me.

Even scary, the man made my panties wet.

Tall, built, with shoulder-length hair he kept pulled back in a ponytail, and thick black stubble on his face. Stark, tribal cuffs ringed his wrists and upper arms. And what a face Horse was handsome, like movie star handsome. Id bet he had women coming out his ears, and the fact that hed spent more than one night in my bed made me all too aware that his beauty wasnt just above the belt. The thought of his below-belt assets led to a brief but intense fantasy about him, me, my bed and some chocolate syrup.

Yum.

Shit. Dessert. I needed dessert for tonight. Horse loved sweets. Were there any chocolate chips? I could do cookies, so long as there was enough butter. Please dont let him be pissed at me, I prayed silently, even though I was pretty sure God wasnt interested in prayers where the promise of fornication played such a prominent role. I reached the door and juggled the bags, sliding most of them onto my right arm so I could turn the handle. I walked in and looked around the living room.

Then I screamed.

My baby brother knelt in the center of the room, beaten raw and dripping blood all over the carpet. Four men wearing Reapers cuts stood around him. Picnic, Horse and two I didnt knowa big, built hunk of a man with a mohawk, tattoos on his skull and about a thousand piercings, and another who was tall and cut, with light-blond hair in short spikes. Horse studied me with the same cool, almost blank expression he wore when we first met. Detached.

Picnic studied me too. He was tall with short, dark hair that looked far too stylish to be on a biker and bright blue eyes that pierced right through a girlId met him at least five times. He was the club president. He had a great sense of humor, carried pictures of his two teenage girls to flash whenever he got the slightest opportunity and had helped me shuck corn the last time hed come to visit.

Oh, and he also stood right behind my brother with a gun pointed at the back of his head.

June 16Twelve weeks earlier

Marie, you did the right thing, Jeff said, holding an ice pack to my cheek. That cocksucker deserves to die. You will never, ever regret leaving him.

I know, I replied, miserable. He was rightwhy hadnt I left Gary earlier? Wed been high school sweethearts, married at nineteen and by the time I hit twenty I already knew Id made a terrible mistake. It took until now, five years later, to realize just how terrible.

Today hed backhanded me right across the face.

After that, it only took another ten minutes to do what I hadnt managed in all our time together. I threw my clothes in my suitcase and left his abusive, cheating ass.

Im kind of glad he did it, I said, looking down at the scarred formica table in my moms trailer. She was taking a little vacation at the moment in jail. Moms life is complicated.

What the fuck, Marie? Jeff asked, shaking his head. Youre fucked in the head, talking like that.

My brother loved me, but he wasnt exactly a poet. I offered him a wan smile.

I stayed with him for way too long, just taking it. I think I might have stayed forever. But when he hit me, its like it woke me up. I went from being terrified of leaving to just not caring anymore. Honestly, I dont care, Jeff. He can keep everythingthe furniture, the stereo, all that shit. Im just glad to get out.

Well, you can stay here as long as you need to, he said, gesturing around the singlewide. It was small and dank and smelled kind of like pot and dirty laundry, but I felt safe here. This had been my home for most of my life, and while it might not have been a picture-perfect childhood, it hadnt been too bad for a couple of white-trash kids whose dad took off before they hit grade school.

Well, good until Mom blew out her back and started drinking. Things went downhill after that. I looked around the singlewide, trying to think. How was this going to work?