Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“I wasn’t worried,” Reaper grumbles, grabbing the tissue Doc holds out and pressing it against his arm.
“Mm hmm. Let me know if you start feeling anything. I’m sure you drank your share of that swill, too.” He looks at us, too. “Keep an eye on him. I fucking mean it.”
With a last glare to make sure that Reaper'll actually do what he's asked, Doc takes off, leaving the three of us. I know we all wanna be in there with her, but Reaper nods his head towards Mack's quarters, which are just across the hall from hers. “Let's talk without disturbing her.”
I take one end of Mack's couch, Reaper takes the other, and Mack takes a chair after getting us all beers from his fridge. “What's up?”
Reaper takes a long drag while he decides where to start. “I've done some thinking. Almost dying does something to a guy.”
I nod, remembering all too clearly what it it felt like to see Mack’s bike take a hit and be fucking convinced that was it for him. I wasn’t sure any of us were going to make it off that bridge alive, and we nearly didn’t. The only thing that saved us was that when we suddenly dropped back instead of trying to outrun them, the SUVs couldn’t exactly turn to follow. If they’d been less focused on Reaper and Mila, we wouldn’t be here.
Mack nods in agreement, his eyes and jaw hard, barely holding back emotion. “I’ve put way too much fucking work into your sorry ass to lose you. You got that?”
Reaper laughs it off, but we know him well enough to hear how much this has shaken him. His head drops and his shoulders collapse, like he's letting go for the first time since yesterday. “Jesus, you think I wasn’t worried? I had no way to know if you fuckers got away, or if you were just red smears on the highway. I had to hold it together for Mila, but the fucking sounds? The smell of burning tires and gas leaking?” The breath he draws is deep and shaky. “Let’s just say it’s not bringing up good memories.”
My chest is tight, too. Reaper and Mack have known each other for years, which gives them a different connection, but Mack and I have been in the Eagles longer. We had a couple years to develop our friendship before Reaper joined. When he showed up, it was like a piece clicked into place. The three of us are close in a way that I couldn't fucking explain if I tried. Losing him would have broken something in both of us. “We’ve got your back, you know that, right?”
He nods, focusing on the beer in his hand.
Mack puts a hand on his shoulder. “You did fucking good, man. It’s not like before. You saved her.”
Reaper’s whole body shudders. “And that's what I needed to talk to you boys about. She’s good for us. I want to keep her.”
“How do you mean?” I think I know where this is going, but wanna be sure I'm not reading him wrong.
“I fucking like her. A lot. She's so God damned strong, determined, got her heart in the right fucking place. She's fucking beautiful… and she seems to like my broken ass. If she'll have me, I wanna see where this is going.”
“I think we all feel that way,” says Mack, his brows narrowing. “Is that gonna be a problem?”
“Not on my account. I trust you assholes with my life. We do everything else together. If there's anywhere on this whole planet that's fucking full of examples of how this can work, it's the Screaming Eagles motherfucking MC. I want her to be happy, and if she’ll have us, I think we can make that happen.” He pauses to look at me and Mack in turn. “So if you guys wanna say something about it, now's the time.”
“I'm in. I'm fucking surprised you thought it was even a question. Besides, she gets into so much fucking trouble that she’s going to need at least three of us to keep her breathing.” I grin at them, trying to lighten the mood, but they glare back. “Too soon? Look, she needs all the help she can get right now, and no matter what happens, we’re not letting her face it on her own, right?”
They both nod.
“So if she’ll still have us when this is over and done? Fuck yeah.”
Mack nods. “She's made it pretty clear that she likes being with all of us. We like being with her. Why the fuck would I try to break up something that works? If I'm gonna share a woman with anyone, it's gonna be with you two fuckers. And yeah, she deserves to be happy. The three of us can do that for her. So yeah, count me in.”