He pulled his helmet on, and before I had a response, he was pulling away and out of the clubhouse. The distant sound of his Harley grumbling in the air had my chest aching for both him and Frankie.
“You all good?” I heard Reaper ask from behind me.
I nodded, still looking at the empty road he’d disappeared down. “Yeah. I just don’t get what his deal is. Why is he so…damaged.”
“You’d think it was because he had a shit childhood.”
“He didn’t?”
“Nope,” he said, wrapping his arm around my neck and wheeling me back to the clubhouse. “Good relationship with parents, who are still married by the way and very in love, close to his brother and sister, and even goes to family dinner once a month.”
“So…why does he think he’s not good enough?”
Reaper sighed. “I don’t know…truthfully, he was a rough kid. He got into fights, quick to find his temper, always in trouble. He just loves hard and fast, it’s intense and all consuming, especially for him.”
“That’s why he’s called Chaos?”
Reaper chuckled. “Yeah.”
“Why are you called Reaper then?”
“Ah-ah,” he said in my ear. “That’s a story for another time.”
“Wyatt…”
He shook his head, crossed his arms over his chest, and looked down at me. That intense kind of gaze that told me I’d cop a pink arse later if I didn’t behave. I knew better than to call him Wyatt in the clubhouse, in front of everyone else.
“Look, tonight I got a thing to do with the boys, but we’re all going to head to the other clubhouse to party afterward. Do you want to meet me there?”
“There’s another clubhouse? Why?”
“A long story that I may or may not tell you later,” he said with an infuriating wink. “Cherry can take you over later, or you can stay here if you want a quiet night.”
“What kind of party are we talking about?”
“Brandon’s being patched in. It’s usually a hell of a party, but it’s been a while since we patched anyone over.”
“So girls will be all over you boys then.”
Reaper sighed. “Why don’t you come and be all over me so they don’t get the chance?”
“Fine, go do your biker thing, and I’ll see you later.”
Reaper wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me up into him, his kiss was hard and brutal, and oh so good. “Can you go and see if Brianna is okay? She still won’t give me more than a few words at a time.”
Rowan nodded. “Yeah, I can do that, but you should know it’s going to take time.”
“I know…I just don’t want her to think we’re keeping her captive.”
He kissed me again and I walked off to find where Brianna had disappeared to.
Brianna laid on her back on the ground behind the clubhouse. She was surrounded by the trees around the picnic area, looking up at the sky. I laid down next to her, taking in the pure beauty of the blue sky above us while also being surrounded by the dense Australian bush scent, earthy and robust with a sprinkling of Eucalyptus.
I loved it here.
“Trey called me earlier,” she broke the silence. “He wants me to move in with him.”
“He’s got to work out his issues with your dad too, but if it will make you happier, why not?”
