Page 53 of Down & Dirty: Reaper

Reaper shook his head.

“It all boils down to how cops treated MCs in the past. And how they still do. Worse, how Mitch treated his own son and how Axel went along with that for too many years. It’ll leave a bad taste in your mouth when your own father and brother treat you like a criminal for joining a club that their own blood started. Of course, it got worse after Zak went to prison.”

“Rumor has it he was falsely accused.”

“He was. He spent ten years in prison for shit he didn’t even do.” Unlike his son Zeke who was guilty for everything he did to end up in jail or prison.

“That’s fucked up.”

“Tell me about it. I think that’s why Zeke always had a chip on his shoulder. He figured if his father could do ten years in prison for nothing then he might as well live a life that was worthy of being locked up.”

Reaper’s eyebrows shot up. “If you’re going to do time, you might as well have done the crime?”

“That’s an interesting way to look at it but yes, I really think Zeke thought that. Now with Ledger in his life—as well as Kyra giving him a second chance—he looks at it differently.”

Thank fuck her cousin was finally getting his life in order. It had been touch and go for a while and that had concerned everyone who loved and cared about him.

“How my father got away with the shit he did and managed not to spend any time behind bars is a damn miracle.” Either it was because Diesel was super smart or just a pro at being devious. Or maybe being smart was the reason he got away with being devious.

“I’m sure the former Shadows did worse.”

“I don’t even know everything they did, but I can tell you they probably think you taking out a few Mafia assholes at a safe distance is child’s play.”

“Even in their advanced age, they’re intimidating,” Reaper admitted. “Can’t imagine what they were like thirty years ago or so.”

“Don’t let them hear you say ‘advanced age.’”

“Then, I’ll trust that won’t leave this office.”

She made a locking motion at her mouth and tossed the invisible key over her shoulder. “You’re heading back into the city tonight?”

“That’s the plan. For now I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing until they discover the digital crumbs left behind by Indie. Unless you think it’s better to skip a couple of days. Let them drop their guard.”

“When your people are getting picked off, I doubt a couple of months, forget days, would be long enough for them to let their guard down. Especially since they have no clue yet on who’s doing it.”

“Ghost heard chatter that they’re narrowing it down.”

“Good. The sooner a full-out war starts, the sooner it’ll end, and our problem will be solved. But why didn’t he bring that up earlier in the conference room?”

“My guess is, like you, Ghost didn’t want the OGs homing in on the mission. All of you have this underlying need to want to prove to your fathers that the current team is more than capable of taking care of Shadow business.”

Vi couldn’t refute that claim. It was something she discussed with Grim, Ghost, T-Bone, Indie, and even Scarlet when the business was passed on to her and the OGs retired.

Not only did they want to make their fathers proud but wanted to do it without their help. “I think it’s natural for us to feel that way. We don’t want to ride on our fathers’ coattails. We want to be good at what we do. Will we ever be as good as them? Maybe not, but we want the chance to try without them interfering.”

“I respect that. You should be proud of the team you built, boss. It’s solid.”

She was starting to hate him calling her boss. Especially after seeing each other naked and swapping body fluids.

“There’s always room for improvement.” She sat back and met Reaper’s eyes directly. She had never been shy about shit, so why not be direct with what she wanted when it came to the man sitting across from her? “What time do you think you’ll be back tonight?”

“Do you think getting together tonight would be smart after that warning in the conference room?”

The man was astute. He knew exactly what she’d been asking. “I’m not going to live my life worried about what my father might think, say, or even do. He’s always going to have a strong opinion on whatever his wife or daughters are up to. And sometimes that opinion is wrong.”

Reaper snorted.

She kept direct eye contact when she dropped, “But then, men’s opinions are often wrong.” When he chuckled, she said, “I was being serious.”