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Authors: Angelique Voisen

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BOOK: Ride and Reap
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Kane cursed under his breath, tried
jerking his hand back, but Reaper held him steady. Reaper tossed the firearm
away, and pulled Kane against him. Snarling, Kane elbowed him sharply in the
ribs, making Reaper grunt. The human bit into his arm, twisting his body.
Reaper growled, releasing him. Kane’s hand crept into his front pocket of his
hoodie, and the silver arc of a blade flashed in the sunlight.

Letting out a battle cry, the human
leapt at him, tackling them both to the ground. The box toppled over,
scattering broken fragments. Most Hellhounds caught unawares wouldn’t react the
way Reaper did. Reaper could have relied on his supernatural speed and
reflexes. Turn the tide of the battle in a fraction of a second, but he wanted
to see how far Kane would go. Kane wrapped a hand around his throat, and
pressed the blade to the side of his neck.

“Don’t move,” Kane warned Mercy,
who had his gun drawn.

Mercy froze, canines bared.

Reaper couldn’t stop himself. He
started to laugh. Kane’s blade sliced through his skin, creating a thin red
line. Even Mercy stared at him, like he’d gone insane.

“When push comes to shove, you
can’t do it, can you, little killer?”

Chapter Three

 

“Try me!” Kane hollered.

Rage burst at the seams, leading
him right to the edge. Why couldn’t he do it? Easy enough to slit the bastard’s
throat and be done with this sorry ass business. He didn’t believe a single
word that came out of the fucker’s mouth. Kane shouldn’t, because even if they
contained a shred of truth—what would that mean for him? That he wasted the
last years of his life hunting after a lie?

Harvey taught him to show no
weakness, to never hesitate, because a shifter would take advantage. His
teacher agreed ridding the world of a monster like Reaper would make it a better
place. Hell, Harvey was adamant about it.

Reaper could have overpowered him
any second, changed the odds of the fight, but he didn’t. Why? That bothered
Kane a good deal.

His mind went back to his
information. The multiple sources he’d scoured confirmed Reaper’s involvement
in the slave ring. Reaper and his old crew ran the ring’s errands. Did the
occasional enforcing on their behalf.
Hired
muscle—not a torturer or slaver,
Kane didn’t like that last train of
thought.

Harvey always said shifters couldn’t
be trusted. They would resort to anything, including deception, to save their
own skin. Reaper’s grim smile remained plastered on his lips, even his fucking
laughter still rang in Kane’s ears. A man who didn’t have much to lose wouldn’t
waste time spreading lies, and Reaper was that. His dark gaze told Kane he was
ready to die, practically taunting Kane to finish it…or so Kane thought.

Reaper’s hand lashed out, and
closed over his wrist, the hand holding the blade. Kane swallowed. His pulse
leaped at the contact of Reaper’s iron grip, at those callused fingers holding
him captive.

“Who sent you, little killer? Who
fashioned you into their tool?”

“I’m no one’s tool. I came here by
my own choices.” He couldn’t let Reaper affect him any longer. Kane dropped his
knife, and used his free arm to pull up the hem of his hoodie to show Reaper
what else he had strapped on him.

If he couldn’t do this the proper
way, he’d take the coward’s way out.
Failure
isn’t an option,
Harvey said, when he gave Kane the contraption. Better to
go out with a bang, compared to hanging his head in failure. No more
complications or unknown factors in the equation. Someone let out a curse, the
other biker with Reaper. Reaper’s eyes grew wide at the sight of the straps,
the cylinders and the timer.

“Kane, taking me out is one thing,
but I don’t think you’d want their blood on your guilty conscience. Believe me,
the ghosts of the angry dead will haunt you for years,” Reaper said in a quiet
voice.

Damn
the fucker.
He should be sweating by now, begging for his life. Kane’s hand
trembled, poised on the activation button of the timer.

“Mercy, evacuate everyone near the
vicinity. Get word to the others,” Reaper said in a low voice.

“I won’t leave you with this crazy
asshole,” Mercy interrupted.

“Now, Mercy. I’ll handle the crazy
human.”

Hearing the other biker break into
a run, Kane looked down at Reaper. “You’ll handle me?” Kane asked, sarcasm
dripping into his voice.

“Think about this rationally, Kane.
Want me dead? Don’t involve innocents. What would your brother say to you when
you meet him in the afterlife?”

Kane froze at those words.
Noble-hearted Kevin wouldn’t think of hurting innocent bystanders in his
selfish quest for revenge. Hell, Kevin didn’t possess the backbone to muck
around in the dark. You had to be a monster to take down one. At least that is
what had been drilled into his head. Had Reaper been right? Harvey took Kane
for his own reasons, knowing Kane wouldn’t back down?

His second of hesitation cost him.
Reaper moved, pulling Kane to him once again into an intimate embrace, like a
lover would. The solid feel of him, the heat emanating from his body made it
hard to think, especially with the thick ridge between Reaper’s legs pressing
against the curve of his ass.

“Come on, Kane. Let’s take a ride,
you and me. Once we’re out of town, do what you came here to do.” Reaper’s
words made sense, because Kane was starting to lose his initial resolve. Doubt
dogged his every action and overthinking got him nowhere. For Kevin, Kane wouldn’t
set the bomb off.

“Okay,” he answered Reaper in a
shaky breath. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. How do I know you won’t
turn on me and tear out my throat the moment we’re alone?”

To Kane’s shock, Reaper nosed his
way up the side of his neck. Scenting Kane like an animal would. “Trust me,”
Reaper whispered.

“As if any sensible person would,”
Kane fired back.

“Take out your gun. Point it at me,
if that makes you feel better,” Reaper offered, extending his leg to kick the
revolver to Kane’s feet.

Keeping his gaze trained on the
massive werewolf, Kane quickly swiped up the gun. The cold metal felt secure in
his hands, helped put some distance between Reaper and he, and cleared his
mind. Harvey would be proud. Kane faltered for a bit, but he’d do his job
right. Refusing to think about why Reaper offered him a better alternative, why
Reaper would care so damn much about other humans, made it easy for him walk
forward.

Isolate
Reaper. Kill him. Ride back to Harvey with the good news. Easy.

“Start walking, fucker,” Kane
commanded, keeping the barrel pointed at Reaper’s head.

Even a shifter couldn’t survive a
direct silver bullet to the head. Keeping close, he let Reaper lead him out of
the square, past the main street and into a narrow alleyway where Reaper’s hog
waited. Kane might not like how Reaper didn’t quiver in fear, or pleaded, but
that was fine. Bastard was a walking corpse and had admitted to Kane he had
nothing else to lose. What a disappointment.

Reaper mounted his ride, and patted
the leather seat behind him. Tucking his gun in his belt, Kane joined him.
Pressing his chest, still strapped with the device, against Reaper’s back, he
felt Reaper tense at the reminder of what Kane was packing. Good, Kane needed
Reaper on his toes.

“Arms around me,” Reaper said,
recovering.

Kane wrapped his arms around the
biker’s waist, and clutched at hard muscle when Reaper revved the engine.
Inappropriate thoughts crept into his head, like how it easy it would be for
Kane to lift Reaper’s shirt and feel his brickwork of abs. Unbutton the top of his
jeans, and feel Reaper’s erection. Didn’t bother Kane how sick the bastard was,
getting off on this situation. He couldn’t judge, not when Reaper could feel
Kane’s cock straining against his jeans. Showed just what kind of men they
were.

Maybe he should tweak his hasty
plan. After he finished Reaper off, Kane would take his own life. Job done.
Purpose fulfilled. What else did he have to live for?

Riding away from the town center,
Reaper picked up speed, stirring dust in his wake. Wind whipped at their faces.
The mid afternoon sun bore down on them. Lazy day like this always took Kane
back to his memories before the Fall. Back when the world made sense. Kevin and
him at fourteen, hanging around in the back porch of the house, stealing
glances at their perky blonde seventeen-year-old next door neighbor sunbathing.
Well, Kevin had been looking at her, but Kane harbored secret fantasies of the
girl’s linebacker boyfriend.

Practically another time and place,
but Kane hoarded those times like a treasure he refused to let go.
It’s all finally about to come to an end,
Kev.

“Here’s a good place as any,”
Reaper spoke, shattering his flashback.

Kane looked around. They passed the
Welcome to Wolf County sign a couple of miles back. Reaper pulled to the side
of the road and killed the engine. Arid desert rose on either side of them,
occasionally punctured by dead trees. Nothing here grew. The quiet of the dead
lands seemed to amplify every other sound, like the accelerated beat of Kane’s
heart.

They both dismounted. Kane
scrambled for his gun, hands trembling with the effort, all the while Reaper
watched him with the steady gaze of a man accepting of his fate.
Christ
. All of this screamed wrong.
Reaper should be clawing and fighting Kane at every turn, eventually begging
for his life. Taking the safety off, Kane’s finger brushed the trigger. He
didn’t pull. Sweat dripped down his back. Kane practically sweltered under his
layer of clothes and suicide gear.

“Any last words?” Kane asked for
the sake of prolonging the moment.

Harvey’s face floated up in his
mind. He couldn’t forget the way the old hunter sneered when Kane told him what
he wanted.
“You don’t have the heart for
killing, kid.”
Determined to prove the ancient bag of bricks wrong, Kane
toughened his body and mind, and Harvey relented. In the end, his old mentor
had been right. With his initial fire gone, his doubts magnified, Kane no
longer had the heart for the distasteful task.

“Huh. This takes me to the time
your brother uttered his final words. Tell Kane, Kevin began, but he never got
to finish his sentence.” Reaper looked thoughtful. “I think he wanted your
forgiveness.”

“Shut up.” Kane didn’t want to hear
this. The bastard was making this all up—scrambling Kane’s mind before he went
back to the dirt.

Reaper lifted his massive shoulders
to a shrug. “Tell Sweet to let me go. Find some better thing to do, like enjoy
the rest of his life with his mate.”

“Who’s Sweet?” Kane couldn’t help
but ask. A boyfriend, lover, someone Reaper held dear to his heart?

“My little brother but let me warn
you, Kane. He’s not going to take my death easy, and neither will his
fire-wielding mate. Don’t bother coming after him. I’d suggest you run.”

Biting his lip, Kane nodded. He
knew Reaper had one blood relative left. According to Harvey, this brother was
worse than Reaper, another kind of monster, but told Kane to leave him alone,
because Reaper was his mission. Harvey had unresolved issues with the biker,
Kane knew. Every time Harvey said Reaper’s name, he bristled and cursed, his
hatred on the same level as Kane.

Wait, did Reaper bring him here, so
Kane would have a head start from his brother and the Hellhounds? No. Kane
refused to let Reaper get to him again. Seemingly able to sense his hesitation,
Reaper made it easy for him by voluntarily stepping into the direct line of
fire. Reaper knelt, a couple of inches from Kane, resting his forehead against
the barrel and closing his eyes.

Reaper looked magnificent on his
knees, a bowed beast.

An electronic beep made Kane jump.
Eyelids fluttering open, Reaper’s brows drew together. He pressed a hand up
Kane’s left calf. Encouraged, Kane didn’t pull away. Reaper’s heavy hand moved
upwards, touching his knee, his inner thigh, and finally rested over the
hardness pressing against his jeans.

Kane swallowed, distracted, until
Reaper trained his worried eyes at him.

“Don’t panic, but the timer just
turned on.”

Time froze. A look down at his
chest showed the neon green numbers flashing. Sixty seconds. Fifty-nine. Kane
dropped his gun, disbelieving. This must be some kind of sick joke, a nightmare
he would wake up from. Harvey himself rigged the device. Made sure every wire
and Post-fall device worked.

Harvey…expected Kane to fail.

“Harvey, you fucker,” Kane
whispered.

Recognition flashed in Reaper’s
eyes. Then anger. “Harvey Fisher? The hunter?”

“He’s my mentor.” Kane licked his
lips, not knowing what to say.

Taking advantage of his confusion,
Reaper yanked his leg, tackling him to the ground. Never mind the tempting body
above him, Kane didn’t have time to pick at his mixed emotions. Kane fumbled
for the wires connected to the cylinders, but Reaper caught his hands.

Reaper growled. “Don’t. You might
set it off.”

Senses returning, Kane glared at
him. Thoughts of killing Reaper disappeared, well, not completely, but Harvey’s
betrayal stung more. Had Harvey played Kane all along, using Kane’s blind
hatred to his advantage?

“What the fuck are you still doing
here? You’re not obligated to stay and look after your assassin.”

“Same reason why I let this little
game drag on,” Reaper answered.

“How do you know Harvey?” Kane
asked. So many questions buzzed in his brain. His head was a roaring mess of
confusion. The constant beeping sounds each time a second ticked away started
to drive him to the brink of sanity.

“Questions later, let’s get this
shit off you.” Reaper worked quickly. Thirty seconds. Snarling, Reaper tore at
the straps.

“Careful!” Kane shrieked.

Okay, he lied about being ready to
die. Kane decided he had plenty of things to do if he lived through this. Hunt
Harvey down. Throttle the bastard for answers. Reaper owed him answers too, but
he would decide how to deal with the biker later.

“Let me work,” Reaper snapped. He
opened his mouth, revealing no longer human teeth but sharp razor-edged
canines. Fear crawled down Kane’s spine, but Reaper used his big teeth to sever
the last of the belts connecting Kane to the damn contraption.

“Fifteen seconds.”

“Not helping,” Reaper muttered.
With one painful jerk, Reaper separated Kane from the device. “Radius of this
thing?”

“Um.” Kane couldn’t formulate a
reply. He didn’t know, never bothered to ask. All he knew was the fact he had
to get real close. “Not big.”

“That’s fucking great.” Reaper
peeled off his jacket and shirt, unveiling a firm expense of golden muscle and
ink. Despite the inappropriate situation, Kane’s mouth went dry. This might be
a good thing. If they were both going to die anyway, why couldn’t Kane get one
good glimpse of some tasty man candy?

He worked his tongue. “What are you
doing?”

BOOK: Ride and Reap
13.76Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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