Page 49 of The Biker’s Guilty Pleasur

They both watched, unable to do anything else but watch as Reaper walked toward them.

“We haven’t done anything wrong, officers. We have nothing you want.”

One of them scoffed. “We want the witness.”

Reaper shook his head. “You’re not getting her.”

“Give us the fucking witness or you all die.”

“You’ll have to go through me,” Reaper said.

Then the cop pulled out his gun and shot Reaper right in the chest. Everything seemed to play out in slow motion. He dropped down to one knee. Grace screamed so loud her ears rang. She opened the glove box, then bolted from the car, and she heard Phoebe opening her door, too.

She rushed toward Reaper, shouting in a panic as she waved her hand in the air, “Looking for this?”

“Grace, no!” Reaper said, not getting to his feet. “Go back to the car.”

In her hand, she had the flash drive that had started it all. The one the judge thought his wife stole, the one in her purse all that time. The one that was supposed to take down Cartwright once and for all.

But she couldn’t let them kill Reaper. She loved him too much. Besides, they had Phoebe and her testimony against the judge. That had to be enough now.

Another cop came over and snatched it from her hand. The other cop still training his weapon on Reaper. She dared to look over and saw the blood. Her head started to spin. So much blood. Was he going to make it?

“Guess we don’t need you anymore, then,” said the cop, turning his gun toward her. She froze in place. “Thanks for the drive. It’s a bonus. We were only after the witness.”

She closed her eyes and heard the shot being fired. Grace couldn’t believe this was how it was going to end. If anything, at least she’d found love. Even if it had been short, it had been beautiful.

Then another shot. She opened her eyes, patting herself down. The cop was on the ground, along with another. Reaper was shooting back and forth with them even in his condition. He’d saved her.

The sounds were deafening, the scents acrid and distinct in the air. It was pure chaos. When she heard a cry, she turned to see Phoebe on the ground, blood pooling out from under her. She looked dead, but Grace ran over and grabbed her by the arms and dragged her body behind Reaper’s car.

“Phoebe, Phoebe...” Grace couldn’t wake her, didn’t know where the blood was coming from.

She heard another car door slam and peeked out from behind the car.

It was the Cartwright himself. He had a smug smile on his face as he walked toward Reaper, who was sitting on the ground, leaning against the barn. There was only one cop left alive, and he gave the flash drive to the judge right away.

“You think you can put me away?” Cartwright said. He dropped the flash drive on the ground and crushed it with the heel of his boot. “Now you have nothing. No evidence, no witness, no hope.”

Reaper spat out blood to the side. Grace’s heart was pounding in her chest. She left the body and came around the car.

As soon as the judge saw her, he pulled a weapon out of his waist and aimed it at her. Reaper somehow managed to get to his feet, pointing his own gun at the judge’s head. They were so close to each other.

“Drop the gun,” Reaper said.

The judge laughed. “She’ll still be dead because I’m going to pull this trigger.”

“Okay.” Reaper tossed the gun on the grass at their feet. As soon as the judge looked down at it, Reaper head-butted him, knocking him to the ground. He grabbed his gun from the ground, aiming at the last cop, taking him down.

Then he stood over the judge.

“Do it,” Cartwright said.

“Nah. You spent your life deciding everyone else’s fate. Now you get to live with yours.”

Reaper lowered the gun to his side. He turned to look at Grace, but the judge used the moment to grab the gun he’d dropped.

****