Dylan's Reaper: Soul Reapers #3 (4 page)

CHAPTER FIVE

Dylan

Are you shitting me right now?

I met my father. And he was the PRESIDENT of a
fucking MC. And holy shit . . . I got . . . I got a brother. A brother named
Colton who has identical eyes as my father . . . and me. I got all of my
features from my mother, even down to the dark brown, almost black color of my
hair that I highlight with red, because I got tired of people thinking I was
her. Oh shit! I was rambling. But my eyes! Holy Hanna! My eyes were just like
my father
’
s, something my mother never let me
forget. Those and my stubbornness she always said I got from my father when she
was pissed or drunk, which was all the time.

Why did she never tell me about Colton? Was he hers?
The way Wesson looked at me last night, like he was in awe and I was something
special. And Knox. Knox stood there in the eye of the storm with me, anchoring
me as something powerful swept through that room. I practically begged for more
pain medicine when Emma came back to check in on me, just so my mind would
stop. I needed a few hours where all the noise died down. The second dose of
meds must have been stronger than I thought, because when I closed my eyes it
was dark out and now the sun peeped around the shades.

My body still hurt like hell. I was sore and achy
and everything throbbed to the beat of my heart. I needed more meds and some
food. My stomach growled nonstop as I tried to focus on that and not go back to
my time with the Hellhounds. Plus I really had to use the bathroom, but could
not will my body to move. What the hell was I going to do? Not just on getting
to the bathroom, but on getting out of this mess that I had made.

I heard the door creak open and a new wave of
helplessness washed over me. Tears filled my eyes as I realized I could not
stop whoever just walked in. My body was too sore, my mind too fractured, my
soul too broken to defend myself.
“
Please,
”
I breathed as the heavy
footsteps drew nearer.

“
Princess.
”
Knox
’
s
voice instantly soothed my frayed nerves.
“
What
’
s
wrong? You are safe here. Nothing is going to happen to you.
”
A promise he continued
to make.

“
Knox,
”
I croaked, turning my
head to look at him. One tear, then another raced down into my hair.

“
I got you Princess,
”
he assured me again.
“
No
more tears.
”
His
hand gentle as he wiped away a few more tears that escaped.
“
Come
on. Let
’
s
get you up. You can use the bathroom and even shower if you want.
”
He paused.
“
Better
yet. I brought you some breakfast. Eat to get some strength, then I can get
Emma or someone to come and help you with your shower.
”

“
Bathroom,
”
I whispered, trying to
save my throat.

“
Bathroom break it is.
”
Knox helped me up and
out of bed. It took forever to make it to the bathroom, but he never rushed me
or made me feel bad for taking so long. I was afraid he was going to stay when
he walked me all the way to the toilet, but he just told me to take my time as
he left the room. The flush of the toilet had Knox knocking on the door as he
slightly opened it. I called him in after my washing my hands and face, and
then Knox took me back to the bed.

Scrambled eggs, bacon, and two slices of toast were
arranged perfectly on the plate.
“
Here.
”
Knox drew my attention
from the plate to the silverware he held out in his hand.
“
Eat.
”

“
Thanks,
”
I rasped. My throat
still sore from all of the screaming and crying.

“
I
’
m
going to get you some water and OJ to help with your throat,
”
said Knox as he backed
out the door.
“
Eat,
”
he commanded again
before disappearing from the room.

A few minutes later the door opened again, but
instead of Knox returning with my promised drinks, Colton walked in carrying
them. I must not have hid my surprise fast enough, because Colton quickly broke
eye contact as he murmured,
“
I hope this is
okay.
”

“
Of course.
”
My voice cracked.

“
Drink.
”
What was it with these
men and single syllable commands? The water was the freshest I had ever tasted
as I gulped the whole glass down.

“
More,
”
was all I said as I
traded the empty glass for the orange juice. Only taking a small sip, I placed
it on my tray before I went back to eating. A ghost of a smile showed on Colton
’
s
face as he went to the bathroom. I heard the faucet and then Colton was back at
my side.

“
How are you feeling?
”

“
I
’
ve
been better,
”
I
answered truthfully.

“
Your voice sounds like shit.
”
His words had me
jerking my eyes to his to find a teasing glint staring back at me.

“
Asshole,
”
I croaked. We both
chuckled at my endearment.

“
That
’
s
much better,
”
remarked
Colton.

“
What?
”
Either my head was
still messed up or he was all over the place.

“
Seeing you smile.
”
My cheeks heated.
“
And
now a blush. Thank God because you needed some color in your cheeks.
”

“
Oh. My. God.
”
I mouthed at him before
shoving another mouthful of food into my mouth. I took my time chewing as I
studied him studying me. Nothing clever came to mind so I decided to ask a
couple of questions.

“
Is Rebecca your mom too?
”

“
She was called Becky when she lived
here. And no she was not my mom. She may have given birth to me, but she was
never my mother.
”
I could see the hurt in his eyes, and
felt a deep ache in my chest for him, for me, for us.

“
She never told me.
”
A look of understanding
passed across his face, and then anger.

“
Same here. About you.
”
I thought as much after
the looks on their faces last night.

“
She told me that Wesson did not
want me, so instead of getting an abortion she left town.
”
My eyes filled with
tears again.
“
I am betting that she lied about
that too.
”

“
She did,
”
he confirmed.
“
Pop
was with her because of me, and I know if he knew about you, he would have
gotten you away from her.
”
Tears ran down my cheeks as I tried to
accept what he was saying. I could have had a family, but like everything else
she took that away from me.

“
Why?
”
I cried.
“
Why
would she do that? She acted like she couldn
’
t
stand me most of the time.
”
Colton came and sat next to me on
the bed, pulling me into his side. His warmth encased me as I took comfort from
my brother.
“
She was barely ever around. She
would leave for days on end the minute I could pour my own cereal and milk.
When she needed money she would come home and strip until she got enough to
leave again. But sometimes,
”
I gasped trying to control my sobs.
“
When
I would find her drunk and alone, she would rip into me about Wesson, about my
eyes, my attitude, how I was just like him. I was compared so much to that man
that I thought I knew him. But I don
’
t
know shit,
”
I
yelled.
“
I
never looked for him, because I thought he didn
’
t
want me and now . . .  now . . . I
’
m
in this mess because I was trying to save her!
”

“
Shhhh,
”
Colton hushed.
“
It
’
s
okay. Whatever mess you are in, it
’
s
our mess now. We take care of our own,
”
he said.
“
And
you
’
re
ours now.
”

“
I don
’
t
want to be anybody
’
s.
”
The tears would not
stop as Colton pulled me tighter into him.
“
Can
’
t
you see,
”
I wept.
“
I
just want to be left alone. Please.
”

“
Shhhh.
”
Colton started to rock
me back and forth as I cried into his chest for everything. I cried and cried
until sleep eventually overtook me.  

Knox

“
You could stop fucking pacing.
Jesus, you
’
re making me antsy,
”
Tank called out from
the pool table, where he and Campbell were playing a game.

“
Fuck you,
”
I yelled back, not
slowing my pace. I raked my hand through my hair for what must have been the
hundredth time since I let Colton take the drinks up to Dylan. It had been a
little over an hour and the need to know what was going on was eating me alive.

“
He would cut off his hand before he
hurt her. You know that right?
”
A small voice asked from the couch
to my right . . .  now my left.

“
I know,
”
I grumbled. I stopped
in front of Logan, as she peered up at me.
“
She
has just been through so much. I don
’
t
want anything else to upset her right now.
”

“
We can all see that Knox. And
Colton feels the same exact way. Everyone saw how afraid she was last night
when you carried her in, and then in the bedroom. He just doesn
’
t
want her to cut and run without knowing how much he wants her to stay.
”

“
We all want her to stay,
”
Wesson added. I quickly
turned and saw him standing in his office door.
“
Dylan
has to stay at this clubhouse at least until all this blows over. Her safety is
at risk. We need to know how the Hellhounds even found out about her
considering we didn
’
t even know about her.
”

“
It
’
s
crazy,
”
commented Logan.
“
Has
anyone even seen your ex-wife since the night she snuck off?
”

“
Not that I am aware of, or have
been told,
”
answered
Wesson.
“
Knox,
can I talk with you for a minute in my office?
”

“
Sure thing Prez.
”
I followed him into the
office and closed the door.

“
Knox.
”
He paused, looking
unsure of himself before dismissing whatever doubts he had.
“
Knox,
from this point forward I want you personally responsible for Dylan and her
safety until this crazy thing is over. I can
’
t
handle what is coming if I am thinking about her safety. I need to know a
brother, that I can trust, is there for her. Even if it means you stay behind
when shit hits the fan.
”