“He doesn’t feel like that either. There are times he doesn’t even feel like a friend.” She dropped her head to his chest, and he held her.

“You need to give him a break. It doesn’t mean giving into his demands or his wants. But you’ve got to take it easy. I know it’s hard, trust me, I do.”

“Will the pain ever go away?”

“One day it will. I promise.” He kissed the top of her head, and hoped he’d said the right words.

Watching Robin breaking apart was shattering his soul.

****

“I need some insurance,” O’Klaren said.

Reaper sighed as he looked at the cop who’d entered his clubhouse, well, it was more of a dive, but it had suited him and the club for some time. The old warehouse had once belonged to a drug cartel until Reaper stormed it, taking the drugs, money, and warehouse. It had become his base for many years now, but the Slaves of the Beast never stayed in one place too long. The only reason he’d stayed close to Knight’s Bridge was for one reason, to take on Preacher and his club. He wanted to destroy the bastard for no other reason than it would be fun to watch him burn. It was how he got his kicks, and he intended to enjoy it every single step of the way.

“You think you can come into my place and make demands? I told you not to make any moves against Preacher.” He’d had a plan of his own, and it had been … a wonderful one.

He’d intended to take the Robin and the baby, and raise the child as his own while giving Preacher regular updates of Robin’s used-up pussy. Now that she’d lost the baby, his plan wasn’t going to work.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do. You seem to forget your place in all of this.”

He stood up, the chair sliding back and slamming against the wall. “And I guess you’re about to tell me exactly what my place is, huh? You think you’re better than me because you wear a badge.” He walked up to O’Klaren, and for the first time since Reaper had met the man, he looked afraid.

Good.

He could work with fear. In fact, he loved seeing fear. It turned him on.

“You seem to forget, I can throw your ass in jail.”