at the foot of the staircase and yell his name. “Tate!”
His head whips in my direction, which is just as well as it gives him time to brace himself when I run full force toward him and collide with him like a battering ram. He folds himself around me, letting me squeeze the life out of him for a second before I pull back and start slapping the shit out of him
“Of all the stupid ass fucking things you could have done,” I emphasize each word with a slap.
“Hey, knock it off,” he yells.
“I thought you were Garrett, you fucking dipshit. I nearly had a heart attack.”
He has the decency at least to look remorseful before wiping it clean. “Bikers, Reign? Really? I thought you had better taste than that.”
“Oh, no. Don’t go there, sir fucks a lot. Who I do and how often I do them is nobody’s business but mine and theirs,” I snap, livid at him.
“Theirs?” His voice goes eerily calm, making me realize I might have just set off a teeny tiny trigger.
“I’m going to fucking kill you,” he roars at my guys, who are standing a few feet away wearing expressions ranging from pissed to downright amused.
“If you touch them, I will fuck you up,” I warn, making the growing crowd around us snicker. Everyone but my guys and Tate, that is.
“This isn’t a joke, Reign. A girl is dead while you’re here fuck—”
“DO NOT FINISH THAT SENTENCE!” Saint bellows. His voice is so sharp, I’m surprised his words don’t draw blood.
I don’t dwell on Tate’s thoughts on my sex life. I’m more interested in the other shit he spewed. “A girl is dead?” I question warily, making him wince.
“Raindrop.” He sighs, likely wishing he could take it back, but it’s too late for that. Tate has always been a hothead, reacting first without thinking. “A young woman was found in her home yesterday. Trav got called into work it. He’s the one that noticed the similarities and called me.”
“Similarities?” I echo his words back to him, but I already know. I feel myself begin to shake, the room spinning for a moment as the implications become clear. Just when I think I’m going to pass out, Priest is there wrapping me up in his arms and murmuring reassurances in my ear until I have myself under control again.
I turn to face Tate, keeping my head against Priest’s chest and see him watching Priest and me with an assessing eye.
“You care about her?” Tate stares at Priest, his face carefully blank.
“You’ve had her in your life for twenty-four years. You know the effect she has on people,” Priest answers him lightly.
Tate looks back to me, his eyes softening a little. “I had to see you for myself,” he explains, and I can’t even be mad about it.
“I get it. You sure you weren’t followed?”
He rolls his eyes at me.
“Right, of course not. Big bad SWAT guys don’t get followed,” I mutter. “Come and sit down and tell us what’s going on.” I point to the table in the back we always seem to gravitate toward.
Tate looks at the guys and hesitates.
“If they are going to be able to keep me safe, they have to know what’s going on. When you go home later, they’ll be the ones left picking up the pieces when I break, so for once, please, just do as I ask.”
“All right, Raindrop, lead the way.” Spilling information about an active case, in front of the club, goes against everything he believes in, but he’ll do it for me.
“You’re my favorite brother,” I tell him quietly, ignoring the churning in my stomach as he follows behind me to the corner.
“I know, Reign,” he says with a smile, letting me know that whatever happens, we’ll figure it out.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Saint
As we gather around the table, I see the other MC members move away, giving us some privacy. I catch Erza’s eye and indicate the table, letting him know to bring some coffee. He nods in response, knowing the drill, heading off to find one of the old ladies to fix up the drinks so he can deliver them for us. I don’t want a prospect over here listening until I know what’s going on.
“Okay, Tate. Spill it,” Reign says, taking the seat between her brother and me. Her brother is fucking huge, taller than anyone else here, and built like he pulls trucks with his teeth for a living. He might have the same