Page 39 of Rattlin' Bones

But wait. How would that work? Did the shadows play?

Soft touches brushed across my skin, and my nipples hardened. I felt a light caress on my inner thigh and then a tickle against my clit. I jolted. Instant arousal flooded my body, and I had to hold back a moan.

A girl could get used to having foreplay like this.

Skel growled, and I realized I had missed what was happening around me. The shadows used their skills to distract me. I might have protested, but it felt good, and I didn’t have to deal with Luis Diego.

Awareness slowly brought clarity. It was strange. Like the shadows had kept me hidden within them while a battle raged in the room. As that veil lowered and I saw all the bodies, I gasped.

“It’s okay, Lacey. Had to be done, Sweet Girl.” Skel held me against his chest, wrapping me in his embrace. “He won’t ever come after you or the judge again.”

Relief swept through me. I thought it was handled when Luis went to prison, but that only enraged him. He would never stop. I knew that now. Skel had to end it.

I closed my eyes tight, not wanting to see the blood and carnage. Justice had been served on multiple levels tonight. I could tell from the shift in the room. There was a peace I felt that wasn’t there when I first walked into this room.

How strange that I could sense it.

“It’s the shadows,” Skel whispered. “They’re communicating with you. I feel it.”

“The feds are outside.” I opened my eyes, staring at the biker Skel called Creature. He was intense. “We need to finish up here.”

“The bodies,” Skel replied.

“I know, brother.”

“You got closure, Creature. Happy for you, brother.”

“And you got your ol’ lady.”

Skel held me tighter.

“Someone call for a cleanup?”

The three of us turned at the sound of the cheerful voice, staring at the door. Two men I’d never met but wore Royal Bastards leather vests joined us. I caught the names on their patches: Diablo and Rael.

Rael startled me when I saw his face. He wore Day of the Dead-themed makeup with black and white and skeletal features. It was far different than Skel’s mask or his shadows.

Diablo wore red and black face paint. He grinned at Skel, and I shivered. It was so demonic that I was glad I had Skel with me. Both bikers were intimidating, but something different hovered over them. A feeling that they were different, like Skel. Enhanced. Powerful. Almost like the hand of death.

“Reapers,” Skel whispered.

Woah. Actual grim reapers?

Uh, we needed to leave. They harvested souls!

As if they all heard my thoughts, dark laughter followed.

Skel steered me toward the door. “Let’s go, my little vixen. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“Okay.”

Outside, Skel led me down the sidewalk, clenching my hand. Blue and red lights flashed in the darkness, but the police weren’t arresting anyone. I guessed the other bikers would handle it.

We stopped at a gate, and a young guy opened it. Skel led me through, gesturing toward the parking lot and the row of motorcycles parked outside the massive building.

“This is home, Lacey.”

I swallowed hard, afraid to ask.