Page 78 of Lulu

I had a woman to think about now. And for the first time in my fucking life, I wanted to stay put. Joining the Desert Rebels would allow me to do that, while keeping the dangerous element in my life that satisfied my dark side.

As soon as Sanford answered his phone, I barked, “I quit.”

“What happened?”

He knew by the sound of my voice that it was over.

“Crazy’s dead.”

I heard him exhale a breath of relief. “Fuck.”

“Yeah. He made his move today.”

“How’d you get the drop on him?”

I snorted. “My woman shot him. She saw him sneaking up behind me, took out her gun, and nailed him.”

“Holy shit,” he swore in amazement. “Does she want a job?”

“No, and neither do I anymore. I mean it, Sanford. You know I’ve been thinking about it anyway, and what went down today decided it for me. I’ll take care of Crazy at this end. Take me out of the fucking system. As of today, Reaper is dead. Make it happen.”

Sanford knew what the fuck I meant. If I was dead, no one would come looking for me. There was also the possibility that the Sidorov family would get wind that I was still alive and put another hit out on me, and I didn’t want to have to look over my shoulder the rest of my life.

“You owe me,” I reminded him with deadly calm.

“Jesus, you don’t have to threaten me.”

I had meant it as a threat, but denied it. “Just reminding you.”

“Okay. I’ll pass it around that you and Crazy took each other out in a gunfight.”

That wasn’t good enough, but it was better than nothing. I could hear the distant thunder of motorcycles coming down the road. “That’s it, then.” I was eager to get this mess taken care of and get to Lulu. She needed to get away from there.

“Take care of yourself, Reaper.”

“I plan on it. You too.”

I knew once we hung up that that would be it, and I was good with that. I leaned against my bike and looked toward the road where the noise was coming from. I could make out four riders, and when they were close enough, I saw Demon, Doc, Cole, and Sax. Their set, ferocious expressions made them look like warriors riding into battle. They pulled into the lot and shut down their bikes.

The four of them dropped their eyes to the ground. “You sure it’s Crazy?” Cole questioned, getting off his bike. He crouched down next to the body.

Nodding, I said, “I didn’t look, but there should be a scar behind his left ear.” He’d showed it to me when we’d been on a job together. Was proud of the fact that a bullet had grazed him when he’d been in boot camp, and had survived with only a scar.

Cole turned his head and exposed the back of Crazy’s ear. Yep. There it was.

“How’s Lulu?” Doc asked.

“She’s a wreck. She killed a man. But she’ll be okay.”

“The cleaning crew should be here any minute,” Demon added, resting back on his seat and crossing his massive arms. “They’ll take care of the body and clean up any blood.” He glanced over at the only vehicle in the lot. “That his car?”

“Far as I know.”

“Looks like a rental,” Sax observed. “We’ll have the cleaners wipe it down and drop it off somewhere.”

“Appreciate your help, Brothers.”

A snort escaped Demon. “Appreciate it enough to join up?”