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Down & Dirty: Reaper

Page 46

by Jeanne St. James

Since Brick was the only one not giving him a chilly reception, Reaper jutted out his hand at the retired Navy SEAL next and tipped his head in greeting. “Your reputation precedes you.”

Brick rose to his feet. “No shit. Greatest sniper of all time.” They clasped hands and bumped shoulders.

Against the wall, Diesel grunted so loudly, Brick dropped his hand and sat back down, but his grin went nowhere.

Reaper would love to swap stories with the man. Apparently, that would not be happening at this juncture.

“Does Vi know about this meeting?”

Steel’s toothpick jumped to the other side of his mouth. “She’s on a need-to-know basis.”

“Doubt she’s going to agree with that.” It seemed like none of them cared. “So, what’s this about?”

“My man knows how to play dumb. Must’ve learned that in the Marines,” Steel said.

“As a fellow Marine, you’d know, asshole,” Walker said.

Steel slapped a hand to his chest. “But I was an elite Raider. I don’t know what this guy did. Could’ve been cleaning the latrines.”

“Heard he was a Marine Recon Sniper,” Brick told Steel. “They try their damnedest to live up to us SEALs, but always fail.” He turned his toothy grin back to Reaper.

Steel snorted.

“Maybe he didn’t need to learn it. Being dumb could come naturally,” Mercy grumbled.

“That would be a better excuse for fucking with D’s baby girl.” Hunter sat back and crossed his arms over his chest.

Fucking with? More like just plain fucking. But Reaper wasn’t going to correct the man. Vi was an adult and could make her own decisions. Including who she got naked with.

Plus, knowing her, she was going to lose her shit when she found out about this ambush.

Reaper decided to continue to play clueless while he sussed out the situation. And whether he might die in the next few minutes. “Never met Scarlet yet.”

“Oh no, not that one,” Steel said with a chuckle. “The one who’s your boss. One we all helped raise.”

He didn’t know if he should risk a glance at Vi’s too quiet father.

It was kind of like not staring directly at a grizzly.

Though, Reaper wasn’t up on avoiding grizzly attacks and wasn’t sure if avoiding eye contact even worked.

“We helped raise all three,” Mercy growled.

Reaper wondered how many of Vi’s diapers he changed, or how many bottles the big man fed her if he “helped” raise her.

If he hadn’t been in the hot seat, Reaper would laugh at the image. “So, what’s this about?”

Diesel finally spoke. “Thought it was pretty fuckin’ clear.”

“If it was, I wouldn’t be asking.”

A tornado swept past him, almost knocking him over.

That tornado’s narrowed eyes scanned the occupants. “Well, lo and behold! I pulled into the back lot thinking it would be a boring day, then I see all the testosterone-fueled vehicles out back. What the fuck’s going on?”

Reaper had never seen Vi in a semi-panicked state before. Obviously she was trying to hide it behind indignation.

“We stopped in to get an update,” came from Ryder.