CHAPTER 6

Abby

Dropping Sam off at the café so he could get himself some lunch, I got the rest of the jobs on my list done before heading to Mr Jones' place.

Pulling the van into a parking lot in front of the café, I went to hoot, but something stopped me. A good-looking, dark-haired man with broad shoulders and an arse that was something to write home about. I wondered who he was. Feelings long-forgotten woke up. I hummed, watching him as he talked to my son and a blond-haired lad at the counter. Dog and Gunny were with them, and I watched as they nodded at what the dark-haired guy was saying.

It seemed that there was a serious discussion going on by the looks of it. Bella came out from the kitchen with a hot drink for the blond lad. She threw what looked like trackie bottoms at him before slamming a cupcake down in front of my son, glaring at him. I raised my eyebrows, wondering what the hell had happened.

Gunny, Dog and the blond boy left the shop shortly after that. I hit the hooter to get Sam's attention. Turning, he waved his hand before shaking the hand of the hunk of deliciousness in front of him.

He jogged to the van, and once again, I was taken aback by how he had matured in the last few months and how much he was starting to look like a man.

He started talking as soon as he was in the van.

"Mum, that's Avy's brother Kane. He's a badass, and he wants to be called Reaper."

My head snapped up, and I focused back on the café. At the mention of him being Avy's brother, my attention was caught by his burning gaze. I swore my long-dormant ovaries spontaneously exploded at his intense gaze.

I hurriedly put the van back in gear and tuned back into my son's hero worship as he brought me up to speed on what had happened in the café.

It would seem the prodigal sons would all be returning. Both Avy and Noni had mentioned their brothers and cousins over the years. I had seen photos on the manor's walls when I visited, but I had never met them when they came home on leave. The boys had gone to a different school than the girls. When I'd met Avy and Noni, her brothers and cousins were already in the military.

I knew from Avy and Noni that they were going to resurrect the MC, and I wondered how that was all going to work. I guessed I would find out more that afternoon as I was going to be re-doing all the electrics in what was to be their clubhouse.

Pulling into Jones' driveway, I was glad to see his eyesore in the car park. Pulling the handbrake, I turned to my son and grimaced.

"I'm going to try to get him out of the house. He's not dangerous, just lecherous. If he's still not paid after ten minutes, I'll make an excuse and come back with one of the guys. Okay?"

He nodded at me, "Yep, call you after ten minutes."

I sighed, getting out of the car and ringing the doorbell. I had been trying to get the money out of this guy for three months. At this rate, and if things weren't a bit tight, I would be better off just writing the thousand-odd pounds to karma.

The door opened, and Mr Jones was framed in the doorway. He wasn't a bad-looking guy but had almost a sheen of sliminess coating him, much like the oil in his slicked-back blond hair. Mr Jones always wore a suit with a shirt unbuttoned down to his breastbone. He was smallish, about my height but skinny, with acne-scarred skin and pale blue eyes.

"Abby, my love. What brings you to my door?" he stated cheerfully.

"Mr Jones, I've come for the money you owe for the work I did at the club three months ago."

"Of course, why don't you come in, and we can discuss your invoice," he said, opening the door wider and moving aside as if to let me pass through.

"No, that's okay, thanks. I have my son in the car, and we have to be with friends in an hour. So if you could just get my payment, I'll get out of your hair."

His head lifted, and he looked at Sam, who waved at him. He had his phone to his ear and looked like he was having quite a conversation.

About that time, a Land Rover 4x4 pulled up next to the van, and I was interested to see Mr Jones pale slightly as the men got out. They were dressed smartly in black suits with shiny black shoes.

Gone was the cocky man, which made me a little anxious. I turned and started walking back to the van, with Mr Jones following me and going towards the other car.

Mr Jones opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Sam, who had got out of the car.

"Mr Jones, I have someone who wants to talk to you. He says he's an old friend. Name's Kane Crow, but you will probably know him as Reaper," he said as he handed his phone to Jones.

The one-sided conversation had my eyebrows raising.

"Hello? Kane, sorry, Reaper. Your woman, you say?" Jones' surprised eyes hit mine.

"No, I didn't realise she was yours. And her boy, he's yours too. Right, right. Yes. No problem. Tomorrow. I understand. Yes, they are just leaving now."

He finished up the call and handed the phone back to Sam. Before turning to me and saying, "You'll have the money in your account by tomorrow morning. You should have said you were Reaper's woman."

I shrugged and opened the door, and got into my van. Then, lowering the window, I leaned out. "It shouldn't have mattered whose woman I am. You should have paid when I asked."

Putting the car in gear, I reversed out of the drive but not before noticing the men from the vehicle surrounding Mr Jones. It made me wonder if I would be seeing my money tomorrow or if we would see on the news that a body had been found floating in the sea.

We left town, and I headed back through the village towards Crow Manor.