Page 73 of Down & Dirty: Reaper

They started showering together on week two of their Ohio travels. It was both convenient and clean fun. “Eat, fuck, then shower?”

“I like your schedule better.” She carried her coffee and the bag of food back to the bed and settled herself against the headboard. She unwrapped one of the breakfast sandwiches and took a monster bite.

He stripped down and joined her.

Now this was a perfect example of breakfast in bed.

A vision popped into his head that had him go completely still.

It was of them doing breakfast in bed on a regular basis in the future.

Not in a motel, not in Ohio, but in Shadow Valley.

Jesus fucking Christ, was he really considering a future with Vi?

Not as his boss.

Fuck no.

But more.

For now, he’d keep that shit to himself.

Chapter Fifteen

Five fucking weeks.

Five.

If Ohio would’ve been a destination like Hawaii or Aruba, he wouldn’t be tired of it.

But Columbus wasn’t even close.

What was even more frustrating was the fact that, while he had already taken out a shitload of Chens and the rest of the Shadows were dropping small hints all over fucking Pittsburgh, the war between the two groups hadn’t started yet.

One or both of the crime syndicates better be using that time to plot. Otherwise, he and his team were wasting time and money.

Maybe they wanted to go in and wipe out the other in one big move. While doing so would work in either syndicate’s favor, Reaper was tired of waiting.

While the Russos did have a thing for explosives, if the Sicilians started blowing shit up in Columbus, Reaper was hauling his ass out of Ohio as fast as he could.

Of course, he liked spending time with Vi, especially naked, but he didn’t appreciate the fact they were sleeping in different seedy motels every night and eating shitty food when he normally ate clean. For the most part.

What made this week worse—and almost unbearable—was being in Columbus without her. At least having her in tow, he had solid conversation, fun banter, and, of course, loads of sexy time.

Without her, the logistics weren’t as easy, either. Like when he was hunting Russos, he needed to park blocks away from where he was setting up. Afterward he needed to hoof it back to the rental vehicle with his AXMC case, all without being spotted.

It made the whole mission more risky.

Unlike Pittsburgh, he didn’t know Columbus as well. His team also didn’t have the cameras mapped out. And the Chens, being a more secret society, weren't out and about, acting like they owned the city the same way the Russos did in Pittsburgh.

The Sicilians didn’t worry about law enforcement because they had plants. Plus, generously greasing palms made local, state, and federal government officials look the other way.

Indie had been doing her best to provide the Triads’ locations but even she, despite all her expertise, was struggling to do so.

His current location could end up being hit or miss. Either he was going to spot some Chens and hopefully get a clear shot, or it was going to be a complete waste of time.

But again, all this shit was getting old. He felt like he was stealing the life from people for no reason if the Chens or Russos weren’t going to react. That in itself was mind-boggling.