Chapter 2

Three months later.

Layer after layer of gauze fell away,and a stranger's face appeared in the mirror.

Deep-set eyes,a high nose bridge,hard,rugged features.

Shane pulled off the hospital gown.The old scars were gone.Not a trace of his past remained.

Patrick draped a shirt around his shoulders from behind,slipping his arms around him as he did."Remember.You're Reaper,the fighter everyone on the underground circuit fears.Shane,the Sterling family's adopted son,is dead."

Shane rolled his shoulders to shake him off and pulled the shirt on himself."What's going on with the Sterling family now?"

Patrick stepped in front of him and fastened the buttons one by one."Uncle Conrad controls the drug trade.Aunt Laura has the clubs.But the arms trade is the family's lifeblood,and they both want to wrest it from Julian."

Shane looked up."You're saying they both want to replace Julian?"

"Julian's turning his father's memorial into a trap."Patrick paused,studying his face."Which of them do you think will make it out alive?"

The memorial was today!

Shane grabbed his motorcycle jacket and turned to Patrick."Where's the file I asked for?"

Patrick picked up a folder from the coffee table and tossed it to him."The case file on the explosion five years ago.The names of the hitmen sent after you.It's all in there."

Shane caught it and leafed through.His release papers and a photo slipped out.

The man in the photo sat in a wheelchair,pale and aloof.

Years had passed since he'd last seen Julian.He was so much thinner now.

The top two buttons of his black shirt were undone,revealing the pale skin of his neck.A dark red cord lay just above his collarbone.

Ten years had faded the cords to dark red.Neither of them had replaced his.

In prison,Shane hadn't had a chance to change his.But Julian?Had he simply chosen not to,or couldn't he bear to let it go?

Shane's fingers slowly tightened around the photo.Patrick tipped his chin up.

He leaned in close,his breath brushing Shane's face."The memorial starts in two hours.If you leave now,Julian might just make it out alive."

Shane knocked Patrick's hand away,tucked the file into the lining of his jacket,and strode out.

Patrick studied the reddened back of his hand,then lowered his head to breathe in the sandalwood scent that lingered there.

Rain poured down in sheets.

With the memorial starting in two hours,Shane took a shortcut.

The motorcycle cut through narrow,rain-slick streets,sending up sprays of water.

Outside the Sterling family memorial hall,a brass band blared and the crowd packed in shoulder to shoulder.Wreaths of white chrysanthemums lined both sides of the street.

The downpour stripped petals from the wreaths until the street seemed carpeted in white.

Julian approached the memorial hall in his wheelchair.

Suddenly the wheelchair jolted to a stop,and momentum threw him forward.He caught the armrest just in time to keep from pitching onto the ground.

Everything fell unnaturally silent.Through the rain,Julian could hear his own heartbeat.

Something was wrong!

He scanned the wreaths and spotted black gun barrels through the gaps.

"Ambush!"

Bang!

The gunshot drowned out his shout.A bullet grazed his cheek and left a line of blood.

His men closed around him,forming a human shield as they tried to get him to the car.But a wheel had wedged in a gap between the paving stones.The chair wouldn't move.

Gunfire rang out from every direction.His men fell one after another,and the blood pooled at Julian's feet,staining the petals red.

Only Sonny Pruitt was left beside him,still holding the umbrella.

Julian quietly palmed a remote detonator.

Let's see whether it's Uncle Conrad or Aunt Laura who made the move!

The gunfire stopped abruptly.

Julian's uncle,Conrad Sterling,walked up with a cigar between his fingers and an umbrella over his head."Julian,give up your seat as head of the family and I'll spare your life."

Julian's lips curved faintly."Uncle Conrad,before I agree,answer me one question."

Certain he had already won,Conrad didn't mind sparing a few minutes.

He took a pull on his cigar."Go ahead."

Julian brushed rain from his sleeve."The family code bars you from the family plot when you die.Have you picked somewhere else to be buried?"

Conrad's chest heaved with rage.He threw down his cigar,snatched a gun from one of his men,and aimed it at Julian."You're about to die and you're still putting on airs!"

"You should've died five years ago!Now I'll send you down myself,so you can go keep your old man company!"

Conrad's finger moved to the trigger.Julian's hand moved to the detonator.

VRRRM!

A black shape tore through the crowd and was in front of them in the blink of an eye.

The motorcycle dropped into a low drift,sweeping sideways into Conrad and several of his men.They hit the ground,their guns flying.

Shane caught a falling gun and fired.Several thugs took bullets between the eyes before Conrad's men hauled him up and dragged him aside.

Seizing the opening,Shane flipped up his visor,bent low,and caught Julian around the waist.With one arm,he lifted him onto the bike in front of him.

Shane put his lips close to Julian's ear."Hold on tight,Mr.Sterling!"

Julian instinctively threw his arms around his neck.A stranger's face was right in front of him.

The faint scent of sandalwood,those eyes...

Both were so much like Shane.

The heat of his body made Julian's heart skip a beat.His voice came out hoarse."Who are you?"