Page 36 of Reaper
Chapter Twelve
Ara
Ara paced around the living room of Kai and Liv’s house as she waited for Reaper’s return from his latest assignment.
Xander had found a lead on the money that had supplied Dr. Ames with the space and equipment needed to experiment on the immortals, and Ghost had ordered Reaper to go with the rest of the team.Reaper had argued about it, worried about leaving her unprotected, but the last thing she wanted was to cause a division between him and his boss.She reminded Reaper that the more they knew about the man who hunted her, the better off they would be, and he reluctantly agreed.
Although Ara wasn’t up to par quite yet, she had trained with guns, knives, and hand-to-hand combat for the better part of two weeks, and she found that she was a quick learner.Any assassin who wasn’t out on assignment taught her defense, fighting with a knife, disarming techniques, and target practice with her favorite weapon, a 9 mm.She had honed her powers, practicing evasive maneuvers and other natural powers that, if she were honest, scared her.
Not understanding quite how Ara managed it when she had killed the gunman, Liv had set up an experiment.She wanted Ara to boil water in a glass to replicate her actions.After several half-hearted attempts, she grew frustrated when she couldn’t manage it.But when Liv had pretended to threaten Reaper in order to manipulate her, the water boiled over the rim in a violent motion.At that moment, she realized that her powers were innate, and she used certain defensive weapons when someone she cared for was at risk.It wasn’t something that she could manage by practicing, so they had moved on to working on other techniques.Liv looked quite pleased with herself, while Ara felt vaguely sick.
But during her training, Reaper had pushed her and the others to work harder, and she had been grateful.She had grown stronger within a short span of time.Although her confidence grew as well, the worry that she was a risk to the others was never far from her mind.
Each day she looked forward to training, but she also found herself missing time with Reaper.She trained with everyone but him, and by the end of the day, it felt as though she hadn’t seen him in years, instead of hours.Her heart accelerated the moment training ended, ready to spend the evening alone with him in the privacy of his home.
Whenever he called an end to their training, her body tingled in anticipation.He could sense her need for him and would whisk her away before she had a chance to thank the others for their help.
After they arrived home, they made dinner together while she enjoyed the closeness they shared.She was able to touch him whenever she wanted, and soon after dinner, he carried her upstairs.
Each time he made love to her, there was a desperation in both of them that increased their need for each other.She wanted to lengthen their time together, but soon the sensations grew overwhelming and her body released in a powerful orgasm as sparks exploded behind her eyelids.He left her breathless and spent, and yet she craved more from him.Everything from him.
At night, they clung to each other, skin touching skin as they slept.Whenever training or the possibility of the future crowded in on her, he would always sense her anxiety and pull her into his arms until the feeling passed.At times, she could feel his arms shake because he worried as much as she did.But each time reality invaded their private space, she grew angry.They shouldn’t have to put their lives on hold because a psychopath was after her, and she became determined to forget about everything but Reaper and enjoy their time together.
They never spoke about the future and she didn’t bring it up, worried that he had no real answers for her.Although she fell more and more for him, she had no clue of his feelings.He was protective of her, possessive even, and couldn’t get enough of her when they were alone, but she knew that physical intimacy wasn’t a promise of the future.His desire for her could cool, and then he would be relieved that he never made her any promises.
She wished she had answers, but none came to her, so she dismissed her negative thoughts.
In the meantime, they were together and she was happy.
A knock on the front door pulled her out of her thoughts, and her mouth turned down in a frown.She glanced around, knowing that Ghost and Gunnar were around somewhere, and Liv and Seth were down in her lab, working.She heard no footsteps coming toward her, but she still waited for several minutes to see whether there would be another knock.Nothing came.
“Hey, guys,” she said.
She glanced around with confusion, knowing that Reaper had demanded that Ghost and Gunnar stick close to her, but no one answered.Even from the living room, Liv should have heard her, but the quiet of the house told her that she was alone.
With trepidation, she walked toward the reinforced door and took a deep breath.She closed her eyes, searching for her courage that had fled.She clutched her hands into fists when she realized they were shaking, and blew out a disgusted breath.
“Stop being a coward.”
With quick motions, she strode to the door and glanced out of the peephole to find…nothing.A short laugh burst through but cut off just as quickly.
Her hand reached for the handle and after a deep breath, she opened the door as she braced herself for either the shot to come from an ambush, or another hired thug barreling toward her, sent to kidnap her.She glanced around the forest that surrounded the house, but she couldn’t see any shadows or movement anywhere within sight.Stepping out onto the porch, she calmed her breathing and listened for any sound that might indicate someone walking around in the woods, but heard nothing.
As she reached for the door behind her, eager to get back inside, her foot knocked against something on the porch.She glanced down and sucked in a startled breath as she read the writing on the envelope in bold cursive.
Freak.
With another quick glance around, she snapped up the envelope and stepped back inside.She slammed the door with more force than necessary, and relaxed when all five locks were engaged.A shiver passed through her as she leaned against the front door, too afraid to walk deeper into the house.She didn’t want to bring the evil that the envelope was sure to contain into the house, but she needed to know what he wanted from her.
After a deep breath, she glanced at the envelope to see whether there had been anything else written on it, but there was only one word on it.
On shaky legs, she walked toward the chair closest to the door and dropped into it.Before she could talk herself out of it, she ripped opened the envelope and watched with dread as an index card fluttered to the ground.By instinct alone, she reached for the card and flipped it over so she could read the messy print on the other side.
You took someone from me, killed him, you vicious bitch!In return, I took someone you care about from you.You’re next!I have so many plans for you before I finally take your life…
A sob escaped from her for a split second before she shut down her panic.Although she knew that she wasn’t his prisoner any longer, he still had a way to get to her, knew where she was.If he knocked on the door himself, he must’ve known that she was left alone.
At that thought, her hand shook and something else fell from the manila envelope clutched in her hand.She reluctantly plucked it off the carpet and almost choked.
