Page 42 of Reaper
His head bowed before he took a deep breath, and when his gaze met hers, a fierceness had replaced lust.He moved both of them under the spray; she closed her eyes as he washed and conditioned her hair, taking his time scrubbing her body clean.She loved the feeling of his hands on her in any way she could get.When he rinsed, she reached for the loofa to return the favor, but he shook his head and cleaned himself.
At the disappointed look on her face, he smiled and reached for a towel.When they were dry, he tossed her the clothes he pulled from the closet, and she put them on.Reaper tucked his fist under her chin and tipped her face up to his.
“I need more than ten minutes to kiss your mouth, much less your body.When we have time alone, trust me, I will give you everything you need.”
Her cheeks grew warm at his promise, but she nodded before she tucked her hand in his outstretched one and they headed downstairs.
Although she knew that she had to face her actions, she found that her steps slowed the closer they moved to the voices in the living room.She glanced around as she searched for damage on the walls and the floors, but nothing was evident.
Reaper tugged at her hand, bringing her attention back to him and the meeting they were headed to, and she blew out a breath of relief that she hadn’t destroyed Kai and Liv’s home.
As they stepped into the room, she braced herself for the barrage of questions that were sure to come.Instead, she felt strong arms wrap around her and lift her off the floor in an all-encompassing hug.For the next several minutes, the assassins took their turns as they hugged and comforted her, having been filled in on the situation.When she was set down on her feet, she spotted Liv standing away from the group, worrying her lower lip.Ara walked over to her, about to apologize, when Liv pulled her in for a hug.
“I shouldn’t have—”
“No, I should have known it was coming and I overreacted.I’m sorry about the house—”
“I’m glad that you decided to stay.I would miss you if you left.”Liv smiled at her.
“Me too.Thank you,” Ara said.
When Liv moved to Kai’s side, a smile on her face, Ara was relaxed enough to sit next to Reaper.
“Ara, how did you move the entire mountain ridge?” Hunter asked.
Despite knowing that she was able to move a house to defend herself, she had no clue what he was talking about.The confusion must have been evident on her face, because he laughed before he filled her in.
“Some of the roads that lead to the house have been damaged, and there is a sinkhole about halfway up.The Department of Transportation thinks that the damage was caused by an earthquake, and because the seismic activity was confirmed by the USGS, they are set to make repairs today.”
Her eyes closed and pinched the ridge of her nose.
“Fuck.”
She should have realized that they could hear her, and burrowed her face into her hand when laughter erupted.
“Her powers are still unknown, and the fucker messed with her last night.It wasn’t an overreaction.We need to protect her until this man is dead,” Reaper said through clenched teeth.
Ara squeezed his hand, and he relaxed his tense posture and sank back in his seat.
“What did you find yesterday?” Ghost asked.
Xander had filled Ghost in on the little information they unearthed on the shell corporations, and the dead man who had his past erased.The information made no sense to Ara, but when Xander continued, dread filled her.
“I believe the man after Ara is related to the man who killed her parents.The problem is there is no official record of this man’s existence, but I found traces of a hack in the federal and state systems where he had ready access to birth, Social Security, and death information.He has skills that are beyond anything I’ve seen.He erased Ara’s entire existence as well as the gunman he sent after her, which is damn near impossible.He left bits and pieces of information on the drug dealer, and somehow, he found out about immortals.Ghost, I’ve searched our systems and they haven’t been compromised, but you might want to check with your contacts.This guy discovered where we can be found and who we are without leaving a trace and we are unable to track him,”Xander said.
The room grew quiet as they absorbed Xander’s words.
She understood that they were trying to get ahead of this man, but he was never going to stop.Instead, they needed to be on offense.It was the only way to get ahead of him.A ridiculous plan developed in her mind as Xander spoke.Before she could bite her tongue, she blurted out her thoughts.
“You can use me as bait.Drop me off somewhere where others wouldn’t be in danger, and then set a trap for him.”
The silence that met her statement gave her hope that they might have been thinking about it, but all hell erupted and she sank back down in her seat.
Reaper glared at her, and she caught Hunter and Xander shaking their heads, looking horrified that she even suggested it.Jade had tears in her eyes, and Liv had shot to her feet and started to pace.Seth shot Ara a worried look, shaking his head, and she realized what her statement must’ve done to him.
Guilt swamped her as she moved her eyes around the room.
Ghost, Ax, Kai, Kane, Gunnar, Thomas, and Isaac were silent, but anger radiated off them in waves.The voices grew louder until Ghost stood and shook his head.Everyone sat.
“Reaper and Ara will stay in the room upstairs until this is resolved.Working in twos, we will take eight-hour shifts monitoring the perimeter from the central hub and making hourly perimeter runs.Seth, you’ll have to stay here.It’s a good thing that your classes don’t start for another month, but if this goes that far out, we will figure out another plan.Xander, keep searching for anything on this man.Fucking hack the most secured databases if you need to—just don’t leave a trace.Got it?”
The group nodded.
“And Ara, that’s not how we work.We’ll get him, but we’ll do it together,” Ghost said.
She swallowed past the lump in her throat, and nodded.She would have apologized, but she knew that it would do no good.
Running out of options to protect them, all she could think of was to increase her training sessions and experiment with her powers.And when the time came, either she would die or he would.
