Page 43 of Reaper
Chapter Fifteen
Reaper
Reaper had finished the overnight shift, and although Jade had tried to keep his mind off Ara for the last several hours, he couldn’t help but worry.His heart stopped in his chest when she suggested herself as bait, and it took everything in him not to lock her in the room upstairs and go after the fucker himself.He understood her desperation—they all felt it—but there had to be another way to go about it, something they hadn’t quite figured out yet.
With those same thoughts swirling in his head, he bound up the steps two at a time, and paused when he reached the closed door of their shared room.He could have sworn he heard a painful moan from somewhere upstairs, but when he listened again, no sound came.Shaking his head, he entered their room; when he moved to shut the door, the moan came again. This time from the bed.His gaze narrowed so he could focus in the darkened room, and when his gaze moved to the bed, a severe sound of pain came from Ara’s open lips.
In a flash, he was at her side.When his hands reached for her, they encountered fevered, damp skin.
Ara cried out in pain at his touch and flinched away from him, taking him by surprise.She pulled at her clothing, trying with diminished strength to remove them.
With quick motions, he lifted her shirt off her and waited to see whether she wanted him to continue.Her exhales were deep and uneven, and when he failed to remove the last of her clothing, she ripped them away herself.
He tried to reach for her again, but heat radiated off her body and she whimpered when he made to move closer.She relaxed a fraction as his lips moved to press against her forehead, but he jerked back before he could touch her.A fever scorched her skin, as well as his, when he got close.Before he could think about his actions, he removed his clothing and lifted her in his arms.
Her cries intensified with each step he took toward the bathroom, and he grappled with the guilt that it caused, but logic won over emotion.He needed to lower her fever, and the only way he knew how was a freezing shower.
He set the shower for lukewarm at first, not wanting to shock her body and cause more pain, and stepped in with her still cradled in his arms.Her scream echoed throughout the room, and although he braced for it, the sound still tore him apart.
“I wish I could take your pain away, beautiful.”
Holding her tight to his chest underneath the spray, he lowered the temperature of the shower until cool water cascaded down on both of them.As the minutes passed, he noticed that her pain lessened as the cold increased.He lost track of how long they stood under the icy spray, but when she snuggled deeper in his arms, he happened a glance down at her face and found her relaxed in sleep.
With tender care, he flipped off the water and stood there, waiting for signs of discomfort from Ara.Her skin felt cooler to the touch, and there were no longer sounds of pain coming from her in her sleep.
Using caution, he toweled her dry and settled her onto the bed.He then ran a towel over his body with quick motions and discarded it.Moving her to a sitting position, he slid on one of his loose-fitting tees and a pair of her panties and laid her down to rest.Again, he waited to see her reaction.
For over an hour, she slept and he waited anxiously for any signs of pain to return.The room cooled, and he left her side for a moment to grab some underwear.When he turned back to her, her hand pulled at her shirt before a loud grunt of pain passed from her lips.Kneeling beside her, he could see that her skin was slick with a sheen of moisture and noticed that the heat had returned.
“Ara?”
When she lifted her eyes to meet his, the tears that poured down her cheeks felt like a stab to his heart.
“What’s wrong?”That was all he could choke out.If she could describe her symptoms, then maybe Liv could figure out a solution.
“Everything hurts.My bones ache, my skin feels burnt, and the pressure in my head is unbelievable,” she groaned.
Without jostling her, he laid her back on the bed.He stripped the sheets and comforter before turning on the air conditioner to the lowest setting.He watched as the breeze from the vents poured into the room, and within moments, he shivered at the coldness that spread throughout the room.Ara settled back onto the pillow and blew a sigh of relief.
“I’ll be right back.”
Exiting the room and closing the door behind him, he dashed to Liv and Kai’s room and knocked on the door.Liv opened the door, a note of surprise on her face.She reached out and squeezed his arm for reassurance.
“Ara’s sick.She’s running a fever and she tells me she aches everywhere.The shower on cold settled her for only an hour.I turned on the air conditioner and it’s helping, but I don’t know what’s wrong.”
Liv guided him back to his room with a hand on his elbow, and when he opened the door, Ara’s moan reached them.He rushed to her side, closely followed by Liv and Kai.Liv placed her hands on Ara’s forehead and flinched away at the heat emanating from her skin.When she turned her worried gaze to Reaper, he shook his head.
“Ara, honey, I need to see if you have a virus.Can I draw some blood?” Liv asked.
He was about to voice his protest, but Ara nodded.
“Please, tell me what’s happening,” Ara begged.
Liv disappeared for a moment, and Reaper reached for Ara’s hand.
Her rebuff was painful, but he understood.Before he could allow panic to overwhelm him, he felt Kai’s reassuring hand on his shoulder, and he relaxed.
Whatever this was, Ara would pull through.She had to; he’d just found her.
