Page 25 of Reaper

“I have three brothers. Bones, Kage, and Psycho. We all get our nicknames from our way of handling things. Reaper is because I enjoy killing people. Bones likes to break the bones of his enemies. Kage likes to cage people like animals. Psycho is a complete, well, psycho. He is the oldest, but isn’t the head of the family, because he can’t or won’t control himself. Like myself, he tends to bring unhinged chaos wherever he goes. Neither of us think things through like Bones does. We are quick to react to a situation, instead ofconsidering all the repercussions before making a move. That’s my family. Tell me about yours.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

REAPER

Taking her hand, I pull her into the kitchen with me and lift her onto the granite countertop. The need to have her right beside me at all times is strong, and instead of dissipating, it only grows. While I prefer her naked at all times, I have to admit to myself that she looks gorgeous, sitting in my house wearing my t-shirt. Her long blonde hair is a mess, and those blue eyes I’ll never get enough of watching me, like at any moment I might attack her. Initially, I wanted to end her life, but now I want to protect her from any danger. I’ll still cause her pain, but nobody gets to make her cry but me.

“Are you going to punish me?”

I ignore for the moment that she avoided my questions about her family, and answer her.

“No.”

She breathes a sigh of relief before she asks, “You won’t let me go, so does that mean you’ll chain me up again?”

I shake my head as I begin grabbing food from the refrigerator.

“Bella, I don’t know what to do with you. I’m nice, and give you enough length, so you can use the restroom and move around the room, and you run the first opportunity you have. Maybe my brother has it right. Perhaps you need to be in a cage, so there’s no possibility of escape.”

Heating the oil in the skillet, I add the beef strips, as she begs me.

“No. Please, Nico. I won’t run. I promise. I’ll behave.”

Do I believe her? Not a fucking chance, but I also don’t want to chain her up, or cage her. The chains didn’t keep her here, anyway. They only slowed her down.

Taking the onions and green peppers to the counter, I slice them, while standing beside her.

“If you try to run again, I’ll have no choice but to resort to drastic measures. Assuming you can actually behave yourself, I’ll let you have some freedom.”

“Thank you,” she breathes.

“Can I help?”

Glancing at her, I ask, “Can I trust you with a knife?”

She nods as she hops off the counter.

“I’m not going to do anything, Nico. Certainly not tonight, because, honestly, I’m exhausted.”

Walking across the kitchen to the sink, she washes her hands, as she looks at the matching stainless steel appliances.

“This place must have cost you a fortune.”

“Mmmhmm,” I hum. It most definitely did, but it was worth every penny.

She comes back over and cuts the onions, while I stir the meat. I don’t trust her completely, so I glance at her frequently, to make sure I don’t end up with the knife in my back.

“So your family,” I ask.

I smirk at her when she rolls her eyes at me.

“I was an only child, and grew up with a single mother. We aren’t close. It’s complicated. As a kid, my mother’s bedroom had a revolving door. There were drugs and a lot of partying. Then she met my step dad, and turned into a religious nut. Everything I do is never good enough. When I was fourteen, she had my brother. The golden child who does everything right, while I do everything wrong in her eyes. I spent years trying to earn her approval, but eventually I stopped seeking the unachievable.”

Her words cause the tingle in my neck to come back, but I know it’s not her, it’s her mother. Bella has awoken something inside me, that makes me want to kill everyone who has ever hurt her. Sure, I’ll kill without a reason, but this infuriates me. I need to do a background check on this mother of hers.

“I’m sorry. One of my biggest pet peeves is shitty parents. People like that shouldn’t be alive.”

Her eyes widen in response.

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