Page 41 of Reaper

“Don’t the mafia have people that do this? For their job?”

We walk back outside, and I follow him around to the other side of the building.

“Yes, baby, but remember, I don’t work for my family, so I’m on my own. Honestly, before you, I never knew what to do with the bodies, and it caused problems. When you began dropping men like flies, I realized what better place than a graveyard.”

He nods to the dirt in front of me.

“Start digging up the loose dirt and don’t fall in, please don’t fucking fall in. I’m going to go get your friend.”

I roll my eyes and do as he told me to. It doesn’t take long to see that he has already dug this grave, and the dirt was simply covering up a sheet of plywood over the grave. I set the shovel on the ground and wait.

Nico comes back, carrying Christian over his shoulder, and complains, “This fucker is heavier than he looks.”

I remove the plywood as Nico approaches me, and drops him into the hole, and I jump back from the loud thud.

“How deep is that?”

With a grin, he says, “Six feet, baby. There’s another six ready to go, and depending on the size of the body, I can fit at least four in each. I wasn’t sure when you would take some time off from your new hobby.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I glare at him.

“Are you judging me, Nico Bonetti?”

He shakes his head no.

“Not a chance, living dead girl. I fucking love it. And,” he pauses with a groan, “I can’t wait to see it again.”

He takes my hand and walks me to my car.

“Give me your phone.”

Opening my car, I fish it out of my purse and hand it to him.

“What are you doing?”

Staring at me with amusement, he grins at me.

“Two things. Deleting your account from that fucking app. And typing my address into your GPS. I’ll be following you. There’s a good chance I’ll never take my eyes off you again.”

Rolling my eyes at him, I say, “That’s not realistic, Nico. I have to go home in the morning, so I can get ready for work.”

“No,” he says with a stern expression.

“Nico, be reasonable. I have bills to pay.”

He shakes his head. “No. The answer is fucking no, Bella. You’re mine, and that means you’re with me, not at some fucking coffee shop, serving assholes that don’t deserve your time. You will not have bills. Everything you need will be yours.”

“Nico, no.”

Stepping forward, he pushes me until my back hits the closed door of my car, and slides his hand from my abdomen all the way to my throat, and stares at me with a pained expression.

“I will give you anything you want, baby, but not this. Being away from you was excruciating, and I won’t live through that again. This is non-negotiable. Understood?”

Nodding slowly, I say, “On one condition. Well, two.”

He stares into my eyes, waiting for me to elaborate, so I do.

“No chains and no spiders, Nico. I can’t live like that.”

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