Page 76 of Reaper & the Lioness
Reaper complied, sliding his ripped and bloody jeans to the floor before sitting on the toilet seat. With a hot washcloth, I wiped the dried blood from his leg.
“Exactly how often are you dodging bullets? Or failing to dodge bullets?” I glanced up at him, trying to sound firm, but a slight shake in my tone gave away my fear.
“Every so often. Less than when I was a Marine, if that helps.”
My eyes narrowed at his evasion. “It doesn’t. I know that being a Maverick is dangerous sometimes. I need to know what I’m signing up for. Am I playing nurse weekly? Monthly? A few times a year? You’ve been shot twice since we met barely a month ago.”
“Hmm, I quite like the idea of you playing nurse. Can you wear the little outfit?”
His attempt to defuse the discussion ignited anger in me. His focus on some juvenile fantasy rather than addressing my very real concerns felt not only disappointing but outright infuriating.
“I’m being fucking serious here.” I squeezed my hand over his bandaged wound with just enough pressure to remind him of the pain. He winced. “My bedside manner will get worse if you don’t take this conversation seriously. You promised you would be honest with me.”
As I knelt before him, tears pricked in my eyes in frustration. I stood to turn away to hide the welling emotion, but he pulled me back to face him. “I’ve taken five gunshots since joining the Mavericks. One to my vest when I was an enforcer. A graze on my side, and another to the vest when I was sergeant at arms. And two this month.”
I bit my lip as I considered how each close call could have taken him from me.
“The Rangers agreed to a truce. They know we’re bigger and badder, and their new president will keep them out of Houston. The war is over.”
I stood, allowing him to use me as leverage to do the same, and helped him limp to the bed. As we settled in, I turned to face him, my expression serious.
“I need you to understand something. I love you, and I need to know when you’re walking into danger. I can’t be left wondering if you’re coming home every time you leave. Can you promise me that?”
He stayed quiet for a moment. “I can’t promise you there won’t be danger. I can’t promise you I’ll always walk away without a mark. But I swear to you, I’ll never keep you in the dark again.” Reaper pulled me closer, and his lips brushed my forehead. “I love you, my Lioness. You deserve the truth—even when it scares the hell out of me.”
Istood in a kaleidoscope of terror and pain.
My mom’s shrieks echoed through our old house. The grunt of her husband pounding the chef’s knife through her chest and belly sounded through the kitchen.
I wanted to get to her, but the hallway stretched before me. I tried to run, but my feet were cemented to the ground.
Suddenly, Hale’s face loomed above me on the cold concrete of a parking garage. His fists were everywhere, his hand around my throat as he suffocated me. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. I tried to fight back, but I stayed frozen in place.
The scene shifted, and I sat bound in a dark room, every predator I’ve ever known surrounding me. Then, Reaper stood before me. I called out to him in a warning and screamed. Bullets blasted through his chest.
“Eva, wake up. You’re okay.”
I jolted awake and gasped for air. Sweat soaked through my tank top and pillowcase. My ears rang with memories of my mom’s screams. My body ached, both in memory of Hale’s attack and from the hits he’d delivered the day before.
Reaper’s strong hands gripped my shoulders. His voice cut through the fog of my dreams. I sat up as he clicked on the bedside lamp. I blinked as reality seeped back in. He pulled me against his chest, and the terror began to wash away, but the anguish remained.
“It was just a nightmare. You’re safe.”
I clung to him and trembled as he stroked my hair. I focused on the steady thrum of his heartbeat under my ear.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
I pulled back and shook my head.
Reaper pursed his lips as he watched me. “Your brain’s still processing. It’s been a hell of a month.”
Tears streamed down my face. “I thought I was stronger than this.”
He gently wiped a tear from my cheek and then kissed it.
“Hey, you’re the strongest woman I know. But you’ve gone through a hell that would break most people.”
I nodded. I wanted to believe him. My life had been a shit show of death and destruction for two decades.
