Page 61 of Fear the Reapers
“Are you okay?” Atlas asked, tilting my blood-stained chin up to face him.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” I said, nodding my head as Ezra dressed my wounds, “it's mostly his blood.”
“Not what he meant, baby.” Tristan chuckled, throwing his black hoodie on me as Atlas wiped the blood off of my face.
“You guys came prepared.” I noted, seeing their full medical supply kit. “Cool.”
The three of them stared at me like I had sprouted another head.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Atlas asked, pulling his brows together with a scowl.
Why the hell did no one believe me?I was totally fine. Relieved, even.
“She’s fine.” Cyrus quipped, walking over to us. “Maybe if you guys weren’t surrounding her like a hungry pack of hyenas, she’d give you a normal response. Stevie, let’s go get some air.”
Fresh air wasn’t a bad idea. Atlas had cleaned most of the blood off my face, but I could still taste Gavin’s death in the air. I couldn't believe I had ended a life only a few minutes ago. I expected to feel guilty. To have this monumental conflicting moment, where I struggled with my moral compass. But that didn’t happen. He committed his crimes, and I dealt out the punishment he deserved. I had no second thoughts about what I did. It wasn't normal, or expected, it just was.
“What about them?” I asked, eyeing the two men still hanging from the center of the room.
“We’ll take care of it, Angel.” Ez said, giving me a wink. “Go with Cyrus.”
Cyrus led me up the stairs and out the back entrance of the building. So much had changed since the first time I entered this building.
Would Alex recognize me if she saw me?
Did I even recognize myself anymore?
Cyrus leaned against the wall, pulled out a pack of Camel Crushes, and held the pack out to me, offering me one. I wasn’t normally a smoker. But hell, I just killed a man. A little poison wouldn’t hurt me.
I took a cigarette from the pack and fidgeted with my hands, not knowing what to do. I had no problem murdering someone, but being alone with Cyrus had me turning into a nervous wreck.
“Here, let me.” He said, grabbing the cigarette and placing it between my lips.
Our eyes locked as he flicked his Zippo, and the flame flickered to life. I took a deep inhale and averted my eyes as he stepped away, trying to stop the emotions from bubbling up.
“Thank you.” I hesitated, trying to find the right words, “For this. For being here. I know I fucked things up between us and I just… thank you.”
Cyrus stalked towards me, his emerald eyes a storm of emotions I couldn’t decipher. His large hand gripped tightly around my jaw as fear and excitement rushed through me, sending my pulse skyrocketing.
“Let’s get one thing straight.” He spat, as our eyes locked, “You are mine and I take care of what’s mine. Don’t thank me for something that's a given. Alright?”
I visibly swallowed and gave him a nod, doing everything in my power to avoid thinking about the last time we were this close.
“I have to help clean up,” he said, releasing my jaw, “come inside when you’re ready.”
“You aren’t going to stay to keep an eye on me?”
“There’s no need.” He drawled, reaching for the door. “You're a smart girl, by now you know what will happen if you run.”
I smiled to myself like a fucking idiot, then immediately cursed. Back-handed compliments laced with threats seemed to charm my idiotic pussy these days.
I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. Savoring each drag of my cigarette as the warm sunshine kissed my face. It was hard to believe that so much had happened, and it wasn’t even noon yet.
I flinched as I felt a strong hand wrap around my bicep.
What the fuck was with people grabbing my arms?
“Jacob?” I asked, peering up at the man holding me in place. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
