Page 28 of Wilder's Promise
"Enter," Reaper calls from inside.
I take a deep breath and push the door open. The president sits behind his desk, reading through what looks like financial reports.
It’s been a week of secret moments with Emma, stolen kisses and whispered promises. A week of falling deeper for a woman I have no right to want. A week of knowing this conversation was inevitable.
"Wilder," Reaper looks up, gesturing to the chair across from him. "What's on your mind, brother?"
I close the door behind me and take the seat, forcing myself to meet his eyes. "I need to talk to you about something important. Something personal."
He sets down his papers, giving me his full attention. That cold gray gaze has made hardened criminals confess their sins. Right now, it feels like it's piercing straight through me.
"I'm listening."
I take another deep breath. "It's about Emma."
His expression doesn't change, but something shifts in his eyes. "What about my daughter?"
"We've been seeing each other," I say, the words coming out in a rush. "For the past week. I should have told you sooner, but I wanted to be sure it was serious before I came to you."
Silence falls over the office, heavy and oppressive. Reaper doesn't move, doesn't blink, doesn't give any indication he's heard me except for the slight tightening of his jaw.
"And is it?" he finally asks, his voice dangerously quiet. "Serious?"
"Yes," I say without hesitation. "For both of us. I know how this looks, like I took advantage of the situation, of your trust. But it's not like that. I care about her. Deeply."
Reaper stands slowly, his palms flat on the desk. "You expect me to believe you developed genuine feelings for my nineteen-year-old daughter in the span of what? A few days?"
"It started the day I picked her up from the train station," I admit. "When I took that knife for her, it wasn't just because she's your daughter. It was because I couldn't bear the thought of her getting hurt."
"So you decided to fuck her instead?" His voice rises slightly. "While I was out risking my life, you were back here seducing my child?"
"It wasn't like that," I insist, though I know how it sounds. "Emma made her own choices. She's an adult, Reaper. A strong, independent woman who knows her own mind."
"She's barely nineteen!"
"And I'm thirty, I know." I don't back down. "The age difference matters less than how we feel about each other. How I treat her. How I respect her."
Reaper circles the desk slowly, like a predator stalking its prey. I force myself to remain seated, to not show fear even as my every instinct screams to run.
"You went behind my back," he says, his voice deadly calm. "With my daughter. After I trusted you to protect her."
"I did protect her," I respond. "I still am, and I always will. Nothing matters more to me than her safety and happiness."
"Pretty words from the man who's been secretly dating my daughter for a week." He stops directly in front of me. "Give meone good reason why I shouldn't put a bullet in your head right now."
I stand to face him, refusing to have this conversation looking up at him. "Because Emma would never forgive you," I say simply. "And because I love her."
The words hang in the air between us. I hadn't planned to say them, haven't even said them to Emma yet, but I know in my bones they're true.
"Love," Reaper repeats, like he's testing the word. "You expect me to believe that?"
"I don't expect anything," I tell him honestly. "I'm here out of respect. Because Emma deserves better than secrets and lies. Because you deserved to hear it from me directly."
"Did Evelyn know about this?" he asks suddenly.
I nod. "She figured it out the night of the Charles raid. She gave me a week to tell you myself. I should have told you sooner, but I was a coward. I kept finding reasons to put it off."
Reaper stares at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, to my surprise, he laughs—a short, humorless sound.
