Page 63 of Reaper & Ruin
Heaven would wait until the danger went, then head back to the cabin. She would call Silver, and my sister would do the rest. A rescue. Protection. Everything we needed. It was all going to be fine…
I glanced at Danika in the front seat, her back straight, hands gripping the wheel like a predator driving toward its nextkill. She hadn’t looked back at us once since we got in the car, but I could feel her presence like a shadow looming over us.
I knew Danika. I knew how she worked. She was ruthless, efficient, and always had a plan. She didn’t make mistakes, and she never left loose ends. Which meant she had something in mind for us, something more important than just killing Gio like she’d been paid to. She was playing a long game, and I needed to figure out what that was before it was too late.
But there was something else. Something that made my gut twist in a way I didn’t like. Despite her cold demeanor, despite the gun she’d pressed against Gio’s head, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t just following orders. There was something personal here, something that went beyond the paycheck she was getting from Giorgio.
I stared out the window, the dark woods blurring past us, my mind racing through every possibility. I needed to stay sharp. I needed to figure out what her endgame was. But more than that, I needed to figure out how to get us out of this alive.
Gio squeezed my hand again, pulling me back from my thoughts. He was watching me, his dark eyes filled with questions he wasn’t asking. But I could see them. I could feel the weight pressing down on me.
“I’ll get us out of this,”I whispered, my voice steady even though my heart was pounding.“I promise. You just continue being nothing but my arm candy, and I’ll deal with the big boys and danger.”
Gio gave me a weak smile, the kind that didn’t reach his eyes.“You’re always so sure of yourself, Atlas. Perhaps too sure, seeing as you’re the arm candy out of the two of us. So leave it to me. I shall play hero and make Heather proud.”
Both of us gave a bitter laugh.
We lapsed into silence after that, both of us lost in our own thoughts. The car sped through the night, the rumble of theengine the only sound cutting through the heavy tension that hung between us.
I had no idea where Danika was taking us, but I knew one thing for certain—I wasn’t going to let her deliver Gio to his father. And I wasn’t going to let her destroy the life we’d built. I didn’t care what it took. I didn’t care what I had to do. I’d burn the world down before I let her—or anyone else—take what was mine.
And as much as Danika liked to think she had the upper hand, she’d forgotten one very important thing.
I had saved her life once. I had loved her. She had loved me. We were a family in the way Silver and I were, even if time had passed and memories had faded.
And that gave me leverage.
She owed me. And if there was one thing I knew about Danika, it was that she always paid her debts. Her letting Heaven go wouldn’t be enough. I knew I could push her for more.
My fingers tightened around Gio’s as I made a silent vow to myself, to him, and to Heaven, wherever she was.
I would fix this.
I had to.
For all of us.
Chapter Twenty, The Plan
Iwas counting. Numbers tumbled out of my mouth in a whisper, as if saying them quietly would somehow make this whole thing less terrifying. My lips were dry, my voice cracking as I tried to focus. Focus on anything but the fact that Atlas and Gio were either in a psycho’s clutches, or about to be, and I’d been left behind because I was a sucky hitwoman.
“Nine hundred ninety-seven… nine hundred ninety-eight.” Atlas’ knife felt foreign in my hand, like some cruel joke the universe was playing on me. Me, HeatherMotherfuckingKane, stripper turned accidental badass, holding a weapon like I had a clue how to use it. It was heavy in my hand, the cold steel biting into my sweaty palm as I gripped it tighter.
It wasn’t something I could use without feeling like a fraud, and I didn’t wanna be a fraud. I wanted to be a real badass. A protector. A warrior like Malivore was.
“Nine hundred ninety-nine… one thousand.” The second I was finished counting, I exhaled shakily.
With pursed lips, I looked around. The woods were still.Toostill. The air was thick, the night air settling like a blanket over everything. The sound of the tires crunching down the gravel road echoed in my ears, even though the cars were long gone by now. I had heard them disappear, no doubt carrying the two people I loved more than anything in the world, and I hadn’t done a damn thing to stop it.
The panic bubbled up again, threatening to choke me, but I forced it down. I couldn’t afford to freak out. Not now. My whole body screamed at me to do something, to run, to cry, to scream at the top of my lungs and rage at the world for being so unfair. But all that would do was make me more of a target. I couldn’t lose my head now.
I was going to be the damn boss I’d faked being when I kidnapped Gio. Only this time, I would use what he and Atlas had taught me these last few months.
I wouldn’t make mistakes.
“Mali…” I whispered, glancing down. The dog was standing rigid beside me, her ears pricked and nose twitching. Blood stained her muzzle just enough to make me dizzy. She was on high alert, sensing the tension in the air. I wanted to tell her it was okay, but I couldn’t. Because it wasn’t.
Her daddy was missing or dead. Murdered or kidnapped.
