Page 30 of Fear the Reaper
I wasn’t sure I could do this. Going through someone’s place didn’t seem like a good thing to do; especially a man who wanted me dead. Still, I allowed Reaper to lead me up the front steps and into the cluttered interior of Brian’s world. Strange, in that moment I could have walked in there banging on drums and playing a trumpet and I didn’t think Brian would wake up.
Reaper handed me a pair of latex gloves. I made a mental note to ask him where he’d kept those but I accepted them, drew them on and began searching. Though I had no clue what we were looking for, I did my best to not miss anything. We went room to room, dug through drawers, looked under cushions, pulled out books. All we came across were guns, dirty magazines, guns and more guns. It seemed Brian had a loaded weapon in every nook and cranny.
The more minutes passed by in frenzied searched, the more irritated I became. We weren’t finding anything worth having.
“Shhh.” Reaper warned.
I held up a large book past my head. “Why?” I opened my fingers. It slammed into the floor and actually kicked up some dust. “We could run a fucking tank through the middle of this house—shit, we could Donnie Darko his ass and he wouldn’t even know what hit him.”
Reaper smiled, mischief filling his eyes. “Um…you do know—”
“I’m aware of how the movie ended. Don’t toy with me right now, Reaper. Youwilllose.”
He approached me and kissed my shoulder. “I love it when you growl at me. You have to do it for me again later.”
I frowned but deep down I couldn’t help smiling. We continued until he hurried over with a tattered book in his hands. “What’s that?”
“Some kind of a ledger.” He flipped the page. “I think we found it—only, I’m not sure whatitis. I’ll have to get Swede to look at it. But I think we should go.”
Before I could argue, Reaper took my hand and led me toward the door, past a snoring Brian. I stopped, lifted Brian’s right hand to stick the index finger up his own nose and stuck his other hand in a bowl of liquid conveniently sitting on the floor. It was probably left over from their very strange orgy.
Lord, I pray that’s not water.
Reaper said nothing about what I had done until after he’d tagged Brian’s truck and were back in ours. “Seriously?” He started the ignition. “What are you? Ten?”
“Don’t judge me.” I folded my arms and pouted. “And for the record, I regret nothing.”
He chuckled.
As we pulled unto the dirt road leading away from Brian’s place, I wound down my window and inhaled the night air. “And besides.” I smirked cheekily. “It’s the least I could do.”
“You’ve been hanging around Swede too long.”
I smirked. “Asshole got off easy. Swede would’ve somehow set it up so his computer exploded when he turned it on.”
Again, Reaper laughed. “Truth.”
While he drove, I scanned through the book. It was strange—numbers, dates, shorthand words I couldn’t decipher. That was frustrating because I used shorthand to take notes during interviews. Still, knowing it made sense to Brian, even I had to admit, it was better notes than I kept in university and I was a journalism major. In the middle of the book was a line—Osman Heller. Nova Shoo. $50,000.
It didn’t require a degree in chemistry to knowNova Shoowas me.
Osman Heller—I played the name over repeatedly in my head. It sounded familiar but I just couldn’t place it. The irritation in me made me want to cry.
Happy feeling gone.
Maverick “Reaper” Forge
“I noticed you activated two trackers,”Swede said. He sipped from his coffee.
“Didn’t have a choice.” I peeled my shirt over my head and tossed it to the back of the chair. “Brian went and fell into a shakedown.”
“Got wasted, took strange women home—they robbed him.” Swede muttered. “When are men going to learn they can’t trust their penis—wait, is it penises? Penii?”
I caught myself contemplating the answer to the question then grunted. “Dude…”
Swede chuckled. “Look, this is one of those times where if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. I prefer mirth.”
I nodded. While Star showered then talk to Estelle on the phone, Swede and I hunched down around the computer to figure out where Brian’s stolen car was. It had been parked outside a cheap motel since it was stolen.
