Page 6 of Fear the Reaper
Swede climbed into the vehicle and drew on his belt. “We want the woman to trust us.” He started the ignition. “If we tried bullying her or bribing her she’d never help us. It’s a small town. Maverick is a good guy, of course they’re protective of him.”
I sighed and folded my arms.
“Let me work, Star. I know what I’m doing.”
I grunted in reply and we were able to find the bed and breakfast with no trouble. It wasn’t much to look at but a small house that seemed to have been built in the eighteen hundreds with creaking stairs and décor to match. We managed to get a room in the back of the house on the second floor. It had two small beds that would still be too tiny for Swede’s frame if they were pushed together.
But the place was clean.
Swede left me to pick up some food at a nearby diner. He believed it was safer the less people who saw me. After a quick shower, we settled down to fish and chips, with soda and coffee that tasted like it came from a vending machine. I wasn’t going to argue—it was food and I was safe.
We left our room to wander the property. It was beautiful and backed onto a river. I removed my shoes and walked in the water, being careful to avoid stones that looked sharp. The cool water flowed over my ankles, caressing the tattoos of floating butterflies there and going as far us as my knees. Swede remained on the bank, trying desperately to get a signal on his phone.
“I swear, we’ve entered the void.” Swede muttered a few times. “We have no signal up here. I am not okay with this.”
By the time dusk began settling around us, Swede managed to talk me out of the water and back into the house. The old lady who ran the place, gave us a tray with cookies, a teapot and a couple of mugs. I thanked her, and Swede carried it up the steps for us. Since my hands were free, I found the keys in his pockets and opened the door.
“Maybe if you try going into town,” I said, stepping in. “You’ll be able to—”
I screamed.
Across the room, seated in the old arm chair was a man—about as big as Swede. Only this man was African American, dark brown eyes, low cut hair and a mouth that could suck the light off a moon. I instinctively took a step back and Swede pulled his body before my own, still balancing the tray.
“Would you stop screaming?” Swede turned irritated eyes at me.
“Is everything all right up there?” The woman’s shaky voice called from the foot of the stairs.
I realized I was still screaming and clamped my hands over my mouth to mute the sound.
“Everything is fine!” Swede called. “She almost fell, that’s all.”
“You don’t see him?” I asked, peeking around Swede’s body. “You see him, right? He’s kind of hard to miss.”
“I see him.” Swede used a hand to ease me away from his back. “Trust me.”
“Why are you not freaking out about this? He could be dangerous!”
“If he wanted us dead, we would be.”
“Reassuring.” I glared at the man. “Why wouldn’t she tell us he was here?”
Swede stepped further into the room and I entered but stayed close to the door.
“She probably didn’t know he was here,” Swede said. He walked over to the stranger who had pulled himself out of the chair and to his full, overpowering height. The two men hugged before Swede stepped to the side.
“Nova Shuman? Meet Maverick “Reaper” Forge.”
The large man turned expressionless, brown eyes down at me. He said nothing, neither did I.
“Groovy.” Swede rubbed his palms to his thighs before walking to close the door. “I see we’re off to a smashing good start.”
I growled.
“I was told you’re looking for me.” Reaper stood by the window, arms folded across his chest as he stared out. “I would ask how the Brotherhood found me but I’m going to assume you had something to do with that, Swede.”
“Why would you assume that?” I asked.
“Because there aren’t enough levels of hell that Axel Svenson wouldn’t find you.” Reaper didn’t turn. “So, what do you want?”
