Page 59 of Reaper

I hear him sigh before he starts moving. I keep my eyes on the ground until his shoes are in my eyesight.

“Can you look at me?” he asks quietly, his tone no longer angry.

I do as he asks, looking up into his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I’m angry and I lashed out at you. You didn’t deserve that. I hate that I made you feel like you had to make yourself feel smaller because of me. You know that you don’t have to do that, right?”

He waits for me to nod before he continues.

“You don’t have to make yourself any different than who you are. We accept you here. No one will ever hurt you again. If they do, they will have to go through us and trust me, darling, no one wants to deal with us. We are a ferocious bunch.”

I swallow hard. “I think I know that in my head, but sometimes I can’t help my reactions.”

He reaches his hand out. “I’m Wrath. Reaper’s sergeant at arms. Basically his right-hand man.”

I take his hand gently, letting him shake it.

“Natalie. His charity case,” I whisper.

His eyes turn angry, making me flinch. He lets go of my hand softly though.

“I’d never hurt you. You don’t need to flinch with me. You never have been or will be a charity case. I can tell you that Reap doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to. He wouldn’t take you on as some charity case, so get that out of your head.”

I nod, but I don’t believe his words. After everything I’ve been through, I don’t trust myself to make the right judgment call, no matter what they say.

“Do you know self-defense?” Wrath asks suddenly.

I shake my head no.

He smiles. “How about I teach you? Give you some of your power back. Maybe if you know how to stop an attack, you won’t feel so scared all the time. Would you be okay with that?”

I consider his words. Would it make me feel better if I knew how to defend myself from William? I think it might.

“I’d like to try it,” I finally answer him.

He smiles, and it transforms his face. It makes him look less intimidating and part of me wants to tell him he should smile more often, but I won’t because I hate it when men tell women to do that.

“Perfect. How about every day at this time we meet here? No one ever comes at this time because they know I like to work out alone. I can teach you some things, whatever you are comfortable with. If I can’t make it, I’ll make sure to tell you.”

“I don’t want to interrupt your time.”

“Trust me, I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to,” he says sincerely.

“Okay.”

“You aren’t dressed for hand on hand today, so how about I teach you the proper technique for a punch.”

And he does. For the next hour, he watches me as I now punch the bag, critiquing me without touching me as we go. By the time we are done, I feel better. It’s not much, but I feel like I have taken the next step to my recovery. I no longer feel hopeless. I see a light at the end of the tunnel and I’m going to chase it.

thirteen

Wrath didn’t like being left behind,but I feel better knowing he’s there with Natalie. He will take care of her as if she was his.

My fingers itch to check in one last time before heading into the casino, but I resist the urge. I need to focus on what’s in front of me.

Walking inside the casino, I barely withhold my smirk. There are tons of security around. We continue walking as if we are any other patrons, but the biggest one steps in front of me to stop me.

“We don’t allow weapons in here. I am going to have to detain you.”

---