Chapter 13
Alexa, play ‘COFFIN,’ by Jessie Reyez (Feat. Eminem)
“You can get much further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.”
—AL CAPONE
I t was a Sunday, and typically, the opener was also the closer on Sundays. I had to rush home to get my uniform, and I barely made it back for Reaver’s start time. The night was relatively steady, and I made good money, so there was at least a silver lining to whatever the fuck had just happened.
I was still reeling from the events of that morning. My life had never exactly been gold-touched, but these last few days were certainly a new low. I couldn’t believe the chokehold Reaver had somehow managed to trap me in. Between him and the fucking demon that had just upped his torture to new levels of disturbing, I was feeling even more helpless and alone than usual. I contemplated telling Raf that Reaver had… choked me? What even was that? It was worse than choking. He had cut off my air supply and pinned me to the booth like some sort of deranged serial killer.
The only thing stopping me from telling was Reaver’s looming threat. I didn’t want him to show Rafael the headlines. I was so scared and so vulnerable. It would be too easy for the careful house of cards I had built to come tumbling around me. The review was only a couple weeks away. It was probably better to just submit and do whatever Reaver wanted until he got sick of torturing me, and everything could go back to normal.
Keep telling yourself that, Lil. My mean little voice said as I wiped down the bar.
“Hey, Lil!” I glanced up to see Sara, one of the servers in her civvies, taking a seat at my wood.
“Hey Sara, all done? How did you do tonight?” I asked, and she grinned at me.
“Pretty good for a Sunday, made like three hundred bucks.”
“That’s awesome!”
“Yeah, probably going to spend some of it here, though. If you don’t mind, I’ll have a pinot grigio. I’m avoiding my asshole ex. He’s supposed to be picking up some stuff from the apartment tonight, so I’m camping out here for a bit.”
“Sure,” I said, getting a clean glass and pouring her some wine.
“What are you doing working tonight? I thought you were off?” she asked, and I scowled.
“I was. I took this shift for Reaver.”
Sara’s eyes lit up. “Oh, the new bartender? He’s hot. ”
I snorted as I started my stock list. “He’s a douchebag.”
“Really? He’s been really nice to me…” she said thoughtfully, and I rolled my eyes. Of course he was. Reaver seemed to smile and be kind to everyone else. It was just me he hated. I left it alone and started my closing duties while Sara sipped her wine happily and cruised her phone.
“Last call, I’m going to cash out,” I told her once the bar was empty, and she nodded, smiling. She left me a ridiculously generous tip. “I’m just going to finish this, then head out,” she informed me, and I grinned at her, tilting my head in agreement.
I took the till downstairs and did my cash out with Raf before grabbing my things and heading out the back. It was dark out, but the city was bright and loud. I was just locking up behind me when I heard what sounded like a couple arguing. The voices were coming from around the corner in the parking lot. I couldn’t see who it was, but they were yelling.
“You think you can just do whatever you want, you fucking slut!?”
“John, just go. It’s over!” My frown deepened when I realized that it was Sara.
“It’s over when I say it’s over, you fucking whore!” There was a crack and a scream, and my eyes widened. Had he just hit her?
Before I knew it, I was running. I turned the corner and found Sara pressed up against the wall by the throat. The man holding her was twice her size, and she was clawing at his wrist, tears streaming down her face.
Oh, fuck no!
I raced forward and slammed my bag into the dude’s back as hard as I could.
“You let her go!” I screamed, and he dropped Sara, turning on me .
“Who the fuck are you!?” he snarled, and I glared at him. I eyed him up and down and looked back at Sara, who was a sobbing mess on the ground. Her throat was red from where he had been choking her, and I knew immediately it was going to bruise. After what Reaver had just done to me that morning, I was feeling a little spicier than normal.
Fuck this guy, and fuck Reaver too. I guess my demon was going to have two murders to notch on his belt after tonight. This guy had to go. I couldn’t have him hurting Sara again. Maybe it was fucked up, but Death had taken so many good people from me, and I suddenly wanted him to take some of the bad ones too.
I eyed the asshole before me and wondered what the best way to entice Death would be. I cringed when I realized a hug or a kiss would probably be my best bet.
“Mind your business, or you’ll fucking get it too, whore,” the man snarled at me, trying to turn back to Sara.
“You like that word, don’t you?” I snapped, reaching out and grabbing his arm. I turned him back to face me and gave him a dangerous smile. He looked like he was going to hit me when I stood on my toes and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. I pulled away and laughed.
“Death by whore. They should put that on a T-shirt,” I quipped. Fury and rage filled his face, and this time, he did hit me.
He slammed his fist directly into my cheek, and pain exploded like a gunshot up the side of my face. The crack was so loud I wondered if he broke something as I hit the ground.
Worth it.
“Lilith!” Sara screamed as I fell back. I held a hand to my cheek and glared up at the soon-to-be-dead asshole as he came closer. I wasn’t afraid of him. He couldn’t kill me, and honestly if he did, kudos to him. Maybe he’d get a medal of some kind.
“Well, this seems like a good time,” a calm, familiar voice drawled. My heart stopped.
Fuck me. Just what I needed.
I groaned as Reaver appeared. He turned the corner with his hands in his pockets, looking for all the world like he was just out for a casual stroll. He took in the scene before him with cold, discerning eyes.
The man, who I was assuming was Sara’s ex, snarled. “Walk away, buddy. This doesn’t concern you.”
“Hey, way to leave me with the fucking tab… Oh, well, it looks like you found yourself a fun little party.” Shem appeared suddenly, his brow furrowing. He took one look at Sara and me on the ground, and something close to rage flashed across his face. It was gone as quick as it came, and he grinned at Sara’s ex with his usual devilish smirk. He rested an elbow on Reaver’s shoulder and slid his other hand into hi s pocket.
Eyeing the man up and down, he raised an eyebrow. “You look like trouble,” he commented dryly.
“Deathtrap, come here,” Reaver said, his voice deadly calm. I glanced back and forth between Reaver and Sara’s ex. I wasn’t sure I trusted Reaver any more than the towering wall of muscle that had just hit me, but I did trust Shem. I scrambled up and away from the man who had just assaulted me and moved to stand behind Reaver and Shem. I gestured frantically at Sara to come too, and she quickly followed. I gripped her hand tightly once she made it safely away from the fucking gorilla that had hurt us.
“I said this doesn’t concern you. Walk away, or you will both regret it.”
“Go home, John,” Sara whispered, and he sneered.
“I’m not going anywhere without you,” he snapped.
Reaver and Shem exchanged an amused look. Finally, Shem stepped forward.
“John, is it? Maybe do what the lady says and go home. It would be a shame if someone… I don’t know… called the cops.” Shem raised an eyebrow at the man, and he scowled. Shem slid out his phone with a smirk and unlocked the screen.
“What’s the number again? Oh yeah. Nine… one….”
“Okay. Fuck,” John snarled, making eye contact with Sara. “You and I aren’t done here.”
“Oh, but you very much are,” Reaver said, his voice so quiet I wasn’t even sure John heard him. The man turned on his heel and stormed away. Shem glanced back at Reaver, his eyes flashing under the golden glow of the streetlight.
“I’m going to make sure our friend gets home safe,” he said, winking at us. He looked at Reaver. “You got everything handled here?”
Reaver waved him off and turned to Sara. “Call an Uber,” he barked, and she stared at him in shock before nodding and taking out her phone to do as he said. I went to do the same, but he snatched my phone out of my hands.
“Hey!” I protested, but he whirled on me.
“Shut your mouth unless you want a repeat of this morning, deathtrap,” he snapped, and I felt the blood drain from my face. He was so angry … Why?
Sara’s Uber arrived in a little over a minute, and Reaver nearly tossed her in, slamming the door shut behind her. When she was gone, he whipped around. Before I knew what was happening, he had a fistful of my hair. I squealed, but he snarled at me to be quiet.
“What did I fucking tell you to do, deathtrap?” he hissed, and I opened my mouth several times to try to speak, but nothing came out.
“What? All of a sudden you can’t speak?” he snapped. I opened my mouth again to respond, and he hooked a finger over my bottom teeth and held my mouth open .
“Allow me to remind you. I told you to work my shift, then go home and wait for me to text you. Where in that very short list of instructions did you hear ‘ kiss some fuckhole in a parking lot? ’”
Shit. So he had seen that part. I frowned. Why did he even fucking care? I tried to twist my head away from him, but he just increased the pressure on both his grip in my hair and the fingers he had hooked in my mouth.
“What part of you’re mine did you not understand? Next time I tell you to do something, you will fucking listen to me, or I will bend you the fuck over my knee.”
My eyes widened in shock. He would do what?
He smirked at my clearly surprised expression. “Don’t think I won’t do it, deathtrap. I always follow through on my threats. I’ll spank you like the naughty little girl you are if you disobey me again.” Suddenly, he softened slightly and removed his fingers from my mouth. His eyes fell to my cheek, and he frowned, lightly brushing his thumb over where John had struck me.
“This is going to bruise,” he said, though it sounded more like he was talking to himself than me. Anger flashed through his eyes again, and he released me, stepping back. “Let’s go. I’m taking you home.”
“I can get home on my own,” I snarled. I didn’t want him to know where I lived. He snorted.
“That wasn’t an offer, Lilith.” He grabbed my arm and dragged me into the parking lot. I realized he didn’t have his helmet with him, and he pulled a set of keys out of his pocket, unlocking a black Audi A8. How could he afford a motorcycle and an Audi? He was probably some spoiled rich kid who was just working this job for something to do.
Jealousy simmered within me. He had likely grown up with everything just handed to him; life was not fucking fair.
He opened the passenger door and threw me in like I was a bag of groceries before slamming the door shut and stalking to the driver’s side.
I hugged my bag to my chest and stared out the windshield. He got in the car and pressed the button to the ignition.
Fuck him. “I’m not telling you where I live, fuckhole!” I snapped at him, and he froze. I bit my lip but held my ground. I knew he was going to do something fucked up, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t just going to willingly give him whatever the fuck he wanted all the time. Blackmail or not.
He twisted in his seat and grabbed my bag, ripping it out of my arms.
“Hey!” I squealed, and he rummaged through it until he found my wallet. “What the fuck, Reaver! You can’t just go through my shit!” The first thing he found was the money I had made that night. He shot me an evil smile and took the cash, stuffing it in the back pocket of his jeans.
“Reaver! What the actual fuck is wrong with you, that’s mine!” I screamed, and he just laughed and shrugged .
“It was my shift, so they’re my tips. I’ll give you the opportunity to earn it back, though, don’t worry. Every time you’re good, I’ll give you a twenty.” He clearly thought this was hilarious. He couldn’t seem to stop laughing as he continued to dig through my wallet until he found my ID.
“Thirty-one Ravenwood Street. ” He flicked the card back at me and shoved my now totally disheveled bag in my lap.
“I fucking hate you!” I screamed at him, and it was the truth. I had never hated anyone more… except maybe Death himself.
He threw the car into gear and pulled out of the parking lot, shooting me an amused grin.
“You’re doing it to yourself, deathtrap. All you had to do was give me your address. Instead, you wanted to be a brat. Look at what happens to brats. They lose their tips. And guess what? I got your fucking address anyway.”
I dropped my face into my hands and screeched wordlessly, kicking my feet in frustration while he laughed next to me.
“If you’re trying to convince me you’re not a brat, that little temper tantrum isn’t helping.” He chuckled as he pulled onto the freeway.
“I’m going to fucking get you back one day, Reaver. I’m going to get you so bad, and you’re going to regret treating me like this,” I whispered. He just gave me one of those infuriating grins as the streetlights passed through the car, periodically illuminating his devastatingly handsome face.
“Bring it on, deathtrap,” was all he said, and we sat in silence for the rest of the ride.