33. River
Chapter Thirty-Three
RIVER
I’m thirsty, and that feeling carries me out of my room with the intent to go to the kitchen. It’s kind of late, but I know Teddy is discussing business with Andrea in his office, so I’m not scared of being by myself in Andrea’s home.
I step into the hallway and realize that the lights are lower than usual. Anything out of the norm gives me pause since my abduction. I can no longer just consider things a coincidence.
“You were a beautiful bride,” some man says from a few feet in front of me.
I can’t quite see his face but can hear a Spanish accent. I’m stuck between wanting to run and scream, but he speaks before I can do either.
“I’m on the way to my meeting with Andrea and your husband.” He passes me a box. “A wedding gift.”
I look down at the giftbox in my hand, then back up, but he’s no longer there. Backing into my bedroom, I close and lock the door. There wasn’t anything threatening about the interaction, but I know a dangerous man when I see one. It wasn’t about his face since I didn’t really see it. It’s the eerie calm in which he spoke and the fact that he could move without making noise. That small interaction told me everything I needed to know. Sit your black ass down and stay away.
When I send Teddy and Andrea a group text about their guest, Teddy’s phone vibrates on the nightstand. I’ll just have to wait until he comes back to the room. I snuggle under the covers like a child trying to hide from the boogeyman.
“River?” Teddy says, waking me up.
I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep waiting for him. “Hey,” I tell him with a smile, but as I become more alert, I realize that he looks worried. “What’s wrong?”
“You had the door locked.” He looks at the box next to me. “And where did that come from?”
“Your guest.”
“My guest?”
Fearful, I sit up to see him properly. “Yeah, he said I was a beautiful bride and that was our wedding gift. He told me he was on the way to a meeting with you and Andrea. Spanish accent. I didn’t really see his face, though. It’s like he knew how to find a shadow.”
“The fucking Reaper.”
Teddy's face is pinched with annoyance, but there is a certain respect that shines in his eyes like he’s impressed, even if he doesn’t want to be. I stand and walk into his arms. “That’s an interesting name. Should I be concerned?”
Teddy sighs, but since my run-in with Surly, we promised not to keep anything from each other.
“No, he says he has no interest in harming you. It’s a warning. I guess he just needed to prove he could get here if he wanted.”
Holding on tighter, I bury my head in Teddy’s chest. “That’s not exactly comforting.”
“Yeah, that’s how assassins work.”
“I’m terrified and intrigued.”
“Andrea has been looking into Surly’s operation. We knew he didn’t have the reach or intelligence to start a trafficking ring. Andrea worked his way up the chain to find out who’s at the top running and financing the entire operation. There are a few high-profile people between Surly and the top. Andrea hasn’t identified everyone, but he did find the leader. The guy you just met was the personal assassin for the man at the top of all of this. He’s damn good at what he does but, according to him, he’s not prone to go after innocent women or children so a pregnant woman is not for him. He still wanted me to know how good he is at what he does.”
“Was?” I prompt.
“Huh?”
“You said he was the personal assassin.”
“Yeah, Andrea had uncovered that Father—the code name for the man behind all of this—kidnapped The Reaper when he was a child and raised him to be a loyal assassin. He thought Father saved him, but he just found out that Father killed his parents.”
“Oh, poor man. I should have hugged him.”
Teddy chuckles and rubs my back as he holds me. “You, my wife, just might be as crazy as the rest of us. Assassins don’t want hugs.”
“Theodore,” Andrea says before he appears at our door with Delaney in tow. She’s holding a box similar to mine.
“Let me guess,” I tell her. “A wedding gift.”
She nods. “That’s what the man with the accent said from the darkness.”
“Give me your box, River,” Andrea orders. I hand it to him as his phone rings. He looks at the screen, confused, then answers the phone on speaker.
“Have a little trust,” The Reaper says as his voice floats through his speakers. “Let the ladies open their gifts.”
“Are you watching me?” he asks, looking around our room.
“No.” There is no amusement in The Reaper’s voice. “We both play chess, but I’m several moves ahead. I’ve already learned about you, but you’ve just started to learn about me. The gifts are harmless. A token of mercy from me.”
The line goes dead as we look at each other. Assassins do hit differently. Andrea laughs, but it’s not one that comes from being amused. “This is exactly what I suspected.”
“You were right that we shouldn’t get involved, but I trusted your instinct before his arrival,” Teddy tells Andrea.
“What’s going on?” Delaney asks, looking at anyone who will answer.
I watch her as they fill her in with what they found. Delaney shifts on her bare feet as she looks at the box. Her black spaghetti strap nightgown stops mid-thigh and has a split. The neckline gives her cleavage although she’s not wearing a bra. She looks sexy. I’m not sure if Andrea picked her clothes, or if that’s how she normally sleeps.
Do they sleep in the same room? Have they had sex?
I giggle to myself because my brain is nosy as hell right now.
“Girl, you’re giggling, and I’m shook,” she confesses with a smirk.
“I believed him when he said we weren’t in danger,” I admit. Teddy kisses my temple as he hugs me from behind. “Besides, It’s never a dull moment with these two.”
Plus, the stuff I’m working through from being almost sold takes up the majority of my headspace. It was hard to entertain my family for almost a week while pretending it never happened.
“I guess since my newest patient is getting closer to this world, you’ve had plenty of time to adjust.” Her statement makes me giggle again.
It makes sense since she’d be our son’s doctor, yet I continue to allow Andrea to surprise me. I look up at him, but he has a serious expression as he stares at Delaney’s profile. His face doesn’t tell me what he’s thinking. Andrea tucks his finger under her chin so she can look at him.
“Did he scare you?”
Delaney looks like she wants to pull her chin out of his hold but knows better. A moment simmers between them, as if they’re arguing with their eyes.
“I don’t know. I’ve been terrorized for weeks now.”
Teddy’s chest shakes with a silent laugh, but it’s Andrea’s laugh I hear.
“Don’t start shit with me so close to our wedding. I haven’t terrorized you, wife, but I can show you the difference.”
They aren’t cute words, his threat real, and he stares at her the way my mom used to stare at me if my sister got in trouble just moments before. I know that look. It’s a dare for you to make a mistake so they can strike.
“Andrea!” I say without considering who I am addressing.
His glare makes me jump a little so I reach for the best recovery I can find. “The baby kicked. I thought you’d want to feel it.”
I rub my belly to annoy my calm child. He kicks in retaliation. He just started kicking hard enough for Teddy to feel after the wedding. I smile at the memory. While I was excited by my son’s movement, just remembering that Teddy is my husband while he talks to my stomach for half an hour makes me giddy. It was a sweet moment that I’ll cherish forever.
Andrea’s face softens, and the smile I’m somewhat used to seeing now returns. His warm hand covers my belly, and I use mine to guide him. The baby kicks him and it’s an amazing sight to see his face light up. For a moment, his pure joy makes me forget that he’s a crime boss with a kidnapped fiancée.
“Fantastic,” Andrea says with a content sigh. I may have brought her a moment, but I was not a good enough distraction. He promptly turns and grabs Delaney by the nape of her neck, bringing them almost nose to nose. “I’ve allowed your request to wait until marriage. We start the moment the ring is on your finger. Don’t test me.”
He uses the same grip to guide her out without another word to us. That answers my question.
“Get out of their business, wife, and see what’s in the box.”
He steals a kiss that almost makes me throw the box, but he pulls away before I do any such thing. I pull off the little blue ribbon to find a plush yellow bear with “Baby’s First Bear” written on its belly. There is a silver necklace around the bear's neck. I leave it and pick up the note in the box. I’m surprised to see it typed, but realize that the assassin might be so private that no one is privileged to his handwriting.
“The necklace is for you so your Teddy is always close,” I read aloud. “Aww, that's cute, and I’ve always thought yellow was the happiest and therefore the best of all the colors!”
Teddy shakes his head again. “That damn man knew that. He just demonstrated that he knows you are pregnant, likes yellow, and calls me Teddy.”
“Wow,” I respond as I sit on the bed. “Creepy, but accurate.” I place my new little buddy on my nightstand. “I know you don’t want me to be impressed, but I expect you to give me this kind of energy.”
Teddy chuckles as he locks the door. His clothes begin to disappear, and I watch like an addict who needs her fix. My husband is naked and aroused by the time he gets to me.
“The only energy you’re about to get is the kind what makes you hoarse from screaming my fucking name.”