Chapter Eighteen
Charlotte
L ily begs me to come visit her this weekend.
“Come on Charly, I haven't seen you in forever. We need to catch up. I miss you.”
I put the call on speaker as I plop down on the couch.
“I know, I know. I’ve been busy. I’m sorry. I miss you too.”
“Busy doing what? You’ve been so secretive lately. You know you can tell me anything. Are you having some kind of mental crisis? Is Jason’s disappearance getting to you?”
I hate keeping things from her and lying to her, but I can't exactly be like, Oh hey, I killed Jason and I’ve just been staying with a serial killer who's been training me to murder people.
Besides, Reaper doesn't want me sharing any information with her. It’s for her protection too. But considering she is the one who reached out to The Bone Reaper to begin with, I feel like I should be able to tell her that I know and at least thank her. Although I took care of Jason myself, if Reaper never showed up that night, I would be in prison right now.
Lily and Reaper both saved my life.
“It’s just been a lot to deal with. My life has been completely flipped upside down and I’m just sorting things out. That’s all. But I promise I’ll come visit next weekend. Okay?”
“Yea, girl. Don't bail on me, or I swear I’ll get my mom involved and you know you can't say no to her.”
It’s true. Mama Sue is the closest thing to a mother I've had.
“Ha, ha, fine. I love you. See you soon.”
“Hey,” Reaper’s voice startles me from my sleep as I bolt upright, nearly falling off the couch. A deep chuckle echoes in the high ceiling room as I glower at him. “Did I wake you?”
I deepen my glare. “You know damn well you woke me. Geez, way to give me a heart attack.”
“How else would have been a better way to wake the sleeping dragon?”
“I don't know. Not at all, maybe.”
Another chuckle falls from his mouth. “Who’s the grumpy one now, huh?”
I rub my eyes and straighten myself to a better sitting position.
“I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was gonna watch a movie but then Lily called and I just couldn't keep my eyes open then.”
“Are you too tired?”
“Too tired for what?” I ask curiously.
“To have some fun?” he says with a smirk .
“Fun?”
“Yea, you know, the thing you keep saying I don't know how to do? Since you apparently think I’m incapable of letting loose and having fun, be ready at nine. We’re going out.”
“You mean, not work related?”
“Not work related. Get dressed.”
I jump up from the couch and quickly make my way to the stairs.
“Does this fun require a knife or should I leave that behind?”
Reaper shakes his head at me. “No, it doesn't require a knife, but you should always keep one on ya, just in case.”
“Got it!” I yell back to him as I ascend the stairs.
It takes us a bit to find a parking spot on a busy Friday night in Boston, but for it being November, it’s surprisingly not that cold out so I don't mind that we have to walk a couple blocks to the club. I can't even believe Reaper is really taking us to a nightclub. I haven't been to one in years.
After I came downstairs wearing jeans and a sweater, he told me to go change into something a little more fun . So here I am, walking the city streets in a silky black mini dress and black heeled boots with a small knife tucked in the right side. My hair is held back in a red scrunchie with a few strands framing my face and I’m rocking my favorite dark red lipstick named vendetta .
I look over to Reaper as we walk and eye him up and down one more time. He looks so different. He’s wearing dark wash jeans with black boots and a black tightly fitted long sleeve shirt with the top two buttons undone, revealing some of his chest. His muscles are threatening to break through the fabric and his brown hair is neatly swept back. He looks put together and dripping with dangerous temptation.
Everyone stares at him, women and men, either with intimidation or desire. I don't blame them, I feel both when I look at him, but he’s walking alongside me and that tickles something inside me.
It’s almost like he’s mine .
We arrive outside Red Escape and the music bumping from the building can be heard outside even with the door shut. A bouncer stands at the entrance checking IDs but as we walk up, the man and Reaper nod at each other and he opens the door for us directly.
Music fills my ears, and it’s so loud, I can feel it pounding in my chest. We ascend some stairs and enter the main floor. Colored lights flicker around the room as a crowd of people dance in the center. I look up and see more people hanging around the balcony of the second floor. The place is packed.
Reaper surprises me as he grabs a hold of my hand and guides me through the cluster fuck of bodies. He’s never held my hand like this before. His large palm and fingers swallow mine and it feels so warm and comforting.
We reach the bar and a tall blonde instantly spots Reaper, who stands taller than most of the people in here.
“What can I get ya?” she shouts across to him. He looks at me first.
“Um. Whiskey sour.”
“Whiskey sour and water,” he tells the girl.
“You're not gonna have a drink?”
“I got water.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I told you, I don't drink.”
“I just figured with this special occasion and all…”
“I can still have a good time with just my water.” He gives me a devilish smirk.
The bartender returns and slides him our drinks. He tosses her a fifty, then takes my hand again and leads us to the back where there’s lounge chairs and booths.
After my third drink, I’m already feeling real good. I start swaying in my seat to the music and singing the lyrics to a dance remix of “Baby One More Time.” I glance over to Reaper and he’s already staring at me with a smile.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You were staring.”
“You look like you’re having a good time.”
I shrug. “Could be better.”
“Oh?”
“We should dance.” I shout over the music to him.
He looks out to the crowd of dancing people then back to me. He hesitates but then gives in.
The song changes to the beginning of “Sweet Dreams” by Marilyn Manson. I look up at him, and that damn sexy smirk crosses his face as he holds out a hand. I bite my lip and place my hand in his. He quickly pulls me up from my seat and I collide into his hard body. With my eyes still locked on his, he lets go of my hand and moves his down to my waist, then guides us out to the dance floor.
We blend in with the crowd as I feel the beat of the music flowing through me. I untie my hair, shake it free, and run my hands through it messily while starting to dance. Reaper holds my gaze as I trace my hand down my neck and over my breast. He raises an eyebrow at me and grabs my wrist, spinning me toward him and my back slams against his front. We begin to sway, and it’s impossible not to notice how my ass is aligned perfectly with his pelvis.
Heat floods me as his hands begin to roam down my arms and across my stomach. This is different than our training sessions. We’ve never touched like this before. But it's just dancing, right?
The way he’s holding me against him awakens something in me. It mixes with the alcohol flowing through my veins and I begin to grind my ass into him.
We’re here to have fun, after all .
Reaper grips me tighter as I move against him to the music. I lean back against his chest and run my hands over his, then up over my breasts again and finally up higher until I reach the back of his neck. I swear I feel his chest rumble with a growl.
I close my eyes and he brushes his cheek against my hair. I’m feeling so damn hot I could explode. His hands that so easily kill feel dangerously delicious holding my body tight.
Feeling more confident, thanks to the liquor and the way Reaper is responding to me, I bring my hands back down to his and guide them up to my breasts. He pauses and stiffens for a moment but then he relaxes and lets me control his hands as I move them around my chest and lightly squeeze. I guide them back down to my thighs and he takes over from there stroking my thighs under my dress.
Fuck, I want him to touch me all over. There’s an ache in my core that’s starting to hurt with need. I need him to touch me more, but right when I finish that thought, Reaper stops and pulls away. I turn to face him, but I only see his back as he moves through the crowd toward the bathroom. Disappointment never hurt this bad before.
Terrible timing for a pee break.
Or did we start to cross a line he didn't want to cross?
I continue dancing along to the different remixes. It takes a few songs for me to realize Reaper hasn't returned. I stop and look around, spotting him over in the lounge area watching me intensely. I break from the crowd and go to him.
“Hey,” I say when I reach him.
“Hi.”
“You come here often?” I ask playfully.
“First time. You?”
“Same. What’s a good-looking guy doing sitting in the corner all alone? Waiting for Patrick Swayze to come save you? Come on, nobody puts Baby in a corner. Come dance with me.”
He laughs and it’s a rare sound I've come to love. “I like people-watching.”
“Oh yea?”
“Well, mainly just one person. I like watching you dance carefree out there.”
I smile. “Join me.”
He shakes his head and looks down before meeting my eyes again.
“I think I'm all danced out, but you go ahead.”
“Fine. Maybe I'll see ya around,” I say with a wink, then move to the dance floor.
I continue dancing around, laughing and making eye contact with Reaper as I move my body around to the music. I don't think he’s stopped smiling at me the whole time.
I turn away from him and end up deeper in the crowd.
I suddenly feel a body press up against me and wrap an arm around my middle. For a moment, I feel happy Reaper decided to join me but the body against me and the hands feel all wrong. I turn to face the person and it’s not Reaper. A man about 5’11” with shaggy blond hair under a backward baseball hat stands before me with a wide smile.
“You're gorgeous,” he says into my ear and wraps his arms around my waist again.
He’s attractive, but I’m not interested in dancing with him.
“Sorry, not interested,” I say as I push against his chest.
“What?”
“I said, I’m not interested,” I yell louder over the music.
“It’s just dancing. I’m not asking to take you home. Unless you want to,” he says with a cheesy smile.
He doesn’t let me go and continues trying to dance against me. His hands move lower and I get ready to twist his arm off me and possibly knee him in the balls when he’s suddenly ripped away from me by the back of his shirt collar.
Reaper still holds him by his shirt as he leans into his face. “You touch her again and I’ll break the rest of the twenty-six bones in your fucking hand.” Then he quickly grabs his hand that was on my body just moments ago and snaps his middle finger. The gropey guy grunts in pain, clutching his hand to his chest. “Get the fuck out of here.” Reaper pushes him and the guy stumbles back into other people, causing them to spill their drinks.
“I think our fun is over. Let’s go.”
I nod, and we leave the club hand in hand.
As we make the walk back to the car, I decide to break the awkward silence.
“Did you know that bouncer? He didn’t want our IDs.”
“An acquaintance. I had done some security work at a couple clubs and bars.”
“I see. Did you have fun tonight?”
“I did. You?”
“Very much. It’s been years since I've danced like that. It was nice. Until Handsy Joe came along.” Reaper growls under his breath at my mention of him. “I had it covered. He was about to get his balls sent to his throat.”
“He was about to get a lot more than that and would have if we were under different circumstances.”
I laugh. I certainly believe that.
We’re almost to the car, cutting through a couple buildings when we hear a commotion down an alley. It's quick and we almost missed it, but it sounded like a woman crying out for help. We walk toward where we think it came from. Down the dark alley I barely make out a man pinning a woman against the wall of a building. One hand is over her mouth while his other is down between them and it looks like his pants are around his ankles with his pale ass out in the open.
I move to storm down the alley and stop this, but a hand reaches out and pulls me back.
“Where do you think you're going?”
“I’m going to help her! She needs help, Reaper! ”
“I know. But you can't just charge headfirst into something like this unprepared, especially in public.”
“I’m prepared, Reaper. You’ve trained me, remember?”
“I don’t doubt your ability, little savage. But you’ve been drinking tonight. I’m handling this guy.”
Reaper
Without another word, I pull out a cloth skull mask from my pocket and slip it over my face, concealing my lower half then storm down the alley. The guy, too drunk, too stupid, too consumed in his vile attack or all of the above, doesn't hear me approaching. The woman does and her eyes go wide. She hasn’t decided if she should be more frightened or relieved but I see the latter cross her face when I grab the man by his thick black hair and toss him off her. He slams into the brick wall of the building on the right.
“What the fuck, man!” he yells as he pulls up his pants.
“Go,” I say to the woman. She quickly scrambles to her feet, grabbing her purse and runs down the alley past Charlotte.
“Who the fuck do you think you are? You should mind your own fucking business, man!”
I look back at the piece of shit standing before me. He pulls out a pocket knife and holds it up. I suppress the urge to laugh in his face. Before he can even make a move with the cute little knife, I slam my fist into his face, colliding with his mouth. The force sends teeth flying into his throat. He begins coughing and hacking, nearly choking on his own rotting teeth.
Blood pours out of his mouth and down onto his grease-stained white shirt. “Fuck you man. Fuck you,” he mumbles through the blood. I grab him by the throat and pin him to the wall.
“Out of all the nights and all the people you could have run into, perfect timing led you to The Bone Reaper.”
His eyes widen with fear. “Oh fuck, I’ve heard of you. Please, I've never done anything like this before! I swear! It won't happen again!”
I hear Charlotte approaching slowly.
“Unfortunately for you, no one meets The Bone Reaper and lives to tell about it.”
“Please, man! Don't kill me! Please.” Wetness begins to seep through his light wash jeans as it makes its way to the ground. I widen my stance to avoid his piss getting on my boots.
“Too late,” I flatly say, then slam his skull into the building repeatedly until his cranium is completely caved in and his blood and brain coat the bricks. I let him go and he drops to the dirty alley concrete. Dead.
I turn and come face-to-face with Charlotte.
“You killed him.”
“Of course I did. Did you not think I would?”
“I don't know, I just thought you might scare him off.”
I tilt my head at her. “Do you really not know me better by now? If I get involved, it’s a death sentence. Would you not have killed him?”
“I didn't really consider it. Maybe. Probably. I just knew I wanted to stop him.”
“He’s certainly stopped for good now.”
“So what you said is true?”
“Which part?”
“Everyone who has seen you is dead?”
“Yes, everyone who has met The Bone Reaper is dead… except you.”
“Why me?”
“You caught me off guard. That kind of situation has never happened before and I’ll admit I was impressed with your handiwork.”
She laughs shyly .
“Did killing me ever cross your mind?”
“A lot of things crossed my mind when I saw you sitting there covered in blood, but no, Charlotte, killing you was not one of them.”
She smiles as she stares at me.
“Any more questions or can we get the fuck out of this alley before someone sees us?”
“After you, Reaper.”