Chapter Nineteen
Alex watched Cilla disappear down the short hallway and fought the urge to go after her. She was only going to the bathroom, not the next state. The tug in his chest got worse the farther away she got.
“What the hell is going on? Why are you really here?” Sam leaned forward aggressively, blocking his view of the hallway.
“I should be the one asking you that.” He glanced at Adrianne, unsure how much to say in front of her.
She was human, after all. “I had no idea you were in Redemption until I arrived. The old man said he’d sent you here for a specific task and that you’d completed it.
I figured you’d hightail it out of here as fast as you could, yet you’re still here.
No offense, but small town living isn’t your thing.
” Talking around the subject wasn’t easy, but if this was his one chance to get some answers he wasn’t going to waste it.
His brother leaned in closer and lowered his voice. “You’ve truly been sent here to do a job and not interfere with Adrianne and me?”
“Yes. You’re the last person I expected to find here.
” Sam loved the action in the casinos, the wheeling and dealing of real estate.
This place was the complete opposite. The only nightlife was a couple of local bars.
None of this made any sense. “When I found out you were still here, I tried to call but couldn’t get through, not even to voicemail. ”
“You have your phone?”
“No, I borrowed Cilla’s. Money’s tight, too.” He saw the awareness in his brother’s eyes. Seemed as though their assignments were similar, at least in some respects. “Talk to me, Sam.”
His big brother swallowed heavily, his eyes darkening with pain. “It’s a long, complicated story. Bottom line, I can’t leave Adrianne.” He leaned over and brushed a kiss against Adrianne’s temple. “I won’t leave Adrianne.”
Next to interfering in a human’s fate, refusing to reap an assigned soul was the greatest transgression.
Both were met with total annihilation. There was no afterlife for reapers.
No second chances, either. Their father had maintained order and balance since the dawn of time by being merciless when it came to enforcing the rules.
Adrianne couldn’t have been Sam’s targeted soul. If she had been, she’d be dead. Their father had said Samael had completed his assignment. That didn’t change the fact she was human and Sam wasn’t. Getting seriously involved with her could be viewed as a violation of the non-interference rule.
If this was nothing more than a fling, Sam would have swept Adrianne off to Vegas for a few weeks and then sent her home with pleasant memories and an expensive bauble or two. That’s how he’d handled lovers in the past.
His big brother was seriously smitten. There was no other explanation—logical or illogical—that could explain Samael taking such a huge risk. He knew their old man was a stickler for the rules. Talk about mind-blowing.
Alex didn’t think it was possible for one of them to fall in love and have a real relationship. Not only were they Death’s sons, they were reapers. Their kind didn’t get emotionally involved with humans…ever. They were immortal. This couldn’t end well.
Was this the reason he’d run into Sam? Was it some kind of warning not to allow his emotions to control him? But if their father disapproved, why was Sam still here?
Malaki was certainly keeping an eye on Alex, giving him sharp reminders to keep his distance whenever he got too emotionally close to Cilla.
Reapers were naturally aloof. They found camaraderie among each other—friendships and lovers—something he and his brothers were not a part of.
As the sons of the Grim Reaper, they were set apart yet expected to follow the same rules.
They belonged nowhere. Eternity stretched out before them like an endless wasteland.
Alex had dealt with it by becoming detached while doing the job to the best of his ability, never losing patience, but never showing empathy either. He’d done what he’d had to in order to survive.
It seemed big brother had decided this human woman was worth risking everything he’d built over the course of his lifetime.
A little above average height with long, curly brown hair and brown eyes, Adrianne Sharp was pretty enough but not exceptional.
Yet something about her had not only caught Sam’s attention but had prompted him to stretch their father’s rules.
Maybe he was reading more into the situation than he should. Maybe it was a torrid affair and Sam would get her out of his system in a few weeks.
If the situation between the couple went on too long, their father would intervene, and it wouldn’t be pretty.
In the meantime, Sam could portal to wherever he needed to be and reap souls.
That was as natural to them as breathing—or was when their powers were intact.
Alex currently couldn’t open a portal if his life depended on it.
It was getting deeply involved with a human that was the potential issue.
A few weeks or months might be fine, but what happened as the years passed and Sam didn’t age while those around him did?
Throat tightening, Alex struggled to swallow. Neither of them had asked for this life. It had been thrust upon them. That didn’t change the task ahead of him. Cilla had to die, it was her fate.
Adrianne was alive, a small voice whispered.
He stomped on that seed of hope before it could take root.
There was no fighting what the Fates decreed.
It was foolish to believe otherwise. If Adrianne had been the assignment, she’d be dead…
unless her time hadn’t come yet. But their father said Sam had completed his job.
None of this made any sense.
Sam reached across the table and closed his hand around Alex’s. The physical contact shook him to his core. This was his big brother, the person he’d both looked up to and despised—depending on the day.
Their father had fostered a rivalry between them that had eventually strained their bonds of brotherhood, but it hadn’t all been the old man’s doing. Naturally competitive, Alex had pushed himself no matter the contest, whether it was weapons training or a simple footrace, striving to be the best.
As children, they’d fought, had myriad adventures, laughed, and shared secrets. Eventually, they’d grown up and gone their separate ways. But the vast distance and time couldn’t negate one thing—this was his brother and he’d missed him.
Alex closed his eyes and fought to bring himself back under control. It took longer than he’d like to admit before he opened them.
“I don’t mean to interrupt, but Cilla’s been gone a long time.” Adrianne glanced worriedly over her shoulder toward the bathroom.
Caw! Malaki perched on a planter on the sidewalk, watching them through the window.
“Shit!” Alex jumped to his feet, pulled out his wallet, and dumped some money on the table. “I gotta go. I’ll talk to you when I can.”
There was no time to say the things bottled up inside him. The irony wasn’t lost on him. Time was something he’d always assumed he’d have plenty of. Now it felt as though a clock was ticking down somewhere in the background and all their destinies hung in the balance.
Leaving Sam and Adrianne, he strode toward the ladies’ room and entered without hesitation. It was empty, but there was an exit sign at the far end of the hall.
She’d left him.
Swearing under his breath, he shoved open the door and headed to the sidewalk in front of the building. He ignored the clicking sounds Malaki made as he passed. The warning was as clear as if a voice had spoken inside his head. He wouldn’t see his brother again until his assignment was done.
The meeting had left him with more questions than answers.
All he had now was speculation. His brother had said he couldn’t leave.
The wording was specific. Did that mean he was trapped here as Alex was?
And if so, why? Was it punishment for his involvement with Adrianne?
Or was this another kind of test set by their father?
With no answers forthcoming, all he could do was play it out until the bitter end.
Alex firmed his jaw, his long legs eating up the distance as he headed toward Ivy House. If she wasn’t there, he had no idea where she’d go, no clue who her friends were outside of Rosa and Cal.
Relief hit him when he caught sight of her up ahead. It was followed by a tsunami of anger, totally out of proportion to the situation.
She left me.
It didn’t matter that he had no real claim to her, that he wasn’t supposed to interfere in her life. They’d long ago crossed that line and left it in the dust.
Lengthening his strides, he closed the gap.
As she turned onto Ivy Lane, she glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of him.
Eyes widening, she bolted toward the house.
Fumbling with her keys, she dropped them twice before jamming the right one into the lock.
He took the steps in a single leap and slapped his hand against the door to keep it from slamming in his face.
Squaring her shoulders, she plastered a fake smile on her face. “Back so soon? I thought you’d finish lunch with your brother.”
He pushed his way in, shoved the door shut, and advanced, causing her to retreat. A thin coating of perspiration made her face gleam and her blouse stick to her skin, a testament to how fast she’d walked in the heat.
“You left without a word.” And that cut him deeper than he wanted to admit.
Back against the wall, she shrugged. “I lost my appetite. It was obvious you weren’t going to talk while I was there. I figured I’d give you the opportunity.”