Chapter Forty-Eight
“Sinister - suggesting or threatening evil.”
Frankie
The diner was closing just as I pulled up to the curb. I rushed inside, ignoring the dirty look of the waitress who thought I was there to order, and hurried over to the counter where Piper was standing, refilling a napkin dispenser.
“Hey,” she said, looking up, her eyes traveling behind me. I knew she was looking for Olly.
“Is Storm here?” I said, lowering my voice so our conversation would remain private.
“I’m not sure. He said he would be around. Whatever that means.”
I glanced outside toward the sidewalk. “Meet me outside when you’re done here. Hurry.”
“What’s wrong, Frankie?”
“I’ll explain later,” I said, halfway out the door.
The sidewalk outside was vacant, the hour late enough that most people were already home for the day. I looked around, trying to see Storm and then giving up with an irritated groan when I realized there were just too many dark places here from him to hide.
“Storm!” I whisper-yelled.
A few seconds ticked by and I opened my mouth to yell louder this time when I heard him up ahead. “Here.”
I moved up the sidewalk, looking for the source of his voice, and when I passed by a darkened eave for a shop, he said, “I’m here.”
“Get in the car!” I whisper-yelled again. I went around to my side and climbed in, leaving my door open so he would be able to get inside.
A few minutes later, black fog filled up the back seat.
“That is seriously sinister,” I said, looking in the rearview mirror.
“You’re dating an Escort,” he pointed out dryly. “I would say that’s worse.”
It was the first time I didn’t bother to correct someone when they said I was dating Olly. I wasn’t really sure if that was our official title, but since we both confessed to love and I was ready to do anything to get him back, I figured dating wasn’t too far of a stretch.
Piper climbed into the passenger seat, her eyes going to the black cloud in the back and then doing a double take on the gun I clutched in my lap.
“Where is Charming and why do you have a gun?”
“He’s with the Reaper. I’m going to get him out,” I said, pulling away from the curb.
“You’re going the wrong way,” Storm pointed out.
“No, I’m not. I’m taking Piper home.”
“What!” she exclaimed. “No, you are not.”
I gave her a look. “Yes, I am. You’re my best friend. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
She snorted. “I’m the only person in this car who is safe from the Reaper.”
We all sat there silently, realizing she was right.
“That’s exactly why you should go home,” I pointed out, using her reasoning against her. “You’ve already suffered enough at the hands of the Reaper.”
“I agree,” Storm said.
“You don’t get a vote,” she snapped over her shoulder.
I grinned. “Tell him!”
“You don’t get a vote, either.”
The grin I was sporting vanished. “Excuse me?”
“This is my decision. I’m not going to go sit at home while you rush off to do God knows what without me.”
“She’s just going to sit in the car,” Storm put in from behind.
“Be quiet!” we said at the same time.
She looked at me and I sighed. “Fine.” I didn’t have any right to make her stay home. No one could keep me from being involved if this was about Piper.
The tires screeched as I did a U-turn in the center of the road.
“Tell me where to go,” I told Storm.
“Oh, am I allowed to talk now?” he quipped.
“You may give directions,” Piper told him, glancing over her shoulder.
“Women,” he muttered.
“Tell us what happened,” Piper said when we were headed in the right direction.
As I drove, I explained what happened at Olly’s house.
The whole time I had to keep reminding myself not to speed, that a speeding ticket would only make things worse.
When I was done explaining, I thought for sure they would tell me I was crazy, that we couldn’t just go to the Reaper’s house and expect to get him out.
But they didn’t bother to tell me it was a stupid idea or that Olly wouldn’t want me to go there. Maybe they saw the determination in my face. Maybe they knew it would be a waste of breath. I didn’t really care what they were thinking because it didn’t matter.
“We’re here,” Storm said quietly.
My attention went beyond my thoughts to the homes of the upper class. Every home here had lush, sprawling lawns, winding driveways, and homes that belonged on the cover of magazines. So this was where Death lived.
It didn’t seem fair he got to live here and I had to stand behind the counter at the DMV every day for little more than minimum wage. Well, technically I didn’t do that anymore.
“Slow down and then stop here at the curb,” Storm instructed and I did as he asked, stopping the Jeep between houses, hoping no one would notice there was a car that looked like it didn’t quite belong.
“G.R.’s house is that one,” he said, pointing at the one just ahead. It was just as nice as the others with its stone facade and big windows. “I’ll see what I can find out. I’ll be right back.”
“I’m coming with you,” I said, shocked he thought I was going to sit in the car.
“Are you kidding me?” he said. “The whole idea is to not draw attention. You’re like a freaking red flag waving in the wind.”
“Excuse me?” I said. “Was that some kind of fat joke?”
He let out a frustrated sigh. “What is it with women? Always thinking men are insulting you…”
I glared at him.
“No, I was not calling you fat,” he explained. “I was saying that you aren’t exactly unnoticeable. You’ve got a happening body, bright blond hair, and you have a problem keeping your mouth closed.”
I’m pretty sure that last part was an insult. I let it go because he complimented my body.
“Look, just sit in the car. Arguing with you is wasting time.”
“Fine.” I sniffed.
I unzipped the window and he didn’t waste any time disappearing into the night. I let out a nervous sigh. Waiting around sucked.
I lasted for about five minutes.
Then I popped open the door and jumped out.
“Frankie, what are you doing?” Piper whispered.
“If he thinks I’m sitting in this car, he’s nuts.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know yet,” I said. “Wait here.”
I got no more than four steps down the street when she appeared at my side and we both made our way to the house silently.
“What the hell are you two doing?” Storm demanded from a dark area at the edge of the Reaper’s yard.
Both of us let out a little squeal. “Seriously! That was mean!” I pressed a hand to my chest to hopefully keep it from beating right out.
“You deserve it. I told you to stay in the car.”
“You took too long!”
“I was gone five minutes.”
Felt like a lifetime to me.
“What did you find out?” Piper asked, grabbing my hand and pulling me closer to wherever Storm was.
“Charming’s here. Getting him out isn’t an option this time.” His voice sounded a little funny.
“Why not!” I demanded.
“Well, because he’s still in his body. He won’t be going through walls anytime soon.”
“So let’s create a distraction. He’ll know it’s us and he can escape.” It was a perfectly reasonable plan.
“Uh, that’s not going to work.”
“Why not?” I demanded again.
“Because he’s unconscious.”
If that wasn’t a bucket of ice-cold water right in my face. I sucked in a breath. “What happened to him?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t look bad, just unconscious.”
If he was unconscious, then it was bad. A person didn’t just pass out for no good reason.
My worry over him increased tenfold. I really thought we would be able to find a way to get him out of there.
Now I was starting to worry it wasn’t going to happen at all.
Olly would sit there for months, only to be Recalled.
The ATM card he gave me felt like a twenty-pound weight in my pocket.
Had he known this was going to happen all along?
Had his confidence been just so I wouldn’t worry?
“No.” I said, “This isn’t how this is going to go.”
“Let’s just go back to your place and we can come up with some sort of plan,” Storm said reasonably.
I was done with being reasonable.
I marched ahead, stepping onto the Reaper’s property and toward the front door.
“Frankie!” Piper called, running after me. “What are you doing?”
A man came around the side of the house and stopped short, seeing us approach. “This is private property,” he said.
“I know exactly whose property it is,” I spat. “Now step aside.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you go any farther.”
I snorted and walked around him. “Fine, then. Come along.”
He raced after us as I walked up to the front door and banged on the solid wood with my fist. He probably had a doorbell, but I felt like hitting something.
The door swung open a few seconds later. “Oh, well, isn’t this a surprise?” The Reaper smiled. “I’m afraid your boyfriend can’t come to the door. He’s indisposed.”
Piper stepped up behind me and all his attention zeroed in on her. Again, that weird look of reverence overcame his features and it made me wrinkle my nose in disgust.
“She’s only here because of me,” I said, trying to take the attention away from her.
He blinked, his stare coming back to me, only for it to wander right back to Piper.
I slapped my hand against the partially open door. “Hey!” I snapped.
Irritation crossed over his features until I spoke. Once the words had left my mouth, I had his complete and utter attention.
“I came to make a deal.”
“You came to make a deal with me?” he said, interest clouding his eyes.
I nodded.
“Come in.” He held open the door as Piper and I went inside, both of us sticking very close together.
In his office, he sat in a massive black chair behind a desk that was completely bare, and my eye caught a few shards of broken glass lying on the rug beneath it. It made me wonder what happened and if it had anything to do with Olly.
The Reaper steepled his fingers beneath his chin and pinned me with a cold stare. “What’s the deal?”
I swallowed, not really believing what I was about to do.
Yet I’d seen too much to simply ignore or deny anything that had happened recently.
I could no longer just tell myself there was a way out of this that didn’t require anyone to die.
In the world of the Reaper, death was king.
Death was the be all and end all of everything.
If there was one thing I learned through all of this, it was that death wasn’t fair. No one wanted to die. No one wanted to simply cease to exist.
Yet there wasn’t a choice.
At least not for me.
“If I kill the Target for Charming, will you consider the job complete?”
Beside me, Piper gasped. “Frankie! Do you know what you’re saying? You want to kill someone?”
No, I didn’t. Killing Rosalyn was the very last thing I wanted to do. But it was her or Olly. I suppose it was selfish to choose Olly because I wasn’t just doing it for him. I was doing it for me too because I couldn’t fathom living in a world that he wasn’t in.
“You—a human—want to take on the duties of a Death Escort?” the Reaper asked.
“Not all the duties. One kill. One Target. I kill her for you, and you agree to let Charming go.”
He sighed. “I really did want to Recall him. However, this is just too fun to pass up.”
So he was going to accept. And I was going to agree to murder.
“But first, let’s see what Charming has to say about this.”
“No!” I said, not wanting him involved. I already knew what he would say to this. But it was too late. He wasn’t going to stop me.
“Send him in!” the Reaper yelled and the door opened and Olly was thrust into the room. He stumbled a bit, like he was out of it, but when he saw me his eyes widened and cleared. He had a gash on his temple, one that was red and swollen.
“Frankie?” He looked at the Reaper. “I told you to stay away from her!”
“Apparently you forgot to tell her the same. She came to me.”
He looked at me like I was insane and rushed across the room to grab me by the shoulders and give me a hard shake. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking it was about time someone fought for you.”
Something behind his eyes shifted. His hard grasp on my arms gentled. “Frankie—”
The Reaper interrupted whatever he was going to say.
“Your lady here has offered me a deal.”
Olly’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “No.”
“She has agreed to kill your Target in exchange for me not Recalling you.”
“No.”
“I was just as shocked as you.” The Reaper went on.
He was totally enjoying torturing Olly. “But it made me realize perhaps I was being too harsh. You are, after all, the best Escort I have. I thought maybe you were losing your touch. But this is the first time you’ve ever charmed anyone into killing for you. ”
“She’s not killing anyone!” Olly ground out. He grabbed me again. “You are not doing this.”
“Ah, but she’s already agreed.”
I looked at Olly and nodded. Anguish filled his eyes. “You can’t do this. I won’t let you.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“Just Recall me!” he burst out, turning toward the Reaper, stepping up in front of me. “Recall me right now.”
“No!” I cried, pulling Olly back.
“As tempting as that offer is, I’m going to have to pass. It’s clear the best way to punish you for everything you’ve done is by letting her sacrifice herself for you.”
His shoulders slumped. That single gesture did more to me than any denial he could have made with his lips. “Frankie,” he whispered, hoarse.
“So, then. We have a deal?” The Reaper looked at me with glee in his eyes. “You will kill the Target and I will agree to let Charming live.”
Olly looked at me, a plea in his eyes. I looked away. “Yes.”
And so it was done.
I just hoped Olly could forgive me for what I was doing.
I also hoped I would be able to forgive myself.