Chapter Eighteen #2
Keeping her voice low, she murmured, “I’m not the woman I was. Don’t push me. You won’t like the results.” More loudly, she added, “Everything’s fine. David was just leaving.”
…
The cheating, thieving son of a bitch had the gall to smile at her.
Kieran’s brothers shifted closer to him.
Did they expect him to attack the man? Perhaps they did, but he’d embraced the icy empty space growing inside him.
The shadows had crept forward. For a brief second, all his senses had come back online, only to become muted again, the loss as devastating at it had been the first time around.
It was like having pieces of himself sliced away.
It was also a reminder of what was at stake, not only for him, but for his brothers.
Taking his time, her ex pulled a business card with fancy gold lettering out of his pocket and set it in the center of the table. “When you’re ready to discuss terms, call me.”
Beneath the smile and easygoing facade lay the stench of desperation.
It was an emotion Kieran was intimately acquainted with.
It made the man dangerous. How far would David go to get what he wanted?
Would it be any worse to be killed by someone you’d once cared for than it would be to go in an accident? Dead was dead.
Cal casually stepped into David’s path. “You plan on being in town much longer?”
There was that self-assured smile, the one Kieran was coming to despise.
“As charming as your little town is, I expect my business will be concluded soon.” Rather than go around the officer, David stopped and raised a dark eyebrow. “Is there anything else?”
“No.” Cal moved aside, allowing him to leave.
As soon as the door closed, Alex gave voice to what they’d all been thinking. “What an ass.”
“I agree with your succinct assessment.” Cal joined them and asked Georgia directly, “He giving you any trouble?”
She shrugged and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“If that changes, let me know. I mostly stopped by to let you know that Mr. Davis’s condition has improved, and he should be released in a few days. He’ll be moving in with one of his sons.
“That’s great news, Cal. What can I get you?”
“Black coffee.”
“I’ve got it.” Kieran’s hands were tied when it came to hindering the unfolding path of her life, but he could do little things to lighten her load. The news about Mr. Davis was unexpected, but it removed a worry from Georgia.
“If you don’t mind.”
“It’s no problem.” He wanted to hug her, to reassure her that he’d do everything in his power to help her. Instead, he gave her a nod and went behind the counter.
“Ah, I’ll get those brownies for you, Sam,” Georgia said. “And, Alex, tell Cilla I look forward to seeing her. Talk to you soon, Cal.” With that, she swiped up the card David had left, tucked it into her pocket, and hurried to the kitchen.
“Want to tell me what that’s all about?” Cal gave a nod toward where Georgia had disappeared.
“Not my business.” The words stuck in Kieran’s throat, almost choking him.
“You Blackwells seem to find yourselves in the thick of everything, but it looks like you’re taking a step back. It’s probably for the best, unless you’re planning to make Redemption your home.”
“I’m not staying.” He said it as much for himself as his brothers. The divide between them widened each time they were together. It might never close, even if he managed to save them and have their immortality restored. No matter the outcome, the future was bleak. “What can I get you?”
“I’ll take one of those blueberry muffins to go with my coffee.”
Cal didn’t stick around. He gave each man a nod before heading out to his patrol car, leaving him alone with his brothers.
“Why did you come here today?” He was done playing polite games.
He was scraped raw inside, bleeding and cold, alone as he’d never been before.
His every action—or rather lack of action—was stripping away what little had been left of his soul.
“We were curious to see if you were still hanging around the bakery and if you’d rethought the situation.” Sam lowered his voice to a whisper. You still planning on letting Georgia die?” Leave it to Sam to get right to the point.
“I can’t hinder the unfolding of her path. The timeline must be maintained.” It was one of the few rules reapers had, the foundation from which all others sprang.
“Jesus, you sound just like Dad.” Alex raked his fingers through his hair. “We’re all aware of our responsibilities, our heritage.”
“You turned your back on it.” On me. He bit his tongue rather than say it aloud.
“We didn’t have a choice.” That was surprising coming from his oldest brother.
“Weren’t you the one always telling Alex and me that there’s always a choice?” He’d absorbed the attention and wisdom of his brothers when they’d been children and first starting out as adults. He’d patterned himself after Sam, striving to be the best reaper he could be.
“You’re right. When it came down to it, I made my decision and I stand by it. I won’t let you take that from me.”
“I’m not trying to take anything, I’m trying to give something back.” He was fighting a losing battle, but he had to try, even though his heart was no longer in it.
“What I gained is worth what was taken.” Sam’s certainty sat like a stone in Kieran’s gut. “I’ve lived a very long time, but I’ve never been happier and more fulfilled than I’ve been these past weeks. Adrianne gave me that.”
“What Sam said goes the same for me,” Alex added. “Put aside the assignment for a second. What do you want?”
No one had ever asked him that. There’d never been a time when he hadn’t been aware of what was required of him.
It had been drummed into them by their father their entire lives.
He’d embraced it and done his utmost to live up to the expectations placed on him.
His being here was proof that in the eyes of the Grim Reaper, he’d fallen short.
“I don’t know.” It was as honest an answer as he’d ever given.
“That’s something you might want to think about.
What does immortality matter if you don’t really live?
” That his thoughts echoed Alex’s left him more unsettled.
“The only thing I hate about facing my ultimate end is knowing I won’t reincarnate, that I’ll never have the opportunity to find Cilla again. ”
A veil of blackness threatened to smother Kieran.
To never see Georgia again? The very idea was crushing.
If she died and reincarnated, he’d be able to at least see her, to know she lived.
But Alex was right. That wasn’t living. It was being an impartial spectator.
That’s what a reaper is, he reminded himself.
What do you want? The question reverberated in every cell of his body.
“She called you Kier.” Sam’s quiet observation made him flinch, as though he’d taken a body blow. They understood what that meant, how close he’d gotten to Georgia. “Think about what you want. We’ve all given enough. Isn’t it time we had a few years of happiness?”
“They’re fleeting.” And when his brothers died, there was no coming back. It would be final.
“You have to decide what’s right for you, as we did.” Alex reached across the counter, grabbed him, and pulled him in for a hug. “Whatever you do, you’ll have to live with it, but you know where we stand. Miss you, brother.”
Eyes stinging, Kieran gripped Alex tighter, wishing things could be easier, cut and dried as they’d been at the outset of the assignment.
Georgia hurried out from the kitchen, box in hand, only to come to an abrupt stop. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“You’re not.” He released Alex.
“I have Sam’s brownies.” She held up the bakery box.
“Thanks. Adrianne will appreciate it.” Sam tossed money on the counter and headed for the door, Alex right behind him.
“I didn’t mean to drive them away.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “You seem to be getting along better.”
“Looks can be deceiving.” He wanted to lean down and inhale her essence—the musky, spicy scent of woman mixed with the sweetness of sugar and vanilla.
He wanted to kiss her senseless, to forget the difficult choices facing him.
When they were in bed together, everything seemed simple and right, anything seemed possible.
All that changed the second reality descended.
“What will you do about David?”
“Look, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. We’ve had some memorable moments, but it isn’t your concern.”
It was a slap in the face, even if it was the truth. “This isn’t about us. It’s about you and your future. Forget about us.” Kieran wished he could. It would make his decisions much easier.
Her sad smile hurt him. “It’s funny how the men in my life have no trouble putting personal interest in me aside.”
“Georgia.” The door opened to admit another customer, ending their private interlude.
Without a word, she disappeared out back, taking pieces of his heart, leaving a void that would be forever empty.
He wanted to rage—at himself, at his father, at his brothers for putting him in this position and making him question his core beliefs.
There was no time to process anything. He had a job to do.
Taking a deep breath, he nodded at the newcomer. “What can I get you?”