Chapter Twenty
Shadows crept out from the forest, slithering around Kieran’s ankles and over his calves like a dark caress. It had to be a trick of the light and clouds, but the sight sent an icy shiver of fear skating down her spine.
Death was his father? At this moment, she could almost believe it. He seemed larger than ever, a dark angel fallen to Earth. Nothing like the man she’d come to know.
“That’s not funny, Kieran.”
“I’m not joking.”
The seriousness in his expression twisted her stomach into knots.
She licked her dry lips. “You think you’re…
” She trailed off and cleared her throat.
“A reaper?” Even saying it aloud was ridiculous.
There was no such thing outside of myths and religion.
Maybe the pressure had gotten to Kieran and he’d had some kind of mental break.
She was a baker, not a trained medical professional. She had no idea how to deal with this.
His smile was grim. “I don’t think I am. I know I am. Isn’t that right, Malaki?”
The crow was perched on the rock, a silent witness to what was unfolding. Dark and aloof, it amped up the creepiness level another notch.
Whatever was going on, it was time to leave. Being isolated in the woods with a man who believed himself to be a reaper wasn’t smart.
Her breathing grew shallow, and she forced herself to take slower breaths.
Panic wouldn’t help. She needed to stay calm and talk her way out of this situation.
No one knew where they were. She’d brought him to an isolated place.
If he was some kind of twisted killer who believed himself on some special mission from Death, her body might never be found.
She’d made love with Kieran, worked alongside him, but there was no sign of that man, only a tall, dark stranger who made her more than a little uneasy.
“You’re afraid of me.” The lack of emotion in his voice made her stop what she was doing.
“Shouldn’t I be?” A bead of sweat trickled down Georgia’s temple. “You said I’m going to die. If you’re a reaper, are you…”
She took a step away, her leg muscles quivering. “Are you going to kill me?” This entire situation was surreal. How had they gone from enjoying a picnic to discussing her death?
His lips flattened, and pain filled his black eyes, the first crack in the impenetrable emotional shield that surrounded him. “Never.” His smile, like his laugh had been, was bitter. “I’m a reaper, sweetheart. I don’t kill. I merely collect souls and guide them to the afterlife.”
While she’d always known he could be dangerous, there was no way he was a reaper.
Such a thing didn’t exist. And in her heart, she couldn’t reconcile the man she’d come to know with a cold-blooded killer.
He had to be suffering some kind of mental break, because he honestly seemed to believe what he was saying.
He was so convincing, she half believed him herself.
“It’s against the rules to tell a human that I’m a reaper.”
“Is it?” She took a step toward the path.
“But fuck the rules. None of the normal rules apply, not with you.”
Black spots formed before her eyes. She couldn’t pass out, not here, not now. She’d be totally vulnerable. He’d never shown any signs of delusion before now. When it came down to it, though, most of his life was a void. He kept information about himself close, like a miser hoarding gold.
“Christ.” He dragged his hand through his hair.
She couldn’t keep from flinching. He jerked as if she’d hit him.
“You’re white as a ghost and shaking. I’m making a mess of this.
” He slumped down on a rock and buried his face in his hands.
“I care for you more than anyone I’ve ever known, and I’ve lived for millennia. ”
Millennia? No way was she touching that.
“I will never hurt you.”
For some totally illogical reason, she believed him.
He looked utterly defeated and not at all like a man bent on killing, but what did she know?
Was this the source of his friction with his brothers?
Did they know about this break in his mental health?
She cleared her throat. “Ah, you’re a reaper? ”
He raised his head. “You’re humoring me. You think I’m off my rocker. Normally, I’d show you what I can do, but my father, in his infinite wisdom, came to me with an assignment I couldn’t refuse, literally dropped me here in Redemption, and locked down my powers.”
He glanced at Malaki, who was making a series of clicking sounds. “Laugh all you want, you bastard, and run off and tell the old man what I’ve done. You’ve never liked us.” The bird bobbed his head as if in agreement and took flight, disappearing into the trees.
“You can talk to birds?” It was worse than she’d thought.
“No, damn it. And Malaki isn’t just a bird. That crow sits on the left shoulder of Death, his messenger in all worlds. And an overall pain in the ass for my brothers and me.”
“So they can talk to him as well?” With his attention on where the bird had vanished, she slid sideways toward the path, torn between running for her life and staying to help him. Obviously, he wasn’t well. He believed every word he was saying.
“I’m not sure if they still can. They failed their assignments and have been permanently stripped of their immortality. Unlike humans, there’s no afterlife for reapers. When they die, there’s no coming back.”
Tilting back his head, he stared up at the sky.
The cords of his thick neck were taut. His hands curled into fists, his pain all too real.
“I want to save them.” She had to lean closer to hear his tortured whisper.
When he turned to look at her, his eyes were black—not only the pupils and irises, but the areas surrounding them.
There wasn’t any white to be found. There was no way to fake something like that.
She backpedaled in a rush, then tripped over a tree root and fell on her butt. “Your eyes.” She pointed at him. “Your eyes are black.” Scrambling to her feet, she backed away.
“Guess dear old Dad couldn’t suppress all the reaper in me. You’re afraid of me now.” His sadness sent a shaft of guilt through her. “You should be. I won’t harm you, but I won’t stop whoever will. I can’t. Both of us are damned.”
She shook her head. “I won’t believe you.”
“No one beats Death, not even his sons. Run. Run while you can.”
Legs quivering, she hesitated, torn between trying to help him and getting the hell away.
“Go!” he roared. Birds took flight overhead in a flurry of wings.
Georgia ran.
…
Kieran sat there for the longest time, taking comfort in the shadows. If he’d ever been in as much pain, he couldn’t remember. It felt as though someone had ripped his chest wide open and yanked out his heart.
Georgia feared him.
The ground beneath his feet began to tremble.
The insects had gone quiet. The birds and small animals had fled.
He was still living and breathing, but inside there was only emptiness.
If this is love, I don’t want it. This was what his brothers willingly embraced.
They’d given a mortal woman the ability to destroy them with no more than a glance or a few words.
She didn’t believe me. Not that he blamed her.
For all their talk of an afterlife, humans were quick to dismiss any sign that it might actually be true.
It was logical for her to assume he was delusional, but there was no changing reality.
He was the son of the Grim Reaper. Everything he’d ever done, every action he’d ever taken over the vast eons of his life, had all come down to this single moment in time, to the death of one woman.
“Fuck!” Jumping to his feet, he tore through the woods.
“I’m an idiot.” How big a head start had he given her?
Wallowing in his self-pity, one vital piece of information had been pushed aside.
Georgia was still alive, but someone or something was coming for her.
Rather than stay by her side and appreciate every precious second, he’d given in to despair, leaving her alone and unprotected.
I can’t protect her. Ignoring the branches that tore at his face and arms, he sprinted through the wood toward where they’d parked and came to a skidding halt.
The car was gone. Reaching into his pocket, he dragged out the phone Alex had left him.
“Come on,” he muttered as it rang. Not waiting for it to be answered, he ran toward the road.
“Kieran?”
“I need you to come get me. Now!” Breathing heavily, he picked up the pace, fearing every second lost might make him too late.
“Where are you?”
“Damned if I know.” He’d been paying too much attention to Georgia and not enough on the road on the trip here. “Uh, we were at a stream in the woods. Picnic spot. Doesn’t seem to be used much anymore. Head out of town past the park. Stay on the main road.”
“You were on a picnic?” The humor in his brother’s voice grated on him.
“Shove it. Georgia’s gone home alone.”
“What did you do?”
Skidding to a stop, he sucked air into his lungs and tamped down his growing panic. “I told her what I am.”
“You what?” In the background, he heard an engine start. “That’s against the rules.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” He started down the road toward town, boots slapping against the pavement.
“You likely sealed your fate.” There was no judgement, only a grim recognition.
He probably had, but he didn’t care. Was that why he’d done it? Had he wanted the choice taken out of his hands? Or had he wanted Georgia to see him for what he was and care about him despite it? “I screwed up, okay?”
“I’m calling Sam.”
“Is that necessary?” The last thing he needed was his eldest brother saying, “I told you so.”
“It’s very necessary. There’s no telling what the fallout is going to be. We all have too much to lose.” The line went dead. Alex had hung up on him. Kieran stuffed the phone back in his pocket.