Chapter Twenty #2
His lungs burned and sweat beaded on his brow, but he didn’t stop.
He’d keep going until he dropped. As he ran, he cursed himself for opening his big mouth, his father for locking down his preternatural strength and for giving him this assignment, and his brothers for putting him in the position of having to try to bail their sorry asses out of trouble.
You called your brother…again. The quiet voice in the back of his head startled him enough that he stumbled before regaining his footing.
He’d called Alexiares, never once questioning whether or not his brother would help him.
He’d done the same thing when Georgia had been taken to the hospital. Nor did he doubt Samael was on his way.
It shamed him that he’d come here in his arrogance, determined to show them the error of their ways, so convinced they weren’t as smart as him.
Love—he’d mocked them when they’d told him how they felt about the women they were with.
And look at him now, racing down a country road at dusk, desperate to reach a woman’s side.
It didn’t escape his notice that not a single vehicle passed him. His father was undoubtedly throwing roadblocks in his way as punishment for his latest stunt. Would he send another reaper to Georgia?
The scream of his soul sent a pulsing shockwave rushing over the area. Trees bent to absorb the silent blast; others cracked and toppled, unable to withstand the fury of his pain.
A car sped toward him. Brakes screeched as they were slammed on. The vehicle skidded to a halt. “Get in.” Alex leaned across the seats and shoved open the passenger door.
He sprinted around the front of the car, threw himself into the seat, and slammed the door shut behind him. “Go.”
Alex performed a textbook three-point turn and bulleted back toward town. “Why did you do it?”
“I don’t know.” He leaned forward, as if that would somehow make the trip go faster.
“Bullshit! Stop lying to yourself.”
“I wanted her to see me, the real me. For once in my life, I wanted to matter.” The words spilled out in a torrent of truth.
“You matter to me and to Sam. You always have.”
“I never doubted it.” It was why he’d taken the damn assignment in the first place.
“It’s different with a woman you love.” Alex’s quiet words sliced his soul. He clamped his jaw together rather than reply. It was moot anyway. Georgia feared him, and Death was coming for her. It was a matter of who got there first.
“Drive faster.”
…
Georgia almost turned the car around a dozen times on the drive home.
The adrenaline rush that had fired her mad dash back to the car had subsided, leaving her shaky and stomach-sick.
It felt wrong to leave Kieran alone to fight whatever demons were plaguing him.
With some distance came reason. Whatever she’d thought she’d seen, his eyes hadn’t turned black.
That was impossible. It had to have been a trick of the light mixed with her fear.
The same went for the shadows that had surrounded him.
“Don’t buy into his delusion.” Whatever fantasy world he’d fallen into, he believed it completely. How he’d convinced himself he was somehow immortal, she had no idea. It would take a professional with more education than her to figure that out.
It was shocking how quickly he’d changed from his normal self into someone she didn’t recognize.
Although that wasn’t quite true. He was still stubborn and determined and larger than life.
It was the narrative that had changed, not the man.
In the end, he’d sent her away to protect her, not from a runaway car or carbon monoxide poisoning, but from himself.
She pulled into the driveway and put the car in park, but didn’t get out.
Fine tremors vibrated through her fingers.
She took several deep breaths to settle herself while she considered her options.
If she called Cal, he’d detain Kieran, likely have him taken somewhere for psychiatric evaluation.
She could contact his brothers, but Kieran would consider it a betrayal. He was nothing if not proud.
“I could go back for him.” The idea settled in her heart.
She rested her forehead against the steering wheel and closed her eyes.
Logic dictated that she lock herself inside the house and call the authorities.
The longer she sat there, the more certain she became that she wasn’t going to do that.
Each step she’d taken away from him, her heart had grown heavier, her decision less clear.
Now her distress was more for him than because of him.
I will never hurt you. His words echoed in her head, his tortured expression imprinted on her brain. If anything, he’d spent his time in Redemption protecting her, even from himself. He’d told her to run. Not because he feared hurting her, but because he’d seen her fear.
She raised her head and stared at the house, but she made no move to get out of the car.
Most would call her naive, certainly foolish, to believe in his innate goodness, but she couldn’t fight the gut instinct that it was the truth.
Her judgement in men was questionable, but she wasn’t the young woman who’d fallen for David. She was older, wiser, and more jaded.
For some unknown reason, she trusted Kieran. Her heart gave a little squeeze, and butterflies danced in her stomach. It was more than that. She cared for him far out of proportion to the amount of time they’d known each other.
Love at first sight. She didn’t believe in it, and she couldn’t say that’s what had happened here. It was more that he’d become a part of her and her life with each breath he took until she could barely remember what it had been like before him.
“I have to go back.” Cursing herself for an idiot, she’d started to put the car in gear when a knock came on the windshield. Jolting, she barely swallowed a groan when she saw who it was. Praying for patience, she rolled down the window. “What do you want, David?”
“I want to talk with you. Since your guard dog isn’t around, now seems like as good a time as any.”
She’d give him marks for determination. He always was one to go after what he wanted. “Now’s not a good time. I was just leaving.”
“You just got here.” He reached across her, turned off the ignition, and removed the keys before she realized his intention.
“Hey. Give me back my damn keys.”
“After we talk.” He yanked open the car door.
She’d had enough of men telling her what to do today. Grabbing her purse, she stalked down the driveway toward the sidewalk. Hard fingers dug into her shoulder and pulled her to an abrupt halt.
“What do you think you’re doing?” She tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip.
A frisson of alarm snaked through her. She glanced around, but there wasn’t another soul in sight to witness what was happening.
“Let me go.” Ignoring her demand, he dragged her up the driveway and around the back of the house.
“Stop this right now.” She dug in her heels, but her efforts barely slowed him down.
Taking a deep breath, she screamed. The next second, her head snapped back and pain rocketed through her, David’s slap totally unexpected and vicious. “Shut up.” His face, mottled with rage, was so close that his breath puffed against her skin. Fury burned in his eyes. “You will listen to me.”
She brought her knee up hard and fast, fighting back as natural as breathing. He barely avoided a direct hit, turning at the last second. He swore when she connected with his thigh.
“Bitch.” He flung her toward the house. She hit the side of the house hard enough to momentarily knock the wind out of her.
Her purse fell to the ground, the contents spilling everywhere.
She lunged for her phone and closed her fingers around it.
He yanked it from her grasp, dropped it to the deck, and slammed his foot into it.
Scrambling away, she lunged for one of the flowerpots and heaved it at his head. He ducked and went low, tackling her to the ground, his weight pressing down on her. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, your choice.”
There was a sadistic gleam in his eyes. The bastard was enjoying himself. She’d watched him verbally berate workers, herself included, but there’d never been a hint of physical violence. How had she never seen this side of him?
“One way or another, you’re going to give me what I want.”
It was difficult to breathe with him sprawled on top of her. “Why?” she managed to gasp.
Rather than answer, he sprang to his feet and used her keys to unlock the door. She scrambled to get away, but he grabbed her by the arm, dragged her inside, and flung her to the floor. He sat down hard on her thighs and used his hands to pin her down.
Her skin was clammy. She struggled to get away, glancing frantically around in search of a weapon, something she could use to protect herself, but there was nothing.
Why had she run from Kieran? He might believe he was an immortal reaper, but even in his delusional state, he hadn’t hurt her, had done everything in his power to protect her. “If you leave now, David, we can forget this ever happened.”
“I don’t believe you. You were always a stickler for the rules, for what was right. Judgmental little bitch. No one could live up to your standards. Besides, it’s too late for that. It’s your own fault. If you’d agreed to sell me the recipes I wanted, you could have been rich.”
He was going to kill her. There was no other way for him to get away with this, and they both knew it. Kieran would come. All she had to do was somehow stay alive until he found his way back.
I won’t harm you, but I won’t stop whoever will. I can’t. Both of us are damned.
How had he known? “Is Kieran working with you?” It was too painful to even contemplate, but she had to know.
David threw back his head and laughed. “That loser, please? If he hadn’t been sniffing around you, I would have been able to romance those recipes out of you.”
A snort of derision escaped her. Her cheek throbbed and her mouth stung where he’d struck her, but she wouldn’t back down. “You keep telling yourself that.”
This time, she saw his fist coming, but there was no way to avoid it. She managed to turn her head at the last second. Stars exploded behind her eyes, and blood trickled down her chin.
“If I’d known you were so desperate for a man, I could have obliged you. For old times’ sake.”
She went cold inside. “Touch me and I’ll kill you.”
“You’re in no place to make demands.” He leaned down until he was so close his breath fanned over her face.
“Why?” Like earlier with Kieran, the longer they talked, the better chance she had of getting away. Only this time, her life really did depend on it.
He reared back but kept his hands on her wrists, pinning them to the floor.
“I need money. Lots of it and fast. I have a corporate giant willing to buy your white chocolate fudge brownie recipe with an option for your double chocolate fudge brownie. I told you during our phone call that that a prominent food manufacturer sampled one and couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Think of it. Your cookies will be mass-produced and sold all over the country. Too bad it will be my name on them.”
Her head spun, partly from the blow and partly from what he was saying. She blinked, trying to clear her blurry vision. “I don’t understand.”
“You never saw half of what went on around you, my sweet. I like to gamble, to play the odds. I mostly win.” His frown deepened. “I had a string of losses. I borrowed money from the business to pay it back.”
“You stole from your family.” Petras’ Bakery had been an institution in Boston and other major east coast cities for almost a hundred years.
“If my father finds out, he’ll take the bakery from me. I will not be disgraced.”
“And killing me won’t do that.” His mind was as twisted as his reasoning.
“I checked out of Ivy House and left town earlier today. I even made sure that troublesome cop saw me heading toward the highway. I doubled back, hid the car, and walked. No one knows I’m here. There’s a woman in Boston who’ll swear I was with her when the police question me.”
It was bone-chilling how calmly he spoke of her death, and Georgia knew he was desperate enough to do it and smart enough to actually pull it off. She licked her lips, wincing when she touched the cut on the bottom one. “There’s one problem with that.”
He frowned. “It’s a perfect plan.”
It wasn’t smart to make him angry, but he was more likely to make a mistake if he was.
She tensed her muscles, ready to make a move if an opportunity presented itself.
Being flat on her back, her options were limited.
“You really can’t see beyond your own desires, can you? ” She kept her tone light and mocking.
He removed his hands from her wrists, but before she could take advantage, he wrapped his fingers around her throat.
She clawed at his hands, digging deep furrows into his skin.
He gripped her throat harder, his face red and mottled as he squeezed.
She drummed her feet against the hardwood floor, unable to breathe.
The world began to blur. Then the pressure eased.
She sucked air into her desperate lungs.
“Tell me what you meant?” he demanded.
It gave her perverse satisfaction to thwart his plans. He might kill her, but he wouldn’t get what he wanted. “Never tell you my recipes,” she gasped. “Not written down anywhere.”
Hands still around her throat, he lifted her and slammed her back down on the floor.
Her head hit hard, rattling her brains and her teeth.
“Oh, you’ll tell me. Before I’m done with you, you’ll be begging to give it to me, if only to end your suffering.
” When he leaned down, she turned her head to the side, fearing he’d try to kiss her.
He laughed. “We’re going to have fun, you and I.”
The back door slammed open, hitting the wall and bouncing back. Without making a sound, Kieran descended on them like an avenging angel…or a reaper of Death.