‘And I’m not lost. I escaped.’
‘Escaped?’ I gave a start and stared at him.
‘I’ve been trying to get out of my contract for years, only Grimm kept tripping me up, getting me to increase my soul quota. Then, about three months ago, I got the call to reap and, as the soul crossed over, I got sucked into the empty body and it came back to life. I couldn’t believe my luck and I’m telling you now, I am not going back to the Underworld.’
I put down my empty mug, the coffee congealing in my stomach, liking what I was hearing less and less. ‘You’re in somebody else’s body. You’re not the real Chris Bradbury. You’re an impostor.’
‘I’m better than the original Chris Bradbury ever was. The guy was a drug addict, throwing his life away chasing the next big high. He deserved to die.’
I gasped and he shook his head. ‘I promise you, it was a genuine reaping. He overdosed. I got left with the body and, I have to say, doing a drug detox to make it inhabitable was not fun. It took me five weeks to feel human again.’
‘What about the woman last night? Did you kill her?’
‘Do you think I’m capable of murder?’
‘You were there, at the creek, and I saw you kissing her at Remy’s. What else am I supposed to think?’
‘Innocent until proven guilty, that’s the law right?’ He shook his head. ‘You and your cop boyfriend are two of a kind.’
‘I don’t have a …’ I frowned at him. ‘What has Detective Lockwood got to do with this?’
‘He showed up at Remy’s acting all high and mighty, made it seem like I was dangerous, chased the girl off. Last I saw of her she was hanging on some young guy’s arm.’ He shrugged. ‘I headed home soon after. Without you to show off for, Easton’s nightlife lost its appeal.’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Don’t pretend like you didn’t know what was going on. I was trying to make you jealous, get you to realise what you were missing out on. I saw you heading for the exit and planted one on the girl sitting next to me. Course, if I’d known you were going to run straight into Lockwood’s arms I might have thought twice about it. But at the time I thought you weren’t the kind of girl to cut and run. My mistake.’
‘I did not run to anyone. I couldn’t care less who you were kissing.’
‘You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart. Lockwood showed up ten minutes after you left the club and when I brought up your name he told me to stay away from you. Said he’d escorted you to your car and you were on your way home, out of my reach. From the way he talked, it was clear he’s taking a personal interest in your continued safety and I got the impression you weren’t averse to his company.’
I toyed with my muffin, keeping my eyes on my plate, remembering how I’d misinterpreted Sam’s concern for me. ‘You’re saying Sam sought you out to warn you to stay away from me?’
‘Staking his claim was a bonus for chasing that girl off. I’m guessing one of the cops he had stationed around town spotted me with her and he put two and two together and came up with the same answer you did.’ He gave a bitter laugh. ‘Now she’s dead I bet I’ll be asked back to the police station to answer more questions.’
‘You knew the woman who died on Friday, didn’t you?’
‘We did enjoy a brief flirtation at the gym, but I wouldn’t say I knew her. Lockwood found out about it but had to drop me as a suspect when he discovered my alibi is solid.’ He grinned. ‘He’s going to be equally disappointed this time around. I may have turned up at the scene of the crime after the event, but I was talking to the doorman at my hotel when my reaper senses went into overdrive. There’s a serial killer out there, but it’s not me.’
I groaned, rubbing my face with both hands. ‘This is a nightmare.’
‘Tell me about it. I can’t have Lockwood turning up and ruining my chances with the ladies every time I go out. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.’
‘Are you insane? People are dying, and you’re worried about getting girls.’
‘Not any girl. You know exactly who I want.’ He removed his sunglasses and placed them on the table before capturing both my hands and holding them tight. ‘Forget about the cop. Forget Grimm, forget everything else. Give us a chance and I will guarantee you a future where all your dreams come true,’ he said, gaze unwavering, the blue even more vivid than I remembered.
A wave of goose bumps swept over my entire body and a tingle in my lower belly radiated out, sending a bloom of warmth to my cheeks. I closed my eyes. I couldn’t afford to get side-tracked and didn’t have time to sort out what my feelings were or if his offer was genuine.
With a deep breath, I opened my eyes. ‘If I don’t turn you over to Grimm I don’t have a future, with you or anybody else. He gave me until midnight Thursday to find you or he’s going to kill me, again.’
‘Damn him.’ Chris released my hands, and rubbed his forehead. ‘I should have known the bastard would never let me go this easy.’ He squared his shoulders, muscles straining against the material of his shirt. ‘I know this is a lot to ask but can you not tell him you found me, not yet. There has to be a way out of this mess, for both of us. Give me a chance to find it.’
Now I knew he wasn’t lost at all, did I have the right to send him back to the Underworld against his wishes? Besides, what if he could find a way to keep the both of us out of Grimm’s clutches? Could I risk losing out on the only chance I might have to get free as well?
‘I won’t tell Grimm, yet. But if I find out you had anything to do with those women getting killed then the deal is off. I’ll hand you over to Grimm without a second thought.’ Even as I said it I doubted I’d be able to cold bloodedly reap his soul, no matter how much he might deserve it.
He stood and took hold of my hands, pulling me to my feet, tugging gently until my body pressed lightly against his. His strong features wore a strangely gentle smile as he inclined his head, his deep voice making my nerves sing as he whispered in my ear. ‘We’ve got four days before you have to turn me in. Let’s make the most of it.’
It was hard to pull my thoughts away from where his husky voice had sent them, impossible to ignore the hard body so close to mine. With an effort, I steadied my breathing and forced my brain to work.
I pulled free. ‘You have to stop this. It isn’t helping.’ I waved a hand at him, backing away to take my seat. ‘We have to focus on stopping Grimm, not flirting with each other.’
‘So you admit you have been flirting with me?’
‘Chris.’ I glared at him
‘Okay, I’m sorry.’ He held up his hands in mock surrender as he took his seat. ‘You can’t blame me for wanting something good to mark what could be my last days on earth. I thought I was done with Grimm, with the Underworld, all of it, only to have you show up and tell me that my days of freedom are numbered.’
I lowered my eyes, stung by the bitterness in his voice. ‘What was it like, being a reaper for so long?’ I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, not sure if I wanted to know what lay in store for me if I failed to deliver Chris’s soul to Grimm.
He gave me a crooked smile. ‘I’m guessing you’ve never been called to reap the soul of a little old lady who died in her sleep. All your clients have died a violent death. Am I right?’
I nodded, a hard knot forming in my stomach. Every day, people died in mundane ways, the obituary section at the Chronicle testament to the frailty of life, but none of them had been my clients.
‘Grimm isn’t interested in the souls of people who die ordinary deaths. He has thousands upon thousands of reapers who release those lucky souls and send them on their way so that they can be reborn when their time is due. All he cares about are the souls that die screaming, their essence filled with the psychic energy of their passing.’
I gulped to clear bile from my throat, horrified by the images his words created in my mind.
Chris’s expression darkened as he continued. ‘Grimm has special reapers, stationed in e
very town and city the world over, who collect the souls that have come to a violent end. I was one of them and, believe me, the gloss of watching thousands of people die in horrific and agonising ways wore off pretty quick and I started to think more and more about giving it all away.’
‘Had you filled your quota?’
‘I’d gotten close a couple of times, but somehow I’d find myself in a situation where I reaped an illegitimate soul and I’d be back where I started. I had around a hundred left to go and this time I was determined to make it. Then Grimm came to me with a proposition.’
I shivered, remembering the proposition Grimm had made me.
Chris grimaced. ‘He wanted me to take on a special assignment. The current Dusty was unravelling and he had a girl he needed dead but didn’t trust one of his lesser Wraiths to do the job for him. I refused, knowing what being a Wraith did to your brain, and he did not take it well. He appointed another reaper to cover Easton and I found myself having to fight for my last few reaps. It took months before I got to the last one.’
‘Chris Bradbury.’
Chris raised his empty mug in a salute. ‘I reaped his soul and then, when I thought I’d earned my chance at being reborn, I got zapped into his body and here I am.’
I mulled over what he’d said, turning it over in my head, trying to figure out what was bugging me about his story. ‘None of that explains why Grimm would go to such lengths to get you back.’
Chris shrugged. ‘He doesn’t like being crossed. I’m the one who got away. I guess he wants to make an example out of me.’
‘No, there’s got to be more to it. What does he gain by keeping the souls of those who die violently?’
‘My best guess is that it has something to do with the amount of nether those souls contain.’
‘Nether?’
‘Negative energy. The opposite of the psychic energy that powers all living things, which is sometimes called aether. When you enter the astral plane, to reap, it is your essence, the aether side of you that makes up your astral body.’
I rubbed my temples, thinking back to when I’d been researching reapers on the internet. One of the sites I’d visited had referred to the Underworld as the Netherworld. ‘I’m guessing this nether is a bad thing.’
‘Not necessarily, it all depends on who is using it and how. Grimm manipulates it to control what happens in the Underworld, creating reapers. The mist he likes to cloak himself with is made of it.’
I shivered, remembering the way the mist had ensnared me, choking me. If that was nether, then I wanted no part of it.
‘What about aether? What does it do, other than allowing me to astral project?’
‘It makes the world go around. Without it, there would be no life.’ His forehead furrowed. ‘You do realise you’re the girl he wanted me to kill. He wanted you dead long before I disappeared but he had to wait until his latest Dusty was up to the task.’
I was sure Chris had brought this topic up to change the subject, but I let him get away with it, for now. ‘What’s so special about me? I’m nobody.’
‘Grimm chose you for a reason. He had you killed so he could get to you and, make no mistake, if we don’t stop him he’s going to kill you again whether you turn me over to him or not. Because once you’re in the Underworld he can control you. Alive, you’re a threat he can’t afford to ignore.’
‘None of this makes any sense.’
‘Not yet. But give it time. All will become clear.’
I couldn’t see how. Everything I learned just made me realise that I was out of my depth. My head whirled. Could I even trust that what he’d told me was the truth? He was a murder suspect. I’d found him with a dead body. There was so much I didn’t know.
Before I could question him further, his phone rang. His expression hardened as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. Then he said, ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’ He hung up, expression clearing as he looked at me.
‘I have to go,’ he said as he got to his feet. ‘There’s a problem at the building site and I need to go and sort it out. I want you to come with me. Once I’m done at the site, we can go to my place and make plans.’
I stood and took a deep breath. ‘Take care of your problem, and we can meet up afterwards. This will give me time to think about everything you’ve told me.’
‘What’s there to think about? You want Grimm gone as bad as I do, but we don’t have a chance if we don’t stand together.’
I grabbed my handbag. ‘I need to get this all figured out in my head, make sense of it all. I’ll call you when I’m ready.’
Chris’s nostril’s flared. ‘Don’t take too long. Our four days will be up before you know it.’ He grabbed me around the middle and placed a swift kiss on my lips before shoving his sunglasses on and striding off.
I stroked my lips as I watched him walk away, considering my options. I needed a clear space to think in. The flat was no good. Anyone could find me there, the amount of unwelcome visitors I’d had yesterday proof of that.
I walked to my car, smiling when I looked over at the library. Perfect. No one would find me there and I’d be assured of peace and quiet.
I made it as far as the front doors.
Chapter 16
‘Tyler.’
I spun around, shocked to hear Sam’s voice.
He stood beside his car, several parks over from mine. ‘You never returned my calls.’
‘I, ah, I’ve been busy,’ I said, flushing under his steady gaze.
‘I need a moment.’ His hazel eyes pinned me in place and I nodded acceptance, moving to stand in front of him, though I wanted nothing more than to run from this awkward confrontation as fast as I could.
For the longest moment Sam stared at me, then his right hand came up and he used the backs of his fingers to brush my fringe back from my face. The simple touch sent a bolt of lightning into my frozen centre and I closed my eyes so they wouldn’t betray me. Why did this have to be happening to me now? Sam could not be part of my life, for both our sakes.
Sam gave a sigh, regret coating his features. ‘When you didn’t respond to any of my messages last night, I got worried. I was halfway to your flat when I got a call out for a job, and it kept me busy for the rest of the night.’
I opened my eyes and met his gaze. The call must have been about the woman in the ditch. If she hadn’t died he’d have been on my doorstep last night and I had no idea what I would have done about it.
‘I saw you just before, at the café, with Bradbury. Do you think it’s wise, getting involved with him? He’s a suspect in a murder investigation.’
‘You have no right to question me about whom I choose to spend time with.’ I feigned anger as an excuse to walk away. I barely took two steps before he grabbed my arm.
‘Another woman was murdered last night and she was seen at one of the clubs with Bradbury a couple of hours before she died. He’s one of our main suspects.’
I twisted my arm free and frowned as I faced Sam again. ‘One of?’
He grimaced. ‘He wasn’t the only guy she spent time with over the course of the evening. After she was seen with Bradbury, she was spotted with at last three other men. It’s going to be a nightmare chasing down all the leads.’
I took a deep breath, relieved to hear Chris had been telling the truth. The girl had wasted no time getting over him. ‘If she was with other guys, why are you so sure Chris killed her?’
‘The woman I told you about last night, Bradbury was seen with her as well.’
I shrugged, allowing a small smile to appear. ‘He flirted with her at the gym. Not exactly the behaviour of a serial killer.’
Sam took a step back, his face showing surprise. ‘He told you? Did he also tell you he was kissing the latest victim at Remy’s?’
My smile vanished. ‘He didn’t need to tell me. I was there’. I remembered how it had felt, like being punched in the stomach, when I’d seen him kissing the other woman
. ‘But he said he was only doing it to make me jealous.’
‘And you believed him?’ Sam shook his head. ‘Of course you did, or you wouldn’t be defending him.’ He shook his head. ‘I’ve got to hand it to the guy; he’s a master when it comes to manipulating women.’
I glared at him, my ire no longer pretend, and Sam put his hands up as if to ward off an attack. ‘Don’t look at me like I’m the bad guy. I’m not the one who played you.’
‘I was not played.’
‘Tell me the truth; tell me Bradbury had nothing to do with your decision to head home early last night. You can’t, can you? You saw him kissing another woman, got upset and ran away.’ He gave a bitter laugh. ‘No wonder the bastard didn’t care when I showed up and warned her to stay away from him. She’d served her purpose.’
I gave an angry shake of my head. ‘I don’t care who Chris kisses. I hardly even know the guy.’
‘You always kiss guys you hardly know? I saw you at the café, remember?’
I clenched my hands into fists. ‘He kissed me. There’s a difference.’
‘Didn’t look like you were putting up much of a fight.’
‘What is this?’ I flung my hands up in the air, turning in a circle, not sure who I was angry at the most, Sam, Chris, or me. ‘Why do you even care who I’m kissing?’ I asked once I faced Sam again.
He sighed and gave me an apologetic grin. ‘I don’t want you to get hurt again. Your last boyfriend was a louse and I know how much he hurt you. I don’t want you to get caught up in a relationship with a guy who’s even worse. Bradbury goes through more girls in a week than other guys date in a lifetime. I don’t want you ending up as one of his conquests, used and tossed to the side the second he gets what he wants.’
I took a step back. ‘You think all he wants me for is sex, don’t you? Is it hard to believe he might be interested in me for real?’
‘Bradbury has only been in town a few months and there’s already a huge file on him at the station. Some of the women he’s tossed aside haven’t taken too kindly to being dumped and it’s gotten ugly. The guy’s only interested in one thing and you playing hard to get might string him along for a while, but he’ll walk away the minute you give in to him, count on it.’
Lost Reaper Page 10
