‘Oh my god, you think I’m an idiot.’
‘Of course not. I meant-’
‘I don’t want to hear it. I can look after myself, thank you very much. I don’t need a babysitter.’ I headed for my car, fists clenched and body shaking. My eyes stung from holding back tears.
Sam surged forward, blocking my path, palms out ‘You’re right. I’m being an asshole. I’ve got no right to interfere in your life.’ He took a deep breath. ‘But before I leave you alone, there is something else I need to tell you and you’re not going to like it. I said we have other suspects. One of them is your half-brother.’
‘What? Which one?’
‘Connor. He was seen leaving Remy’s with the woman, apparently they were headed to Scene but when they got there they weren’t let in on account of an incident earlier in the night. Your brother got into an argument with the bouncer at the door and the woman dragged him off down the street before it got physical.’ He sighed again. ‘She was never seen alive again.’
‘Connor might not be the world’s greatest brother, but he is not a killer.’
‘For what it’s worth, I think you’re right. My money’s on Bradbury, but I wanted to keep you up to date with the investigation. The victim looks like you and I’ve got a hunch it isn’t a coincidence. Promise me you’ll be careful, with Bradbury and your brother, at least until we find out who’s behind these attacks.’
I nodded automatically, unable to move as Sam made his way to his car and drove away. Weaving like a drunk, I crossed to my car and sat in the driver’s seat. I made no attempt to put the key in the ignition as I doubted my coordination was up for the task. Too many thoughts swirled around in my head, spinning my equilibrium out of control.
Sam’s theory about the dead women being connected to me should have been absurd, a hunch with no substance to back it up. Yes, they all had long dark hair and the same body shape as me, but so did lots of women. My half-brother being a suspect did bring the situation closer to home, but I could not see Connor as a serial killer, no matter what his faults were. The connection between Chris and the two victims concerned me, but he had strong alibis and I believed him when he said he hadn’t killed them.
The third victim, the one Sam didn’t know about, killed any hope I had of laughing this off. I had been the first to die. According to Chris, Grimm had arranged for me to be murdered so he could use me. Could he also be behind the deaths of women who looked like me? Could this all be Grimm’s sick way of reminding me of the stakes? It wasn’t hard for me to picture the Grim Reaper setting up such a sick object lesson to ensure I did his bidding.
I retched, bile rising up as acid bit into my stomach with razor sharp teeth.
Tears streamed down my face as I wondered how many more women would be sentenced to death because of me.
I had to find some way to fight back, leverage, something I could use to make sure Grimm didn’t have me killed again.
I had four days before my time ran out and when it did I would have to decide if my life meant more to me than Chris’s. If I reaped his soul and returned him to Grimm it would be murder.
I couldn’t do it, kill someone in cold blood. He had just as much right as me to live, even in the body of another man, and unless I found out he deserved otherwise he would get to enjoy his second chance. Even if it cost me mine.
Chapter 17
I pulled into the driveway at home, parking behind Sarah’s VW. I had no idea how our relationship was going to progress. Should I act as if we were still enemies or was it time to move on, to forgive and forget? I might only have a few days left to live. Did I want to spend them fighting with the one person who had always been there for me?
A new kind of butterfly took up residence in the pit of my stomach as I got out of the car and headed inside. Sarah stood beside the kitchen table, a welcoming smile on her face, and I had to laugh. She wore an apron we’d been given as a house warming present by Connor. The plastic Dolly Parton type breasts jutted out four inches, barely covered by the red fabric of the apron disguised as a low cut dress sparkling with sequins.
‘Hope you’re hungry,’ said Sarah, waving a hand at the table set for two. ‘I made your favourite, butter chicken and rice, and the naan breads will be ready as soon as the microwave beeps.’
On cue, the timer went off and Sarah hurried to remove the Indian breads, flipping them from one hand to the next as she transferred them to the plates set beside the bowls. Then she reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of lemon lime and bitters and placed it in the middle of the table. She took a seat, bottom lip wobbling and a layer of tears gleaming in her eyes as she waited for me to join her.
I took a deep breath before I stepped forward and sat down opposite her, tossing my handbag on to the end of the table. I managed to smile. ‘This smells great. Just what I needed.’
Sarah opened the bottle and poured it into our glasses as she started to chatter about who else she’d seen out the night before. I didn’t contribute much, careful to make the right response during each break in her words. The more she talked, the easier it became to pretend everything was normal between us.
‘I got a new movie for us to watch,’ said Sarah after we’d eaten our fill. ‘It’s a rom/com about a girl who unknowingly ends up dating two best friends. Want to watch it with me?’
‘Sure,’ I said as I stood and started stacking our dirty plates. ‘You get the movie going and I’ll take care of these.’
Sarah bounced out of her seat and headed into the lounge while I rinsed the dishes and stacked the dishwasher. Once the kitchen was clean I went into the lounge and collapsed on the couch.
Sarah’s feet were propped up on the coffee table, the previews playing on the television. She clicked the menu button and then selected play.
I grabbed a cushion and hugged it to my chest as I prepared to ogle whatever cute guys were in the movie. Hopefully they’d be so cute I’d forget all about Chris and Sam and an impossibly distant future.
‘Oh my god, check out those eyes. He’s gorgeous.’ Sarah sighed. ‘What I wouldn’t give to have a guy who looked like that.’
Sarah was right, the actor did have amazing eyes, but Chris’s were even bluer, a deep impossible blue that I could easily drown in. Sarah’s cutie took his shirt off and I immediately started to picture Chris in a similar situation. Even with only minimal contact, I knew his time at the gym had been well spent. Chris’s shoulders were naturally broad and with a narrow waist lengthening his body he looked powerful rather than packed.
I shifted on the couch, determined to stop thinking about Chris. Then the second guy in the love triangle made an appearance. He had dark hair and hazel eyes, and as he wrapped his arms around the female lead I wondered what it would be like to have Sam hold me like that, to be pressed up against his body, my hands on his chest.
Heat bloomed in my cheeks at the way my thoughts were going and I stood up. ‘I’m getting a drink. Want one?’
‘Sure. Want me to stop the movie?’
‘No, it’s okay, I can hear it.’ I hurried into the kitchen and opened the fridge, allowing the cool air to soothe my flushed face before I grabbed out the bottle of soft drink and poured two fresh glasses.
But I no longer needed a cold drink. The fridge air had done its work and I rubbed at the goose bumps on my arms. Now I wanted a hot drink to chase the chill away. I put the kettle on before going back to the lounge. As I bent over to place Sarah’s glass on the coffee table my necklace banged into my collarbone. It was ice cold.
I gasped, thinking fast. ‘Ouch,’ I said, one hand going to my forehead.
‘Are you okay? You look pale.’ Sarah jumped up and grabbed my arm. ‘You’re not passing out again, are you?’
‘No, I’ve got one of those head spikes. Think I might be getting another migraine. I better lie down.’
‘Are you sure that’s all it is?’
‘Sarah, I’m fine, but if this is another migraine coming
on I need to take care of it before it gets worse. Anne had a go at me on Friday about taking sick leave. She would kill me if I called in sick tomorrow as well. I can’t afford to lose my job.’
‘She can be a real bitch when it suits her. Give me a yell if you need anything.’
I gave her a smile of thanks and headed for my room. As I closed and locked the door I could hear the movie playing again. I should be safe for a while. I didn’t need Sarah coming in and finding me supposedly passed out while I astral projected around town.
I lay down on my bed, shivering. Whose soul was I about to reap? My hands hovered above my necklace but I didn’t take hold of it, not wanting to witness the death of another woman who looked like me. Instead I tucked my hands underneath my body to ensure I couldn’t make contact and take my astral form.
The cold in my necklace got worse. It burned into my skin and I held back a whimper as the pain increased. I couldn’t touch the necklace without triggering my astral form but there had to be a way to break the connection with my skin. I rolled onto my side and then onto my stomach. I got to my knees and used my elbows to push myself up into a crouch, searching for a position where the necklace no longer touched me. No matter how much I twisted or contorted, the necklace would not be dislodged.
Pain ripped through my body. My breathing came hard and fast. My head swam and I started to hyperventilate, helpless to stop a moan passing my lips. My entire body shook. I had to give in before Sarah heard me and came to investigate.
One hand went to my necklace as I started to lie down and I was wrenched out of my body even before it flopped to the mattress. I left the flat with such speed I was halfway across town before I even registered the direction I was going. Conscious of buildings, cars and people, I zoomed past, going too fast to take in any details.
I heard a low whistle a second before a black shape rammed into my side, knocking me through a building. My vision blurred as I emerged on the other side of the house I had travelled through and continued on my journey. I glanced behind me, but whatever had hit me had fled. I shook my head and pushed aside my unease at discovering something in the astral plane could affect me even in this form.
My pace slowed as I streamed towards Easton’s public hospital, sure I would come to a halt at the bedside of a woman with long dark hair.
Wrong.
A dying woman would have been easier to bear.
Impossible to tell the small child’s sex; they were covered in bandages, the head wrapped in so many layers only slits indicated where the eyes, nose and mouth were. Two tiny arms rested on top of the blankets and the flesh not hidden by bandages was covered in ugly bruises and scrapes. A man and woman stood on either side of the bed, holding hands incapable of clasping their own, waiting for their child to take one last breath.
A nurse and a doctor were at the foot of the bed, eyes filled with compassion as they folded up tubing and disconnected plugs from an array of machines used to keep their patient’s ravaged body alive. Only one machine still operated, the sound switched off as it counted down the final beats of a heart too damaged to work on its own.
Tears streamed down the faces of the parents and I hated myself for prolonging their agony by attempting to refuse the call to reap. I flitted to the head of the bed and as the tiny heart gave one last beat I reached out and reaped the child’s soul.
As I gazed at the shining ball of light in my hands the parents slumped over the body it left behind. The light of the soul reached out to them and as if they felt the luminous caress their sobs quietened as they stood and kissed their baby goodbye. Then they came together, wrapping their arms around one another, sharing their pain as the doctor moved forward to complete his unenviable task.
I placed the soul in my necklace, wanting to cry. But I did not have the right. I drifted towards home, ashamed by my selfishness. Focused on how reaping souls affected me, I hadn’t once thought about the families left behind. Even worse, I had put my needs and fears ahead of the person dying. This small child had deserved more than a reaper who’d chosen to ignore her duty and only turned up because it got too painful.
Regardless of who killed them or why, the dying had the right to be treated with respect. I had agreed to act as reaper for Easton. I had a job to do, and it was time to stop whining and get over it.
Never again would I refuse the call to reap.
But, deciding to give one hundred percent as a reaper was one thing, blindly following Grimm another. I had to find out what I was dealing with. I also needed to find out what had hit me while I’d been in astral form and only one person could answer my questions.
As soon as I returned to my body I jumped up and raced into the lounge.
‘Bloody hell, are you trying to give me a heart attack?’ Sarah patted her chest with one hand, the other clutching her mobile.
‘Sorry, I forgot there’s something I have to do.’
‘Oh, okay.’ Sarah fiddled with her phone, a strained smile on her face. ‘How’s your headache?’
‘It’s gone. Lying down did the trick.’ I frowned at her, noting the flush in her cheeks and the way her eyes kept darting to the phone which she placed on the couch beside her. ‘Is everything okay with you?’
‘Sure. Checking out the cuties.’ She indicated the television screen where the movie was on pause, and had been even before I came out of my room. Sarah hit the play button the same time her phone started playing the tune from Mission Impossible, Logan’s favourite movie franchise.
‘Aren’t you going to answer your phone?’ I asked when she didn’t move.
‘It’s only a message. I’ll check it later.’ Her eyes darted towards me and then back to the television. ‘You should watch this movie. The guys are seriously gorgeous.’
‘Maybe another time. I have to go out.’
‘Oh, okay, have fun.’ Sarah gave me an overly bright smile before focusing intently on the movie, her body tense.
I stormed over to the table and grabbed my handbag, rummaging in it for my phone. As I headed outside, determined to ignore the sideways glances Sarah kept giving me and pretending not to notice the phone back in her hand, I dialled Chris’s number. He answered on the third ring.
‘I need to see you,’ I said, too worked up over Sarah’s latest betrayal to bother with small talk.
‘Head on over. I’ll let the doorman know you’re expected,’ said Chris, and then he named the current top of the range apartment complex in Easton.
On the drive over to the south side I refused to think about Sarah and how she was obviously still in contact with Logan. Instead I focused on what I was going to say to Chris. He was right. It was time to do something about Grimm.
Chapter 18
The doorman at the luxury hotel Chris was staying in sniffed when I gave him my name, his long nose held high as he used a card hanging around his neck to access the penthouse floor. He stepped aside so I could enter the elevator and as soon as the doors were closed I checked my reflection in the gleaming silver wall.
I groaned. My hair stuck up all over the place and I combed it down with my fingers before straightening clothes rearranged during my brief lie down. Then I faced the doors as the elevator climbed all the way to the twenty-seventh floor. The doors opened and I stepped into a small foyer, my footsteps echoing around me as I crossed snowy white tiles to push the buzzer on the wall beside an imposing set of double doors.
One section of the door opened and I caught a glimpse of Chris’s smiling face as he reached through, grabbed my hand and pulled me inside. The door closed behind me and a second later I was enveloped by his arms, his scent surrounding me as he dipped his head and caught my lips in a scorching kiss.
I melted, anchored only by the strength of his arms as he held me up against him. He devoured my mouth even as his hands explored my body, leaving a trail of fire everywhere he touched.
Chris scooped me up into his arms, his lips never leaving mine. Moments later he placed me down on a co
uch. He broke off the kiss to nuzzle at my neck while his hands worked their way under my top. When his fingertips brushed my midriff I shivered and opened my eyes, blinking in confusion at the unfamiliar ceiling overhead.
I squealed, grabbing at Chris’s hands and stopping them from travelling any further. ‘No, this isn’t why I came,’ I said.
‘Are you sure?’ he said, voice deep and husky, breath hot against the delicate skin below my ear. He pulled one hand free and stroked my stomach, giving a low chuckle when I quivered at his touch. ‘You want this as much as I do.’
‘No.’ I pushed his hand away. ‘I came to talk to you about Grimm.’
‘We can talk later, much later.’ Chris used his free hand to capture my chin, his blue eyes darkened to indigo, gaze focused on my lips.
I pushed against his chest. ‘I’m serious. I do not want to do this.’
Chris released me and I scrambled into a sitting position. I smoothed down my shirt, breathing ragged as I struggled to regain my composure. Chris relaxed into the back of the couch, one hand draped along the edge, playing with the hair at the nape of my neck. His touch sent a wave of goose bumps down my body and I pulled away.
‘Okay,’ he said as I increased the space between us. ‘We’ll get the talking over and done with so we can get back to the fun stuff.’
I glared at him. ‘I didn’t come here to be seduced. I came to ask for your help, but if you don’t want to help me I’ll find someone else.’ I stood and scanned the penthouse.
Strong colours and minimal furniture, the lounge dominated by a huge flat screen television set in an alcove on the wall opposite the couch, it was the ultimate in luxury bachelor pads. I spun in a circle, spotted the front doorway and moved towards it.
Chris sprang up from the couch and blocked my path. ‘Tyler, I’m sorry. I misunderstood. You sounded so intense on the phone and when you said you wanted to see me straight away I thought you wanted to …’ He waved a hand in the air. ‘You know.’
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