Keeper vs. Reaper (Graveyard Guardians Book 1)
Page 13
Except, that probably wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. She was the Chosen One, which meant she was always going to be in danger from his kind. The only way she was ever going to be safe was if he offed his parents and maybe even Aiden … and that sure as hell wasn’t going to happen.
He wanted to punch something, or fuck something. Only he was pretty sure that wasn’t going to work because the last time he tried that he’d seen Lucy’s face when she wasn’t the one he was fucking.
He felt his cock responding to even the mere association of Lucy and sex together.
Well … that was just great.
He shut the shower off, dried with a towel and threw on a pair of pajama pants, then headed for his bed. He needed to try and catch a few hours of sleep since he’d been up all night. The summer warmth was enough that he didn’t need to get underneath the covers, so he flopped down on top of the fluffy comforter and threw his arm over his eyes, hoping it wouldn’t take long to pass out.
Only about five minutes had gone by before he heard the dreaded sound of his mother’s ringtone. “No fucking way.” Without opening his eyes he flipped his middle finger in the direction of his phone. He let it ring until the voice mail picked it up and then let out a rather large sigh for someone who was supposed to be so rugged and manly.
Fifteen minutes later, just as he was in that place where you are just a little bit asleep, but still aware of what is going on around you, some asshole started pounding on his door.
He jolted up into a sitting position, wondering for a moment if he had dreamt it.
Bang, Bang, Bang!
The person behind the door went for another round of pounding on it.
Son of a bitch. He moved off the bed and reached into his duffel to grab his gun. Whoever was at the door was pretty intent on getting him to answer. They knew he was here, obviously, because his truck was outside. So, really, his choices were either to answer the damn door, or run out the back door like a bitch.
He wasn’t a bitch.
With soft footing he crept toward the door, hoping that he could take the person out there by surprise. First, he took a peek out the window. He knew damn well that he couldn’t see the doorstep from the window, but he could see if there were any vehicles out there.
Yup. A dark green minivan was parked right behind his truck. Who the fuck drove a minivan anymore, besides soccer moms.
His fingers wrapped gently around the door knob, trying not to jiggle it too much as he turned it. Then, when it was completely turned he flung the door wide and aimed his Glock at whoever was on the porch.
“Is that how you greet all your guests?”
What in the fresh hell? It was the older sister Keeper from the bakery.
“What do you want?” he demanded.
She shook her head, acting like she didn’t even care that there was a gun pointed at her head. “You know exactly what I want. I know you were out at our place. I know you tore that Reaper off of Lucy and I want to know why.”
“What, you want to know why I didn’t want to witness a murder. I think that kinda explains itself.”
“No. It doesn’t.”
Jack didn’t say anything. What was he supposed to say? He sure as hell wasn’t going to spill his guts to this Keeper at his doorstep, but on the other hand … he had a Keeper on his doorstep and probably more outside in the fucking bushes or something. “How did you find out where I was?”
She actually laughed at him. “I have lived in this town my entire life and I know pretty much everyone else who lives here. I work in a shop that most of the town’s people frequent, and if that isn’t enough, I can see your truck from the road. Now tell me what I want to know.” She paused. “And put that damn gun away.” She swatted the air as if the Glock were a pesky mosquito.
“I don’t trust you. I’d rather keep it out.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Uh, do you actually think that I trust you? No, I don’t. Not even a little bit, but you don’t see me pointing a gun at you … and you are the one who was with the guy who tried to murder my sister.”
Jack was having a hard time believing that she was just here to talk, for the very reason that she just specified. “I don’t understand what exactly it is that you want to know.”
She tilted her head. “I don’t understand why you still have your gun pointed at me.”
God, if anything, he appreciated the quick wit and sheer stubbornness of the women in their family. He lowered the gun but didn’t put it away. “Tell me how she is.”
Liv shook her head. “Nope. You don’t get that kind of information.”
“Oh, but you want answers from me.”
She nodded. “Yes. So, to start with, you obviously know who we are and who my sister is, which is why one of your buddies tried to off her. Why didn’t you just let him?”
“I don’t approve of murder.”
“Apparently. You Reapers have been a pain in our asses for generations, but in today’s day and age the amount of murders is minimal.”
Jack shook his head. “Not true, the big cities have a shit ton of murders caused by both sides.”
“That’s not the point, though,” Liv continued. “If my sister is of the prophecy, the Chosen One, why didn’t you let your friend kill her.”
“I told you.”
“Liar.”
“I’m not lying,” Jack insisted.
“Look man, I saw you and Lucy wrestling in the shop. I saw what happened … or didn’t happen when you guys touched. Then, you save her from being murdered by one of your own kind. And she, for some reason, doesn’t think you’re a threat.”
Jack wished for a beer so hard he wouldn’t have been surprised if one popped out of the clouds and fell into his hand. “I’m offended. I’m one badass mother fucker.”
She rolled her eyes. “Anyone who calls themselves a badass mother fucker, really isn’t one.”
His free hand went to his heart. “You wound me, Keeper.”
“And frankly, I don’t feel like you’re a threat either.”
Shit, time to get serious again. “Look, I’m not the one you need to worry about. But, Lucy is still in danger. The guy coming after her is someone I know very well. He doesn’t like to commit murder either, but he will if he has to. He is very dedicated to his job and will do whatever the Empress requests of him.”
“And that request is the death of my sister?”
Jack nodded, feeling kind of sick to his stomach at the thought of Lucy dying. “Yes, it is.”
Liv cracked her neck to the side. She had her dark red hair pulled up into a huge bun on top of her head, secured with a light blue ribbon, and she wore jeans that had the white residue of flour or something streaked across the material. “So, if you aren’t here to kill her, what are you doing in Summer Hollow?” she pressed.
“I like it here, it’s quaint. I’m thinking about settling down.”
“Again, you’re a liar.”
He was done messing around. “Look, I told you that I wasn’t the one you have to worry about. I don’t have all the answers.”
Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “But, you do have some of them. Namely, about this friend of yours who is going to come back for Lucy.”
He paused for a moment, contemplating how he should respond and then decided to go with honesty. “I’ll be helping watch for him. I’m going to do my best to make sure he doesn’t get to her.”
“What’s it going to take to get him to stay away?”
“You’ll probably have to kill him. He’s under orders from the Empress and will continue the attacks until he succeeds.”
“Shit,” she muttered under her breath.
“Make sure she is never alone,” he told her.
Liv looked up at him, her face plastered with concern. “That is a lot harder than it sounds. Lucy isn’t someone who deals well with being told what to do or being assigned bodyguards.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I kinda figured.”
“I can’t make any promises,” she told him. “I’m not telling them I came here, and I’m sure as hell not going to tell them that you aren’t the enemy … because you still are.”
“Same goes for you. I don’t even know why I’m sticking around to help as it is.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “You seriously don’t know do you?”
“Not a fucking clue.”
“Can you explain it to me?”
He leaned against the door jamb. “I don’t know. It’s just …” He trailed off, why the hell should he tell her anything. Oh yeah, cause telling a chick about your crazy is better than telling your friend who you’re supposed to only be manly around. That’s right.
She waited and when he didn’t continue she looked him in the eye and said softly. “It’s all right. You can tell me.”
“I can’t explain the feelings. It’s not like romantic comedy bullshit or anything, but ever since we met in your bakery and my skin came into contact with Lucy’s, my intentions have completely changed.”
“What do you mean?” Liv looked like she might beat the shit out of him if he didn’t tell her.
“I mean that … when I came here I was supposed to find Lucy and kill her. Then we met, and when our skin touches there is no burning, no shocks, nothing that is painful. Ever since that moment, I have felt this insane urge to protect her, to keep her safe. When my friend had his knife to her throat I moved on instinct, like I had no choice.
“I would have killed him if he hadn’t been someone I knew.”
He had been staring off into the trees while he spoke and came back to reality as he finished the last sentence. “I don’t know what the fuck it is. I wish I didn’t have it at all, but I do and I am going to do what I can to make sure nothing happens to her. At least until this particular threat is taken care of.”
“That could be a long time. Won’t the Reapers just keep coming until she’s gone?” Liv’s voice was soft and barely audible.
He nodded. “Yes, yes they will … as long as the Empress has ordered it.”
“I don’t understand this.”
“She is the Chosen One, simple as that. Our Empress isn’t going to take a chance that the Chosen One will fulfill the prophecy.”
Turning slightly, with her hands on her hips she looked away from him. “That’s not what I meant.”
Ah, she meant him. “You mean how fucked up I am?”
“You’re not fucked up.”
“That means a lot coming from you, Keeper.”
“You don’t have to be rude.”
“Why not, that’s my specialty and for the record I wasn’t being rude or sarcastic, I actually mean that.”
She rolled her eyes, “What I was talking about is the fact that I’m even here in the first place and that I don’t want to kick your ass.”
Jack smiled. “Yeah, it’s pretty fuckin’ weird.”
Liv stepped back a couple of paces and then looked up at Jack. “All right, I don’t believe a lot of what you say, but the one thing that I do believe is that you won’t hurt Lucy. I still think you need to stay away because my family isn’t going to be as thoughtful as I am about things, they will act first and think later.”
“Don’t worry, I have no plans for camp fires and Kumbaya, quite yet.”
“I have to go. But I will tell Lucy, and only Lucy, that I came here. The others don’t need to know.”
Why was she doing this? His whole life he had been taught that Keepers were the enemy. That concept had been burned into his brain. Liv was the first Keeper he had ever really spoken to and she seemed like an all right person, for being the enemy and all.
“I’d appreciate that.” Yeah, the last thing he needed was the entire Estmond family up his ass. “And, I’m Jack, by the way.”
She eyed him cautiously and then held out her hand. “Olivia, but everyone calls me Liv.”
He reached out and clasped her hand tightly, the flash of heat was equivalent to sticking his hand into a fire. They shook, sealing their new partnership with pain, just as some would cut their palm and swear a blood oath.
He released her hand after a moment. The burn had grown worse and worse by the second, but he’d kept their hands connected, hopefully to send some message that he wasn’t the enemy that she had been taught that he was.
Well, maybe he had been … maybe he could have been, but he wasn’t now.
That’s what counted right?
He rubbed his hand on his pajama pants after his hand had been freed. “That burning is a bitch.”
She nodded. “Normally, it’s a weapon.”
“Yeah,” he laughed, “but now it’s just a bitch.”
She joined him by letting out a small chuckle. “Yes, yes it is. Well, I have to make a couple of deliveries and get back to work. I’m sure we will meet again if you are sticking around.”
Oh, yeah… that’s why she drove a mini-van, for the bakery. “I don’t plan on going anywhere any time soon.”
“Goodbye then, Jack.” She turned away, a sign of trust that she took her eyes off of him. She opened the door to her van, gave him a wave and then slid behind the wheel. He waved back at her and then waited until she had pulled completely out of the driveway before turning around to head back into the house.
“Holy shit,” he breathed out the words.
Now that was something he would have never expected to happen.
This was total crap.
Lucy sat on the couch in her living room pretending to watch television, but she couldn’t concentrate on anything enough to actually watch it.
The door to the kitchen swung open and she looked up to find Greg Jr. juggling a beer, a bag of chips and a paper plate with a gigantic sandwich on it.
“Do you even eat at your place?” Lucy asked as he set all his goods on the coffee table.
“Of course I do. I’m just hungry.”
She stretched out on the couch while Greg settled into a recliner. “You don’t have to be here, you know.”
He opened his mouth and took a bite of his sandwich. “I know,” he said after he finished chewing. “But, to think I wouldn’t be here is just stupid, you’re my sister.”
“What did you do about your patrols … and work?”
Another bite, more chewing, wash it down with beer. “I called in some of the other Keepers to take over for a few days and I called in sick to work. I’ll call again in the morning.” Another bite of the sandwich, followed by a swig of beer. “Did you let your instructors know you will be out for a few days?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I emailed.”
That cut on her neck was not something she could hide so she had to miss her classes, which meant she was stuck in the house with her brothers and Ethan watching over her like some helpless damsel in distress.
Sitting around doing nothing all day just wasn’t her thing, but everyone insisted that she not be alone. At this point she was lucky that she got to shower and go to the bathroom by herself.
“Good.” Greg nodded and continued to demolish his sandwich. “Where did James and Ethan go?”
She waved dismissively, “They’re out back putting extra locks on the doors and ground floor windows. How long are you going to stay?”
His eyes narrowed. “For as long as it takes to make sure you’re out of danger.”
“Great.”
Yeah, freaking awesome.
She did like having her family around, but she didn’t like feeling like she was incompetent or needed babysitting.
The sound of a car in the driveway had them both out of their seats, heading to the window to see who it was. Greg lifted the curtain away from the window and they saw the green minivan crunching slowly over the gravel and then come to a stop beside Greg’s
Escort. Awesome, now Liv was here to check on her too.
She watched Liv get out of the driver seat and open the sliding door on the side of the van. She reached in and withdrew a large flat box and balanced it in her hand while slamming the van door shut with the other.
“I hope that box is full of chocolate doughnuts,” she told Greg as they both pulled away from the window.
“Me too.” Greg let the curtain fall back down. “I’m starving.”
“How can you possibly still be hungry?”
He shrugged. “I’m a guy. I like to eat.”
“Weirdo.” She hit him on the shoulder and flopped back down onto the couch where she continued to flip through the channels. “I don’t know why I even have TV,” she told Greg. “I never watch it, and when I do there is never anything on.”
“So get rid of it.”
She shrugged. “I might. It would save money.”
“Can’t go wrong there,” he told her as he opened the door for Liv so she wouldn’t have to struggle with the box again. “Hey Liv.”
Lucy watched Liv look up at her big brother and smile. “Hey brother. I brought doughnuts.” She lifted the box up a little bit.
“Yes!” Lucy fist pumped, jumping back up off the couch and setting Liv free from the burden of the heavy doughnut box. “You have chocolate in here right?”
Liv rolled her eyes. “Duh.”
Lucy headed for the kitchen and the two followed her. “God, I need something sweet so bad.” Lucy opened the box and skimmed over what her sister had brought them. It was a variety of different kinds. There were four chocolate glazed that she got to choose from. Lifting one out of the box she pointed at a plain glazed. “What kind of filling is in this one?”
Liv leaned over to see which one she was talking about. “Oh, that one is lemon.”
A flash of memory hit her hard ‘Do you have any with lemon filling?’ The sexy, dark haired Reaper. The one who had saved her … the one she couldn’t get out of her head for some ridiculous reason.
“Oh.” She quickly turned away from the box with her chocolate doughnut and ripped a paper towel off the dispenser that was mounted on the wall by the refrigerator. What the hell, it was just a fucking lemon doughnut. What was wrong with her?