Keeper vs. Reaper (Graveyard Guardians Book 1)

by Jennifer Malone Wright

  Along with the lemon doughnut, she remembered his weight on top of her, how he held her down and looked into her eyes.

  Fuck. This was sooo not a good thing.

  Liv picked one out for herself. “Are you all right, Luce?”

  Get it together, Lucy.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I think I’m going to head up to my room for a while though. I could use a nap.”

  Liv nodded, understanding that she probably needed rest. Greg, on the other hand knew damn well that she had slept until like ten in the morning, but kept his mouth shut anyway.

  She polished off the last of her doughnut quickly, washed it down with a glass of water and then headed up the stairs, leaving Greg and Liv to talk about whatever they were going to talk about.

  James and Ethan should be finishing up with the windows soon, then the whole house was going to be packed with people. Since Greg was down from the Bay Area, Liv was most likely going to call for a big family dinner and the others would inevitably show up.

  She opened the door to her room and headed for the bed. Going up to her room was just an excuse to get away from everyone, but maybe it was a good idea to actually try and get some sleep.

  After about twenty minutes of shifting uncomfortably, Lucy knew that it wasn’t going to happen. That freaking Reaper would not get out of her head. She knew that she should be more concerned about the one that tried to kill her, but no … she was thinking about his skin on hers, the lack of any burning sensation, and the fierce look in his eyes when he pulled his friend away from her.

  If he wasn’t a Reaper she would be hitting that so fast, even if it meant breaking her rule of no dating anyone who wasn’t Keeper. God, he was hot, but there was something else that made her adrenaline pump at just the mere thought of him.

  Tap, Tap, Tap.

  Lucy looked up at the soft knocking on her bedroom door. “Come in,” she called out.

  Liv opened the door and peeked in. “Are you actually sleeping?”

  She didn’t move. “Nah, I’m laying here contemplating the meaning of life.”

  Liv stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Lucy saw the intent expression on her sister’s face and knew there was something up, so she shifted into a sitting position and waited for Liv to come sit down next to her.

  “Ok, what’s going on?” she asked as her sister made herself comfortable.

  “Something crazy happened.”

  Lucy raised her eye brows. “You think? I was attacked and almost murdered.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” Liv shook her head. “I mean, something else.”

  “Well spill it. Don’t be all dramatic.”

  “I found that Reaper who saved you.”

  Lucy felt her eyes go wide and a flush passed over her body. “You what?”

  “I found him and I questioned him.”

  Lucy didn’t think she was ever going to see that him again. She was fairly sure the one who tried to kill her was going to come back, but she’d thought the one who helped her get away would be long gone by now.

  “You mean, you went and found him on purpose? By yourself?”

  Liv nodded. “Yeah, I went to the house he is staying at.”

  “Oh my God, Liv, he could have killed you.”

  Her sister Olivia was one of the more sensible children of the Estmond clan, the fact that she had actively gone seeking a Reaper by herself after the attempted murder, made Lucy fume. “How could you put yourself in that kind of danger?”

  Liv didn’t look away from Lucy’s accusing eyes. “I took a chance.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me, Liv! They are all concerned about protecting me and you’re the one who went running off and putting yourself in a situation like that. Son of a bitch!” Lucy jumped up and started to pace her bedroom floor.

  “It’s all right. He isn’t going to hurt me, and he sure as hell isn’t going to hurt you.”

  “What does that mean?” Lucy snapped. “I’m so fucking pissed at you right now.”

  “Well, be pissed. I don’t care.” Liv stayed where she was on the bed. “This Reaper, something crazy is going on. He is like … hell bent on making sure that you are safe.”

  “Huh?”

  Yeah, that was pretty much the last thing that she had expected to hear about her sisters visit with the Reaper.

  “His name is Jack and I don’t think he is going to hurt you.”

  She couldn’t help it, a giggle burst from between her lips. “Seriously! Jack the Reaper?”

  Liv closed her eyes while Lucy continued to laugh. “My God, that’s like a notch off from Jack the Ripper. Holy shit, what kind of Reaper parents would saddle their child with that kind of name. Oh my effing goodness!”

  “Are you done?” Liv asked her calmly, with no note of laughter in her own voice.

  “Almost.” Lucy bent over and held her stomach and took long breaths in and out. “Oh my goodness that was funny.”

  “So anyway,” Liv continued, “I need to know if you’ve been having any weird feelings about this guy.”

  Any laughter Lucy had left in her was quickly extinguished. “Why do you want to know that?”

  “I think maybe you know why. So, have you?”

  Any sarcasm that Lucy usually responded with faltered. “Maybe,” she said with slow uncertainty.

  “Tell me.”

  Lucy thought for a moment. She didn’t know if she could explain the strange attraction she felt for the Reaper. “It’s … it’s like I know that he’s good. I think about him a lot, like way more than I should, that’s for sure.”

  “Anything else.”

  “Not really.”

  Liv narrowed her eyes like she didn’t believe her. “So that’s it?”

  She sure as hell wasn’t going to tell her that she thought the Reaper was the hottest thing since … well, since ever. “Yeah, why?”

  “Did this start after you met him in the shop, or after he saved you?”

  Why was she asking all these questions? What did this have to do with anything? “Both. After the shop, but way more after the attack. What is this all about, Liv?”

  Liv lowered her voice. “I am going to tell you this, but you can’t tell anyone else that I went over there or anything that I found out.”

  “All right,” Lucy agreed. “Now tell me.”

  “Ok. Jack says that he doesn’t understand this either. After you two fought in the shop, you both realized that when your skin comes into contact neither of you get the burning sensation. That is one strange thing, but he also told me that ever since then, he has felt this insane need to protect you. That is why he tore his friend off of you, his instincts kicked in.”

  “That is crazy.” Lucy didn’t know what she thought about that. “So, it’s like … like we are connected or something.”

  Liv tilted her head as she thought over her words before speaking. “Maybe. I don’t know what it is, but Lucy, he was so adamant about not hurting you … or any of us. And, he did tell me the guy who tried to kill you will be back.”

  Lucy stopped her pacing around and went to the window seat. The window had a beautiful view that looked out over the graveyard. Ever since she was a little girl, she would sit in the window seat at night and watch the shimmering blue mist of the souls glitter throughout the cemetery.

  “Was he in on the attack?” she asked softly. She was fairly sure that she knew the answer already, but she needed to hear it.

  Liv nodded gently. “Yes. He was. He had been sent by their Empress to kill you, to stop the prophecy from coming true.”

  “Mother fucker.”

  “But, after he came across us in the bakery everything changed. He couldn’t do it. He told me that when his friend attacked you, his instincts took over and he felt like he would have killed the attacker if it hadn’t been someone he knew.”

  Lucy turned away from the window to stare at her sister. “What do you think about this guy?”

  “I don’t ful
ly trust him, but I feel it in my gut that he will do his best to protect you. I don’t know why, but even he seems confused about why he needs to keep you safe.”

  “Well, if he’s telling the truth, at least I only have the other Reaper to worry about for now. I can take on one a lot easier than two.”

  “I don’t think he’s lying,” Liv told her.

  Lucy rolled her eyes. “How would you know?”

  Liv shrugged. “I’ve lived in a house full of trouble-

  makers all my life, I have a pretty decent sixth sense when it comes to that kind of stuff. Not to mention that he kept saying how he just wanted to make sure you were going to be all right.”

  The image of him driving by in his truck that morning flashed into Lucy’s mind and she realized that he had probably been there for several hours while her whole family was out in the graveyard arguing.

  “I want to talk to him.”

  “Luce, I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.”

  “Help me go see him. I have questions too.”

  “Lucy…”

  She jumped up from the window seat. “Please, please, please. Liv, will you do this for me?”

  Liv shook her head. “I don’t think we should take that chance right now.”

  “Oh, so you can go put yourself in danger, but it’s not all right for you to take me there.”

  “Yes!” Liv threw her hands up. “That is exactly it, Lucy, I’m not the Chosen One, you are.”

  With a glare, Lucy pointed at her sister. “In this family … we are all equally important. You fucking got that?”

  Liv didn’t answer.

  “I mean it Liv.”

  “I know you do. But, my answer is still the same. I’m not going to help you. It’s too risky.”

  Lucy thought about it for a minute and decided that she didn’t want to get Liv involved in that kind of risky business anyway. She wished like hell that Liv hadn’t gone over there by herself, but if she took Lucy over there and the family found out, it was going to turn into World War Three, Estmond style.

  But, no one said she couldn’t go by herself.

  “Fine. Whatever. I get where you’re coming from.” Lucy waved her off and moved back to the window seat. “We have to come up with an offensive plan to take care of this other Reaper though.”

  Liv let out a long breath. She was probably relieved that Lucy let the subject of going to see Jack drop. “Yeah, it sucks just having to sit around a wait for it to happen again. I don’t know what else we can do though.”

  Lucy agreed. “Hey Liv, did you ever think that we would be facing problems like this? I mean, fighting the Reapers yeah … but, putting a hit out on one us is pretty crazy. We live in one of the smallest towns ever and I’ve always thought that made us safer as Keepers.”

  “I feel the same way. Summer Hollow has always been a bit off the radar for the violence. The Reapers who come here are usually just passing through. But, it is what it is. We will deal with it and then everything will go back to normal.”

  “Normal isn’t always awesome,” Lucy told her.

  “I know, believe me, I know. But, it’s better than being chased by a murderer.” Liv got up off the bed and headed for the door. “I just wanted to let you know about Jack, so if you see him around, that’s why.”

  “I just don’t understand why you don’t want me to go see him and question him myself, especially if he’s going to be like … following me around or something.”

  “It’s one thing for me to allow someone to keep you safe, but it’s another to enable socializing with the Reapers. If he wants to follow you around and take out anyone who tries to hurt you, that’s totally fine because when you’re here, you’re with all of us. Taking you to him alone just isn’t something I’m comfortable with yet.”

  Lucy nodded. “All right, I get it.”

  Like fuck she did.

  “I’ll be downstairs if you need me,” Liv told her as she slipped out the bedroom door and closed it softly behind her.

  Lucy moved back to the bed and lay on top of the covers. Now, how in the hell was she going to get out of this place without anyone knowing she was gone.

  The day passed so slowly, Lucy thought she might lose her mind. Sitting around doing nothing wasn’t really her thing, so after pretending to rest in her bedroom for a while, she put on a tank and a pair of shorts. Then, she grabbed a set of gardening gloves and headed out back to the severely neglected garden her father had left her with.

  The garden consisted of a variety of different flowers planted at the corners of the fenced in area and raised boxes with vegetables. Mostly, there were snap peas, chard, lettuce, and zucchini. The cherry tomatoes added a lovely splash of color to all of the green, which dominated the garden.

  She eyeballed the weeds and lifted her trowel, “Let’s do this, you assholes.” With that, she went to town, taking out the weeds with a vengeance that would have made her father proud. Garden duty was one of the rotating chores their father tasked his children out with. He tended to it too, but it was a rather large garden and needed more care than he alone could provide.

  She was only out there for about two minutes before a shadow appeared at her side. She knew it was Ethan before she even looked up.

  “Why didn’t you tell anyone you were going outside?”

  She glanced up at him, shading her eyes from the sun so she could see him better. “Because, I’m a big girl.”

  “The whole point of us being here is to protect you. If we don’t know where you are then someone could just walk right up to you and kill you.”

  She bent down and went back to work on the weeds. “Good grief, Ethan, that’s not going to happen in broad daylight right in front of my own house.”

  “Sure, and you didn’t almost get murdered in the graveyard, which is basically your own yard.”

  Details… “That was different.”

  “Not by much.” He squatted down next to her and began helping her pull the weeds out.

  She glanced at his hands. “You should get some gloves on.”

  “No way, gloves are for chicks. I can handle a little dirt.”

  “Fine, have it your way.”

  They worked on the garden in silence, neither needing to say much. They had an easy relationship which, often, did not need words. She knew Ethan was worried about her and he wanted to keep her safe, but she also knew that he cherished these small moments they spent together doing the most basic of things.

  After a while, Lucy heard cars pulling up at the front of the house and knew that the rest of the family had arrived, and that dinner must be almost ready. “We better go in.”

  Ethan stood and held out his hand for her. She grasped it and he yanked her up. “Yeah, we better change too or Liv will have a fit.”

  Lucy smiled, loving that Ethan was as much a part of their family as any of the kids were.

  They entered the house through the side door and found the kitchen bustling with people once again. Liv was lugging a gigantic bowl of spaghetti into the dining room, where there was already another bowl of the pasta on the table just as large as the one she was carrying in. James had just finished setting out the plates and silverware. Hannah swung through the door with a basket full of garlic bread and Steph followed right behind with a salad bowl. Greg, was setting out wine glasses and water, while Daniel sat at the table pretty much just doing nothing and being in the way.

  After the table was set and laden with food, they all sat down to eat. Lucy wasn’t really that hungry, but she knew better than to try and opt out of a family dinner. Liv was a stickler about things like that.

  Lucy always thought it was funny how Hannah was older, yet, Liv was sort of the mother figure to the kids. They all helped take care of each other, but Hannah didn’t like to cook, clean, or anything like that. She was more the nerdy type who preferred books and Star Wars to pretty much anything else. She did take her Keeper job very seriously though, so like the rest o
f the family, she could kick some major ass if she had to.

  Hannah also worked a regular job in the morgue at the hospital. It worked out because she could Keep the souls there. The Reapers who roamed the bigger cities often liked to peruse the morgues, looking for a little soul snack.

  No one wanted to talk about the attack, thank God. It had been argued to death already. Lucy didn’t feel like talking at all and relief filled her when Steph started in on Daniel about his drinking. Not that it was a good thing, it was just nice to have the attention on someone else.

  “Jesus, Dan! Its wine, not a fucking shot glass.”

  Daniel had just finished guzzling the red wine out of his glass and was reaching for the bottle so he could refill. “Shut up, Steph, I’m an adult. I can drink as much as I want.”

  “You are a drunk. We shouldn’t have even had this wine with dinner. You fucktard, now none of us can even drink around you because you can’t control yourself. If you don’t knock this shit off we’re going to take you to a rehab center.”

  Daniel glared at her. “You can’t just put me in a rehab center.”

  “Wanna fucking bet?”

  “I have to check myself in or get sent there by someone like the cops.”

  Steph straightened in her chair. “Well I happen to know a few cops who might help me out, so don’t push it, Dan. You need to stop drinking so much and get your shit together.”

  “Fuck. Off.” Dan poured the remainder of the dark red liquid into his glass and took a large drink of it while looking very pointedly at Steph.

  “Asshole,” she muttered and then took a bite of spaghetti.

  Greg, who was already almost done with his first serving, pointed his fork at Steph. “You guys need to watch your mouths, you know Dad never allows that kind of language at the table. At least try to be a tiny bit respectful.”

  Dan stood up and threw his fork onto his untouched plate of food. “I don’t have to deal with this shit. I come here because you are all I have left and this happens every time. Every fucking time! I’m not going to sit here and listen to you all try to run my life.” He spun around and headed for the door and then turned back. “Thanks for including me, Liv, but I can’t do this right now.