‘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.’
‘Yeah, I know what you thought. But you’re wrong. I wanted to talk to you about what you said earlier, at the café. You said we could work together to get rid of Grimm. Were you serious?’
Chris gave a feral grin, his eyes alight with fervour. ‘Hell yes. I’ve wanted to bring the son of a bitch down for decades, but I’ve never had the means of doing it until now.’
‘You mean, now you’re alive.’ I sank back down on the couch.
Chris flopped down beside me on the couch, a wry expression on his face as he shook his head. ‘Alive I’m in an even worse position to go up against the Grim Reaper.’
‘Then how do you plan on getting rid of him.’
‘I don’t. I want you to do it.’
‘What?’
He sat up straight and gestured at me. ‘Your necklace gives you access to more power than you could possibly imagine. All you’ve got to do is learn how to harness it and Grimm is as good as dead.’
‘As good as?’
‘You can’t kill the Grim Reaper. He’s part of the Underworld. But you can weaken him. Do it right and he won’t be a threat for a very long time.’
‘This doesn’t make any sense.’
‘Give it time. You’ve been a reaper for all of three days. This kind of stuff takes years to learn.’
‘I don’t have years. Grimm will kill me on Thursday if I don’t turn you over to him. Time is running out and I still don’t know what I’m going to do.’ I rubbed at my eyes, feeling like I was stuck inside a giant egg timer, the sand trickling down and covering me inch by inch.
‘Would you turn me over to him?’
Tears pricked at my eyes and I struggled to hold them back. ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t think I could reap your soul, now I know you, but if I don’t then I will be the one to die.’ I took a shuddering breath. ‘I’m scared, Chris. I don’t want to die. I’ve died twice, and it’s not fair I might have to do it for the third time in one week.’
Chris patted my knee. ‘I don’t want to die either. Being trapped in the Underworld with Grimm is not an attractive prospect.’
‘You said this is powerful.’ I touched one black wing of the necklace. ‘What did you mean?’
‘It’s the symbol of the reaper, used for centuries to imbue a select few with the ability to reap the souls of the dead. All reapers wear it, though the rest of us can hide ours better than you.’ He grimaced. ‘I thought I’d left all that behind when I woke up as Chris Bradbury, but some things never let you go.’ He started to unbutton his shirt.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Relax, I promised not to seduce you today.’
I narrowed my eyes at his qualifying statement, having to pretend the amount of flesh he had on display didn’t affect me. He twisted his body and the shirt fell off to reveal his chest, his glorious, golden skinned and undeniably male chest. His pectoral muscles flexed and I swallowed hard, heat rushing through my body. My heartbeat sped up and I struggled to raise my eyes, the flush in my cheeks giving me away. I met Chris’s eyes with a snap and glared at him, daring him to make something of it.
He smirked and turned around so I could see a tattoo inked in black across his shoulders blades. Of their own volition, my fingers reached out and traced the line of wings, from tip to tip. Softly, each touch a caress of warm skin, I ran the tips of my fingers back and forward.
Chris gave a low chuckle, his body vibrating beneath my fingertips, and I snatched my hand back. My fingers tingled and I clenched my hand into a fist and took a deep breath to steady myself.
‘Does this mean you’re still a reaper?’ I asked when Chris turned back around to face me.
‘Unfortunately I’m just a man, albeit a very dashing one.’ He winked at me again, while lazily doing up the buttons on his shirt.
I frowned at him, cursing my wandering fingers for giving him a reason to smile. ‘If you’re no longer a reaper, then how did you know the woman you kissed at Remy’s had died and where to find her body?’
‘I was a reaper for a very long time. I guess you could say I’ve become attuned to the song of death, particularly when it sings for someone I’ve recently been in contact with. I have also felt the call when the death involved is extremely violent. Your song was the most beautiful and haunting piece of music I have ever heard. It resonated in the air when I met you at the police station, telling me who you were.’
‘So it wasn’t my necklace you recognised? You still haven’t told me what you know about it. You said I can use it against Grimm. How?’
‘I’ve got people looking into it. It’s the key to everything, I know it is. I just need more time to figure out how we can use it.’
Disappointment tapped away at me. ‘You don’t know anything. You’re guessing, hoping.’ I stood, rubbing at my temples. ‘We don’t stand a chance. Grimm is going to kill us both.’
Chris stood and leaned in close. He stroked my necklace. ‘If even half of what I’ve heard about this thing is true, Grimm is the one who should be worried.’
I brushed his hand away and covered the necklace with my hand. I barely had a chance to register its coolness before I took astral form. In disbelief I watched as Chris caught my body before it could fall to the floor. Then I was whipped away, wondering if what I streaked towards could be worse than leaving my undefended body in his possession.
Chapter 19
I kept an eye out for the dark shape I’d been accosted by before, but it didn’t appear and I soon floated to a stop above a wreck bearing little resemblance to the vehicle it had once been. The white car, one of those high-powered sedans, had a tree wedged where the bonnet used to be. The windscreen was shattered and I could see four males inside.
The driver hung half out the window on his side of the car, blood streaming down his face. He fell the remaining way out of the window, flopping to the ground where he lay groaning but alive. I switched my attention back to the other occupants of the car and frowned as I detected movement in all of them. Despite the severity of the accident they were alive and, judging from the language coming out of their mouths, had every chance of staying that way.
Whose soul had I been called to reap?
I cast around the accident scene as the driver swayed and stumbled while pulling himself to his feet. He shouted at his three mates still trapped inside the car to shut up and let him think. I blocked them all out and could hear faint sobbing. It sounded like it came from underneath the wreckage.
I drifted down to ground level and peered underneath the car.
A small child stared back at me, her eyes wide and frightened. A woman curled around the little girl, her body taking the brunt of the force. She had died protecting her child.
My expression neutral, I inwardly cursed my limited form. As an astral projection I could do nothing to help the little girl. I put a finger to my lips and asked her to be silent. She gave a tiny nod, her eyes never leaving mine, and I smiled and gestured for her to close them.
She screwed her eyes shut and I moved closer to reach her mother’s soul, tears sparkling around me as its light caressed the child’s cheek before answering my call. As if she felt the wa
rmth of her mother’s love, she opened her eyes and watched with wonder as the soul shone even brighter before I slipped it inside my necklace.
The day dulled without the light of the soul to see by. I floated out from under the car, waving goodbye to the little girl, my regret at leaving her alone only marginally soothed by the sound of sirens speeding to the scene. I hoped they found her soon, not wanting her to spend any longer than necessary curled up with her mother’s dead body.
The occupants of the car had gotten out and were now on foot, hobbling down the road and away from the accident as fast as they could go.
Cowards.
I gripped my necklace and streaked after them, half convinced it would be worth it to reap an illegitimate soul as I came close to the driver and his friends. But I settled on giving a primal scream filled with all my anger and disgust.
Four heads spun around, slowing as they stumbled over their feet. The driver fell to the road, pupils dilated as his eyes frantically searched for the source of the noise. But unlike the little girl they could not see me and I continued passed them, heeding the pull of my physical body.
Back in the penthouse I sat up and ran my hands over the luxurious black and red bedspread beneath me. It covered a massive king size bed. Chris must have carried my body into his bedroom after I’d been whipped away. I flushed, my mind conjuring up visions of my body in his arms, his hands touching me. My stomach somersaulted and I firmly quashed my wayward thoughts as I slid off the bed and went in search of my host.
Chris stood in front of the large window behind the couch, his back to the room. He twisted around when I called out his name, alarm in his eyes as he strode towards me.
‘It was awful,’ I moaned, shaking my head as the gap between us closed. ‘There had been a car accident and this little girl, she-,’
Chris silenced me with a kiss, his arms enfolding me in a tight embrace. I pulled my lips free and started to speak but he stroked my hair, pressing my head into his chest and rocking slightly from side to side. ‘It’s all right, sweetheart, it was just a nightmare. Everything is okay.’
I blinked, surprised and puzzled. Then I heard someone clearing their throat.
I turned my head and met Sam’s eyes. I lowered my gaze, cheeks flushing as I realised what this must look like, me coming out of Chris’s bedroom.
‘Detective Lockwood dropped in to tell me my alibi checks out. Of course, I always knew it would.’ Chris shifted so we stood side by side, his arm snugly wrapping around my waist and holding me close. ‘Still, it’s worth celebrating? How about I go and order up some champagne.’ He gave me a wink and then grinned at Sam. ‘What do you say, Lockwood? Want to drink to my good fortune?’
I pulled away from Chris, crossing my arms in front of me as I moved to a position in between both men. ‘Women have died. I don’t think there’s any celebrating to be done until the killer is caught.’
‘Of course, how thoughtless of me.’ He inclined his head and then turned to Sam. ‘Now I’m off the hook, do you have any other suspects?’
Sam frowned. ‘Our investigation is ongoing and, while you appear to be in the clear, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t leave town without letting me know.’
‘Don’t worry, Lockwood, I won’t be going anywhere. Everything I want is right here. I’ll be sticking around for a long time.’
‘Fair enough.’ Sam gave Chris a cold smile and then turned to face me. ‘Miss Morgan, if I could have a moment of your time.’
I gave a nod and followed Sam to the front door, stepping into the foyer with him. My arms were still hugging my torso as I waited for him to make a comment about my being with Chris, but he said nothing for a long moment.
Shoulders slumped, he faced me. ‘Your brother’s alibi checks out too. Unless something new comes up, he’s off the immediate suspect list.’
‘Sam, I …’ I put out a hand and took hold of his arm, letting go and falling silent when he shook his head.
‘Don’t make this worse than it already is,’ he said before striding over to the elevator and pushing the call button. He stood, back rigid, acting as if I was no longer present.
I wanted to run to him, throw myself into his arms and beg him not to leave, explain to him that nothing was what it appeared to be. Maybe if he knew the truth, knew that I was a reaper, he would understand. But I kept silent. I’d been lying to him from the start, concealing vital information from him. I could never tell him what I knew or how I knew it.
Better he thought I was sleeping with Chris than he found out I was a reaper.
I watched as the elevator doors opened and he slipped inside. Then he finally turned to face me, pain visible in his hazel eyes as the doors closed between us. I hung my head and trudged back into the penthouse.
Chris strode towards me and captured my hands. ‘I wasn’t sure if you were coming back.’
‘I wouldn’t get very far without my keys,’ I said, pulling my hands free, avoiding the questions in his eyes. I did not want to talk to Chris about Sam.
‘Bad reap, huh? Kids are always the hardest.’
‘She survived. It was her mother I had to reap, but she could see me.’
Chris nodded. ‘Kids often can. Unlike adults they believe in the impossible and are more likely to see anything out of the ordinary. Lucky for us, most adults don’t believe them when they say what they’ve seen. You’ll be fine.’
‘I’m not worried about me. She was trapped under a car with her mother’s dead body. I wanted to get her out of there but couldn’t do anything, and the coward who hit them with his car took off with his mates.’ I filled Chris in on how they had all stumbled when I’d yelled at them.
‘It’s the necklace. It amplifies your psychic energy and it’s a good sign you’ve been able to manifest a sound wave so soon. It means you’ll be able to unlock its potential even sooner than I expected. Grimm won’t know what hit him.’
‘You keep saying I can take Grimm down with my necklace but you can’t tell me how.’
Chris took my face in his hands, dipping his head to place a quick kiss on my lips then gazing at me with sincerity blazing from his blue eyes. ‘Tyler, I know this is confusing for you, but I need you to trust me. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll protect you from Grimm until you’re ready to face him.’
‘What if I’m never ready? What then?’
‘We’ll figure something out. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.’
I nodded and managed a small smile, though I was sure Chris’s declaration held more bravado than conviction. He seemed to think we had a future together, if we managed to get Grimm off both our backs, but I had doubts about his intentions. Though I hated to think it, his interest in me could only be because of the necklace he believed to be the key to getting rid of Grimm.
Sam still considered Chris a suspect and, after having seen him at the scene of one of the crimes, I had to admit he could be right. After all, I only had Chris’s word about why he’d been there.
My head started to throb, making it hard for me to figure out what to do next.
He’d said he would do whatever it took to keep me safe but how far would he be willing to go to protect his new life? I was the only one who knew he was Ash. I’d been sure Grimm had orchestrated the murders as a way of reminding me of the consequences of failure. Now I had to wonder if they were a smokescreen to hide the real target; me.
Could Chris be killing women who looked like me and making sure he had alibis so when I died he’d be more likely to get away with it? Could he be that cold? With his money he could buy any amount of alibis or even hire someone to do the dirty work for him. I had to sort through what I knew before I determined my next move.
‘I have to go.’ I scooped up my handbag and swung the strap over my shoulder.
Chris tilted his head to one side, a frown creasing his brow. ‘Was it something I said?’
‘Just … I need more time,’ I said, avoiding his eyes as
I strode to the front door, conscious of his gaze on me as I let myself out.
In the opulent elevator, halfway to the ground floor, I realised I hadn’t mentioned the incident with the dark shadow when I’d been in the astral plane earlier. I’d bring it up next time I saw Chris, if I got the chance.
Chapter 20
I forgot about my throbbing head when I got back to the flat. Logan’s ute was parked at the kerb. I’d been sure Sarah had been texting him earlier, now I had confirmation. I did not want to deal with this, to have to face the two of them. Maybe I should keep driving, stay away until both of them were gone.
A tempting thought, but what would hiding from them achieve? Besides, this was my home and neither my two-faced ex-best-friend nor my ex-boyfriend had the right to keep me out of it. I pulled into the drive and parked behind Sarah’s VW, slamming the door when I got out of the car. Then I stormed inside the flat, ready to go to war.
Sarah jumped up from the couch, an anxious smile on her face. A huge bunch of flowers rested on the coffee table in front of her. My stomach lurched. Logan had never bought me flowers. He sat at the kitchen table, spinning a glass of water around and around, the nervous gleam in his eyes matching Sarah’s. They had good reason to be nervous. I was about to explode.
‘Tyler, Logan has something he’d like to say to you,’ said Sarah, wringing her hands. ‘I’ll leave you two alone.’ Then she scurried off to her bedroom and I fixed my glare on Logan.
‘Well, spit it out,’ I said, crossing my arms in front of me, every muscle in my body clenched, rigid from head to toe.
He got up from his seat at the table, wiping his hands on the front of his jeans as he fixed a weak smile on his face. ‘Sorry, you know, for everything. I was a real jerk.’
‘That’s it? That’s all you have to say for yourself? You’re pathetic.’ I shook my head and moved towards the hallway but he scooted in front of me.
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