They’d never believe it.
I could hear the news interviews now… “He was always the most cheerful, friendly neighbor. He never caused any trouble and he always brought his trash cans in on time.”
I snorted. That was the thing about the Grim Reaper. He didn’t have to be scary. He didn’t have to walk around in a cloak carrying a scythe because all he had to do to take your life was touch you. His friendly, almost jolly personality was the ultimate weapon because it allowed him to get close enough to touch. Before you even knew what was happening, you were dead and G.R. claimed your body for his closet, your soul (for God only knew what), and then handed out your money or your abilities to his Escorts.
And he did it all in a matter of moments.
But I wasn’t going to help him. And I wasn’t going to let him have Piper.
His mansion came into view and I turned down the long, curving driveway and stopped haphazardly near the front of the house. I got out of the car and went to the front door and rang the bell. The door was opened by a man in a black coat and tails who bowed as I walked in.
To anyone who might be watching, it appeared I was just a guy visiting a friend and being welcomed by the butler. But I knew better.
This was the beginning of the end.
I followed the butler through a long hallway draped in art until we stopped in front of wide dark wood double doors. The butler motioned for me to stay and he let himself quietly into the room.
I wasn’t fool enough to think I could stop the Grim Reaper. I couldn’t. But I was hoping I could make some kind of deal to keep Piper alive.
“He will see you now,” the butler said when he came out of the door, holding it so I could enter the large office where I came when I was nothing but a ghost. The memory had me looking down at myself, half expecting to see my body was gone and I was nothing but purple mist. But I still had a body and nothing on me was purple.
I stopped in front of the desk and watched the massive black leather chair turn slowly around, revealing the bony frame of the Grim Reaper. Knowing now who he really was, I realized he had the perfect look for the taker of life.
“Ah, Dexter! I had a feeling you would be by today,” he said, actually with friendliness in his tone. Then his brow furrowed a bit and he said, “Where is my body?”
He meant Piper. He thought I’d come because I killed her and wanted to deliver her body. I figured Charming would’ve come running to tattle when I interrupted his plans to murder my Target.
“Were you aware that Charming tried to interfere with my assignment? That he tried to kill my Target?”
“Yes.” G.R. smiled fondly. “He is a most impatient Escort, but that’s what makes him so good at what he does. He doesn’t play games.”
I ignored the last remark, which was no doubt a barb at me for taking so long in delivering my Target. Charming probably dispatched all his Targets with record speed.
“My Target. My rules,” I said with a hint of challenge to my tone.
G.R. steepled his fingers beneath his chin in a pose I was beginning to think of as his signature and he smiled. “Well, he did say you interrupted his attempt. So when I heard you were here I assumed it was because you hurried and finished the job before Charming could try again and take your victory away.”
Of course that’s what he thought. Dead bodies around here were almost like trophies.
“I came to tell you I won’t do it. I’m not going to kill her.”
He dropped his hands as his eyes widened. “No? Do you not remember the price for refusing my deal?”
“I remember.” My mind shied away from remembering the black void of being recalled.
“So you would give it all up, the money, the cars, the immortality…” He said the last word with deliberate pronunciation. “You would give it all up for a girl?”
I would give it all up for her.
But saying that out loud would only put a bigger target on her so, instead, I replied, “I’ve tried out the lifestyle and decided that immortality doesn’t look good on me.”
G.R. laughed and stood from his chair. “Perhaps a new body would make immortality more appealing?” He flicked his wrists and all the closet doors behind him opened. My eyes went to the spot where I knew he kept my body.
“It’s still there,” he said, following my gaze. “Waiting for you to complete your assignment and claim a spot as a permanent Death Escort.”
I looked away from my body. “No.”
He must’ve heard something in my voice that he hadn’t before. Maybe it was the ring of finality because a great change came over him. The closet door slammed shut and a cold wind blew through the room. His cheekbones seemed to strain against his skin and his lips drew into a fine, hard line.
“So you would take from me, then?” he began in a deep, relentless voice as he came around the desk. His dark, beady eyes speared me with cold fury. “You would spend my money, live in my house, and drive a car I paid for and give me nothing in return?”
The floor beneath my feet shook with a slight tremor that I did my best to pretend I hadn’t felt.
“You can have it all back. You can take this body and my soul—do whatever you want to me—if you leave Piper out of it.”
He smiled and I knew I’d revealed my weakness to him.
“All in the name of love?” he said gently, almost whimsically. Then he slammed his fist on the edge of his desk and screamed, “Death doesn’t care about love!”
“I won’t let you take her,” I ground out.
“You think your bargain is of any prize to me? I already own your body and your soul. The money and the house will not be lost. We had a deal. No one goes back on a deal with the Grim Reaper.”
“I said I would kill someone. So pick someone else. Anyone else. I’ll do it.”
“It doesn’t work that way. The Target has been made. A deal was struck. You are going back on your end of the deal and you will be recalled!”
With that, he held out his hand, palm up, and spread his fingers wide. With a jerk of his arm I felt a tug and a deep pull within. I started to gag as I sank to my knees and purple mist began to lift out of my skin.
I never got to say good-bye.
It was all I could think of. I would be gone and Piper would wonder where I went…
And then Charming would come for her.
I watched helplessly as the purple mist that was my essence began swirling around the body that contained it. I couldn’t make a sound to beg. I could do nothing but watch as he claimed what he thought was his.
“Wait!” he cried suddenly, the fingers in his outstretched hand curled in toward his palm. Everything around me stilled. The purple, translucent mist seemed to stop and suspend in the air around me.
Then G.R. made a pushing motion and all the mist—all my essence—went right back into my body.
I scrambled to my feet as he said, “Recalling you now would be too easy. I think a more fitting punishment for your betrayal would be to watch the very Target you wanted to save be taken anyway. Then you shall be recalled. Then you will fully understand that no one refuses the Grim Reaper.” His chin was tipped down and he stared up at me, giving his face a hollow, savage look.
Just then the office doors swung wide and Charming burst through. He stopped short when he saw me standing there and then he glanced at G.R. and a sly smile broke over his features. “Ah, so you know,” he said.
“Know that this boy is a complete and utter disappointment?” G.R. sighed. “Yes. I was just about to go collect the Target he refuses to kill. You can stay and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid while I am gone.”
“With pleasure,” Charming said, coming farther into the room.
I watched as G.R. paused beside his coffee table to study the bowl of smooth stones. He debated for long seconds before choosing a very pale-colored one with a crack in the side. He glanced at me.
“It would’ve been the perfect stone if not for this damne
d crack. Very fitting, I would say, that it be the representation of the death that should have been yours to claim. You would have been the perfect Escort… but it seems you are also cracked.”
He left then. He didn’t use the door or even take a step. He was simply gone.
I wasted no time rushing toward the doors. If I could get there fast enough, maybe I could save her. Then Charming was there, shoving me back, sending me sprawling onto the hard floor.
With a roar, I was up and launching myself at him. I slammed into him so hard we both fell backwards with me straddling his chest. I had a flashback of the night before when I entered the diner to see the very same pose, except Piper was on the bottom while he tried to rob her of her life.
I plowed my fist into his jaw so hard I heard my knuckles crack, but I ignored it and did it again. Charming might be a seasoned killer, but I was from the streets and the one thing the streets taught me was how to fight.
He tried to push me off. He kicked and scratched, but I rebuffed his attempts with punches and jabs to the ribs. All I could see in my mind were the mottled purple bruises—the marks from his hands—that covered Piper’s throat.
His hits became weaker and I climbed off, pulling him up by the shirt and slamming him into the wall. He made a sound and swung, connecting with my jaw. It was a solid hit and I felt it, but it wasn’t enough to get me to release him.
“Would you look at that.” I taunted. “Pretty boy isn’t so pretty anymore.”
He kicked me, and this time I released him to stumble back. But he didn’t do what I would’ve done and take my weak moment to get in a good hit. Instead, he leaned against the wall, dabbing at the blood at the corner of his split lip.
“You can hit me all you want. My bruises will heal. My blood will dry, and in the end I’ll go back to killing and you’ll be dead.”
“I’d rather be dead than be like you,” I spat.
The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. It was true. All my life I thought I was some hellion, a product of something bad… I wasn’t. But I’d believed it so absolutely that my wake-up call had been death.
I had to die in order to see the way I should’ve been living.
It was a strong revelation to have, but even so, I knew it was too late for me. But it wasn’t for Piper.
I rushed toward the door as Charming caught hold of my sleeve. “You can’t stop it,” he said, for once the mocking disgust wasn’t in his tone.
“I have to.”
“Once the Grim Reaper leaves a stone, that person’s death is sealed.”
The stone.
It was the answer to all of this.
I looked at Charming. “What if I destroy the stone?”
He shook his head. “That’s impossible. Those stones are unbreakable. They’re perfect in their strength.”
A devious smile turned my lips. “But this stone isn’t perfect. It’s cracked—like me,” I said, repeating what we both heard G.R. say.
He digested my words for long seconds, then let go of my sleeve and looked at the door. “It won’t work.”
But it might and I could see that admission in his eyes.
I rushed to the door. Behind me, Charming called, “One stone. One death. One shot.”
Those were the kindest words I ever heard him say.
It was those words that sped my feet and gave me hope.
This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
Chapter Fifty-Six
“Visitor - a person who pays a visit; caller, guest, tourist, etc.”
Piper
The door to my room opened and my heart sped up, anticipating Dex, but it wasn’t him. It was a nurse dressed in a white uniform and wearing a cheerful smile.
“You look wide awake and ready to get out of here!” she said, coming to stand at the side of the bed.
“I’m feeling good, thank you. Will I be able to leave today?” I replied.
“I think so. The doctor will be in shortly to examine you one more time, and as long as he thinks you look good, then you’ll be able to go.”
I nodded. I was so ready to get out of here. “Thank you.”
“I will go get your discharge papers ready so when the doc gives his okay, we’ll be ready.” She motioned to a bag on the floor near the wall and said, “Your friends brought you some clean clothes.”
“Great,” I said, eyeing the bag.
I assumed she was talking about Dex’s butler, Hobbs. Dex hadn’t left to get me anything, and Frankie had no clue I was in here. I thought about calling her but figured I’d wait until after I saw the doctor. I wasn’t quite ready to deal with all her questions and explain what had been going on all these months. I wondered if she would even believe me.
The nurse bustled around the room a bit more, checking the IV machine, and then let herself out. My eyes wandered over to the bag with the clothes. I couldn’t help but be curious about what the butler chose for me.
I threw the covers back and went to the bag, bending to pick it up and bring it to the bed. When I bent down, I felt a gusty draft at the back of my robe. I grabbed it, bunching the material together around me. Why did hospital gowns have to be open at the butt? I mean, people here were already sick. Why make them wave around their bare booty?
Like a kid at Christmas, I delved into the plastic shopping bag to see what was there. I pulled out a pile of brand new clothes… all of them with the tags still attached and all of them in my size. Hobbs was good… and his taste was fantastic. It was also very expensive, I noted when I lifted one of the price tags. I couldn’t accept this outfit! It was worth more than an entire week of tips at the diner.
I stared down at the beautiful things… things I never had before. Hobbs probably paid for them with Dex’s money… A little smile curved my lips. He kind of owed me… I mean, he did try to kill me.
I tossed away the hospital gown and slipped the white silk tank top over my head, pulling it in place. Then I picked up the light-blue cashmere sweater and did the same. I never knew fabric could feel so soft and luxurious all while being warm. Next I pulled on a brand new pair of dark-colored designer jeans, a pair of cashmere socks, and slid my feet into a pair of light-brown Uggs. The sheepskin felt like heaven against my toes. Oh my goodness, I wanted a pair of Uggs since I first saw them… Talk about warm and comfy on a cold Alaskan day.
I went into the bathroom and winced at my face. No amount of cashmere could detract from the cuts and bruises. Frankie was going to flip when I finally called her. I had no idea what I would say. I’d tell her the truth because she was like a freaking walking lie detector machine. But I would need to make something up for the police. I knew it was only a matter of time before they came knocking at my door. I wouldn’t really be able to tell them much about the man who kidnapped me because I didn’t know anything. Maybe I would tell them that I got away and called Dex, who came to get me, and then on the way to the hospital we hit some black ice and the car crashed.
Just thinking about it all made me tired, and a wave of homesickness came over me. I felt like I was still kind of in shock over everything that happened. And I needed to talk to Dex. I needed more answers.
I rinsed my mouth out and did what I could with my hair—which equated to pulling the tangled mess up onto my head in an even more tangled knot—then left the bathroom.
The homesickness in my belly was still tugging at me and so I went toward the phone by the bed. I knew I said I’d wait to call Frankie, but I couldn’t. I just wanted to hear her voice. She was like my sister.
She answered on the first ring. “Hello? Piper, is that you?”
“Hey, Frank. Yeah, it’s me,” I replied, as that feeling of homesickness ebbed away at just the sound of her voice.
“Oh my God! I’ve been so worried about you! What happened? Are you okay? Where are you?” Her words tumbled over one another, and when she finally fell silent, I heard her take a shuddering breath.
“I don’t have time to explain everythi
ng now… but I will. I promise. I just wanted to call and tell you that I’m okay. I’m at the hospital.”
“The hospital!” She gasped.
“Yeah, Dex and I got into a car accident.”
“You’re with Dex? What does he have to do with all this?”
“He’s not here right now, but I think he’ll be back. I’ll explain later. I have to go, but I’ll call you as soon as I get out of here.”
“Piper—”
“Yeah, I know. It was scary. It’s over. I’ll talk to you soon.”
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