Keeper Under Fire
Author: Jennifer Malone Wright
Date: 2017-08-15 04:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy; Paranormal; Fiction
Description: The Reapers are coming… The Keepers are ready to fight … to defend their home and the souls, no matter what the cost. Olivia Estmond is tired of waiting to be attacked. It is time for the Keepers to strike first against the Reaper Empress. Preparing to fight is not a new concept for Liv, but living with a target on your back is not something she has ever dealt with. The Reapers were ordered to take out the entire Estmond family, and unless the Keepers did something about it, they wouldn’t stop until their mission was complete. Not long ago, Aiden was a high-ranking soldier in the Reaper Army,

Table of Contents

- Title Page
- Acknowledgments
- Also by Jennifer Malone Wright
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Preview
- About the Author

Keeper Under Fire

Graveyard Guardians #3

Jennifer Malone Wright

Contents

Title Page

Acknowledgments

Also by Jennifer Malone Wright

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Preview

About the Author

Copyright 2017 Jennifer Malone Wright

License Notes

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

ISBN-13: 978-1974640218

ISBN-10: 1974640213

Visit the website of Jennifer Malone Wright at
www.jennifermalonewright.com

This book is dedicated to my husband Chad, who deals with me even when I'm super cranky. I also want to dedicate this book to my amazingly supportive friends Martina and Molly, who also deal with me when I'm cranky. Thanks to all of you for always being there for me through good times and bad.

Keeper vs. Reaper (Graveyard Guardians #1)

Keeper of the Peace (Graveyard Guardians #2)

Keeper Under Fire (Graveyard Guardians #3)

BearyTales

Savior (A Higher Collective Novel)

Once Upon a Zombie Apocalypse – Jade

Once Upon a Zombie Apocalypse: Episode 2

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter Part 1

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 2

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter Part 3

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 4

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 5

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 6

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: The Complete Collection

Love & War (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 1)

Taking Talon (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 2)

Vampire Apocalypse (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 3)

Blood Warrior (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 4)

Winds of Fire (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 5)

Innocence and Evil (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 6)

Origins and Impulse (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 7)

Mortals and Magic (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 8)

Sound of Sirens (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 9)

Heart of the Hurricane (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 10)

Broken Souls (Runes Universe)

Aiden released a long breath, pushing the weight of the bar upward. After several seconds, he lowered it back down and cradled it in its rack. He sat up, grabbed his towel from beside him and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Just as he swung his leg over the bench, his phone rang.

“Shit.” It was the ring tone he had set for the Empress.

He hadn’t heard from her for several days and he had been hoping that was how it was going to stay. Of course, he should have known better. He was here on her orders, supposedly spying on the Estmond Keepers. He wasn’t following orders, though. He had changed sides. So, now he was a double agent. While he was supposed to be watching the Keepers and giving information back to the Empress, he was actually on their side now and giving them all the information about what was happening with the Reapers.

His goal was to get out of the Reaper life, which wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

It hadn’t been that long ago that he was high in the rankings among the Reaper army. He had been respected and revered by his fellow Reapers, as well as the Empress. By saving Jack, and the Keepers, he had lost all of that.

“Hello,” he greeted the Empress.

“Aiden.” The cold voice came across the line. “I trust you are faring well.”

He rolled his eyes and reached for his water bottle with his free hand. “Yes, Empress. Quite well.”

“I have decided that I would like to take initiative and strike against the Keepers in Summer Hollow.”

“It’s far past time, I agree,” Aiden told her, as if he were itching to finally attack. “What would you like me to do?”

“I am calling in several Reapers from the area. I ordered them to meet you at the compound at 11:00 PM.”

“Tonight?” He set down his water bottle and stood up.

“Yes, tonight. No need to wait.”

“What is the objective?”

“Find them in their home and get rid of them ... all of them. A house fire would cover the evidence. I’m sure you can take care of that as well.”

Oh fuck. Shit just got real.

“Of course, Empress. I will take care of it.”

“Make sure it is done properly. We must make sure the authorities are under the impression that the Keepers all perished in the fire. We cannot have them finding anything that would cause them to suspect foul play.”

He knew better than to question her, especially now that she didn’t trust him.

“Yes, Empress. I will begin the plans immediately. How many should I expect tonight?”

She cleared her throat. “Twenty, at a minimum.”

Twenty. She was sending in twenty Reapers to help with the murder of eight Keepers. Well, then there was Jack, and probably David, who was always around now. Two to one, at the very least.

Fuck.

“Thank you, Empress. I’m so happy we can finally get this over with and I can return home afterward.”

He could just see her nodding. “I too am happy that this annoyance will come to an end. I look forward to your call when it is done. Good day, Aiden.” And then, she hung up.

Double fuck. He made sure the call had clicked off and dialed Jack’s number. While it rang, he threw his towel over his shoulder, grabbed his water bottle and hurried out the door.

The gym was located within the compound, so it was only matter of walking a few hallways to get to his room. Jack answered on the third ring. “Hey man.”

“Hey. Bad news,” Aiden told him. “Bad fucking news.”

“Tell me,” Jack ordered.

“Reapers, dude. Your mom is sending in a bunch of Reapers to take care of you guys once and for all.”

“Aw shit.”

Aiden’s eyebrows shot up. “Aw shit. Seriously, that is all you have to say. Your own mother is sending hit men in to kill you and then burn the place to the ground. I think it’s a little more serious than, ‘aw shit.’”

“I know that, asshole. Don’t be such a grouch. We have to get ready. You better come over here.”

“Yeah, I’m working on that already. I have to shower and then I’ll be on my way.”

“You’re bitching at me about the importance of this but you’re going to take the time to shower.” Jack’s voice was sarcastic.

“I just got done working out, of course I have to shower. I can’t show up there in my gym shorts, covered with sweat and stinking to high heaven.”

“I think you should. Show off your amazing abs for the ladies.”

“Jesus, Jack! Seriously, how can you be so nonchalant right now?”

His friend was laughing out loud, not even trying to hide it. “It’s a gift.”

Aiden threw open the door to his room. “Well it’s a fucked up gift.”

“Love you too, bro. See you soon.” And then Jack hung up on him.

Aiden pulled the phone away and stared at it. What was with the Walker family and hanging up on people before they could say goodbye. What an asshole. Dammit, he couldn’t worry about petty shit like that right now. He threw the phone down on the bed and bolted for the shower, peeling the damp gym clothes from his body along the way.

Naked, he reached into the shower stall and turned the knob. “Fuck!” He cried out, after stepping under the stream of water before it had enough time to warm up. It was only a matter of seconds before it warmed up though.

He took the fastest shower he had ever taken in his life as he tried to devise a plan that was going to get them out of this mess. If Camille Walker wanted to burn the Keeper’s house to the ground, that was what was going to happen.

Fuck.

The fact that he could tip them off was good. That would probably be their saving grace. But, there was going to be a wicked fight tonight. Thank God there were enough of them that it would almost equal out to one on one. That is, if she only sent the twenty Reapers she said she was going to send.

Probably, more than one would die too, which was another pain in the ass. He killed when he had to, but it was a task that he was beginning to dislike. Not that he ever liked it, he just didn’t dislike it. As part of the Reaper Army, he had trained himself not to feel anything when it came to crimes that others would not commit. Such as kidnapping or killing. It was just part of the job.

With a fresh pair of blue jeans, a black button-up shirt and his boots back on, he grabbed his duffle bag and headed out the front door. His SUV was parked in the circular drive, waiting for him. He opened the driver door and threw his bag over the seats into the back, then slid behind the wheel.

The drive over the mountain felt like it took hours. It was a pretty drive, but he had no time to enjoy the beauty of the area. He was totally preoccupied on coming up with a strategy to win a fight against twenty Reapers without killing anyone.

He rolled into Summer Hollow and slowed to the speed limit so he didn’t get pulled over or hit some kid crossing the street. He couldn’t recall ever spending much time in a town so small. One stoplight, one gas station, one grocery store — it was a city boy’s nightmare.

Truth was, the town wasn’t really that bad, but he was used to being able to blend in. To disappear in the crowds and become part of everything around him. In a town this small, he stuck out and it was obvious that he didn’t belong here.

It seemed to take forever to crawl through town at a grueling thirty five miles per hour. When he finally turned onto Cemetery Road and the Estmond house came into view, he breathed a sigh of relief and headed up the gravel drive to the yellow farmhouse.

He parked alongside the other vehicles, cut the engine and then sat there for a moment to gather his bearings before going inside. It was always hard when he was around the Keepers. They were natural enemies and emotions always ran high when he was in a room full of them. Plus, all the souls in the graveyard right outside their house were a constant temptation. These souls were off limits, though. It was part of the deal with Jack and Lucy and the rest of them.

He ran his fingers through his hair and then shoved the driver-side door open. It was time to go inside and get this shit over with.

Liv opened the oven. A scalding wave of heat pushed out from within, causing her to drop the oven door and step back a few paces.

“Dammit!” What was she thinking? She should know better than that. Her thoughts were all over the place right now and she wasn’t in her right mind. Once it was safe, she returned to the oven and slid the tray of cookies onto one of the racks.

Turning, she punched the buttons on the timer for twelve minutes and then wiped her brow. This was bullshit. She should be able to concentrate on her work, but there was too much going on with the family and those fucking Reapers right now.

She was a Keeper, yes, which meant guarding the souls and fighting an occasional Reaper. But lately, that was all they were doing. They had recently discovered that her sister Lucy was the Chosen One in a prophecy that would bring an end to the warring between the Keepers and the Reapers. So the Empress … the queen of the Reapers … decided that she was going to do all she could to take out the Estmond family.

And then, there was the incident with Hannah, and then David … and now, they had not only Jack, but another Reaper in their little group. Her life was becoming chaos. Her simple life of baking and guarding the graveyard with the family was what she wanted back. Was that really too much to ask.

Bing. Her phone announced an incoming text message. With a sigh, she strode into the front of the shop and withdrew her phone from the back pocket of her jeans. It was from Lucy, and once she looked at it, she got the answer to the last question she’d asked herself. Yes, it was, indeed, too much to ask.

Aiden called. Reapers are coming to town. Lots of Reapers. Meet at house, ASAP.

“Crap,” she whispered, shaking her head. “That figures.”

Looking up, she realized that she still had a few customers sitting at the tables inside the shop. They had already ordered and were lounging with their cellphones and laptops while they ate.

Closing her eyes, she cursed those soul sucking Reapers and wished them all an untimely death. Then, after taking in a long breath, she let it out slowly and cleared her throat. “Sorry, everyone. I have a family emergency and I need to close up.”

The few patrons in the shop glanced up at her with confusion clear in their expressions. Luckily they were all tourists and not locals. If any of the customers had been a resident of Summer Hollow, she would have had questions to answer about what the emergency was, well wishes that her family was all right, and then the very likely chance of people showing up at the farmhouse to find out what was going on. That was how small towns worked. Your business was the business of the entire town.

These customers, however, quickly gathered their things, tossed their garbage and then hurried out the door with a quick nod in her direction.

The timer for the cookies went off just as she was locking the door behind the last person. She flipped the sign from open to closed and jogged back into the kitchen where she yanked on an oven mitt and pulled open the oven. Once again, that blast of hot air hit her in the face and she cussed loudly, pissed that she had forgotten again.

She tossed the whole tray onto the stovetop to her left, turned the oven off and began her check of the kitchen. She had to make sure everything was off before she left. Letting her shop burn down because she was careless was the last thing she needed.

Finally, she was certain that it was safe to leave and grabbed her purse as she hurried out the front door and locked it behind her. It was only when she was slipping behind the wheel of her van, did she let herself worry about what was coming.

Reapers … a lot of them, from the sound of it. What the hell were they planning? They couldn’t exactly come into this tiny town and massacre her entire family. Maybe they wanted to strong arm the Keepers into giving them Lucy. Well, whatever the case, nothing that was going to happen once they were here would be good.

She sped up Main Street and turned onto Cemetery Road. The yellow farmhouse already had a few cars out front, including Greg’s Escort and David’s Chevelle. Even Aiden’s SUV took up a space beside her sister Lucy’s Honda. Dang, this place had become a home for wayward adults.

Officially the house was Lucy’s, but the family still came and went the same way they had their entire lives. Family was important to her, so as much as she might complain about everything, it was good that they were close.

They were one of those loud, obnoxious families that argued and fought, but at the same time they were tight knit and fiercely loyal to each other. All their lives they had been the Estmond Clan. You messed with one … you got the whole lot of them. That also included Ethan, and now Jack and David.

Their family was growing, she suddenly realized.

The parking area was so crowded that she ended up having to park the van right in the center of it all. Effectively blocking in several of the vehicles. She pushed open the door and hopped down from the driver seat, wishing she had grabbed a coffee before she left the shop.

Oh well, there were more important matters to attend to right now. Like figuring out how to stop this Reaper attack.

She could hear the raised voices before she even hit the first step of the porch. That wasn’t uncommon though. This house was always full of loud, unruly Estmonds. She pushed open the door and stepped inside to find six red-headed Estmonds, one dark-haired Reaper and three sexy blond men. Well, one of them may as well have been her brother, plus he was younger, so it was a little awkward thinking of him as sexy, but she called things how they were.

One of the other blond men was her sister’s boyfriend, David. He was hot too, but totally off limits and always had been. But the last one, he was a Reaper.

That should be enough for her to look the other way … but, it wasn’t. He wasn’t just good looking. He was smoking hot and it was hard to concentrate on the things she needed to concentrate on when he stared at her with his piercing green eyes and his perfect lips that hardly every smiled.

Dammit. She shook her head to clear it. She was doing it again.

Most of her family kept discussing whatever they were talking about when she entered, but it all seemed to fade away when Aiden lifted his eyes and their gazes locked. He gave her a nod and then turned back to Greg, who he was speaking to at the moment.

She knew there was something between them, but she didn’t know what it was. It couldn’t be anything like Lucy and Jack. Her sister and her Reaper were connected in some strange way. Neither of them felt the burn that Keepers and Reapers both felt, so they were able to touch freely.

Maybe all that was between her and Aiden was hatred for the other’s kind. That, and distrust. Him being good looking didn’t change the fact that he was the enemy. Yeah, so he had proven himself a few times now, but she just couldn’t seem to bring herself to fully trust the guy.

Good lord, had it been so long since she’d been on a date that she was beginning to think that Reapers were hot. She was suddenly tempted to run over to the window to see if there were flying pigs out there.

“I already told you, at least twenty,” Aiden was telling Greg.

“You’re sure?” her brother asked.

Aiden answered with a nod, “Yeah. They are meeting up at the Napa compound this evening.”

“Are you going to be there?”

“I should be, if we want to keep my cover.”

Jack lowered his arm from around Lucy’s shoulders. “I don’t know man, maybe you should stay with us.”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “I have to meet them at the compound, at least. After that they will know whose side I’m really on. We need to prepare for this to be my last day there. So …” He eyed Lucy and Jack, “if you still have a place for me here, I’m probably going to need it.”

“Of course you can stay here,” Lucy told him.

Liv felt her muscles stiffen. She had been perfectly fine with him staying in Napa. Though, on the other hand, it may be better if he was closer. She could keep a better eye on him that way. Well, when she wasn’t working or at home, then she could.

Jesus Liv, why don’t you just invite him to stay at your house so you can watch him sleep, too?

“What about the souls?” Daniel asked. “Will you be able to control yourself being this close to the graveyard?”

The entire room was suddenly silent. The air seemed to buzz around her as they waited for the answer. Liv watched him shift uncomfortably and then glare at Dan. He had just opened his mouth to respond when Lucy shook her head and shoved Dan. “Do you really think that he’s going to tell you that? He would do his best not to do any soul binging, but it’s his nature.”

“Then I don’t think he should stay here,” Dan retorted.

“You don’t get to decide.”

Aiden’s eyes were flicking back and forth between the both of them. “I’m right here you guys. I can speak for myself.”

“Shut up!” Dan and Lucy snapped in unison.

Greg held up both his hands. “All of you shut up. Dan has a point. We can’t put our souls in more danger than they are already in.”

“You were going to let me stay before,” Aiden pointed out.

Greg nodded. “And you still can, but at Liv’s house instead of here.”

“Wha … Excuse me?” Liv was so shocked she could barely get the words out, which was pretty rare for her. She had always prided herself on her quick wit and now it had failed her.

Aiden shook his head and held his hands up. “No way, she hates me. She will probably dip my toothbrush in the toilet or poison my food … or, or something.”

Liv met Greg’s eyes and silently pleaded with him. She could not have that Reaper in her house. It was bad enough she had to deal with him being around at all. But, no, her brother only raised an eyebrow and said, “It’s the best solution right now. And then neither of you will be alone if anyone comes after you at your house.”

“I don’t need a protector,” Liv snapped, her anger beginning to flare as she realized that her brother was entirely serious.

Greg rolled his eyes, “I know you don’t and that is not what I meant.”

Steph stood next to James, her twin. Both had been silent up until now, “It’s a good idea.” Steph offered in a soft voice. “Liv, you said he was a friend and you trusted him, so why are you balking now?”

Yeah Liv, she asked herself, why now?

“Not hating him and sort of trusting him not to kill us is not exactly the same as being comfortable with him being in my home,” she answered.

“Again, I’m right here,” Aiden practically growled.

“We vote,” Greg announced.

Liv stomped her foot into the carpet, “It’s my house, you can’t vote on that!”

“All in favor of Aiden staying at Liv’s instead of here, raise your hand.”

Liv glared as the betrayals happened in one shot. Every single one of them, aside from Aiden, lifted a hand into the air.

“You guys suck,” Liv hissed. “You’re all cut off at the bakery.”

“It’s done,” Greg told her. “We have important matters like a Reaper attack to talk about now.”

“You cannot vote to move someone into my house if I don’t want them there.” She looked to David. He would help her. He was a cop, so that meant he had to do the right thing. “Is this even legal?”

Hannah shot him a look that dared him to answer in Liv’s favor. “If I answer that, I may have to stay with you, too.”

“I hate you all.” Liv shook her head, knowing that she just lost this battle. Dammit, what in the hell was she going to do with a Reaper? Moreover, she had to leave him alone there while she went to work. She never left anyone at her house alone.

Aiden turned to her. “I am as excited about this as you, but right now there is a bigger threat. Reapers are coming with orders to burn this place to the ground and take all of you down with it. This needs to be taken care of first, then we can deal with the rest.”

Liv rolled her eyes and turned away from everyone so that she could take a deep breath and get herself together. He was right, they needed to survive and save the house before they could worry about petty issues like where Aiden was going to sleep.

“Okay, okay.” She spun back around, only to find that everyone in the house was staring at her. She threw her hands up. “Let’s get ready.”

The look of determination on Liv’s face when she turned around to face them was a stark contrast to the uncertainty that he had seen in her only seconds before. A spark had ignited within those dark brown eyes and, somehow, he knew it was because she was focused on the safety of her family.

He forced himself to turn away from her penetrating stare. “I should really go back and meet them at the compound. It will give me the upper hand when we all arrive here.”

Jack shook his head. “No way man, I think you should stay here.”

Aiden took a step closer to his best friend. “I am going to stay here, but if I don’t show in Napa they will know that something isn’t right. We can’t afford for them to know that I tipped you off.”

“I just don’t like it.” Jack’s face took on the same look he had made since they were kids. Like he was thinking, but still set on the fact that he was going to get his way. Problem here was that Aiden was just as stubborn as his friend was.

“I’m going back. I have to. Right now, we need to start gathering as many weapons as we can and setting traps or something. I’ll see what I can do about making sure they never get a fire going. That’s one of the reasons I need to be with them when they get here.”

“We need to warn dad and the rest of the souls.” Lucy had turned and was staring out the window on the side of the house that had the best view of the Graveyard. “I’m going to go do that now.”

Jack gave her hand a squeeze as she slipped away with a distant expression pasted on her face. As soon as she was out of the room, Jack tossed worried glance to Dan, who silently threw his hands in the air as if to say, ‘really dude’, then released a long sigh, rolled his eyes and hurried out the way Lucy had gone, “Hey Luce, wait for me.” He called after her.

Greg tilted his head, “Follow me. Let’s see what we have in the back room.”

Aiden followed and discovered that the back room wasn’t much of a room, but more like a storage closet. Boxes were stacked so precariously on the shelves, Aiden felt like they might topple down onto them at any moment. A desk was shoved into one corner of the room and a couch pressed against one wall, but no one could ever sit on it because it was covered with forgotten coats. Most likely those coats were never used because this state was so fucking dry all the time. In any case, Greg approached one of the largest safes that Aiden had ever seen and went to work on the combo.

“Here we go.” Greg used both hands to swing open the double door.

Jack was the first to move in with Aiden right beside him. “Dude,” Jack exclaimed, reaching in and picking up a rifle. “You guys sure have amped up the heat in the last month.”

Greg took the weapon from him and replaced it within the safe. “We need them. The last time we weren’t as prepared as we should have been and luckily we didn’t end up regretting it.”

David shook his head. “You guys can’t use guns. You live right on the outside of town, the cops would be here within minutes. Not to mention every single nosey citizen of Summer Hollow would rush over to find out what’s going on.”

Aiden nodded. “He’s right, it has to be blades.” He nodded toward the inside of the safe, “And it looks like you aren’t lacking in that area.”

Jack tapped his foot. “It will be fine. We won’t need guns because they don’t know that we know they are coming, so we can ambush them while they think that is what they are doing to us.”

“Exactly,” Greg agreed.

James squeezed in between Aiden and Jack. Aiden ignored the burn on his arm when their skin made contact and stepped aside. James lifted a small crossbow from inside the safe. “I wish we had more of these, we could take them all out fast.”

Aiden took it from him.

“Hey!”

“Don’t get your panties in a wad, I’m giving it back,” Aiden assured him. “But you’re right. If we all had one of these, with silver arrows, it would take them out fast and they would never even see it coming.”

“I’ll look into it,” Greg muttered as he selected knives, both large and small and began to distribute them. “We aren’t used to having to kill. Just defend.”

Aiden was more aware of that then they would ever know he was. Keepers were all the same. It wasn’t just the Summer Hollow Keepers. Every time he had ever had to face off with one, they pretty much only fought the Reapers off to protect their souls.

The Reapers were on the same page as the Keepers, though. The unspoken rule was that they didn’t kill, because the bodies were hard to deal with. Not to mention all the investigations and forensic shit that came along with a death. Most of the Reapers who went out on missions for the Empress were off the books with fake identification, like the one Hannah had dealt with. But, also like what Hannah experienced, the police still give a crap.

So, as shitty as their weapons selections were, at least they had some. “This is nice, though.” Aiden turned the little crossbow to the side to examine it. James reached out and snatched it back.

“Thanks. Lucy’s is way nicer, but it’s old, too.”

Aiden raised an eyebrow. “Lucy has one?”

Jack nodded. “It’s a family heirloom. She got it from the trunk of stuff that their Grandmother left for them. But, like he said, it’s old.”

“It may be old.” Lucy strode into the room behind them. “But, it gets the job done. Age doesn’t matter for some things.”

Jack grinned. “I’ll remember you said that when we’re sixty.”

She shook her head in mock defeat. “You are going to be one dirty old man. I can tell.”

“Focus people.” Greg finished up in the safe and locked it up again. “Lucy, did you warn Dad?”

The youngest red head nodded. “Yeah, he is going to tell the rest of the souls so that they can stay hidden.”

They followed Greg back into the living room. “We need to decide if we want to protect the house and fight them as they come, or if we should hide in the woods and attack from behind.”

Still uncomfortable around all the Keepers, Aiden stood off to the side in the room so that he could watch and listen without being right up in the middle of it all.

James reclined back on the couch. “If we defend the house, we take less of a risk of losing it. But at the same time, if we attack from the perimeter, there is less chance of losing one of us.”

Dan clapped his hands together. “It’s settled then. We are more important than the house. We all know that is what Dad would say.”

Hannah moved closer to David and he encircled her waist with his right arm. “He’s right.” She agreed. “A house can be replaced, people cannot.”

David shook his head and Aiden could see his inner cop kicking in. “You know, I could have the county police on this if you want me to. It would only take a few phone calls and they could stop it before it even starts.”

And there it was.

“No,” Greg said. “This is for us to settle. The Empress needs to know that we aren’t going to back down that easily. That we will fight for what’s ours … our house, our souls, our family.”

The slight nod that Greg offered Jack along with his last words, did not escape Aiden’s attention. It appeared that Jack had really become a part of this family of Keepers. He had already known how Jack and Lucy felt about each other, but he’d really thought it would have taken the rest of the Keepers longer to warm up to a Reaper being so close.

A slight wave of anger washed over him and momentarily, he wished that things were how they used to be. Back when it was him and Jack against the world … against his parents. Back in time, before everything went to hell. After a moment of struggling to push the anger away, he realized it wasn’t anger, it was jealousy.

He missed his friend.

While pondering that topic, he almost physically shrank back as another thought hit him. Jack wasn’t just his friend, he was Aiden’s only friend.

He closed his eyes and tried to send the thoughts away. Had he really gone this long without realizing that he was alone without Jack? That he had no one else?

His parents had pretty much abandoned being parents long ago. They were even worse than the Empress when it came to actually being parents. They were stiff, angry people who only cared about the status of their family. So, obviously, they didn’t care that their son spent more time in the royal home than he did in his own. As soon as he was old enough to train for the Reaper Guard, that is what he did. It was the best decision he had ever made and he would never regret it.

“Aiden.” Jack’s voice brought him back from the past.

“What?”

“You want to come out and help us find the best places to hide in the woods?”

“Yeah, lead the way.”

Jack led the group across the expanse of lawn, past the little white picket fence and out into the tree line. Aiden had been in these woods before, back when he’d kidnapped Lucy. He had spent a day staking out the Estmond place so he actually did know some good view points of the house.

“Stop here,” he ordered. The group halted and he pointed to an opening beside him. “Everyone needs to stay with a partner, always take a buddy. So, if we put two here, they would get the best view of the east side of the house.” He reached out and snapped a branch off one of the trees, then quickly drew an X in the leaf-covered earth to mark the spot. “Let’s move on.”

Aiden led them through the woods along the property until he found the second spot. “Two more should be here, this faces the backside of the house.” Still carrying the stick, he marked the spot in the same way he had before. They continued on like that, moving in a semi-circle around the Estmond home while Aiden pointed out the best places for them to hunker down and wait.

They emerged from the woods on a path leading into the graveyard. He could sense the energy of the souls, but he couldn’t see them. They were hiding from him … and all the other Reapers that would eventually find their way to the Keepers’ home.

Shit. Not only were the Estmonds worried about their home, they had to be at least a little concerned with the possibility that all those Reapers could massacre the souls they had sworn to protect.

Moving forward, he strode through the cemetery and tried not to think about how good a soul would make him feel right now. He was weak from not feeding on a regular basis, and he hated feeling weak.

They were there, somewhere, only a few feet away and could have been easy picking on any other day. But no, he made a promise to Jack and he intended to keep it. Because of Jack, the Keepers were willing to help him get out of the Reaper life. He didn’t want to mess up the only chance he had of being able to have a life after all this.

Wow, depending on Keepers … that was something he never thought would happen.

Back at the house, he was finally able to breathe out a sigh of relief. Amazing how it felt so much better being only a short distance from the graveyard.

Liv stepped into the house behind him and shot him a glance, then turned to the fridge and opened it. When she bent over to dig for something on the bottom shelf, the sight of her jean-clad ass caused his breath to hitch. Quickly, he looked away and found James staring at him, his eyes set in a glare.

Aiden didn’t offer any words and neither did James, but they both knew that he had been staring at Liv’s backside. What James didn’t know was the kinky thoughts Aiden had about what he wished he could do to that ass … if only she weren’t a Keeper, that is.

Liv withdrew from inside the refrigerator with a beer in her hand and twisted the top off before she even closed the door of the icebox. She lifted it to her lips and guzzled down about half the bottle.

Damn. That was his kind of woman.

But in reality, she wasn’t his kind of woman at all. What the fuck was wrong with him. She was annoying, and judgy, and rude, and … and totally different from any woman he’d met before.

“Liv, we really don’t need you drunk when the Reapers come,” Greg chastised her gently.

She rolled her eyes and shut the fridge door. “One beer is not going to get me drunk. I’m fine.”

“Seriously sis, we need to stay alert.”

“I know that, now get off my ass.” She polished off the last of the bottle and then strode over to the trash can and tossed it in. “I need to be a little calmer. This Reaper shit makes my anxiety kick up and I can’t concentrate.”

The rest of the Estmonds had gathered around in the kitchen. It was weird. This was the first time he’d been in a room with them when they weren’t bickering. Now, they were a somber bunch and he could totally understand why.

“Don’t worry,” he told the family. “We won’t let them take the house.”

Their slow nods didn’t convince him of their confidence. However, he knew without a doubt that they would do whatever it took to protect their family, their home and their souls.

“I’m going now, I need to get back so I can pack my shit and put it in the car before the others show up.” Aiden turned and was already headed for the door when he heard Jack’s voice so he swung around to face him.

“Be careful.”

Aiden nodded at the serious remark from his friend, but tossed back a casual, “What do I look like, a pansy? I’ll be fine.” Pivoting on the toe of his boot, he tried for the door again.

He sped over the mountain, trying to make it back to the compound as quickly as he could. He wanted to make sure that he could get all his stuff out without tipping off any of those assholes.

When he finally rolled through the gate, he felt the relief wash over him. Jeez, what the hell was wrong with him lately? Where was the normal Aiden? The cool, collected killer who didn’t let shit bother him? This falling out from the Reaper society had left him a fucking emotional wreck and he hated it. He had been trained to push feelings aside, to numb himself to everything but the mission. Why couldn’t he do that now?

The driveway was a long one, with vineyards on each side. The grapes ran the length, all the way up to the wall that surrounded the compound. Another gate also blocked the way. He pulled up to it, rolled down his window and punched in his code. The gate rolled aside and opened the way.

He parked and jogged up to the front steps. When he reached out for the doorknob, the door swung open before his fingertips even touched the metal. “Young man, where have you been?”

Aiden fought a smile. Alma, the cook, had been more of a mother to him the last couple of weeks than his own mother had been his entire life.

“I’m sorry, Alma. I had to run out. It was an emergency.”

“Posh.” She set her hands on her hips. “I make you a lunch and you just leave it sitting on the counter so it can go to waste.”

“I’m sorry.” He tried hard to look sorry, but really what was going through his head was that he needed to get Alma to go to her room while the Reaper soldiers were here.

“Don’t apologize if you don’t actually mean it.” She stepped aside and let him into the house.

“Alma.” He waited for her while she eased the door shut behind them. “Did the Empress let you know that there will be guests coming in tonight?”

“Oh yes. I know all about it. I’ve been prepping supper for hours now.”

Aiden nodded. “I don’t know how long they will be here.”

“Well, they will eat, I’m sure.”

Man, she wasn’t going to want to take the evening off. He would never be able to convince her to leave when she was dead set on feeding people. Cooking and watching people enjoy her food was what she loved most.

“Well, we have a mission to go out on shortly after they get here, but we’ll be back afterward.”

“You will eat before you leave,” she called out to him as she turned off toward the kitchen, leaving him to head up the stairway by himself. He cursed her stubbornness all the way up.

In his bedroom, he checked all his weapons and threw them into one duffle bag. Then, he grabbed the few items of clothing that he had with him and tossed those into another bag. Both bags sat on the neatly made bed. He stared at them and thought how sad it was that everything he owned now fit into two duffle bags.

No, that was bullshit. He was going back for his boat someday. If he had the money he could probably arrange to have it brought over here. On that note, there wasn’t anywhere in this god forsaken place that he could put a boat in the water. Nowhere good anyway. Maybe he could set up residence in the bay area. The west coast wouldn’t be all that bad.

Shaking off the feels, he grabbed the duffle bags and pounded down the stairway. He had just hit the hardwood entryway when Alma cut him off again. “Where are you going with those bags?”

“It’s stuff we need for the mission.”

Her eyes searched him. He knew that he was a damn good liar. He had been trained to beat a fucking lie detector test, but Alma’s scathing glare told him that she knew he was not telling the truth.

“Well I wish you great success on your … mission.” She rolled her eyes and spun around, heading back to the kitchen.

“Alma, we aren’t leaving yet!”

She didn’t answer, so he opened the doors and went out to the SUV. He tossed the bags in the rear of the vehicle. He didn’t bother to cover them or anything because that would only draw more attention to them.

He had just slammed the door shut when four more vehicles rolled up to the gate.

It was time.

The next thing he knew, the cars were parked and the Reaper soldiers were all seated at the gargantuan oak table in the dining room. He didn’t know any of these guys personally. His work had been in Florida, not Napa. But he had seen some of them briefly when the shit went down at the compound before.

“All right,” Aiden began. “Before we head out, we have to eat or Alma will never give us the chance to complete this mission.”

“I can always eat.” One of the Reapers leaned back in his chair as he spoke.

Aiden nodded and pointed at him, “Good. Then you can go help Alma bring the food in. You too.” He pointed at the guy next to the one he had just addressed.

After the food was served, which happened to be enchiladas, Aiden decided it was time to get down to business. “So. This mission shouldn’t be hard. With all due respect to our Empress, I don’t know why she wanted so many to go in.” He had the attention of his fellow Reapers. “So, we will go in four vehicles. As soon as we hit the driveway, all but the drivers will exit the vehicles and head for the house on foot.”

One guy raised his hand. “How do we know that they will all be there?”

Aiden shrugged. “We don’t know and it doesn’t matter. Even if we only take out a couple of the Keepers it will be a huge hit on them. Especially with the loss of the house, if the fire can take it before the crews get there to put it out.”

The Reaper directly to his right, a scumbag with light brown hair and an old army field jacket, put his fork on his plate and pushed it away. “I don’t like that we are going in from the front. We should take the house from the woods surrounding it.”

How did he know there were woods around the Estmond place?

“The plan is set.” Aiden stared him down but the dumbass continued to argue. “It doesn’t feel right. Going in from the front we are all sitting ducks, especially if the authorities get there before we can get out.”

“I agree.” One of the others piped up.

And then the obligatory few, ‘me toos’ followed.

Dammit.

“Fine.” He had to agree, if he pressed it than they would know something was up. “Fine, we will go in from the woods. They continued to discuss the plan but Aiden was only half there. Now he was worried about the change in plan. He had to warn Jack and the Keepers or they would be sitting vulnerable in the woods when the Reapers came.

After they had finished the meeting and the food was being cleared, he mumbled loudly that he had to take a piss and left the dining room. When he was safely locked away inside the bathroom, he pulled out his phone and texted Jack.

Change of plans. Coming in from the woods, defend the house.

He waited a moment, but there was no reply.

Dammit Jack, check your fucking phone.

Well, he couldn’t stay in the loo forever so he flushed the toilet, even though he hadn’t gone, then exited the room. He found the asshole with the field jacket on standing right outside the door, leaning on the doorframe.

“Everything okay?” the asshole asked.

Aiden glared at him. “Were you trying to hear what I was doing in there?”

The guy shook his head. “That’s disgusting.”

“Then don’t ask about it.”

“Look man, if you have a problem …”

Aiden cut him off before he could say anymore. “You need to watch your mouth. You may not work with me on the daily, but I’m still in charge. You defied my orders earlier and I’m giving you a chance, that’s more than I give a lot of people.”

The guy’s mouth fell open for about two seconds and then he snapped it shut. “I speak my mind when I believe something is wrong. I don’t want to put our men in danger because of a poor decision.”

Aiden took a step closer to the guy. “Regardless, they are my decisions to make.” Leaving the guy with those last words, he strode into the front room and yelled. “Let’s hit the road.”

Liv zipped up her hoodie and lifted the hood over her head. The fall had brought the chill into the air. It was almost cold enough that she may have needed a jacket, but if she ended up having to fight she didn’t want to be hindered by a bulky coat.

“Quit breathing so hard,” Dan’s voice came out of the darkness.

“I’m not,” she whispered back.

“I wonder how long we are going to have to wait.”

Liv sighed. Of course she had gotten paired with Dan. Sometimes it seemed like the guy never stopped talking. “Probably not long.”

“Are you scared?” her brother asked in a low voice.

“Yes,” she admitted.

“I am too.”

“It’s going to be all right. We’re going to win this.” As soon as the words slipped past her lips, she realized that she was saying it to reassure not only her brother, but herself.

“Yeah, we win it and then it’s right on to the next attack and then one after. It’s never going to end.”

She nodded, absentmindedly pulling one of her knives from the sheath at her hip. “Maybe not. But this is what we do.”

There was silence for a few minutes and then Dan answered softly. “I want to quit sometimes. You guys are the only thing that keep me around.”

Liv knew there was truth to that. Her brother had been through a lot in the last few years. “I know, Dan. None of us would blame you if you did leave, though.”

“I won’t. As much as I want to start a new life somewhere else, this is my home.”

Liv didn’t answer. Of course she didn’t want her brother to leave them. They were family, and with the Estmonds, that meant a hell of a lot. But, sometimes he seemed like he was suffering so much. It was hard to watch him go through the motions every day … and the drinking, that was another story. Only he could help himself with that problem.

She gripped her knife tightly and looked up into the night’s sky. It was clear, with stars twinkling down at them and a half moon resting brightly against the darkness.

“I saw that Reaper checking out your ass today.”

Whoa, change of subject much. “What?” she hissed.

“Yeah, I wasn’t the only one. James caught him doing it. The bastard didn’t even have the courtesy to act embarrassed or anything.

“What does this have to do with anything?”

Dan shrugged. “Nothing. But it’s more fun to talk about than that other stuff.”

“This is not fun to talk about.” Even as she denied it, she could feel the heat flaming in her cheeks.

“So he’s going to stay with you. You want me to stay with you too?”

“Jeez Dan. No, I can handle him. Now shut up.” She released a long, irritated breath.

A twig or something snapped off to their right somewhere. Liv shot to her feet and held her knife in a position that would allow her to plunge it into an enemy. Dan followed suit and withdrew his knife as well.

Liv turned to Dan and held her finger to her lips. Another snap and then she realized that whoever was out there was only a few feet away. She stood stock still, too nervous even to risk breathing.

Another couple of seconds and the shadow appeared in front of her. Instinctively, she swung out with her knife before the intruder could attack. But before she knew it, a strong hand wrapped around her wrist, preventing the knife from doing any damage. “Hey.” Jack’s voice hissed.

“Jack?”

“Yeah, it’s me, and you should be more careful. That could have been one of your brothers or sisters.” He pushed back the hood of his sweatshirt, revealing his shimmering red aura.

Dammit, he was right. She could have hurt someone.

“Put your hood back up,” she whispered, afraid that he might be spotted.

Dan stepped in beside her. “But it could have been a Reaper, too. She did the right thing.”

“It was a Reaper, idiot,” Jack whispered. “But we don’t have time for this. Aiden texted a while ago that they are coming in from the woods. We can’t be separated out here with that many Reapers headed this way.”

“Dammit.” Dan cursed. “Let’s go.”

Jack raised his hood back up over his head and the three of them hurried back to the house to meet up with the others.

Liv just wanted the night to be over with. Waiting around to be attacked, to fight … it was a nightmare. Nevertheless, she huddled with everyone else at the side of the house where they could see both the woods and the road.

“They should be here any time,” Jack whispered, pulling Lucy back into the shadows of the house. “We should all hide better.”

“Screw that,” Liv blurted, surprising everyone, but mostly herself. “What?” She moved her gaze from person to person. “I’m sick of hiding. If they want us … if they want our house, then they are going to have to go through me to get either. We need to show them that we aren’t hiding anymore.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “You’d think that they would’ve gotten the hint during the fight at the Napa house when they took Lucy.”

“Yeah,” Jack nodded. “You would think that. But we are talking about my mother’s army. Reapers who have dedicated their servitude. They will do as she says.”

“I’m still fighting for my family and my home. This is our turf. They don’t get to win here.”

“There are too many, Liv. We probably won’t win.”

Irritated, she glared at him. “You’re so negative. We can win.”

“Dammit, you stubborn ass woman. They are trained soldiers.”

“I don’t give a crap.”

David slid his arms around Hannah, encircling her in his embrace. “I could make some calls and have several police cars out here in a matter of minutes. They wouldn’t risk it if there are cops everywhere.”

“No.” Greg shook his head. “That’s too risky, we have guns, we have knives, we have friggin crossbows. The last thing we need is to worry about having to answer a million and one questions.”

“Not to mention Hannah just got accused of murder,” Liv pointed out. “The last thing we need is more attention on her after that.”

“You’re right. Not worth it,” David agreed.

“Listen.” Lucy held up her hand for them to be silent and tilted her head, “Do you hear that?”

Silence fell heavily around them. Only sounds of the night could be heard. Crickets chirped and frogs croaked in a strange alternating melody, as if they had composed the song ahead of time. Then, suddenly, a snap echoed through the darkness and Liv knew without a doubt that the Reapers had arrived.

Her palm was already resting on the hilt of her knife and she slid it free from the sheath. Without a word, the others moved up on each side of her until they formed a half circle facing the woods.

Regardless of if they were ready or not, the time to fight had come.

Liv’s breath caught as the shimmering red auras appeared like fire against the darkness. The auras moved closer and closer until they were completely free from the cover of the trees.

“Shit,” Greg whispered, eyes on the Reapers.

Unable to find her voice to agree with him, Liv simply gripped her knife and stepped forward silently. The rest of the group followed suit. They were going to defend themselves and their home, no matter what.

She’d only taken a few steps when she caught sight of Aiden. He was at the front of the pack, standing beside a Reaper who was wearing one of those old Army jackets that looked like it was from the 70s.

She watched him as his cold, calculating gaze slid over each of the Keepers and then finally met with hers. He executed the slightest nod, signaling to her that he was still with them. Not looking away from the approaching Reapers she inhaled long and deep, then released and whispered, “I love you guys.”

A series of whispers returned her sentiment and then she stepped forward. Silence saturated the night between the two factions. There was no need to speak. Each group knew what the other was there for so talking trash seemed a little out of place.

Without a word, Aiden spun to the side and a flash of steel glinted in the moonlight as his knife plunged into the neck of the Reaper in the ugly Army jacket. Blood spurted from the wound when Aiden ruthlessly yanked the blade back.

The Reaper turned toward him, eyes wide, and released a gurgling sound that could only mean death was close. Then, he fell to his knees at Aiden’s feet. The other Reapers had turned to him with expressions of shock and then understanding washing over their faces.

One of them charged Aiden, his fist making contact with Aiden’s cheekbone. As much as Liv wanted to watch Aiden kick his ass, she had her own issues to take care of, the battle had begun.

Finding her target, she sprinted forward holding her blade downward so that she could swing it in an arc and hit the intended area easily. The Reapers charged them as well, so she found herself in confrontation sooner rather than later.

The soul eater also carried a knife. It rested easily in his left hand, leaving his right hand free to reach out and try to grab at Liv. She danced sideways two paces and kicked out to try and trip him, but he didn’t budge.

“Dammit,” she cursed and ducked to avoid the Reapers large fist as it swung through the air. While crouched, she propelled herself forward and into the Reapers midsection. He stumbled backward and she fell down on top of him, rolled and then found her footing in a low to the ground squat.

She held her knife out defensively, ready to strike at anything that came near her. Her opponent jumped to his feet and she shot to standing. Before he could make the first move, she rushed him again, slashing her knife across his chest. The blade had sliced right through the fabric and opened a long line of flesh.

“Bitch,” he hissed, grasping at his wound as blood spilled down over what was left of his shirt.

Liv gripped her weapon tight, holding it in front of her while the Reaper looked down at where she’d cut him and then up again. When he met her eyes, she saw pure anger and hatred flashing hot within the irises. “Your dead,” he growled and surged toward her.

Taken off guard, Liv instinctively brought her arms up to cover her face. Before she could react any further, he plowed into her and knocked her backward. Her back hit the earth and air forced out of her lungs.

She lay there on the ground, the wind knocked out of her and then swiftly rolled to the side when she saw the Reaper coming for her again. Her knife had been jolted from her hand and landed several feet away. Turning onto all fours, in attempt to get to her feet, she cried out and toppled over again when she was ruthlessly kicked in the stomach.

And then, before she could recover, the Reaper grabbed her and turned her over, straddling her and pinning her to the ground with his knees. “Let go of me!” She squirmed and struggled against his iron grip.

“Shut u..” his words cut off abruptly and a weird sound like a groan cross with a gurgle came out instead. His grip loosened and his large frame came crashing heavily down on top of her.

Aiden peeked around the Reapers body, his eyes meeting Liv’s for a few seconds before he wordlessly pulled the corpse off of her. Liv scrambled to her feet, eyeing the bloody knife Aiden held tightly in his hand. “Thanks,” she mumbled, hurrying to where her own knife lay in the dirt a few feet away.

“I’d say anytime, but I prefer you owing me one.” Aiden told her with a glint of humor in his eye. Before Liv could respond, he hurried off to help one of her brothers. She shook it off and jumped back into the battle herself.

They fought, helping each other when they could and whittling down the Reapers until they were finally evenly matched. Liv had never wanted so badly to stop and rest, but rest meant death.

From what she could see, her sisters and brothers were feeling the same way, but … so were the Reapers. Everyone was getting worn down, but none of them were going to quit, that was for sure.

Lucy fell to her knees, panting breathlessly. “Luce!” Hannah cried out. Jack spun, leaving his Reaper and dashed to the side of his woman. The Reaper Lucy had been fighting lunged for Jack who rose to the occasion and reached right past the Reapers knife, grabbing him by the throat and squeezing.

“What the fuck is that?” someone shouted.

Liv glanced away from the Reaper she was fighting and realized that a wall of shimmering blue mist was rising up around them on all sides.

“Holy …” she couldn’t finish because the mist suddenly began to separate into sections and then the sections slowly solidified until the wall of mist had formed into a ring of glowing souls that completely surrounded them.

“Oh my… the souls!” It was James who cried out, but everyone, both Reapers and Keepers, had stopped to see what was going on.

Liv felt her muscles tense. This wasn’t right, they had told the souls to stay away while the Reapers were here. They weren’t safe as long as these soul sucking bastards were around.

The glowing, misty blue circle of souls gradually moved inward, causing the ring to grow smaller and smaller as they traveled closer. Liv looked around, realizing that the souls were creating a barrier, essentially caging them within.

“Get out of here!” Greg yelled. “What are you doing?”

The Reapers were surprised by the arrival of the souls. Most souls either didn’t realize they were there, or they got away as quickly as they could. But, even the surprise and distraction didn’t stop the Reapers from their attack.

“They can’t do anything. Proceed with the orders from the Empress.” One of the Reapers called out. The others followed instructions, and the fight resumed.

Liv blocked a punch and swiped with her knife, rejuvenated by the small break in combat. The souls were more of a distraction for her and the other Keepers than they were for the Reapers, she kept glancing over to see what they were doing. They had stopped moving inward and were now floating sideways, moving faster and faster with each turn. Without looking directly at them, it was almost similar to what a ride at a theme park looked like when it spun round.

The Reapers were doing their best not to be distracted. “What the hell are they doing?” the Reaper Liv was fighting grumbled. Liv didn’t answer. She waited until he glanced to the side and then swept her leg out, knocking him to the ground. He tried to jump up quickly, but Liv was faster, falling on top of his torso with her knee and plunging her knife into his chest.

Before Liv had time to think, to realize that she had just killed her first Reaper … her first person, a voice blasted through the night. It was a voice that had put her in her place more times than she could count.

“Step away from my children!” Liv heard her father’s voice boom through the night. Her head swung in the direction that the voice had come from, as did every other head, including the Reapers. “Step away from them, this is your final warning.”

“Your final warning or what, you dead old man?” one of the Reapers shouted.

“Dad,” Lucy cried out. “Go back. Get the souls and go!”

Liv was still crouched over the dead Reaper and watched her father. She couldn’t help thinking that she should take this opportunity to attack one of the Reapers while they were distracted.

“Your only chance has passed,” her father declared and thrust his fist into the air. “Attack!”

With that, the circle of souls began to move in fast forward, so fast that they appeared one entity, one thick wall of glowing blue light.

And then, suddenly, several souls burst forth from the glowing circle of souls and surged forth until they each found a Reaper and assaulted them. Some punched, some kicked, some pushed. Liv was shocked to see that they could actually make contact. Not all, but some were able to hurt their targets. The ones who were unsuccessful, their hands or feet passed right through the body of their chosen Reaper. For those, while it didn’t hurt them, it sure as hell scared shit out of them.

“Fight!” her father yelled, waving his arm in a circle and jumping into the battle himself. “No one tries to kill my kids and gets away with it.”

Another burst of energy filled the air as both factions went back to work on each other. This time, it was one Reaper against a Keeper and a soul. The souls who weren’t fighting kept circling at super speed so there was literally no way out unless you passed through them.

Liv wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but finally she was able to sink her blade into the flesh of the Reaper she was fighting. The man cried out in pain, clutching his shoulder where she had driven her knife down to the hilt and scrambled backward. “I’m done,” he shouted to the others. “I can’t fight anymore.”

She looked to the soul who was her partner, a teenage boy with a band tee shirt and jeans. He had curly brown hair that wasn’t too long, but was almost ready for a trim. The boy grinned. His body began to shimmer, but he continued to hold form.

Liv bent at the waist, put her hands on her legs and took advantage of the moment of rest while she watched the Reaper she’d been fighting turn away from her and run. The bastard still held his palm over the wound at his shoulder as the souls parted and let him through the cage.

With a glance at the boy, Liv straightened. “Help me with the others?” The boy nodded and the both hurried into the fray.

One by one, the Reapers gave up until there were only five, once they realized their numbers had dwindled and their chances of survival were slim, they also decided to run. Jack caught one of them by the collar and yanked before he could get away.

Along with the other Keepers, Liv was breathless and panting, but gripped her knife tightly, ready for anything. It was no guarantee that the Reapers wouldn’t come back.

“Listen, asshole,” Jack growled. “If you come back here, I promise that you won’t leave ever again. Tell the others, because I am Jackson Walker. I am the son of the Empress and I get my mean streak from her.”

Jack held the Reaper at arm’s length, the collar of the guy’s shirt twisted in Jack’s fist. “This is my home now,” he hissed at the Reaper. “And I will defend it with everything I have in me.”

Aiden stepped up beside his friend and stared down at the Reaper Jack held prisoner. “And I’m with him now.” He ticked his head in Jacks direction. “I’d listen to him if I were you.”

The Reaper nodded. “I’ll tell the others. I swear.”

“You fucking better.” Jack ran the tip of his blade down the Reaper’s cheek and the guy cried out as the silver burned into his flesh. “Now go!” He released him with a shove. The Reaper landed on his ass and skidded about a foot, then he scrambled to his feet and ran off.

The souls had already dismantled the circle and most were floating around in a mist again. The boy still held form beside Liv and she turned to him and grinned, wishing that he was flesh and blood so she could hug him. “We did it!” She said to him and he nodded enthusiastically.

“Dad.” Greg strode toward Gregory Sr. “What were you thinking. We told you to stay away.”

Greg Sr. shimmered and he crossed his arms over his chest. “If you think I was about to let that happen without doing anything, then you don’t know me at all, son.”

“Dad!” Greg shouted. “All of these souls were at risk.”

“No, they weren’t. I helped them learn how to form and how to fight. They wanted to help. Do you know how hard it is for them to sit here and watch the people who guard them day in and day out get attacked? This was their time to finally help you, instead of the other way around. Now stop questioning me boy. I may be dead, but I’m still the parent in this situation.”

Greg sighed and threw his hands in the air. “Fine.”

Aiden stared into the darkness of the woods in the distance. “They won’t stay away. I think we need to plan for them to return with more numbers.”

Liv closed her eyes for a moment, the reality of the night sinking in. She had killed someone. Yes, he was a Reaper and he would have killed her had she not gotten to him first, but that didn’t take away the guilt and pain that was beginning to settle into her thoughts.

That was going to have to wait until this was over, though. She pushed back the thoughts and opened her eyes. “Well, I guess we are going to have to strike first this time. I am done waiting around to be attacked.”

Aiden still gripped his knife tightly. He hadn’t expected the Reapers to run, they weren’t trained to retreat. The Reaper Army was trained to follow orders, even if it meant you might die in the process.

He stared across the property to the wood line, searching for the red auras. He didn’t want to turn away, just in case they decided to come back. He didn’t know if they were really giving up or if it was some tactic to throw them off, pretending to retreat and then attacking again when the group was vulnerable.

The movement of the souls caught his attention and he finally tore his gaze away from the woods. Most of the souls had reverted back into a mist and were floating around them. Some were still solid, like the Estmond father and the kid next to Liv.

Hunger slammed into him full force and his chest tightened with the urge to feed. He couldn’t help it. He had been fighting, using up all his energy and in his weakened state it was the natural instinct of a Reaper. A soul, even just part of one, would restore his energy and focus.

He pushed the feeling aside. It wasn’t easy, but if he was going to fight with the Keepers, they had to trust him and that meant not sucking up all the souls in their graveyard, especially the ones who helped them win.

After a deep breath, he tuned in on Liv, who had responded to his comment about the Reapers coming back. She’d suggested that they attack first.

“You want to go to the mansion again?” he asked. This Keeper continued to surprise him each time he saw her.

She wiped her knife on her jeans, cleaning off the Reaper blood, and then returned it to the sheath at her hip. “I’m not going to wait for them to come here, so yeah, if that is where they are going to be.”

Greg cleared his throat. “I agree. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them.”

Jack nodded. “They won’t give up until they have completed the mission.”

“And that mission is to kill us all,” Lucy added.

An internal battle suddenly began. He knew that he had made his choice. He was no longer a part of the Reaper Army. He was no longer a part of the Reaper society at all. But now, he was helping the Keepers fight his own kind and that was not easy. He glanced around at the bodies lying in the dirt, bodies of people who were once his fellow soldiers, people he helped kill.

Quickly, he averted his eyes and caught Jack staring at him. A brief nod from his best friend and he knew that Jack had been through the turmoil that he was experiencing. Perhaps he still felt guilty at times like this.

“I … I have to go in,” Liv muttered. She turned to go back into the house, but stopped short when she almost tripped over the body of the Reaper she killed. “Oh…” She stared down at the corpse.

“We’ll take care of it,” Dan told her. “Go inside.”

Lucy ran her hand over Jack’s arm and lifted herself onto her toes so that she could whisper in Jack’s ear. When she was finished, she hurried toward Liv. “Wait, I’ll come with you.”

Liv didn’t respond, but waited for Lucy to catch up with her, and then, with a final appreciative glance at the teenaged soul standing beside her, both girls headed toward the house.

“Okay kids,” Greg Sr. clapped his transparent hands together. “You all get these bodies taken care of. I’ll get the souls back to the cemetery.”

“Thanks Dad … for all the help,” Steph told her father.

Aiden watched the old man give his daughter a loving smile and tell her. “Anytime honey. As long as I’m on this earth, dead or alive, I’ll be here to help you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, baby girl.” And then their father was off, calling to the others to follow him. Like the pied piper of souls, Gregory Estmond led the way, followed by a ribbon of shimmering, blue. A few of them chose to stay solidified and floated beside him as he made his way into the graveyard.

“You guys ready?” The younger … and alive, Greg asked as he bent to grab the legs of one of the dead Reapers. “Let’s get this over with so we can get some rest.”

“Agreed.” James grabbed the same Reaper’s arms and they lifted him up. “I’m freaking exhausted.”

Dan rolled his eyes and bent over to pick up the legs of another. “Don’t get too excited for resting. We are going to be digging all night with this many bodies.”

Aiden helped, but barely spoke as they hauled the bodies over to a section on the far side of the graveyard. Indeed, as Dan had said they would be, they were up until the sun rose, digging the graves, setting the bodies inside and covering them back up.

Liv and Lucy had come back out to help when they were about half finished. They brought beer, coffee and more shovels. Aiden wasn’t sure why Liv was suddenly acting weird, but he was pretty sure it had to do with killing.

When the last bit of earth was shoveled onto the mound of one of the graves, they were finally finished. All of them were covered with the moist dirt in which they had been digging, and they were hot and sweaty … and tired.

“I am so done with this shit.” James tossed his shovel down. “I’m exhausted.”

“We all are,” Steph told him. “We already knew that not every part of this job was going to be glamourous.”

“None of it is glamourous,” Dan said, his voice flat, and then turned and strode off toward the house with his shovel over his shoulder.

Back at the farmhouse, Aiden leaned on the counter while the Keepers … and Jack discussed an attack on the mansion in Napa.

“We can’t all go.” Hannah opened the refrigerator and peered inside. “They were ordered to kill us and burn our house down, it’s not safe to leave the house. I think someone should stay here.”

A few of the Keepers nodded but others shook their heads. “No,” Greg responded. “We don’t separate.”

“But what about the house?” Hannah closed the fridge and turned to her brother. “I’m not leaving it vulnerable.”

“Our lives are more important, we stay together to protect each other.”

Hannah sighed. “Greg, this house has been in our family for generations. I’m not losing it to a Reaper Empress who also happens to be a pyro.”

“Fine.” Greg strode over to the sink and flipped on the water so that he could wash his hands. “I’ll call a couple of Keepers in the area and see if they will come and watch the house.”

Hannah seemed content with that solution. David took his hand in hers and tugged, “Let’s go home, we need to get some sleep.”

She nodded and then sighed. “When will we go, we need to plan.”

“Tomorrow morning.” Aiden folded his arms across his chest. “We have to do this soon, but we need rest or none of us will make it through another fight. As it is, we got lucky this time.”

Greg nodded. “I agree. Let’s meet up here tonight and go over details.”

“Wait,” Jack interrupted. “Don’t you think tomorrow is too late? We can’t guarantee that any of them will still be around.”

“That’s valid,” Aiden agreed. “But, we can’t go with everyone exhausted from fighting and digging all night. We’ve not eaten or slept, that would be a suicide mission. If we leave before the sun comes up tomorrow we can sneak in while everyone is still in bed.”

“All right,” Greg agreed. “That sounds like a good plan.”

Aiden had to admit to himself that he was glad the oldest Estmond Keeper agreed with him. Most of the others would go along with his lead. If he was going to fight with them, it had to be done the way he wanted it. Last night was a fluke, they’d known they were going into a losing battle and somehow they won. He just liked having the upper hand against the enemy, so going in expecting to lose wasn’t something he liked doing at all, and he didn’t want it to happen again.

“I’m going home,” Liv announced as she crossed the room to collect her purse. “I have to call Amy and see if she will watch the shop tomorrow.” She opened her purse and withdrew her car keys from inside. Checked her phone, then put that back in. “I can’t keep closing the shop for family emergencies. I’ll lose customers if I’m not open consistently. I’m going to have to go in for a few hours this morning for prep work.”

Her eyes found Aiden. “Get your stuff if you’re coming with me, I’m tired.”

Aiden understood why she was snappy, but he still didn’t like being ordered around by anyone. Now that he didn’t work for the Empress anymore, he was a lone Reaper who lived by his rules only. Well … until he could help get this thing with the Estmonds taken care of.

All he had to do was help them, and they would help him.

Should be easy.

“If you can drop me on the other side of the woods, my SUV is there with my bags. Hopefully those bastards didn’t slash my tires or something worse.”

“Got it,” Liv acknowledged and slipped the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “Let’s go. I’m supposed to be getting up to get ready for work soon. I’m not going to be able to sleep until after.”

Aiden tried to ignore that Liv seemed less than thrilled about having to take him home. He wasn’t exactly happy about it either. He wasn’t happy about any of this, but at he knew that he had to tolerate working and being around the Keepers until they could put this all behind them. He moved to follow her and offered a nod to the rest of the group.

“Hey,” Dan called out. Aiden stopped before he stepped out into the cool California morning air. “Remember … you hurt my sister and I’ll end you.”

“She is safe with me,” Aiden responded, holding back any snarky remark. He had to remember that if he had a sister, he would feel the same way. He shut the door behind him and followed Liv to her van. He rounded the vehicle and slipped into the passenger seat.

The van was the kind a soccer mom would drive, but inside, it was filled with a sweet and spicy scent that could only be the residue of the baked goods she filled with it every day.

Once Liv was behind the wheel she turned the key and brought the engine to life. Then, she turned to face him. Her silver aura glowed brightly in the early morning darkness and her eyes were droopy from exhaustion. “Look.” She said in a tired voice. “You know I’m uncomfortable with this, so all I ask is that you don’t make it worse okay. Be good.”

He wanted to laugh. She was telling him to be good. “Like I said, you have nothing to worry about. I’m not with them anymore.”

She faced forward again and shifted the van into reverse. “You can say that all you want, you just have to prove it. You’ve done okay so far, but it’s going to take more than that to convince me.”

They pulled out of the drive and rode in silence to where Aiden had left his SUV. Luckily it was still there and after a quick inspection, he was assured that no one had vandalized it. “I’ll follow you over to your place,” he told Liv as he climbed behind the wheel.

She offered him a tired nod and pulled back out onto the road. They drove out of town about a mile and turned onto a dirt drive off the highway. White fencing made of long posts surrounded the property. On one side of the driveway, a field filled with tall grass occupied the expanse between Liv’s property and the houses adjacent to hers. The other side of the driveway had a huge grove of trees, he couldn’t tell what they were, but in the dark, they looked like oaks.

Finally, Liv’s house came into view. Her home was not large, but it wasn’t small either. As his head lights flashed over it, he saw that it was painted white and had a blue roof. All the trim around the windows were blue as well. The yard directly in front of the structure had a tidy lawn with a little flower garden lining the house in front. It was quaint and nothing like anywhere he had ever lived.

He rolled up beside her and put the SUV into park, letting out a frustrated sigh. This was not how he thought things were going to go. He was working with them, but he was an outcast … a person that nobody wanted. But having to live with Keepers was the last thing he ever thought he would have to do.

Liv stepped out of her van. Aiden grabbed his bag from the back and then joined her at the front door, where she was fiddling with her keys. Finally, she swung the door open and reached over, searching the wall until she found the light switch and flipped it on.

Aiden hadn’t really known what to expect from Liv’s home. He viewed her as the sort of person who would have white walls with family pictures and maybe a couple of paintings. Matching furniture, with everything tidy. What he found was far different.

The walls of the living room were painted a light teal color with white trim. There were indeed family pictures and paintings but along with them were interesting pieces, like a record that had been cut and now portrayed the tree of life. Another piece was a strange one that didn’t seem to represent anything at all, it was made of scrap metal and wire.

The furniture was definitely not what he expected either. One of those large moon chair deals occupied one corner. A beige sofa was pushed up against a wall, a purple afghan thrown over the back and throw pillows with bright flowers were propped up on each arm.

A large square coffee table made of Cherrywood sat between the sofa and a modest stand that held a thirty-two-inch television.

“How do you even see the picture on that tiny thing?” Aiden pointed to the screen.

Liv tossed her keys on little table by the door. “You wanna buy me a bigger one then feel free.” Her voice was tired and flat. “I have a guest room, sorry I didn’t have time to put fresh sheets on.”

He followed her through the living room and into a large kitchen. “I’m so not worried about sheets,” he assured her. “I’m so exhausted I would sleep on the floor right now if I had to.”

“I’ll remember that.”

The kitchen was a far cry from the living room. Every appliance appeared to be high end. She had four ovens, a large stove with eight burners, a double door refrigerator with a glass front that you could see through, and two dishwashers. The counters were granite, but the large island in the middle of the kitchen was butcher block. He whistled with admiration, “Well now I know why you can’t afford a bigger TV.”

“Shut up, Reaper. This way.”

“Oh, hey … a hot tub!” Aiden spied the in-ground whirlpool through the sliding glass doors when they passed through the kitchen.

She didn’t respond as they moved down a hallway and she opened a door on the right. “Here. This is my spare room. The bathroom is down the hall on the left and my room is the door at the end of the hall.”

“Thanks.” Aiden stepped into the room. “I know your worried, but I really do appreciate this.” He removed one of his guns from his waistband and set it on the nightstand.

“Feel free to shower if you want to before you go to bed. I won’t judge if you don’t though, I’m ready to just fall down.”

He glanced up at her. She stood in the doorway, watching as he dropped his bag by the bed. “Go on to bed, I’ll be fine here.”

She offered him a brief nod and then turned to go. She took two steps and then turned back to face him. “Thanks for your help tonight. We would have never been able to get the jump on them if it wasn’t for you.”

“No thanks needed, that was the agreement. I don’t go back on my word.”

“Well, I just had to say it so you know that I am grateful, even if I give you a hard time.”

“Noted,” he assured her.

“Goodnight, Reaper.”

“See you in the morning, Keeper,” he responded, watching as she turned away once again, disappearing from his line of vision.

Beep, beep, beep. Beep, beep, beep.

Liv reached over to her nightstand, fighting the urge to pick up her alarm clock and launch it across the room. Instead, she found the snooze button and tapped it. The beeping quickly ceased and she released a sigh of relief.

Prying her eyes open, the glowing numbers of the clock came into focus, letting her know that it was 6:30 AM. It was later than she normally went in to work, but it would have to do. She needed to go in and at least do the prep work for the day and Amy could just worry about running the counter.

She tossed the covers away from her body. Daylight was already streaming through the curtains, letting her know that the day would be filled with sunshine. She was glad the day would be nice. It was going to be a long couple of days and sunny days were reassuring to her.

Staggering to the shower, she knew she was going to have to get better sleep tonight before they headed out for Napa the next morning. She removed her pajamas and dropped them down next to her clothes from the night before, that sat in a rumpled pile on the floor. Both the jeans and shirt had blood stains tainting the fabric.

She turned away, not wanting to be reminded of the people she had killed. They were Reapers, but they were people … and a lot of them died last night. She flipped the faucet onto hot and stepped into the tub, yanking the curtain shut around her.

After scrubbing away what she could of the guilt and exhaustion, she forced herself to get out of the shower and immediately caught the scent of coffee wafting through the house from the kitchen.

Hurrying, she slid into a fresh pair of jeans and a fitted, red tee-shirt and followed the enticing aroma into the kitchen. Not only did she find coffee, she found Aiden sitting at the little table, his gun in pieces and spread over the top of an old newspaper so that the oil didn’t stain her table.

“Good morning,” she greeted him, making a bee line for the coffee pot.

He finished with the section he was working on and set it on the paper next to a pile of cotton swabs. “Morning.”

She filled a mug with black coffee and attempted to take a sip, not caring if it scalded her lips and tongue. After recovering from the temperature of the liquid, she sat down across from him. “Did you manage to get any sleep?”

“Barely.”

“I slept like a rock, but feel like I haven’t at all. I’m surprised you weren’t able to sleep after the fight last night.”

He picked up his mug with his right hand and combed the fingers of his left through his blond locks, hesitating a moment before speaking. “The possibility we may have been followed is there, so I stayed up to make sure.”

Liv raised her eyebrows as she sipped her coffee. “You stood guard while I slept?”

“You don’t have to make it sound like anything chivalrous, it was for my own safety.”

“I see.”

“This is how I work. It’s practically programmed into me.”

“I’m not arguing. It’s definitely not hard to see that you are a selfish person.”

Aiden set his mug on the table without responding and began reassembling his gun.

Liv already knew she was going to be opening the bakery late today, so between waking up and finishing her first cup of coffee she’d decided not to stress herself out with it. She almost died last night, she deserved at least part of a day off before she put her life at risk again. “What are you going to do?” she asked.

“About what?” He fitted all the pieces together with a precision and speed she’d never seen before.

“About leaving the Reapers, about … life?”

He shrugged. “It’s too soon to say. I have to finish out my obligation to Jack …” He waved his gun in the air. “To all of you. I’ll know more when it all blows over.”

“Do you have family … that you’re leaving?” she asked before she could stop herself. Family meant so much to her. She could understand why that would be hard for him if he was leaving loved ones behind.

He set the weapon down on the table and got up to refill his coffee. “Jack is my family. The Empress and the Emperor, they were my family too.”

The statement, though brief, told her so much. His family, if he had any, were not there for him. “I’d tell you that I’m sorry,” she told him as he moved to the counter to sit down. “But I’m not. I’m glad that you are separating yourself from them.”

He flicked his eyes toward her, glaring at her from the side. “The last thing I want would be for you to feel sorry for me.”

Somehow, she already knew that. “Look, Aiden. This whole, starting a new life thing isn’t going to be easy, but we’re going to live up to our end of the bargain and help you when all of this is over.”

He responded by casually sipping his coffee. Liv sighed. Maybe she shouldn’t have started a conversation with him in the first place. How was she ever going to live in the same house with him, even for a short amount of time. “What do you want to do when this is over?” she asked, changing up her original question.

“I don’t know. Probably leave the country … make it harder for them to find me.”

Liv nodded. Good, that would keep him far away from her and far away from her souls. “I’d want to be as far away as I could as well. But, aren’t there Reapers in other countries too?”

“Yeah.” He put his mug in the sink. “But, each country has its own royalty who rules. Technically, I would fall off of our Reaper radar and never be on one in a different country. I can find a job and keep myself on the down low.”

With a sigh, Liv pushed her chair out and stood. “Well, like you said, we have to get through this mess first. I know you didn’t have to, and … this doesn’t come easy for me, but thank you for helping us. We wouldn’t have known about the attack, or survived it, if it wasn’t for you.”

He offered her a slight nod and then, after hesitating for a moment asked. “Are you okay after last night.”

“Just a couple bumps and bruises mostly, but other than that I’m good.” She held out her arm and examined it while showing him.

“That isn’t what I meant.”

Liv noticed that he seemed uncharacteristically nervous. “What did you mean then?”

“It just looked like you were having some issues afterward.”

“Oh.” Her voice was suddenly flat.

He began cleaning up his mess on the table. “Look, Keeper. I know that you aren’t like me. I’m basically an assassin, I’ll kill if I have to and it doesn’t bother me in the least. This was even closer to home because they were my people, but I’m still pretty empty about it.”

She could sense the lies as they spewed from his mouth. He did care, she could tell. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“I could tell … can tell, that you are bothered by having to do it. And it’s okay for you to feel that way, but don’t bury that emotion … get it out or it will eat you alive.”

“You say that like you might actually care, Reaper.”

He turned to fully face her, tilting his head slightly. His intense green eyes locked with hers as he said, “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m as cold hearted as they come.”

More lies. He was trained from life with the Reapers to hide his feelings, she could tell. But, why in the world she gave a shit about it was a whole other story. “I said almost,” she retorted and then turned back to the sink to rinse out her mug. “Yeah. Killing bothers me.” She finally told him. “I feel like a criminal.”

“I felt like that my first time too. Even with all the training and brainwashing. The first one is always the hardest.”

“I don’t want there to be more.” She threw her hands in the air and spun to face him. “I want the killing to end.”

“Liv, our kinds, Reapers and Keepers, they have killed each other for generations.”

“I want to be better than that. I can protect souls and not be a murderer. Up until now, that is what we have done.”

Aiden shook his head. “You live in a tiny town that doesn’t see that many Reapers. Most Keepers have killed at least once.”

She shook her head, knowing it was true but refusing to give him the satisfaction of being right. “I want to exist and be able to be happy with the person I am. Right now, I’m devastated with what I’m becoming.”

“Come on, Keeper, get your shit together, you protected yourself and your family. You would be dead if you hadn’t done what needed to be done.”

“I know that,” she practically shouted, even though they weren’t arguing. “But, I can’t help how I feel right now. I know it will eventually fade, but until then I have to carry the guilt.”

“I’m not the kind of guy who is going to give you a hug and list off all your glowing positive traits, so I stand by my last comment. Suck it up and deal. This is a war and people die in combat.”

“I didn’t want you to try to make me feel better, so there was no need to be an asshole.”

He shrugged. “Take it or leave it, I’m going to finish getting ready. We’re leaving soon right?”

She sighed. No one had ever been able to frustrate her as much as Aiden. “Yeah. I have to go to work today for a little while. What are you going to do?”

“Probably go over to your family’s house. People seem to always be in and out over there.”

“Yup, it’s home base for sure.” She was relieved he didn’t want to stay at her house. Having him there when she wasn’t made her nervous. Hell, she was nervous about having him there when she was there, so either way there wasn’t a win. “That sounds good, I’m sure they will need you for planning or whatever. Just stay out of my graveyard.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That was the agreement, wasn’t it? I don’t go back on my word. You should at least know that by now.”

He was right, she should know that. He had been there for Jack and Lucy, then again for Hannah and David, and now he was risking everything to help them. Even though he would benefit in the end, it was still dangerous for him. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

“I am going to have to build up my strength eventually though.”

“Dammit Aiden, I don’t want to hear it. Not my souls, anything else I don’t want to hear about, okay.”

He held up his hands. “All right, all right, calm down.”

“I’ll meet you in the yard in five minutes. I’m going to follow you over to the house. I’m going to see if Lucy will come and help me for a while so I can get twice as much done, since I’m so late today.”

“Deal,” Aiden told her with a smirk. Then, he turned and headed down the hall to the bedroom he’d slept in and disappeared as he closed the door behind him.

Her van crunched over the gravel as she followed Aiden into the driveway. It was still so early that a layer of dew still covered all the vehicles that were parked in front of the house. The SUV in front of her parked behind Lucy’s car and she rolled up right beside him.

She took a moment to call Amy before getting out of the van. She wanted to at least make sure that someone could open for her. There was enough stock from yesterday in the fridge and on the shelves that she was sure Amy would be fine even if she didn’t go in. He waited for her before proceeding up the steps of the house and then they silently ascended onto the porch together.

When they entered, the house, which was normally brimming with noise, was silent. Usually, everyone was up pretty early, but after the night they’d had, she could understand why everyone would sleep in. Even she could have used another couple of hours.

She glanced at Aiden and whispered, “Maybe you could make some coffee. I’m going to go up and wake Lucy.”

He nodded in response and headed for the kitchen. She watched him go, unable to keep from staring as he strode through the doorway. Even if he was a Reaper, and a cocky bastard on top of that, he sure was nice to look at.

Once he was out of sight, she crept up the stairs to the second floor. Before she made it to Lucy’s room, she heard a noise as she passed the closed door of the bathroom. It sounded like … gagging. Pausing to listen, she heard it again and then the sound of actual vomit being expelled.

Liv had a pretty good idea of who was on the other side of that door. There had been some signs, but those symptoms could have been attributed to a number of different things. Deciding to wait it out, she leaned against the wall across the hall from the bathroom door and pulled out her phone.

Five minutes later, she finally heard the water running and tucked her phone back into her pocket. The water shut off and then the handle turned. The door opened wide, revealing Lucy, whose eyes went wide when she saw Liv waiting for her on the other side.

“I…”

Liv shook her head. “You don’t have to explain. Have you taken a test?”

“No.” Lucy glanced down the hall, toward her room. “I’m afraid to. I don’t want it to be real.”

“We have to know for sure, you know that you can’t just keep acting like it isn’t happening.”

Lucy stepped out of the bathroom, leaving the door open behind her. “Dammit, I know. This is such bad, bad timing! How in the hell am I supposed to tell Jack? We haven’t even been together that long.”

“Aw Luce, he will understand. The man idolizes the ground you walk on.” Liv threw an arm around her sister. “Come with me, we’ll go get a test and you can take it at the bakery. I need your help over there for the morning anyway, so it won’t be a lie when you tell Jack where you’re going.”

Lucy nodded vigorously, keeping her lips clamped shut, and Liv saw that tears were welling in her eyes. “Don’t cry, sis.” She opened her arms and then wrapped them around her sister. “We will figure this out, okay.”

“I need to get ready,” Lucy managed to whisper. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“Okay, just don’t take forever. I need to get going and we have to stop at the store.”

With a sarcastic roll of her eyes, Lucy spun around and headed off to her room. Liv went the opposite way, back down the stairs and then into the kitchen. She found Aiden pouring coffee and Greg at the kitchen table with a steaming mug already in front of him.

“Hey brother.” Liv pulled out a chair and sat down across from him. “Lucy is going to help me at the bakery for a while. We’ll be back here afterward.”

“Good, we can all nap together. I’m freaking beat.” Greg dragged his hands through his dark red hair and yawned as if to prove his point.

“I wish I could deny it, but I do think we are all going to need more rest. It’s a suicide mission if we go in like this.” Liv agreed with her brother.

Aiden sat down beside her, but didn’t speak. She glanced at him and he met her gaze over the top of his mug as he sipped the steaming liquid.

“Bring home muffins,” Greg told her.

“Jeez, you could at least ask. You guys are so demanding. It’s a place of business, not your personal kitchen.”

“Oh.” Aiden sat up straight in his chair. “If you have that apple kind with the crumbles on top, bring me one of those. Those bad boys are the shit.”

Liv glared. “How dare you associate my muffins with shit.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he tried to explain.

She cut him off. “I know what you meant, but I do not want my baked goods in the same sentence with anything you wouldn’t want to eat. Got it?”

“You are …”

She shot him another glare, daring him to keep speaking.

“Nevermind,” he finished.

Right then, Lucy burst through the kitchen door. “I’m ready. Oh, hey Aiden … Greg. I’ll be back later.” She turned her attention to Liv, “Are you ready to go?”

“Like she said, we’ll be back.” She turned to follow Lucy and had just barely made it through the kitchen door when Greg called out. “Don’t forget the muffins!”

* * *

“I cannot buy a pregnancy test in here.” Lucy hissed. “Everyone who works here knows who I am.”

Liv rolled her eyes and picked one of the more expensive ones off the shelf. “Who cares?”

“I care!”

“You shouldn’t. It’s your business.”

Lucy frantically glanced up and down the aisle. “Yeah, but in this town, everyone’s business is everyone’s business. You know that.”

Liv took a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling as if she were begging for strength. “Fine. I’ll buy the test. They can all talk shit about me instead of you.”

“Oh, my goodness, thank you!” Lucy breathed out and then reached over and side hugged her. “You’re the best sister ever.” Liv could only shake her head in response.

Turned out though, Lucy was right. When they got to the checkout counter, they found Diane running the cash register. Diane was a year younger than Liv so they had gone to school together.

“Maybe we should have gotten more stuff,” Lucy whispered while they were in line. “Then maybe she wouldn’t notice.”

“I really don’t care if she notices or not. People have sex and people get pregnant. There are far worse things out there than buying a pregnancy test, Lucy.”

The anxiety and humor seemed to suddenly fade away from her sister and was replaced with an expression of defeat. “I’m sorry. I just … I don’t know how to cope with this. We have all this other stuff going on and now this. I just don’t know.”

“It’s going to be okay.” Liv assured her with a pat on the shoulder. “I promise.”

“And how are we doing today?” Diane’s voice cut in as she picked up the pregnancy test sitting on the belt.

“We’re good. Thank you, Diane.” Liv pulled her wallet from her purse and found her debit card.

Diane glanced down at the box in her hand and then her eyes flitted back up, moving back and forth between Liv and Lucy. “I see,” she said, scanning the box. “Would you like a bag?”

Liv felt more than saw Lucy’s body tense. “Of course she wants a bag! Seriously, do you think she wants to go walking around town just holding that in her hand. Come on.” Lucy drug out the last word for emphasis.

Diane recoiled as if Lucy had slapped her. “I’m sorry. I’m supposed to ask if there is only one item.”

“Well use common sense,” Lucy snapped.

“You don’t have to be so rude, Lucy.”

Liv sighed and swiped her card. “Yes, I’d like a bag.”

Diane glared at Lucy and dropped the test into a sack, then ripped the bag off the carousel and handed it to Liv. “Have a nice day.”

“You too,” Liv mumbled as she accepted the bag and nudged Lucy to follow her. Once they were at the car Liv handed Lucy the bag and shook her head. “You don’t always have to be so abrasive.”

“Says the girl who used to punch first and think later.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“Doesn’t matter. Your little miss manners act doesn’t fly with me. I know better.”

“Lucy, just because I think it, doesn’t mean that I say it or act on it. Not anymore.”

“Whatever. Let’s go.”

Sometimes Liv wondered how her father managed them all when they were younger. The Estmond kids were all adults now and they were hard to handle Parenting this brood had to have been harder than she ever imagined.

The bakery had a few people sitting at the inside tables and Amy stood behind the counter. “Hey,” she called when Liv and Lucy strode through the door. “I’m glad you’re here. I need more blueberry muffins and there is a cake order on the counter in the kitchen.”

“I have to use the bathroom,” Lucy mumbled, clutching her plastic bag tightly and hurrying off in that direction.

Liv watched her go and then turned to Amy. “Thanks for covering. I’ll get to work on the muffins and cake and then prep some stuff for tomorrow. Speaking of which, can you open again tomorrow morning?”

“Sure.” Amy nodded and her blonde ponytail swished back and forth. “I’m happy to take on extra hours.”

“Good, because I have a feeling that you will be getting a lot of extra hours, if you want them, that is.”

“Like I said, I’m happy to. I’m saving for a deposit to rent a house. Living with my mom is getting hard. Kylie is so mobile and my mom doesn’t know the meaning of childproofing.”

Liv paused before she headed into the kitchen. “Does your mom watch her for you while you’re working?”

Amy shook her head. “No, I take her to a sitter.”

With a nod, Liv considered and then sighed. “I wish you could bring her with you, there is just too many dangerous things here for a one year old. I’d feel horrible if she burned herself or cut herself or something.”

“Oh, no worries. I get a good deal with the sitter, but it is so nice that you would even think of that.”

Liv offered her a small smile. “I grew up with a single dad and six brothers and sisters, I know what it means to pinch pennies.” She felt so helpless sometimes when it came to Amy, the girl had been working for her since she got pregnant. Soon afterward, the douche bag who knocked her up disappeared and now Amy was an eighteen-year-old single mother, living with her mom and trying to make it in the world.

Amy laughed, “I’m sure you do. Oh, I’ve been working on my piping at home, I can’t wait to show you.”

“That’s great! You’re going to be able to run this place on your own soon, or start your own business and give me some competition.”

“No way.” Amy shook her head. “I’m so out of this town. I want to move to Washington … Seattle probably.”

Understanding, Liv nodded. “Well that is a great place to start a bakery, if that’s what you want to do. They also have some great places to work if that is what you want to start with.”

“That’s not for a long time,” Amy assured her. “I still have a ton to learn from you.”

Liv knew she was far from being a renowned pastry chef, but she was teaching Amy what she could in hopes that it would help further her career. Amy loved baking and had a lot of talent, so the fact that she loved it and was good at it was enough for Liv to want to help her hone her passion.

“I’m glad it’s not for a while,” Liv told her, smiling. Then, she pushed open the door and stepped into her kitchen. She hung her purse and hoodie on the hook by the door and got to work finding the ingredients that she would need. She wanted to get the cake started first because that was an order and more important than the muffins.

Just as she finished gathering all the thing she needed, Lucy swung open the door and tossed the pregnancy test on the counter in front of her.

“Oh my god, Luce! Gross.” Liv plucked the test off the counter and held it in her hand. “I make food here!”

She glanced down at the stick in her hand and flipped it over. There, in the spot where there could be possibly one or two lines, there were two bright pink lines that clearly said her sister was having a baby. “Well, we knew this already.” She turned to Lucy and found her standing there with tears in her eyes. “Come here,” she ordered, opening her arms for her sister.

Lucy buried her face in Liv’s shoulder and sobbed for several minutes. Finally, the tears subsided and Lucy pulled out of her sisters embrace. Liv reached over and snagged a towel off the counter and then offered it to Lucy. She accepted it and roughly wiped the tears away.

Liv crossed her arms over her chest and stepped back. “You know that you can’t go with us tomorrow, right.”

“What?” Lucy’s eyes widened with shock, obviously not expecting that to be something Liv would bring up during this emotional moment.

“You can’t go,” Liv repeated. “It’s too dangerous.”

Lucy threw the towel counter. “That’s bullshit. I have to go.”

“Not this time.” Liv shook her head.

“But I’m the Chosen One.” She jabbed her finger into her chest. “All of this is happening because of me. It would be wrong for me not to be part of the attacks.”

“It would be wrong of you not to consider the life of your child.”

“Lucy lowered her head and stared down at the floor. “My child.” She mumbled the words as if they were foreign. After a moment, she straightened and met Liv’s gaze once again. “I’ll be fine. I can’t stay behind.”

Exasperated, Liv shook her head once more. “You can’t and you won’t. If you even try, I will tell Jack about the baby, because you know damn well that when he finds out about this, he will agree that you shouldn’t. Hell …” Liv threw her hands in the air, “You’ll be lucky if he doesn’t keep you locked up in your room to keep you safe.”

Lucy’s eyes widened and her hand unconsciously fluttered to her mouth, covering her lips as realization found its way into her system. “Oh crap … I have to tell Jack. I totally forgot.”

“Yeah. You have to tell him.”

“He’s going to totally freak out.”

Liv nodded once again. “Yeah, he’s going to do that. But, he will get over it and eventually he will be happy about it. Guys just process different than women. It’s going to be fine.” She was suddenly wondering if she was trying to reassure herself, or her sister.

Lucy nodded, but didn’t respond.

“Let’s finish this work and then you can call Jack to come and pick you up. That way you can tell him privately, without the whole family around.”

“I can’t … how am I supposed to take care of a baby, Liv? I can barely keep myself safe with all the Reapers always coming after us now.”

Turning back to the cake, Liv shrugged, “You’ll figure it out, just like every other young mother.”

“I don’t even have any money! I can’t afford a kid.”

Rolling her eyes, Liv sighed, “Again, you will figure it out. At least one of you are going to have to get a job.”

“This sucks.”

“Well, thinking of all the reasons not to have a kid doesn’t change the fact that it’s already happening.”

“I know that. I just … I don’t know.”

“Well, go gather the stuff for icing and think about it while you work. I need to get this stuff done so I can get out of here.” She didn’t look at Lucy as she gave the order. She knew that her sister would stand there for another hour, thinking of reasons that wouldn’t change her situation.

They worked in silence for about twenty minutes and Liv finally set her tools aside and turned to face Lucy, who was working on the muffin mix. “Luce.”

Glancing up from the batter, Lucy met her sister’s eyes with a questioning gaze. “Yeah?”

“I’m happy for you though. You are starting the next generation in our family and having a baby is a big deal. I just didn’t want you to think that I’m not happy for you.”

Lucy managed to give her sister a weak smile. “Thanks. That means a lot.”

Turning back to her work, Liv also smiled. “Plus, being born with six aunts and uncles, this kid is going to be the most spoiled baby on the face of the earth.”

This time, Lucy’s smile was genuine and she let out a small laugh. “I don’t doubt that one bit.”

“Can you come and pick me up at the bakery?” Lucy tried to keep her voice normal as she spoke to Jack.

“Yeah. Everything okay?”

“It’s fine. Just come and get me.”

He hesitated and then spoke softly. “I can tell when something is wrong with you. What happened?”

She sighed loudly. “I’ll tell you when you get here, okay.”

“Fine. I’m on my way.” He clicked off abruptly and Lucy knew he was probably tearing out the door already.

She turned to her sister. “He’s coming.”

“As if we had any doubt.”

“I’m so nervous.”

“It’s going to fine.” Liv slipped on her oven mitts and opened the oven. Bending over, she removed the chocolate cake from the racks and set it on the counter. “Anyone can see that Jack loves you. He’s not going to run because of something like this.”

Lucy told herself she knew that she and Jack belonged together, that their relationship was fated and unshakable, but this was something so huge, she couldn’t be sure. They had never even talked about kids or what the future held beyond what was happening at the moment. The Empress and her vendetta on the Estmonds, plus Jack being her son, was enough for them to deal with at one time.

But now, it was happening and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

“I know he’s not going anywhere,” she told Liv. “But wondering how he is going to react is making me crazy.”

Liv moved to the other side of the kitchen and extracted a box from beneath the counter. “You were already crazy. Here, go out front and put some doughnuts and muffins in there. Make sure to add the chocolate for Greg and the Dutch apple crumble.”

Lucy tilted her head as she accepted the box. Raising one eyebrow she examined her sisters face.

“What?” Liv asked when she caught Lucy staring at her.

“Those are the muffins Aiden wanted.”

“So.”

“So, I thought you hated him.”

Liv rolled her eyes. “I hate him, but that doesn’t mean I want him to starve.”

“These are the ones he asked for though, so it’s almost like your trying to do something nice for him.”

“Oh my god, Lucy.” Liv turned to face her. “What is wrong with being nice? He’s living at my house for crying out loud. We have to start getting along at some point. Even if I don’t like him, it doesn’t mean I have to be a total bitch.”

Lucy laughed. “I kinda think he likes it when you’re a total bitch.”

Liv jabbed her finger at the door. “Go get the muffins.”

Laughing, Lucy clutched the box and pushed through the swinging door into the main room of the bakery. Amy was behind the counter, mixing up a latte or something. She glanced up when Lucy entered. “Hey, Lucy.”

Lucy waved with her free hand. “Liv wants me to stock up on treats for the family.”

“Go right ahead.” She gestured to the glass case with all the baked goods. She finished making the coffee and stuck a plastic lid on the to-go cup, then rounded the counter and handed it to a customer who was staring at the paintings of scenery on the walls while they waited.

Bending down, Lucy opened the glass case began to randomly select a variety of doughnuts and muffins, using tongs to pick them up and set them in the box. She had just finished up when the she heard the door swish open and the bells jingle roughly as they bounced off of the glass.

She peered through the glass and saw that Jack had arrived. She straightened to get a good look at him. Every time she saw him was like meeting him for the first time. Well, not necessarily their first time, since she and Liv kicked his ass that time, but the first time she really saw him for the sexy, amazing person that he is.

“Lucy.” He caught her gaze and strode quickly past the tables where customers were enjoying their pastries and coffee. He wore a black tee shirt and jeans and his hair was a mess, sticking up and tousled, as if he hadn’t bothered to fix it before he left the house. His boots slammed into the tile floor as he made his way to her.

She set the box on the counter and let him lift her up into his arms, then he lowered his head so that his lips could meet hers. There was no burn, like when any other Keeper and Reaper touched, but she still felt an electric current course through her body and goosebumps erupted over her skin.

“Hey,” she whispered after he pulled away.

“Hey,” he responded, his voice low.

She stared up at him and their gazes were locked. She could tell that he knew something was terribly off with her. “Thank you for coming,” she told him.

“No need for thanks.” He straightened, standing a bit taller. “When my woman calls, I come running.”

Somewhere behind her, Lucy heard a long sigh. She tore her eyes away from Jack and turned. There, she found Amy staring at them with a star struck expression on her face. When Amy realized that Lucy had caught her, she offered a weak smile and said, “you two are just awful cute. That was an entrance every woman dreams of.”

“Um … thanks.” Her eyes flitted to the tables where a few customers were also taking in the show, longing smiles on all of their faces. “I’m certainly a lucky girl.” This time her eyes went to Jack, who still had one arm around her waist. His expression was smug.

She rolled her eyes and nudged him with her elbow. “Don’t let it go to your head,” she whispered.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it.” He bent down and pecked her on the lips. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I just need to give these to Liv.” She held up the box and pushed him back with her free hand. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’m going to grab a lemon filled.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Make sure that you write it down on that pad by the register or Liv will cut us off.” Jack was already bent over, tongs in hand and his head practically in the case. “Got it,” he assured her.

“Don’t forget.” She repeated in a firm voice as she headed through the swinging door into the kitchen.

Liv stood at a large island counter, a variety of tools spread out beside the cake that was in front of her. She was slightly bent, and piping a black swirly design onto the white frosting.

Lucy watched her with fascination. It must be nice to have a something you were good at in life. She didn’t have anything like that. Most of the time she felt like she was the only one out of all her brothers and sisters who didn’t have a direction in life. And now, now she had to figure out how to care for a child when she barely knew how to take care of herself.

Liv glanced up and saw her standing there watching. “Hey, everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Snapping back to reality, Lucy nodded. “Yeah, Jack is here. I just wanted to leave these in here so you didn’t forget them later.”

“Set them down by my purse.” Liv gestured in the direction of where her purse sat on the counter by the door.

Lucy did as she instructed and then collected her own purse, slipping it over her shoulder. “Thanks for helping me with this.”

Liv shrugged. “What’s the sense in having a big sister if you can’t depend on them when things get tough.”

“Yeah, but this shouldn’t have been one of those times.”

“Go.” Liv waved her off. “Go tell Jack.”

Her nerves buzzing with anticipation, she slipped through the door and found Jack leaning on the counter eating a doughnut while Amy flirted with him.
“Come on, I’m ready.” She waved him over. He straightened quickly and flashed Amy a smile as he moved to join Lucy. “Later Amy.” He saluted her with the hand his doughnut was in.

Once they were settled in the truck, Lucy turned to Jack and said. “Let’s go down to the bridge.”

“Why?” He asked, his brows moving together with curiosity. “Don’t we have to go back to the house and prepare, or sleep.”

“Yeah, but I want to show you something first.”

He shrugged. “You’re the boss.” He shifted the truck into gear and pulled out onto the highway. They sat in silence for a few moments while he drove the short distance to the bridge. Once they were there, he pulled into one of the dirt pullouts on the side of the road and parked. “I’ll admit,” he said before opening his door to get out. “I’m awfully curious to know what this is all about.”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Lucy pushed her door open and hopped out of the truck. “Come on.”

Clutching her purse, with the test securely tucked within, she found the trail on the right side of the bridge and navigated her way down. Unusually silent, Jack followed close behind. The path was rocky, but worn down from generations of people traipsing down to the creek for one reason or another.

Beneath the old stone bridge, the massive support walls were covered in graffiti and carvings. A colorful blend of beautiful art, offensive language, initials and claims that so and so had been there, canvased almost every spare inch.

Lucy didn’t want to sit underneath the bridge in the shadows, so she veered to the right and picked her way along the rocky bank. Finally, after about five minutes, she found a nice sized rock beside a spot where the creek ran shallow. In the water, she could see the moss attached to the rocks, stretching out as the current tried to pull it along.

She climbed up onto the rock and sat with her legs stretched out in front of her. “Sit with me.” She patted the spot beside her and looked up at Jack.

As she stared at him, she knew that she was one of the luckiest women on earth. This man, though he was a Reaper and she was supposed to be his natural enemy, was made for her. Not only was he more than easy on the eyes, with his dark features and fantastic build, this man … he would do anything for her. Anything. He had already risked his life and given up everything he’d ever known to be with her.

In that moment, she knew that there was no one else in the universe she would want to father her child. If he was this protective and loving with her, she could only imagine the lengths he would go for his baby.

Clouds peppered the sky and the sun beat down on them. The fall weather was perfect, not too hot and not too cold, just warm enough to feel comforting as it radiated over their bodies.

“Okay, miss secretive. What’s going on?”

No sense in beating around the bush. She’d decided as they walked that it was best just to come out with it. So, she turned to face him, making sure that their eyes were locked and he would know that she was serious.

“Jack … I’m pregnant.”

She watched, every slight motion, every muscle twitch, she wanted to see every type of reaction that his words didn’t portray.

His eyes widened in shock and his lips parted as if he were going to speak, but all that came out was an “Ohh…”

Oh. That was all he had. She fought back the urge to snap at him, realizing that he too needed time to process this. She’d known she was pregnant even before taking the test, so she’d had far more time to adjust to even the idea of a baby.

Give him time, she told herself.

Then, a sudden shift in his facial expression happened. The shocked and confused look disappeared and a glint appeared in his eyes. “Of course!” He blurted, smacking his head with his palm. “This explains so much!”

Now Lucy was the one confused. “What … what do you mean? How does it explain anything?”

“The mood swings, like worse than normal, the puking, how your more tired than usual, the boob thing ...”

“What boob thing?” she cut him off.

He shrugged. “They seemed bigger, but I just figured maybe it was me not realizing the actual size before. And also, your nipples are more sensitive. You know how you like it when I …”

“Okay!” She stopped him again. She withdrew the test from her purse. It was wrapped in toilet paper, so she carefully unrolled it and showed him. “See, two lines means pregnant.”

He took it from her and stared down at the stick with wide eyes. “Lucy … we’re going to have a baby. A fucking baby! My god, I knew we were going to have kids eventually, so I wasn’t expecting it now, but our kid is going to be the most amazing kid on the planet!”

He raised the test into the air as if he were lifting a trophy. “Fuck yeah!” he bellowed.

Lucy leaned back and laughed. “Well, I’m glad that you’re not upset about it, but we’re definitely going to have to work on our language. I’d like it if the kid wasn’t subjected to the word fuck about a hundred times a day.”

His head snapped her way, his eyes suddenly filled with hurt. “Did you think I would be mad?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t know how you would react, this is life changing, I mean … it’s a baby.”

In an instant, he had moved so that he was over the top of her, forcing her backward until her back was flush against the rock. His arms and legs were on either side of her, bracing his weight and caging her in. “I would never, ever be mad at you for this. I am just as much responsible for the actions that make a baby as you are. And aside from that, even though I’m a big fuck up, I don’t have a job, I don’t have any money, I don’t have anything to give this kid, I will be the best parent he could ever ask for.”

A lump formed in Lucy’s throat and tears welled in her eyes. “Jack …” she whispered. “I’m so scared, but this … I mean, your confidence about this means so much more than I can tell you.”

“I love you, Lucy Mae.” His dark eyes glittered with intensity. “You are mine forever and we were destined to have this child together.” He lowered himself down, keeping most of his weight off of her, but enough so that his body was flush against hers. He kissed her gently, and she felt her nerves sizzle as she parted her lips, letting his tongue find hers.

“I love you too.” She panted when he pulled back just the tiniest bit. “I’m sorry this happened right now.”

He lifted himself just enough so that he could meet her gaze again. “Don’t you ever be sorry for this … ever.” He punctuated the last word. “This is a fucking miracle. You. You and me. And now you and me and our baby. It’s meant to be.”

Nothing he could have said would have reassured her more. Tears spilled from the corners of her eyes and slid slowly down the side of her face.

“Don’t cry, baby.” He braced himself on one hand and with the other, he used his thumb to wipe the wetness away.

“I can’t help it, it’s just … I’m happy, but …”

“But nothing, it’s amazing.”

She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat and trying not to cry any more than she already was. “Yes.” She managed to get out, her voice low and hoarse. “It is.”

“He lowered himself down again and kissed her once more. At first, his lips were soft and tender, but then as the kiss deepened, it became more demanding. Without realizing it, she felt her hips rise up, searching for him. As if reading her mind, he used his knee and moved one of her legs, so that he could fit himself between them.

A moan escaped from within her and tingles of electric energy washed over her as Jack pressed his groin against her own. She cursed the fact that they were in a place where everyone could see them, she should have taken him home to their bedroom so she could rip all his clothes off and have mind blowing sex.

One of his fingers trailed down her neck, then to her shoulder and then over until he was cupping her tender breast in his hand and gently flicking her nipple through her bra. She let out a small cry and her hips jerked upward. She felt him smile beneath her lips and then he pulled away. “I want you. Let me have you, right here.”

Good lord she wanted him. Every single cell in her body wanted him inside of her. But she knew that they couldn’t, the fact that they could be seen wasn’t the only thing holding her back, there was one more topic they had to cover before they were able to go home.

Breathless and wanting, she forced herself to put her hands on his chest and push him away. “I … I want you, but we can’t right now.”

“Are you afraid someone will see us?” he teased, grinding his jean encased cock between her legs.

She moaned and turned her head away. “Stop … please.” She begged him, though it probably wasn’t very convincing because she was smiling.

With a sigh, he dropped a kiss on her lips and sat up on his knees. “Fine. But, when we get home, you’re mine.”

“Deal.” She grinned. “But now, we have to talk about the second order of business.”

His eyes narrowed. “Second order of business?”

“The attack, in the morning.”

“Yeah, you’re not going.”

“Jack …”

“Don’t even try.” He moved off of her so that he was once again sitting beside her. “There is no way in hell you are going into a dangerous situation like that with our baby inside you.”

“I have to go!”

He was shaking his head before she even finished her sentence. “Hell to the fucking no. Lucy, you have a life inside of you, if something happens …”

“I am the Chosen One, Jack, how am I supposed to be okay with sending everyone I love into a fight while I stay behind.”

He hopped off the rock and stood, towering over her. “I don’t give a flying fuck if you are okay with it or not, you’re not going.”

“Dammit, Jack!”

“Don’t. That is my baby inside you.” He pointed at her stomach. “Even if I despised you more than anyone on earth, which I don’t, I still wouldn’t let you take my child into a dangerous situation like that. End of story.”

She knew there wasn’t going to be anyway out of changing his mind. Furthermore, her sister was on board with her not going, which meant everyone else was going to feel the same way. “Son of a bitch.” She slapped the rock and proceeded to slide off of it. She bent and grabbed the pregnancy test that Jack had left sitting on the rock. “This isn’t fair.”

“And when you and our child die because you stupidly went into a fight we told you not to, then how fair do you think it will be. “Don’t be a dumbass, Lucy. You can’t do this.”

She snagged the toilet paper from the rock and began angrily wrapping the test back up. “I am not a dumbass.”

“I said don’t be one, not that you are.”

“Fine.” She shoved the test back into her purse and slung the strap over her shoulder. “Fucking fine!”

“Who needs to work on their language now?” Jack teased. “You know they say a baby can hear you from the womb.”

Lucy had begun stomping away as best she could on the rocky terrain. “How in the hell do you even know that?” She wouldn’t have thought Jack was the kind of person who would know the first thing about babies or pregnancy.

“I watch TV,” he shrugged and began to follow her over the rocks.

Lucy rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see her. She was just going to let that one go. They both had a lot of research to do on this whole pregnancy situation, that was one thing she knew for sure. Instead, she stopped in her tracks and waited for him to catch up. When he did, she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her.

“Thank you. Thank you for being so wonderful.”

He bent and kissed her. “You’re the wonderful one.” His hand moved between them and pressed against her belly. Then, a huge grin spread across his face. “Let’s go home and tell the aunts and uncles! They are going to be so stoked.”

Lucy laughed as he yanked her forward and lifted her into his arms, carrying her the rest of the way until they got to the trail leading up to the truck.

He stood at one of the windows of the farmhouse that faced the graveyard.

Leaning on the left hand side of the large picture window, he watched the souls as they shimmered in the early afternoon sunlight. They had no idea he was there. The soul was the entity, the actual life force of a person. The human form was just a shell that the soul occupied. And he … he could end the life of a soul forever.

He needed souls to live. It was part of who he was and that would never change. Reaping souls was as important as drinking water. Not only was the taking of a soul vital to his existence, the fact remained that he liked it.

When he took a soul into his own body, he felt everything become stronger and more alive, he just felt … better. It was similar to the high that one would feel when taking drugs, and that was the part he liked and craved. But unlike someone who simply used drugs for the rush and the high, without the souls he would die. That didn’t make it any less addictive than drugs, though, that was for sure.

They were so tempting, milling about out there, unaware that at any moment he could put an end to them. Even one … just one soul replenish him and take away this sluggish feeling that was only getting worse as each hour passed.

There was no time for that, though. Jack went to pick up Lucy, they needed to plan the attack and, furthermore, there had been strict orders from all the Keepers to stay away from their souls. However, none of this took away the simple fact that he was going to have to feed eventually, and it had to be before they left for the attack.

The serene silence of watching the souls in the graveyard was broken when his phone rang. The ringtone of the Empress assaulted his ears and he ripped his phone from his pocket, almost tempted to throw it on the floor and smash the damn thing with his boot.

He held it in his hand and stared at it for what felt like an eternity before he decided that it was best not to answer it. He waited for the ringing to end before letting out a long, slow breath. He was still holding onto the device when a beep signaled a voicemail.

He went into his messages and reluctantly clicked to listen to the one she’d left. It wouldn’t do him any good to ignore any clues she might be leaving as to what the Reapers were up to.

“Aiden.” Her high pitched voice snapped over the receiver. “I know what you have done. You, like my own son, have betrayed me. I should have seen this coming. In a way, I did see it, but I didn’t want to believe it after all the years of loyal service you have given my husband and I.

“I have instructed my men to come home, so any attempt on the compound will be fruitless. Yes … I know strategy and have anticipated your moves. So, go ahead and get comfortable with your precious Keepers. Their time will come and it will come when you least expect it. I am watching and I am waiting. Do not, for one moment, think that this is over. It will not be over until each and every Estmond Keeper, especially the Chosen One, are eliminated.

“You have chosen the wrong side, Aiden. You were once in a place that I held higher than almost anyone in the Reaper Army. And now, you have thrown that away. As I said before, go ahead, mingle with the enemy, and just when you think I’ve lost interest, I will strike.” She clicked off, ending the voicemail with those last, threatening words.

Aiden slowly closed out of his messages and stared at his phone. Threats from the Empress were never anything to ignore, but he couldn’t be sure if she was telling the truth about backing off for the time being. He needed to let the Keepers know.

He found Greg in the kitchen with James, Dan, David and Ethan. “Where are the girls?” Aiden asked when he strode in.

Dan narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

“Good lord, man. I just got a message from the Empress. I thought you all should hear it.” He glared at Dan and shook his head.

Greg tapped the table in front of him. “Let’s hear it. Steph is sleeping and Hannah is at her house. Said she had to shower and then she’d be over.”

Aiden set the phone on the table in the center of everyone and pushed play on the message. The voice of the Empress filled the room and all the Keepers listened with interest. When it was over, Greg’s eyes flicked to Aiden. “You know her best. Do you think she’s telling the truth about calling the men back?”

“I don’t know. Probably, but I’m still going to go over there and check it out.”

David nodded. “I agree, it’s best to make sure. We don’t want to just assume and let it go.”

A sudden thought had Aiden grabbing for his phone again. “I have an idea. Give me two minutes.” He speed dialed Alma’s cell number and waited for her to answer.

“Aiden!” Her voice drifted through the receiver. “I am so glad you called.”

“Is everything all right … are you all right?”

“I am fine. Everyone came here and in a rush, packed their things and left.”

“Are you in trouble? Are they making you say that?” Aiden asked in a whisper.

She scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. No one makes me do anything.”

“Now that I can believe.” He laughed. “Seriously though, do you know anything about where they went or what they’re doing. Did they say anything about a plan?”

“I know nothing. They came and they packed up and then left.”

Aiden turned away from the curious eyes of the Keepers and lowered his voice. “Okay. Alma, here’s the deal. I am really hoping it’s all okay over there. But, if anything happens or you need help or something, our code word is enchiladas, okay.”

The older woman burst out laughing.

“What? It’s a good code word.”

He could hear her inhale deeply through the receiver as she tried to calm her laughter. “Yes, yes, it’s a good code word. Forgive me, but I’m a little excited that we even have a code word at all.”

“I think you should probably leave the compound, Alma.”

Silence filled the space between them for a moment and finally she spoke. “You truly think I might be in danger.”

“I just don’t want you in the middle of a cross fire if anything should happen.”

“But … no one is here. I don’t know what could possibly happen.”

Aiden sighed. “Please, Alma.”

“Aiden, I am not going anywhere. At this moment I do not feel threatened.”

“Alma …”

She sighed. “All right, I will agree to leave if I think anything is wrong. Okay.”

He would have felt more comfortable with her leaving the compound and going to stay with her family where she would be safe. But, if he knew one thing in the short time he’d known her, it was that she was stubborn. “Okay, fine. Just call me if you need anything … anything at all.”

“I will,” she assured him. After a short pause, her voice came across more stern. “You be careful, you hear. I don’t know exactly what’s going on and I don’t want to, but keep yourself safe as well.”

“Of course I will,” he responded. “Remember, enchiladas.”

“Enchiladas,” she repeated. “Now go on and do what you have to do. I’ll be okay.”

“Okay.”

“Good boy. I’ll talk to you soon.” With that, she hung up. Aiden clicked his phone off and turned to the group. He found every single pair of eyes staring at him, shocked expressions on their faces.

“What?” he scowled. “I do have feelings.”

Greg shook his head. “It’s just that … we didn’t expect … you just seem emotionless most of the time.”

“Most of the time I am.”

“That was nice, what you did,” Greg told him.

Dan, on the other hand, leaned forward and raised his eyebrow, “Who’s Alma?”

Aiden shrugged. Normally, he wasn’t the type of guy to discuss things he cared about, and now here he was, shooting the shit with a bunch of Keepers. “She’s the housekeeper and cook at the compound. I haven’t known her that long, but she isn’t involved with any of this and doesn’t deserve to be caught in the middle.”

“Well,” Greg rose from the table and crossed the room to the fridge. “I have to say it was actually a revealing moment to see a softer side of you, Reaper.”

Aiden’s muscles tensed. “Well, don’t get used to it.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Greg pulled a bottle of water from the fridge, closed the door and then turned to face Aiden, unscrewing the cap as he spoke. “Can our safe word … I mean code word be enchiladas too?”

“Look at you, Keeper, embracing your inner asshole.”

James leaned back in his chair. “That sounds super dirty.”

“This conversation has gone way beyond my expectations,” David mumbled, shoving his chair back and standing. “I’m going to check in at work, I’ll be back.”

“You can’t run from this kind of crazy, we’re your family now!” James shouted after him.

Just then, every single cellphone sounded in a unified melody of different tones.

David reached for his phone and swiftly spun back around. “I am guessing that means I’m not going anywhere.”

Along with everyone else, Aiden swiped at the screen of his phone and opened the text. It was a group message from Lucy.

Family meeting in 20. Farmhouse.

A series of groans sounded and then, another round of buzzing and beeping echoed through the room. When Aiden glanced down at his phone he saw that James had responded to his sister’s message with the poop emoji.

Then, yet another chorus of phones announced a text as Lucy sent a middle finger emoji.

“Okay!” Greg shut his eyes. “No one respond! I’m going to wake up Steph for the meeting. Someone start some coffee.”

Aiden couldn’t help but smile. This family was totally nuts.

“I’m heading out now.” Liv collected the box of doughnuts and slipped her purse over her shoulder. “Are you going to be all right here?”

“Of course,” Amy replied, as she carefully lowered an empty coffee pot into the sink.

“You sure?”

“Don’t worry, I got this,” she assured Liv in an exasperated voice. “Now get out of here.”

“Okay, okay! I’m going. Call me if you need anything.”

“Everything is fine. Stop worrying.”

“All right, I’m really going now,” she said with a laugh as she headed for the door.

Once she’d gotten Lucy’s group message, she knew that everything had gone well with her telling Jack. She knew that was what the family meeting was about, but she still had to be there since there was going to be talk of the upcoming attack.

Everyone but Lucy and Jack were already waiting in the kitchen when she arrived at the house. She pushed open the door and found the room packed. People were leaning on the counter, sitting at the table and had brought in chairs from the dining room to sit. “Here.” She set the box in the center of the table. “I brought these. I hope there’s coffee to go with them.”

Dan and James both jumped forward, trying to snag the box, but Dan got there first. “I love it when you bring home treats.” He eyed the choices with longing eyes.

Liv reached over and plucked one of the Dutch apple muffins from the box and turned to Aiden, who stood by himself in the corner of the room. She strode across the room to him, well aware that his eyes were following her as she did. She held the muffin out to him in offering and told him, “Don’t say I never did anything for you.”

He accepted the gift, his eyes softening just the slightest bit. “Thanks.” He held onto it as if he didn’t know what to do with it. “And just so you know, I’d couldn’t accuse you of never doing anything for me. I’m living in your house. I think that qualifies as doing a lot for me.”

Liv was starting to get him. She definitely still had her doubts, because he was a Reaper, after all. But, he was always this complete asshole and then he had softer moments where she could see a little bit of the real person that was in there.

“Your staring at me.”

Quickly, she stepped back and shook her head. “Oh … sorry.”

“Thank you for this.” He held up the muffin. “They’re my favorite.”

“We had them on hand.” She nodded. “It was no big deal.” And then, she pivoted away so that she was facing the rest of the family again.

In that moment, she realized that Aiden made her nervous. Not like she thought he would hurt her, but the kind of nervous that she hadn’t felt for a really long time. She still despised Aiden simply for being a Reaper. She hated him for kidnapping her sister, and the fact that he was a complete jerk most of the time didn’t help. Still, all that aside, there were these times when she felt a shimmer of a connection with him, and that scared her more than anything else he had ever done.

She shook off the thoughts fast when her sister burst through the door with Jack directly behind her. “Oh good. You’re all here.”

“Luce, if this is about the attack, we have new information,” Greg started to explain.

She shook her head. “No, this doesn’t have anything to do with that. Well … it does, but not right now. I’ll get to that.”

Jack’s arm slid around her waist and pulled her a little closer, as if sensing she needed the extra support. Lucy leaned against him and then tilted her head up to look at him. After that her eyes met Liv’s. Liv gave her an encouraging nod and then Lucy began. “I … I guess there is no easy way to say this.”

“We’re having a baby!” Jack shouted before Lucy could ease the announcement to the family.

For one long moment, the room fell deadly still. Mouths dropped, eyes widened, but no one uttered a word. Jack had a smile the size of the Grand Canyon across his face and Lucy’s eyes were flicking from person to person, hoping to gauge what they were feeling from their expressions.

Then, Hannah slapped the table and stood up. “I knew it! I knew you were pregnant.” She shoved her chair out and lunged for her sister. “I’m happy for you. A baby is never anything to be sad about.”

Lucy returned her sister’s hug, closing her eyes. “But, it sort of is. We are in the middle of a war with the Reapers and I’m the Chosen One, I’m the one they are gunning for.”

“You have all of us,” Greg reassured her. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”

“You’re all okay with this?” Lucy asked in a soft voice. “I … I don’t even know how okay I am with it, but I need you all on board.”

Dan glared and wiped his hands on is jeans. “We’re always on board. That isn’t even a question. Did you actually think any one of us wouldn’t support you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Liv had been standing beside the refrigerator with her arms crossed in front of her. Hearing the uncertainty in her sister’s voice, she went to her and wrapped her arms around her. “That is something you will never, ever have to worry about. We are always here for you. Estmond power, remember. We are stronger together.

Lucy rolled her eyes at the term they had used when they were younger. “This isn’t like I made the decision to get a new car or change jobs, this is a baby.”

“We said we’re here for you and we’re okay with it, so what else do you want from us?”

“Dan!” Steph slapped at him. “Knock that off.”

“What? It’s true. I’m not going to sit here and tell her the same thing over and over again.”

James shook his head, taking sides with his twin. “You’re a dick.”

Dan shrugged as if he didn’t care one bit.

Liv caught Jack exchanging a knowing look with Aiden. Aiden executed the slightest bit of a nod, acknowledging whatever it was that Jack told him with his eyes.

“So what this means,” Lucy continued, “Is that Jack …” She moved her gaze to Liv, “And Liv, have suggested that I not be allowed to go infiltrate the Napa house.”

“It wasn’t a suggestion,” Jack told her. “You’re not going.”

“I just don’t feel right letting all of you put yourselves in danger while I sit here and wait, hoping that you all come home.”

Greg cleared his throat and tossed a knowing look to Aiden. Liv watched the exchange and knew another curve ball had just been tossed. “Okay, what is it now?” she demanded.

“Aiden got a call from the Empress,” Greg explained.

Everyone who hadn’t been in the kitchen when Aiden played the message earlier swung their heads toward him expectantly.

“Hey, I didn’t answer it.” He responded to their curious stares. Then, he dug around in his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Here’s the message.” He set the phone to speaker and played the message for everyone to hear again.

After hearing what the Empress had to say, Liv knew she should feel relieved, but she didn’t. She was furious. She wanted this crap to be over with, not to sit around and wonder when the Reapers were going to strike again. As much as she hated the fact that there might be more killing, she wanted to go over to the mansion and eliminate them … she just wanted her family and her home to be safe again.

“I think she’s bluffing.” Hannah was the first one to speak, her voice soft. “I don’t believe for a second she’s going to pull her men back. That woman is relentless.”

Aiden tilted his head. “She is that, but she also has an Army, a guard who trains for situations like this and they would advise her of our retaliation, and thus pull the men back. You went after the mansion before, why wouldn’t you do it again?”

Greg nodded. “This is true. But, I stand by the earlier decision that we still go check it out.”

“Remember …” Aiden started to say something but Greg cut him off before he could get it out.

“We know. Alma is still there. We’ll be careful she doesn’t get hurt if anything should happen.”

Liv shifted her eyes back and forth between her brother and Aiden. Who in the hell was Alma and why was Aiden so worried about her. From what she knew, Aiden didn’t have any ties anywhere.

Her eyes drifted to the others and she saw that all the guys seemed to understand what Greg was referring to, the girls on the other hand, appeared just as lost as she was.

Lucy was the one to ask the question, though. She spread her hands wide and turned to Aiden, “Okay … who is Alma?”

Liv watched as Aiden’s body visibly tensed, but he seemed to push away any emotion before he replied. “She’s the housekeeper at the compound. She doesn’t have anything to do with any of this and I don’t want her caught in the middle of it.”

Lucy had obviously been expecting a different answer because her stern expression melted and a soft, “oh,” slipped from her lips. “That’s nice that you would worry about her.”

With a sigh, Aiden shook his head. “I don’t know why everyone is making such a big deal out of this, I just don’t want innocent people to get hurt.”

Seriously! Liv felt her skin flush with anger as she remembered some of the things he’d done. Before she knew what was happening, her mouth was moving. “That never seemed to bother you before.”

Aiden’s head swiveled toward her and his emerald gaze bore down into her. “No, it didn’t.”

“But suddenly it does now?” She couldn’t stop herself, why did she care anyway, he was trying to protect an innocent person, that was a good thing.

“For fucks sake, Liv, there is nothing wrong with me wanting to protect an old woman who is completely clueless about any of this.”

He was right. He was totally right. She was being an asshole.

However, backing down wasn’t one of her strong suits and admitting she was being an asshole was a whole lot harder than being one. “I’m sorry if it’s hard for me to believe that you actually care. You hurt innocent people for a living, Aiden.”

“I’m not arguing with you about this right now.” He practically growled the words.

“Okay!” Jack held up his hands. “Point being, we need to go to the compound. Obviously, I have to go since I know the place better than anyone. Who else is going. Not to take leadership position or anything, but I want several people to stay back with Lucy.”

Liv’s hand shot up. “I’m going.”

She needed to go. She needed to see that they were either gone, or if they weren’t gone, she needed to be able to fight for what she loved.

In the end, it was decided that she would go and the rest of the team would be the guys. Greg, Jack, Ethan, James, Dan and Aiden. It was a good choice. Hannah couldn’t risk any more attention on her should something happen that they were caught by law enforcement, which was the same reason David needed to stay. Steph didn’t even want to go. She’d said that she would rather stay with Lucy, just in case anything happened at the house.

“Okay.” Greg circled the kitchen table. “Tomorrow morning, we leave before dawn.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, though none of them appeared anywhere near excited about it. The next hour was spent going over strategy plans for getting into the compound and what would happen after. They covered several different scenarios and what they would do should those situations come upon them.

After a while, Dan stretched, his stupid trench coat fanning out around him. “This has been one long ass day. I need another nap.” He withdrew his flask from the wide pocket of the jacket and unscrewed the top as he made for the door that led to the living room. “See you pansies later.”

Liv absolutely hated that Dan was that dependent on alcohol, they were all going to have to plan an intervention if he didn’t stop soon. She knew he still faced pain and anguish every single day, but he had to get over it. He just had to.

“Well …” Jack pulled Lucy close to his side. “I think we need another nap, too.”

Lucy slapped at his arm and then tilted her head up to gaze at him. “I am pretty tired.”

“You don’t sound tired,” James said with a snort, scooting his chair out so he could stand. “Greg, let’s go work on the weapons and start prepping.”

Jack gently urged Lucy toward the door, winking at James on his way out.

“That is so gross. Why is he so open about that stuff?”

Hannah shrugged. “I don’t like it either, but it could be worse I guess.”

“Five minutes ago, everyone wanted to kick his ass if he even looked at her sideways,” James argued.

“Yeah, and now I’m going to be an aunt, and Jack is my niece or nephews dad. It’s obvious that he is here to stay, so we just need to get used to how he is.”

James rolled his eyes. “It’s still … ugh.” He faked a shutter to display his disgust.

Liv knew she couldn’t hang out here with them for the rest of the afternoon and evening. It was too loud and crazy. “I’m going home,” Liv announced and glanced at Aiden, “Are you staying here?”

He nodded, his gaze not meeting hers. “Yeah, for a little while, but later I have some stuff I have to take care of.” He didn’t offer to explain further, so Liv determined that it had to do with taking souls and that was not something she even wanted to think about.

“All right, I’ll be at the house. I’ll see you all later.” She waved at her family.

“Thanks for the doughnuts, Sis,” Greg called after her.

She raised her hand and absently waved again without responding.

Aiden couldn’t help but follow Liv with his eyes as she left. He had disappointed her. He knew that. Once upon a time, like yesterday, he didn’t give a crap about what anyone thought. Now, here he was, all worried because he thought she might be upset with him.

What a fucking pansy.

He needed to get over that and get his shit together. They had a mission to go on and hopefully there wouldn’t be any fighting. But if there was, he needed to be in soldier mode. Emotions, he was learning, were just not for him.

He’d planned on asking Jack if he wanted to go with him to find souls, but after that little announcement and how he and Lucy had run off, he realized he was on his own.

Speaking of which, he could not believe Jack was going to be a father. The guy could barely take care of himself. He seemed happy about it and that was a good thing, but he couldn’t imagine how hard it was going to get for those two now, especially Lucy.

The family began to disperse from the kitchen, each heading off to take care of whatever tasks they needed to tend to or to sleep. Finally, he and Ethan were the only ones left in the room.

Ethan eyed him warily, obviously still unsure of Aiden’s presence. All he really knew about this Keeper was that he wasn’t blood related, but that the Estmonds had practically raised him. He was also Lucy’s best friend.

It hadn’t escaped his attention that Ethan had stronger feelings for Lucy than Lucy had for him. It was written all over his face when he looked at her. He seemed to accept that anything between him and Lucy would never happen, but it was hard not to feel bad for the guy, Aiden was not like most people. He could shut his emotions on and off … well, usually he could, but not all people could do that and this poor kid was in love with a girl who was someone else’s soul mate.

“Later,” Ethan grumbled as he pushed through the kitchen door and disappeared before Aiden could respond.

Before he stepped into the living room, he took a long look around and let out a sigh. When had this become his life?

He found James and Greg going through weapons and let them know that he was leaving. They had both heard him answer Liv, earlier, so neither of them asked where he was going or when he’d be back. They both simply waved and said goodbye.

As he passed through the living room, Jack was just bounding down the stairs. “Hey, bro, where are you going?”

He bypassed the question for now. “I thought you were napping.”

Jack shook his head, his dark locks had grown longer and some of the strands fell into his eyes. “Nah, Lucy shot me down. I guess she actually wanted to sleep.”

Aiden smiled. “She’s going to be tired a lot.”

“How the hell do you know.”

“I don’t.” Aiden shrugged. “I haven’t been around pregnant women much at all, but from what I know there are these things.” He held up his fingers so that he could tick them off. “They are always tired, they have strange cravings, they always have to pee and there will be mood swings.”

Jack’s eyes widened. “Shit, worse than what she has already?”

“Yup. Like I said, I don’t know much, but that’s what I’ve heard.”

A voice carried through the room, cutting them off. “My god.” Steph was shaking her head. “You two are like children discussing where babies come from. Do my sister, and yourself, a favor and go buy some books on pregnancy please.”

Aiden nodded, clapping his friend on the shoulder. “That’s a good idea.”

Steph continued to pass through the room into the kitchen, shaking her head and muttering something along the lines of dumbasses.

“Hey.” Aiden leaned over to Jack and whispered. “Do you want to come with me. I’m going out of town so that I can feed.”

His friend’s eyes took on a lustful shine as the thought of taking a soul crossed his mind. “Yeah.” Jack also kept his voice low. “I do need the strength. Give me two minutes to let Lucy know and then I’ll be right down. I’ll take you to where I have been going.” Jack turned and bounded up the stairs.

While he waited for Jack, he turned on the SUV and waited for the air to cool off inside before getting in. He was happy Jack was coming with him. They didn’t talk about it because it wasn’t manly and rugged, but he hadn’t had any time alone with his friend to talk about everything that had happened with both of their lives. It had been go, go, go, something always happening and during all of this he’d spent more time alone with Keepers than he had with Jack.

Finally, Jack appeared on the porch, closing the old farmhouse door softly behind him. He jogged over and met Aiden at the SUV, circling to the passenger side. “Okay, I’ll tell you which way to go.”

They both got in the vehicle and drove about a half an hour, while Jack gave directions.
“So,” Aiden began, between Jack pointing out where they needed to go. “How are you feeling about this baby thing?”

Jack shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s happening and it can’t be reversed, so I choose to be happy about it.”

“But, man … a baby.”

Jack sighed. “I know. I sure as hell didn’t plan on kids for … well, I’d never planned on kids. And right now isn’t exactly the best time to be family planning, but it’s a done deal.”

Aiden glanced at his friend out of the corner of his eye. “You’re going to have to get a job. You can’t raise a kid on your good looks.”

“I know,” Jack responded thoughtfully, “I’ve already thought of that. It’s just sort of hard right now, with everything going on. Turn here.”

“Well, man, I’m happy for you. Seriously. I’m just worried.”

Jack let out a small laugh. “Believe me, I’m worried too. This is a complete fucking surprise and I wasn’t prepared for anything like it.”

Their conversation came to an abrupt end when they arrived at a cemetery that had a large iron gate and was surrounded by woods. Jack directed Aiden to bypass the parking lot and park a little further down the road.

Aiden nodded as he inspected Jack’s choice. They needed the cover of the trees to keep anyone who might be passing by from seeing them. A regular person who caught sight of a Reaper feeding might think that they were glimpsing a person who was possessed, or possibly interpretive dancing. They could see the Reaper, but not the soul.

“Are there any Keeper’s here?” Aiden asked, staring through the windshield.

“Of course there is.” Jack pushed open his door and stepped out. “There is always a Keeper. We need to just be fast and then get the hell out of here.”

With a silent nod, Aiden agreed. The last thing he wanted right now was an altercation with a Keeper. But, just in case, he removed his gun from the holster at his hip and checked the clips. Seeing the magazine was full, he replaced it into the weapon and holstered it. He also had his knife at his other hip. He truly was hoping for no fighting, but better safe than sorry.

He followed Jack as he entered the woods bordering the cemetery. Carefully and quietly, they crept through the broken tree branches and the burnt orange and yellow leaves that had fallen with the season and now covered the floor of the earth.

It wasn’t long and they emerged in what appeared to be the far corner of the cemetery where the really old tombstones were. Now days, you got a fancy carved marble or granite headstone that looked just like everyone else’s. Long ago, they had markers of all different kinds, each displaying something different about the person it stood there for. Well, if you were wealthy or important you got that type of headstone. If you were poor, then you were shit out of luck and lucky to get a homemade cross. In fact, many people weren’t even buried in cemeteries. Families had their own plots located on their own land. Or, the people who cared about you just dug a hole, threw you in and covered you up.

The souls were plentiful. Even in the daylight their shimmering blue mist could be seen floating over the grounds. He felt his heartbeat skip as his body acknowledged the presence of what it needed.

“Let’s do this,” Jack whispered. Though he appeared anxious, Aiden heard the resentment in his voice. Jack had never liked taking an entire soul. His friend had always preferred taking a little bit from living people. Aiden figured it made him feel less like a murderer and more like a regular person.

Reapers would never be regular people, that much was for sure. Jack could play house with the Keepers all he wanted, but none of that changed that he was always going to have to feed on souls. There was also the chance that his child would be born with that basic Reaper need as well, or perhaps Lucy’s Keeper bloodline would cancel it out. They wouldn’t be able to tell until long after the baby was born, but it was half Reaper so the chances were definitely there.

He watched Jack go his own way to one side of the graveyard and then he scanned the blue mist for a soul that seemed easy prey. He found one, floating beside a towering headstone almost as tall as he was. The swirling fog of the soul gathered together into what was almost a sphere, and then the shimmering ball of light pulsed in and out as if it were a beating heart.

He scanned the area, checking for any signs of the Keeper for this graveyard. He waited and saw no one. If there was a Keeper here, they weren’t in the immediate area. Using soft steps, he proceeded to creep carefully toward the soul.

The soul did not detect him as he continued to move closer. When he near enough, he extended his arms, reaching toward it. The connection between himself and the soul clicked almost instantaneously and the soul was trapped in his invisible grasp. The sphere pulsed harder and faster, its light brightened and dimmed with fear as it realized what was happening.

A sudden thought wedged its way into his mind. Was this painful for them? For the souls?

He knew that the body of a Reaper absorbed the soul, so he assumed that they were gone forever after that. But, the visual of a soul silently screaming was now firmly implanted in his brain.

Dammit.

Before all this bullshit with the Keepers, he had never thought of the souls as actual people or anything more than what he needed to live. But lately, he had begun to feel like he was doing something wrong. Not that it would stop him. He would always need to take souls, but he wanted these feelings to go the fuck away and let him do what he had to do.

Pushing all those images and feelings aside, he brought the soul closer to him and his lips parted, letting his nature take over. The moment the blue mist passed over his lips he felt a surge of energy wave through him. As the soul absorbed throughout his body he felt himself immediately growing stronger. All the weakness he’d been feeling evaporated and all the hunger he had felt was finally sated.

Why did he wait so long since the last time he’d taken a soul? Why would he put himself through the withdrawal of not having that lifeforce inside of him?

“Hey.” Jack’s urgent whisper cut through his thoughts. “We have to go.”

Aiden turned and found his friend beside him. The look on Jack’s face had him reaching to his hip for his gun.

Jack shook his head. “No, let’s just go. Right now.” He said the second part with more inflection. Aiden didn’t need to ask what it was, he already knew, a Keeper was coming. So, like pansies … they ran.

Back at the SUV, they bolted to their sides of the vehicle, yanked open the doors and threw themselves inside. Aiden rammed the key into the ignition and flipped the key. As soon as the engine roared to life, he shoved the rig into drive and hit the gas, flipping a U-turn and heading back the way they had come.

“Whew.” Jack breathed out when they were back on the highway. “That was fucking close.”

Aiden checked the rearview mirror. “I didn’t even see anything.”

“He was coming.”

“I believe you. I’m just saying …” He trailed off, not knowing what he actually was saying.

They rode in comfortable silence until Jack broke the silence. “You seem different the last few days.”

Aiden turned his head away from the road and threw his friend an incredulous look. “Seriously? I seem different!”

“Yeah. Man, it’s not an insult, why are you so pissed?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Aiden shot back. “Maybe because my whole fucking life is falling apart and I have to run away like a little bitch, and now to make matters even worse, I have to live with a bunch of Keepers who hate my guts. I am literally living out of bags and I don’t know how any of this shit happened.”

“They don’t hate you, and we are going to fix this. It’s only temporary.”

“It’s not temporary. I can never go back.”

He didn’t look at Jack, but he could feel Jack’s eyes on him. “You can if my mother isn’t in the equation anymore.”

Aiden snorted at the idea. “Right.”

“All we have been talking about is how to avoid her. But, now … with Lucy pregnant, I won’t risk her taking any of that away.”

“I don’t think …” Aiden started to speak but Jack cut him off.

“Oh, don’t think for a moment that I wouldn’t. You think I’m protective of Lucy? Up until now, that has been nothing compared to what would happen if someone messes with my kid. I will kill them without thinking twice about it, and that includes my own mother.”

“Look, I know how you are about Lucy, but your mom?”

“You know that my mother wouldn’t blink an eye to take me out, and I’m her son. Imagine what happens if she finds out about the baby.”

Aiden nodded. Camille Walker was hard as ice and wouldn’t care one iota if Lucy was pregnant, she would probably want to kill her even more than she already did. “Yeah. I understand. So how are you going to go about this.”

“I don’t know. I’m just tired of living in fear and it makes it worse that it’s my own mother. If she’s out of the picture, maybe I still have a chance to take over, to … you know, rule.”

“I highly doubt that you would be accepted as Emperor. And besides, your father is still hanging on and even though he’s dying, he’s still the Emperor,” Aiden reluctantly explained.

“We could try,” Jack offered, “It’s the only way to ensure that Lucy and the baby remain safe.”

“While I agree that your mother being out of the picture would create a safer environment, the whole, now I want to rule, thing, won’t work. You can’t renounce your family and your title and then expect the Reaper society to simply accept you back. You betrayed them, they all know it and they won’t let it go.” He glanced over at Jack to see how he would take that news.

“Okay, fine. Then forget that part. I just want to end all of this.”

Nothing was going to end this. Reapers and Keepers were natural born enemies and would always be at odds. Lucy was the Chosen One, the one who was prophesied to bring forth an end to the Reapers. Therefore, the Reapers would never stop trying to put an end to her.

“We all want it to end. But, this shit is forever man. You know that. As long as she exists, the Reapers will keep coming for her, no matter what.”

Aiden pulled into the Estmond’s driveway and parked, then turned to glance at his friend. “We will figure it out. There has to be a way to end this.”

He watched as Jack glared through the windshield, staring at the yellow farmhouse in which he now lived. Finally, Jack nodded and pulled the handle on the door to get out. “There is a way to end it. And it starts with my mother.” He pulled the handle and got out of the SUV, “Thanks for taking me with. I’ll see you in there.”

Aiden shook his head. “Nah, I think I’m going to head over to the bar for a little while. I need something stronger than beer right now.”

“Okay. But don’t get too fucked up or Greg and the rest of the posse will yell at you. Believe me, I know.” With that, he spun in the gravel and headed for the porch, his boots crunching the gravel as he walked.

Aiden watched him until he had entered the house and closed the door behind him, and then he reversed and backed out of the driveway.

He arrived at the bar just as everyone was getting off of work or something. The place was packed. He pushed open the door and shoved his way through the mass of people holding drinks and shouting at each other over the music.

Reese, the pretty dark haired bar tender, made eye contact with him as he approached the bar and offered him a slight nod. She was currently pouring beer from the tap into glasses so he found a free stool at the bar and sat down to wait.

When she finished delivering the beers to a bunch of loud guys at the other end of the bar, she made her way over to him. “Hey, Jack’s friend.”

“Hey, sexy bar tender,” he responded.

Her lips curled into a smile. “Your admiration can be displayed in the form of big tips. What can I get you?”

Tilting his head, Aiden examined the woman. She was exceptionally attractive. Her long chestnut hair fell down her back in waves and she had long bangs with curls that hung down around her eyes. His intuition told him that she wasn’t one of those who would be easy to get into bed. He sensed a hardness underneath that soft appearance. “I’ll have a jack and coke, double the jack.”

She nodded and turned to grab the bottle off the shelf behind her, then bent to get a glass from beneath the bar. “So, what brings you into this fine establishment this evening?” she asked as she poured the amber liquid over a layer of ice cubes.

He shrugged. “Needed a drink? This place has booze.”

Finishing his drink she slid it toward him and leaned over a little. “A double Jack usually means something is bothering a person.”

Aiden raised an eyebrow as she straightened.

“But, what do I know, I’m just a little ole bar tender,” she finished, grabbing a bar rag and wiping the area in front of her.

Was she flirting with him or was she like this with everyone? He had zero clue to answer that question. Everything this woman did seemed enticing and flirtatious, yet at the same time, she had this ‘do not fuck with me or I will gut you’ air about her.

He liked that.

“There is plenty bothering me. I lead a problematic lifestyle,” he responded before sipping his drink.

She nodded knowingly. “Hmmm … so, it’s not woman troubles.” She tilted her head as she examined him. “I see … your stressed out about something, you haven’t slept much and you have conflicting emotions about whatever it is that your stressed out about. The angel and the devil are on your shoulders, fighting for control.”

Even with the lack of emotion and training to keep a straight face during certain situations, Aiden felt his lips part as his jaw fell open. For a moment he only stared at her in shock.

“I’m right then?” she asked with a smile.

He closed his mouth and fixed his eyes into a glare. “How in the hell would you know any of that?”

She shrugged. “It’s my job.”

“No, that’s a fortune tellers job.” He finished off his drink in one long guzzle.

“This job, we see and hear many stories. We learn the expressions and the postures, the drinks that go with different feelings. Even as a child I used to sit here with my father and listen to him talk to the customers. I watched and I learned, and now my daddy is gone and I am the one who is here for my people.”

He nodded. “So, it’s more than a job … it’s your calling.”

“I suppose. I imagine I would have to have some natural talent of reading and empathizing with people, but a great deal of this was learned simply observing all my life.”

He pushed his empty glass toward her. “I can’t say I exactly like it that you can read me, but I think it’s cool you’re good at what you do.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“But, I’m still not talking about my problems with a stranger,” he finished.

Behind him he heard someone entering the bar. Reese waved at the newcomers and then turned her attention back to him for a moment. “That’s okay, I have other customers who will tell me their deep dark secrets.”

Curious, Aiden turned to see who she was waving at and was surprised to see Liv entering the establishment. He was also shocked to see that she was alone. He would have assumed that at least one of her brothers or sisters would be with her.

She waved at Reese and caught sight of him staring at her. Her eyes darkened and she smiled weakly, offering him a wave as well. After pushing her way through the crowd between the door and the bar, she appeared beside him.

She was tired. Darkness shaded the space beneath her eyes and her skin didn’t seem as radiant as it normally was. She had her red hair tied up into a messy bun atop her head with a few tendrils falling down around her eyes. “Hey.” She greeted him, wedging her way into the space beside him.

Reese stepped up to the bar on the other side of them. “Liv, good to see you.” Then, she turned her head slightly and glared at the man on the stool beside Liv. “Rog, don’t be an asshole, offer your seat to the lady.”

Surprised, Rog snapped his head toward Reese. He had been chatting with the guy on the other side of him. “Oh … uh, sorry Reese. Olivia, here, take my seat.”

“That’s okay…” Liv tried to decline, but Reese cut her off.

“Thank you, Rog. What a gentleman.” She wiped at the counter as she spoke.

When Rog had vacated his chair and Liv was sitting on it, Reese let out a long breath. “Okay, now what can I get you.”

“Something strong,” Liv told her, “I don’t care what it is.”

Reese moved her eyes between Liv and Aiden, flicking back and forth from one to the other. And then, with a mischievous glint in her dark brown eyes, she bent to get a glass from beneath the bar. “Coming right up.”

Why in the hell was Reese looking at her like that? It wasn’t as if she’d never stopped in for a drink before. She turned to Aiden while Reese poured her drink. “I’m surprised to see you here.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “It was an ‘I need something stronger than beer’ kind of day. What about you, same?”

Liv considered before speaking and then leaned in toward him a little. “That and I couldn’t sleep. I went home and tried, but …”

“I get it,” Aiden told her before she could go on.

She was glad he didn’t want her to explain. Not only was she stressed out about everything going on, guilt over killing that Reaper was beginning to eat at her. “Thanks,” she murmured as Reese pushed a drink toward her. “What is this?”

Her longtime friend smiled and tilted her head. “Don’t ask, just give me your money.”

“I’ve got her drinks.” Aiden stood up and pulled his wallet out.

“I can pay for my own booze, Re…Aiden.”

He rolled his eyes as he threw some cash on the bar. “I have her drinks,” he repeated. “And keep the change.”

Reese grabbed the bills and opened the register. “If the man wants to pay for your drinks, let him.”

“Well,” Liv raised the glass that Reese had given her. “Here’s to getting some sleep.” Aiden clinked his glass to hers and they both proceeded to guzzle down their drinks.

“Damn,” Reese set her hands on her hips, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “I don’t even need any other customers with you two around. If you keep drinking like that, I could just stand here and fill your drinks all night long.”

“Only one more for me.” Liv pushed her glass forward and Reese smiled knowingly. It wasn’t uncommon for Liv to come in for a drink or two, but it was a rare occurrence that she ever got drunk at the bar. Those days of getting so shit faced that she couldn’t walk, much less drive herself home, were far behind her.

Reese finished mixing the drinks and slid them across the bar. “Thanks.” Liv accepted hers.

Aiden made a face and plucked the cherry Reese had placed on top of the ice cubes out of his drink. He pinched the stem between his finger and thumb, and held it up. “What is this shit?” he demanded.

The bartender had moved down the bar by several people and was currently pulling the caps off of a couple of beers. “I thought you needed something sweet with all that bite.”

Aiden let go of the cherry and it plopped back down into the liquid. “Is that so?”

Liv rolled her eyes as Aiden’s lips curled up into a smile. He probably thought Reese was flirting with him. She very well may have been. Reese knew how to charm people, both men and women alike. She was a badass, though. A woman who spoke her mind and didn’t let anyone give her any shit. Everyone knew not to mess with Reese. But, she was also a very pretty woman who ran a bar for a living, which meant she had to emanate just the right amount of flirt to keep the tips coming.

Reese continued to serve to her customers and didn’t bother responding to Aiden, so he went to work on his drink.

Liv stirred her drink with the tiny red straw that floated between the ice cubes. The fact that she was sitting here next to Aiden, a Reaper, was still incredibly strange to her. He was also currently living in her house, and that was something she had never, ever, thought would be one of her problems.

She still couldn’t trust him, even after all the things he’d done to help her family. The bad things people do in life always outweigh the positive. She knew that he loved Jack, that much was clear. But until the Empress forced him out, he had been loyal to her. It was hard to believe that he could change sides so quickly.

What made all of this even harder was the fact that this Reaper was smoking hot and when he looked at her, she felt as if his gaze could strip her naked, exposing everything, including her emotions.

When it came to men, her life consisted of short term relationships and one-night stands. Living in a small town and being a Keeper definitely whittled down her options as far as dating went. So, she’d learned over time that relationships wouldn’t last. She couldn’t tell anyone about the family secret and explaining why she often had to be out all night, plus occasional bruises, made it hard to maintain any kind of relationship. This left her lonely quite often and she had gotten used to that.

But, she still had needs and sometimes a girl needed physical contact, which was what led her to the long line of one-night stands. Keeping that shit a secret in a small town was not easy either.

She swirled the straw in her drink and then sipped at it. She couldn’t deny that she was attracted to Aiden, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why. Maybe that was why she wanted him gone so badly, maybe it had nothing to do with the things he’d done and everything to do with the fact that she was lonely.

“You all right?” Aiden’s voice cut into her thoughts.

“Yup.” She nodded. “Fabulous.”

He seemed to get it that she didn’t want to talk about it, and she highly doubted he really wanted to know anyway. From what she knew of him, she was surprised he even asked in the first place.

Aiden pushed his glass away and Reese swooped in to take it. “If you want another I’m going to have to take your keys.”

“Seriously?” Aiden’s mouth fell open. “I’ve only had two drinks!”

Reese tilted her head and locked eyes with him. “You have had two double drinks. A third double would make that six regular drinks. Therefore, your keys go right over there on the wall and you can come and get them tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“That’s right.” Reese’s face was stern.

Liv elbowed Aiden and shook her head. “Don’t even try to talk her out of it. I’ll take you home.”

Again, the bartender’s eyes flicked curiously back and forth between her and Aiden. “See, you have a ride. I’m not forcing you to drink more, but if you do, you’re all set.”

“Fine. Fuck it.” Aiden stood and after digging around in his pocket he withdrew his keys and tossed them on the bar. “I’ll have another.”

Reese grabbed his keys and turned, placing them on the old license plate that hung on the wall. After Mr. Knight’s accident, Reese had the plate turned into a key hook that served as a memorial for her father and also a way to do her duty keeping drunk drivers off the street. All the locals knew the rules for Knights Bar and that plate was overfilled with keys quite often.

Liv lifted her glass to her lips, taking another sip and scanning the bar. Most of the patrons were local, but there were a few tourists scattered around in there. Sometimes, she wished that she lived in a big city where no one knew anyone and your business was yours alone. In reality, she could move if she wanted to, but her family was what kept her in Summer Hollow.

Greg was assigned a graveyard in the Bay Area and he was always making trips back home, so it would be senseless to leave anyway. Her family needed her and she needed them, it would probably be that way forever. Not that she minded. Most of the time she loved the fact that her family was so tight, but there were often times when she could definitely do without the Estmond drama.

Out of nowhere, a scratching noise sounded over a microphone. The crowd groaned in unison and many covered their ears in response. Glancing toward the source of the noise, Liv saw several people setting up a karaoke area on the stage.

“What are they doing?” Aiden asked from behind her.

“It’s karaoke night.”

“Oh, seriously? Are you going to sing something for us?”

“Only if you do,” Liv responded, turning toward him and sipping her drink.

His face crinkled in disgust. “So that’s a no then.”

“That’s a no,” she confirmed. “I don’t sing.”

“Well, isn’t that what karaoke is for? You know, an excuse for people who can’t sing to get up on stage and pretend like they can.”

“No, that isn’t what it’s for and aside from that, I said I don’t sing, not that I can’t.”

Aiden’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh no you don’t. Now you have to go up there and prove that you have some pipes in there.” His fingertip brushed over her chest. She didn’t flinch at the burn that sizzled over her skin from the contact.

“Don’t touch,” she whispered. Without breaking eye contact, he pulled his hand back, but didn’t apologize. “I am not going to sing, so get that possibility out of your head.”

“Oh, but you’re so good.” Reese appeared on the other side of the bar.

Liv tore her gaze away from Aiden’s intense green eyes and turned to her. “Good grief, don’t get it into his head that I might actually get up there.”

“You’ve done it before.”

“When I was shit faced and didn’t know what the hell I was doing.”

Reese shrugged, “Well, I thought you were awfully good for being shit faced.”

Aiden leaned over the bar, closer to Reese. “Maybe if we convince her to drink more, she’ll do it.”

“I can hear you and absolutely not, I have to drive.”

“Fuck it. I’ll sing.” Aiden slapped his hand down on the worn wooden surface of the bar. “I’m not scared.”

Liv felt her eyes widen. “No one said you were scared. You just don’t seem like the type who wants to get up in front of people and display your vocal skills.”

“I’m not. I dislike people and dislike crowds of them even more. But, I do happen to like music and I have the voice of an angel.”

Liv snorted. “Yeah right.”

“Bartender.” Aiden raised his voice and turned to Reese, who lifted her eyebrows in response. “I need another drink while I choose my song.”

“Right away,” Reese answered, her voice coated thick with sarcasm.

“You are seriously going to sing?” Liv asked.

He shrugged. “Why not? What else is there to do?”

Liv still didn’t think he was serious, so she swept her arm outward. “Go on then, wow us with your angelic voice.”

Without another word, the Reaper accepted the fresh drink Reese handed him and then slid off his stool. Liv watched him maneuver around the crowd until he reached the table set up next to the stage.

“Well …” Reese turned to watch Aiden as well, “He’s nice to look at.”

Liv nodded, unable to disagree. “That’s pretty much all he has going for him.”

“Seriously, he can’t be that bad.”

“You have no idea.”

“You say that like you do have an idea about that.”

“Nothing like that. He’s Jack’s friend and I’ve spent some time around him.”

“Mmm hmmm. Sure.”

“Seriously, it’s nothing else.”

“Girl, do you honestly think that no one saw that rig he drives sitting outside your house this morning.”

Liv’s jaw dropped. “Are you freaking kidding me!”

“Bartenders honor.” Reese held up the towel in her hand. “Don’t worry, we don’t judge here.”

“Dammit. Why didn’t I think of this happening?” Liv let her face fall into her hands. “I was serious when I said that nothing was going on between us. He’s Jack’s friend and he has to stay at my house.”

“Why would he have to stay at your house? The farmhouse has plenty of space.”

Liv shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Weird. Well, maybe you should take advantage of it while he’s there.”

“Good lord, Reese.”

“What?” She turned her gaze toward Aiden, “He’s definitely not bad looking. I don’t see what the problem is.”

Liv also turned in Aiden’s direction. Reese didn’t know their secrets, to her, Liv was just someone she grew up with and Aiden was a good looking stranger.

They were both still staring at Aiden as he accepted a microphone, holding it in one hand and his drink in the other. He stepped up onto the stage and cleared his throat into the mic.

She turned back to face Reese. “He’s actually going to do it.”

And then, music from a popular rock ballad began to play. Aiden waited until the lyrics began to scroll across the screen and then he began to sing.

“Ho..,ly shit.” Reese’s jaw fell open. “He really does have the voice of an angel.”

Liv felt exactly the same way. How in the world could a guy who could be a total asshole have such an amazing voice? The noise level in the bar drastically lowered as the crowd quit talking so they could listen. For most of the song, Aiden closed his eyes, probably because he didn’t like the fact that people were staring at him and he was trying to block it out.

When the music faded and came to an end, Aiden opened his eyes and the tiny bar erupted into applause. Liv watched as Aiden offered the crowd a small nod and hurried off stage.

Reese sighed. “That was awesome.”

“It was,” Liv agreed.

“Well … if there was any question about taking advantage before, there isn’t now.”

“Reese!”

“Just saying, you’d be dumb not to. You’re a grown woman.”

“And you’re a bad influence.”

A mischievous smile crept across Reese’s face. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Aiden appeared next to them. “Yeah, I think I’m ready to go now. I forgot how much I dislike singing in front of people.”

“All right. I’m ready too.” Liv slipped her purse over her shoulder and stood. “Thanks for the drinks, Reese.”

“Later guys. Have fun.” Reese waved her towel at them and headed off down the bar to help a group guys who looked like they weren’t old enough to legally drink. “Remember what I said, Liv,” she called over her shoulder, as if it were an afterthought.

“What was that about?” Aiden asked as they pushed their way through the mass of bodies toward the door.

“Nothing,” Liv told him. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

Aside from the bar, Summer Hollow was a ghost town. Night had fallen while they were inside, and now Main Street was lit with the greenish yellow glow of the street lamps. Once they had cleared the block of Knights Bar, there were no cars or pedestrians in sight. It wasn’t unusual for the small town to be silent late at night during the week, though it always gave Liv a strange feeling.

“This place is a fucking nightmare.” Aiden shook his head as he stared at the lack of activity through the windshield. “Aside from Tuesday karaoke, what do you guys do here for fun? Your childhood must have sucked.”

Liv side eyed him and gripped the wheel tighter. “We had plenty of fun. It’s just different than stuff you do in the city, I guess.” She added the last part since she really didn’t know what kids from the city did for fun except what she saw in movies. “And we could have just stayed at the bar. You were the one who wanted to leave, so stop complaining.”

She was nearly at the intersection where the school was located and made a spur of the moment decision and turned her van to the left, up toward the school.

“Where are we going?” Aiden sat up a little straighter in his seat. “Your house is the other way.”

“I know where my house is. You asked what we did for fun. Well, I’ll show you the kind of stuff we did when I was growing up.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of Aiden’s lips. “Oh good. We’re going to go drink beer under the bridge and have sex in the woods.”

“We did that too, but that isn’t what we’re doing tonight.”

“Well, whatever it is, I’m in.”

She rolled her eyes even though she knew he couldn’t see it. “Seriously, Aiden. We are constantly in some kind of battle or chasing Reapers away. Our lives are definitely not boring.” She pulled the van up by the curb at the backside of the school where the tennis courts were located.

“Come on.” She shifted into park and opened the door.

Aiden hopped out of passenger side and stepped up onto the sidewalk where he stretched. “I suck at tennis,” he told her.

“Again. That is not what we are doing. Follow me.”

Liv descended the grassy slope and crossed the lawn past the fenced in tennis courts and then up onto a sidewalk where they were suddenly facing the back of a brick building that was painted white.

“Take off your clothes.” She pulled her shirt over her head, tossed it on the ground and then toed her shoes off.

Aiden’s eyebrows shot up. “Okay!” He reached down and unzipped his hoodie, shrugging out of it as quickly as he could.

Liv couldn’t help but notice his eyes following her fingertips as she tugged at the button on her jeans and then wiggled them down over her hips. “Stop it. We aren’t having sex.” She wished that she didn’t like the fact that his gaze raked over her matching pink bra and panties as if he wanted to tear them right off her body. She stepped out of her jeans and kicked them aside. “Hurry up,” she ordered.

“Yes, ma’am,” Aiden joked, but then when he slid his jeans down, Liv returned the hungry stare just to show him what it was like.”

“Eyes up here, Keeper.” He threw her words, from when they had first met at the grocery store, back at her. She shrugged and kept looking at him. He certainly was good looking. Why couldn’t he be less muscular or have plain eyes rather than those wicked awesome green ones? That might make it a little easier to hate him.

Finally, he was clad in only his black boxer briefs, which Liv couldn’t help but notice, hugged his package nicely. She turned and headed for the thicket of trees behind the building.

“Where in the hell are you taking me?” Aiden grumbled. “And it’s chilly out here.”

“Shut up and follow me. You’re acting like a child right now.” Once they were in the trees, she found the piping that ran up the backside of the building and took hold of the one that was cross ways right above her head, bracing her feet on the metal box below it.

It only took a minute and she had climbed her way up the pipes and was standing on the roof of the structure. “Your turn,” she called down to Aiden.

He was already halfway up and crawled over the ledge not long after. “Climbing up here nearly naked is not what I’d consider fun, Keeper.”

She smiled, “No, this is the fun part.” They walked up the sloping roof and she pointed down at the glowing aqua colored waters of the pool below them. “We’re going swimming.”

Aiden cautiously approached the edge and looked down. “You know there is a few feet between the pool and where the roof ends, right?”

“Of course I know that.” She nodded. “I used to do this all the time and it’s really only about a foot so it’s not as bad as it looks.” While she did her best to sound brave, she hadn’t jumped off of this roof for years and really didn’t want to do it. But she wasn’t going to let this Reaper bag on her town and her life. She’d show him.

“You seriously want to do this right now?”

“Yup.”

They both stood at the edge, looking down at the peaceful water glowing beneath them. It was lit up, but other than that, there was only one light illuminating the pool area from either side.

“All right.” Before she could change her mind, she hurried back down to where they had first stepped up onto the roof. Then, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again. After a quick glance at Aiden, who stood near the other side of the roof looking completely shocked, she sprinted forward.

She pushed off as she hit the edge of the roof and then she was sailing through the air. Without being able to stop it, a slight scream escaped from within her as she raised her arms into the air and closed her eyes.

When she hit the water, it was far colder than she’d expected it to be. Her body plunged down into the deep end until her toes touched the bottom. Air bubbles swirled and burst all around her as she pushed her foot onto the smooth floor of the pool and shot upward.

When her head broke surface, she gulped for air and began to tread water.

“You okay?” Aiden called down to her.

“Yeah, I’m fine! Now it’s your turn.” She leaned back and paddled herself over to the far edge of the pool around the six foot section and held onto the edge so that she wouldn’t be in the way. “Come on!” She yelled when he hesitated. “Big strong Reaper like you afraid of a little jump into a pool?”

He ignored her and turned away, disappearing from the edge of the roof. In less than a minute he appeared again, barreling forward and sailing over the edge. When he hit air, he curled up his legs up and wrapped his arms around his legs, executing a perfect cannon ball. The water splashed up all around him as his body crashed into the deep end of the pool.

Liv stayed where she was, waiting for him to surface. Soft waves rolled over the length of the pool as the water fought to calm itself again. Aiden’s head finally appeared and he was facing the other way. Quickly, he spun in the water, his eyes searching for her. When their gazes met, he smiled and began to swim toward her. His blond hair was plastered down against his forehead and his muscles rippled as his arms slid through the water, gliding his body her way.

Why, Liv thought, couldn’t he be anything but a Reaper? Sure, he was slowly redeeming himself, but he had done things that she could never forgive. Like kidnapping her sister.

“Okay.” He nodded. “That was pretty fun.”

She smiled. “See, I told you.”

“But what now? You just jump and then hang here in the pool?”

“No.” She turned to the side and held onto the edge. “We would usually come in a group, and then we’d all take turns jumping in over and over again.”

“Wow. You guys really know how to party.”

“Don’t be an ass.” Liv started to pull herself up out of the water, but she felt strong arms wrap around her and an electric sting ripped across her waist. “Ouch! What are you doing?” She shouted as he pulled her backward into the water with him. She ended up going underneath and sucking in a mouthful of chlorinated water in the process.

He didn’t let go, but lifted her up so that her head was above the surface again. “Let me go.” She sputtered, shoving at his chest.

“No way. You don’t get to make me jump off a roof and then just leave.”

She pushed against his chest and tried to wiggle out of his grasp. His response was to tighten his arms around her waist and pull her closer. “Stop moving around like that,” he whispered in a raspy voice.

“I will when you let me go.”

“Just stop. Don’t you feel that?”

“What? I don’t feel anything.”

She did stop trying to escape because his eyes were wide and an honest expression of confusion crossed over his face. “Exactly,” he told her.

She paused to consider his words and realized that this Reaper had his arms wrapped around her, directly on her skin and there was no burn. She’d felt it when he touched her when they were out of the water but now that they were submerged, she couldn’t feel anything. Holding her body still, she let her senses take over and realized that there was a slight vibration that coursed over her skin where his arms made contact. “It … we … how is this possible?” she whispered.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, finally releasing her. “It must be the water. I felt it when I grabbed you, so it’s not like Jack and Lucy, who don’t feel it at all.”

“Jack and Lucy are connected somehow. They don’t feel the burn because the universe meant for them to be together. This has to be some kind of fluke.” She tilted her head upward so that she could meet his gaze. His eyes had been almost soft, as if he actually had feelings, but then they changed back to that icy, emotionless glare.

Liv suddenly realized that he did feel, probably more deeply than most and that is what that cold expression was all about. It was part of the wall that he’d built to keep people from hurting him.

Then again, maybe she was trying to see more than was actually there. She reached up and touched his cheek. Droplets of water slid down over the side of his face and her fingers were wet with the pool water. He jerked his head to the side a little bit at the contact, but she figured that was more from the fact she was doing it than the burn.

And there was a burn.

Not as painful as dry skin on skin, but a still burn that coursed through her fingertips and into her hand as she trailed them across Aiden’s cheek.

“Don’t,” he growled.

She kicked her feet and moved herself backward a little bit, pulling her hand away from him in the process. “I’m sorry.” She wished they were back in the bickering playful mode they had been in before. Now it was just awkward. She was back against the edge of the pool. “We really should go.”

Aiden swam toward her and reached out, lightly touching her arm. “No. I’m sorry.” He choked the words out like he’d never said them before. “I’m not used to that is all. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”

Liv offered him a slight nod. “It’s fine. I’m a big girl.”

“I know you are.” The real Aiden finally appeared as his sarcastic smile returned and he dipped his gaze down to her breasts.

“Dammit, Aiden!”

“What?”

“Stop checking me out.” She splashed him, a little wave of pool water spraying up into his face.

He moved closer. “I would love to stop checking you out, but it’s not as easy as you might think it is. Especially when you’re wearing next to nothing.” He reached out and ran the tip of his finger beneath the strap of her bra. The sizzle coursed through her as his fingertip trailed downward and then hesitated before continuing onto her breast.

Her breath caught and she cut off the moan that wanted to escape her lips. What the hell was wrong with her? Why in the world did he turn her on?

“Aiden,” she whispered.

“Olivia.” He called her by her full name, not her shortened name, not Keeper. No … he used her full name, and hells bells if that didn’t make her hotter than coals in a bonfire. He inched a bit closer, effectively pushing her up against the wall of the pool.

“What …” She couldn’t even find the words to ask what he was doing as he reached upward and gripped the edge, bracing himself and caging her within his space.

“I look at you because you are nice to look at. More than nice, actually. I know you look at me too. I have been trained to read people, Olivia. I know what you’re saying when you aren’t speaking and I know what you are thinking merely by looking into your eyes.”

“Yeah right.” She jutted her chin out defiantly.

“You keep telling yourself you hate me. I know you have reasons to, but you also want me.”

“You are so full of yourself.” She spat at him. “I do not!” She felt like a teenager as the childish words spewed from her lips.

“Really?” He tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. Then, before she knew what was happening, he closed the gap between them and their bodies were flush against each other and his lips were crushing down against hers.

Sizzling heat erupted between them upon contact. Liv felt the electricity travel through the sensitive skin on her lips and then over her arms as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her body suddenly had a mind of its own and took over all action. She, the Liv in her mind, was no longer in control.

He deepened the kiss and pushed his body harder against hers. She released a moan beneath his lips and wound her legs around his waist, feeling his hardness pressing into her core was almost sending her over the edge already.

Suddenly, a foreign light flashed over them and they heard a “whoop” of a police siren. “Oh shit,” Liv breathed out, forcing Aiden’s face away from hers.

“What in God’s name do you think you are doing out here?” Sheriff Davis’s voice echoed over the speaker from his car.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” She placed her hands on Aiden’s chest and forced him away from her.

“Get out of the pool!” Sheriff Davis ordered. “Now!”

Aiden, with a smug, yet sad expression, gripped her around the waist and lifted her so that her butt was on the edge of the cement. She got to her feet as quickly as she could while Aiden climbed out of the water behind her.

Standing, she scanned the area and found Sheriff Davis slamming the door of his car and heading up to the locked pool gate. “We’re leaving,” she called out, trying to ignore that the good Sheriff could see her standing there in only her tiny bra and panties. Aiden rose up beside her and she didn’t dare bring herself to look at him.

The Sheriff approached the gate and squinted his eyes. “Liv!” He finally recognized her. “Dammit, Estmond, I thought I was through with throwing you and the rest of your family out of here years ago.”

“I’m so sorry, Sheriff Davis.” Suddenly, she was seventeen again and she couldn’t think of one thing to say that was going to make this situation any better. Thank god Aiden was keeping his smart mouth shut.

He clicked his radio and said something into it that she couldn’t hear. Then he directed his attention back to them. “I don’t even want to know what was going on in that pool.” He sighed and waved his hand dismissively. “Get the hell out of here.”

“Yes sir.” Relief flooded though her. “Right away.”

“And don’t do this again or I’m going to arrest you for trespassing.”

“Yes sir,” she repeated then whispered to Aiden. “Let’s go.” She bolted to the left, heading for the fence. She could hear the Sheriff grumbling about how he thought he had problems with teenagers and then this shit.

Liv jumped at the fence, clinging to the chain link and wedging her toes into the holes.

“Seriously,” Aiden muttered. “We have to jump the fence?”

“Shut up,” she hissed at him.

“What? This isn’t my fault. This whole thing was your idea.”

Liv let it go, knowing it was her fault, and swung her leg over the top of the fence. She dropped down onto the grass on the other side and hurried around the back to where they had left their clothes.

Aiden kept pace with her and, thankfully, he stopped talking. She couldn’t deal with that right now. Her heart was racing and she’d been afraid she was going to get arrested. So crazy. She fought Reapers and faced danger all the time, yet she was afraid of getting busted for trespassing.

She didn’t let herself relax until she yanked open the driver seat of her van and hopped in without even putting her clothes on. “Get in,” she yelled at Aiden, who had paused to put his pants on.

“I’m coming, sheesh.” Aiden opened the passenger door and crawled up into the seat. Liv started the van before he even got the door closed.

Once they were moving along the hauntingly empty streets of Summer Hollow again, she released the longest breath ever. “Oh my god. I cannot believe that happened.”

Aiden didn’t say anything right away, so she looked away from the road and glanced at him. He met her gaze and their eyes locked, then he burst out laughing.

“What? None of this is funny.”

“Oh, yes it is! I see now why this was fun for you. The thrill of breaking and entering. The chance you might get caught. I get it.”

She turned back to the road. “For crying out loud, Aiden. The Sheriff just saw me naked!” He laughed harder and even stomped his foot gently into the floor as he clutched his stomach. He was still going at it when her cellphone rang.

“Who in the hell is calling me this late?” she wondered, trying to look at her phone sitting in the console. Aiden, still chuckling, bent over and checked it for her. “It’s your brother.”

She rolled her eyes. “Which one?”

“Dan.”

“Answer it, please.”

Aiden picked up the phone and slid the screen to answer the call. “Liv Estmond’s phone, she isn’t available right now, she’s busy going do …”

Liv heard shouting from the phone and held her hand out. “Give it to me.”

Aiden handed her the phone and Dan’s voice came though. “What in the hell are you doing in the town pool, naked, with that Reaper?”

Good lord, how had he found out? This had to be the most embarrassing thing ever. “First off, I wasn’t naked. Second, I was just showing Aiden the roof jump and Sheriff Davis showed up.”

“I have a scanner, Liv. The call said there was a redheaded woman and a blond man making out or having sex in the pool. I only know two people by that description who could possibly be doing that this late at night during the week.”

“There are tons of redheads and blonds who could be doing that.” Her voice was weak as she attempted to deny what had been going on.

“I’m going to kill that Reaper,” Dan growled.

Liv sighed. Not this again. “No, you’re not. Nothing happened.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Dan, I can handle it. Stay out of my business.”

“You forget, sister of mine. Your business is my business.”

Sometimes having brothers was the dumbest thing ever. “Keep out of it, Dan.” She pulled the phone away from her ear and clicked end call, then tossed the phone back in the console.

Great, the whole town probably knew what happened now.

“Awww, you stuck up for me,” Aiden purred from beside her.

“That is not what I did.” She pressed the pedal down hard, wanting to get home as fast as she possibly could.

He clutched the overhead handle in the van as Liv tore into her driveway. She skidded to a halt, threw the vehicle into park, grabbed her clothes and headed for the house without saying a word.

He watched Liv march stubbornly into the house before sliding out of the passenger seat. This Keeper was so full of fire. One minute she was a smoldering ember, and the next, she was flames in full force.

He liked it.

And that was not good. The last thing he needed was to hurt one of these Keepers. He wasn’t a relationship kind of guy, but he was definitely the one-night stand kind. What happened in the pool was so far out of line. The Estmond women were off limits if he was going to get the help he needed to get the hell out of dodge. He should never have gone near her and he had fucking kissed her. Who knows how far it would have gone if the sheriff hadn’t showed up when he did.

Yeah, he needed to stay as far away as possible.

Which was kind of hard when they were currently residing under the same roof.

Following her into the house, he softly shut the door behind him. He threw the bolt, a slight click indicating that it had secured. He didn’t see Liv anywhere, so he moved around the house, checking the windows and any other doors that might have been left open.

No matter what the Empress said, he could not let his guard down. That bitch was going to keep coming after them until either the Keepers were dead … or she was.

He slid open the back door and found Liv in the hot tub, bubbles churning up around her shoulders and her head leaning back onto the edge, staring up at the nights sky. She didn’t look his way as his boots moved softly across the deck.

“You can get in if you want.”

Her words stopped him in his tracks. Holy crap, what was she trying to do to him. After the pool, he knew that he could touch her in the water and here she was, inviting him into a goddamn hot tub with her. Furthermore, he just got done making a pact with himself to stay away from her.

But … the thought of a dip in the hot tub did sound nice. He could always just stay on the other side, away from her … away from temptation.

“I didn’t bring a suit,” he told her, immediately regretting the words. He’d never worried about how he came across to women and here he was, feeling like every word out of his mouth was inadequate.

She opened her eyes and turned her head just the slightest bit toward him. “Seriously. Just strip down like you did for the pool.”

“I should probably just go to bed. We have an early morning.” Yeah, it would be better if he didn’t get in.

She laughed and closed her eyes again. “I don’t think you really want to go to bed. I can sense that inner struggle, Reaper.”

“I don’t have an inner struggle.”

“After what happened in the pool you’re afraid to get near me.”

And she pegged it. Of course she knew. He had kissed her in the pool and told her all kinds of dumb shit he should have never said. He didn’t answer her and an awkward silent moment passed before she spoke again. “Just get in.”

Fuck it. If she wanted him to get in, he’d get in. He bent over and began untying his boots. Never before, in all his history with women, had he ever felt the need to stay away from one he wanted. If they clearly wanted him, he was all in. It was different with Liv, though. For one, the whole Keeper thing, and for two, he actually liked her … like, as a person, and that was something he rarely experienced.

By the time he had finished talking himself into getting in, he was stripped down to his boxers for the second time in one night. He rounded the whirlpool to the side, completely opposite of where she sat and stepped down into the warm, soothing water.

Liv lifted her head to meet his gaze. Her brown eyes were dark and almost glittered with intensity. Her red hair was piled up on top of her head with several wisps falling down around her face. Their eyes locked and her plump pink lips tugged up into a gentle smile. “See, it’s nice.”

“Yeah, it is. It’s cool you have this out here.”

She skimmed her fingers across the surface of the water. “I am on my feet all day at work, it is a hot, sweaty and tedious business. I wanted a way to relax at home so that I’m not full of knots every day.”

He nodded. “That’s a good reason.”

“What’s wrong?” She tilted her head curiously.

“What do you mean?”

“Usually, when you speak, something smartass comes out. That hasn’t happened since we got here.”

Fine. She asked, so he would tell her. “Seriously? Liv, this isn’t a good idea for me to be in here with you. I don’t know why you would want me in here with you after what happened earlier. So yeah, I’m not being a smartass because it feels like a lot of lines are being crossed.”

She sat up straight, her eyes widening a little bit. “Has it occurred to you that I might have invited you in here specifically because of what happened at the pool?”

“Um …” Again, he was at a loss for words. Luckily, she kept going as if she hadn’t really expected him to answer. “You were right, about everything you said.”

“I said a lot of things.”

“I’m talking about the part where you said that you know I look at you … that you know I want you.”

He had to stop this. Right now. “Liv, that … it …”

“Don’t say it was a mistake.” She shook her head. “It wasn’t. You and I both know that the burn has been the biggest thing keeping the attraction at bay.”

Aiden felt as if the tables had turned on him. He’d never had this sort of discussion with a woman, nevertheless trying to tell one that having sex was not a good idea. Shit, sex was always a good idea. “Look, I’m not the kind of guy who does relationships. This,” he pointed to himself and then to her, “This would just be sex … that’s it.”

She moved off the bench, inching toward him. “Well, Reaper, I don’t do relationships either, so that works out perfect.” She stood, rising out of the water directly in front of him, droplets of water slipping over her smooth, pale skin. She still wore the silky pink bra and panties that she’d had on at the pool, the fabric covering all the parts that he desperately wanted to see.

He was instantly hard. The sight of her, the sound of her voice, everything about her was a fucking turn on.

She took a small step toward him and paused. A slight nervousness flashed in her eyes as she held his gaze. It didn’t last long, though. The determination returned and then, without a word, she reached behind her and unclasped her bra. It hung lose for half a moment until she slipped the straps down over her shoulders, exposing her breasts to him.

He finally broke eye contact with her and let his eyes ravage her body, inspecting every inch of what she was offering him.

The night air caused goose pimples to rise up on her skin that had previously been so smooth and soft. He watched as her nipples hardened against the slight breeze and it was all he could do not to jump up and take her right there. Silently, she ran a fingertip beneath the elastic of her panties, trailing from hip to hip before slowly pulling the fabric downward.

His breath caught in his throat as she bent, dipping briefly into the water and stepping out of the last article of clothing that remained on her body. When she stood, she was fully naked and exposed.

She tossed the panties off to the side and, finally, he saw a bit of hesitation in her eyes. Not the regretful kind, but the fear of rejection kind. Immediately, he scooted forward, reaching for her. He had to do away with that expression. A deep, internal instinct screamed that he never wanted to see that look on her face again.

Remembering he still had his boxers on, he practically ripped them off and then went back to Liv, his hands slipped over her thighs and he tilted his head upward so he could see her face. “Last chance to end this before it starts,” he told her.

Her voice came out in a throaty whisper. “There is only one way this ends.”

That was it. He yanked her forward, spreading her legs as he moved backward onto the bench again, pulling her into his lap so that she was straddling him. Her arms were around him, the skin that remained outside of the water, sizzling as the burn coursed over their bodies.

Her lips crashed down onto his and he took her mouth. One of his hands was behind her neck and the other around her waist. She pressed closer against his chest, her breasts pushing up against his bare skin.

God dammit, he wanted her. He wanted to slam himself inside of her and take. She was different. No other woman had ever made him feel like giving as much as taking.

He broke the kiss and she pulled back just a tiny bit, panting breathlessly and staring down at him, but not speaking.

He moved her backward on his lap just enough so that he could see her breasts and then he brought one hand up, grazing his thumb over one of her nipples. She moaned, tipping her head backward. He felt traces of the burn as the electric energy burst between the both of them when their skin made contact. He didn’t care. It only seemed to add to the pleasure, and he hoped it was the same for her. His tongue found her nipples and he circled one slowly … and then the other. Her body involuntarily pressed into him, and he teasingly nipped with his teeth.

A moan escaped her and her hips bucked upward. He tilted her head toward him with one hand, bringing her back to him and went back to kissing, then his other hand, beneath the water, grazed over her thigh, finding her core and pressed upward into her with two fingers.

She cried out and tried to force her body downward onto him, the water gave her buoyancy, so gravity was not present to help her at all. Her hand plunged down into the water, searching and groping until she found his cock.

It didn’t take long because he was so hard and ready. He was surprised he hadn’t come already just from touching her. He pressed his fingers gently in and out, feeling her tighten against him and wishing that was his cock inside her instead.

Her hand was working in much the same way, gripping him and slipping up and down over the length. She leaned in, wet her lips with her tongue and trailed it down from his ear to his shoulder, leaving a sizzling line that dissipated quickly.

“I want you,” she whispered. “Now.”

He withdrew his fingers from her and gripped her waist with both hands. She let go of him and let both her arms encircle his neck. Just as their lips met for another explosive kiss, he pulled her downward onto him.

His cock pushed into her silky, hot core with one fluid motion. She cried out, a cross between a moan and a scream, all muffled beneath his lips. The sound only made him want to make her cry out more. He gripped her waist and forced her body up and down over him. She ground her hips in a circular motion at the same time and the effect was fantastic.

Between kissing, she leaned into his ear and panted. “I need it harder.”

Holy fuck, she was going to kill him. His fingers worked their way into her hair, gripping tightly and pulling backward just a little. “How hard?”

A tiny gasp puffed out from between her lips but she didn’t answer. His grip tightened. “I said, how hard do you want it?” he practically growled.

He was still inside her and she was moving her hips, grinding on top of him while he spoke.

“I need to be fucked.” The words burst from her mouth.

He grinned. “Oh do you now.”

She smiled too. “I don’t make love … ever. Gentle isn’t really my thing.”

In one fluid motion, he lifted her off of him and stood, placing her on the bench. “On your knees,” he ordered. “Hold onto the edge.”

She did as she was told, securing herself with her hands. Her ass was still down in the water and he encircled her waist with his hands, then guided his cock into her. The first bit was gentle, as he got a feel for the position and then he began to pump faster, harder, pulling her toward him with each thrust.

Water splashed and churned around them. He couldn’t see her face, but he knew she liked it from the sounds she was making. Standing above her, he found that her silver aura seemed to glow a bit brighter now. He didn’t know if that was just how he was seeing it, or if the auras really did change with emotions.

He could feel her when she began to climax. Her core tightened against his cock, gripping onto him as if her body didn’t want to let go. He slammed into her one more time and then pushed himself hard against her.

She exploded around him. Even in the water he could feel the heat radiating inside her and enveloping his cock. She slapped the edge of the tub with one hand, keeping her grip with the other as something between a scream and a moan released from within her.

That was it for him. That sound of pure ecstasy was all he needed to trigger his own climax. As much as he didn’t want to, he cried out too, something along the lines of “Oh shit” gurgled out of him, hidden among his own moaning.

Afterward, he slowed but thrust a few more times for good measure and he was glad he did, because he felt Liv tremor beneath him and knew she was having aftershocks. He let them dissipate and then pulled out of her.

She stayed where she was for a moment afterward and suddenly a fear he’d never felt washed over him. Was she regretting it? Was she ashamed?

Normally he didn’t give a shit what women thought of his performance when it was over. As long as he got his, then it was all good. Though, realistically he knew that women were never disappointed after a round in the sheets with him.

But, Liv … he wanted to know that she enjoyed it.

What in the fuck was happening to him? He leaves the Reaper society and turns into an emotional mess. This shit had to stop.

Liv sank down into the water and then turned around and slid her butt up onto the edge of the hot tub so only her legs were still in the water. Her face was flushed and her eyes held a slight twinkle, portraying her feelings.

Thank god.

“You okay?” he asked, not knowing what else to say.

She nodded and offered him a genuine smile, her eyebrows raised slightly. “Absolutely. You?”

Turning, he began to search for his boxers. “I’m fucking fantastic.” He found the shorts and snagged them out of the water. Then, he waded toward her, placed his knees on the bench and leaned over, placing a hand on each side of her. “How could I not be okay after that?”

She turned her head, perhaps afraid that he might kiss her. “Good.” She nodded. “We should probably head to bed. Our morning is going to come very early.” She slid backward, extracting herself from beneath him.

Something in his stomach dropped. She did regret it.

“Liv.” He lifted himself out of the tub as well. Slipping on his soaking wet boxers.

She shook her head and bent to pick up her bra. “Don’t.” She turned to face him. “It was amazing.”

He wanted to ask her why she was running away then, but he didn’t want to look like a needy little bitch. It was just sex. They both wanted it and now it was over. No big deal. So in the end, he nodded, agreeing with her and then followed her into the house.

A mix of emotions that she had never felt before were closing in on her. She hadn’t expected this part of it. You never think about what it’s going to be like afterward.

As soon as she’d pulled into her driveway she had made the decision. As Reese had pointed out, she was a grown woman and there was nothing wrong with going after what she wanted. Aside from Aiden being a Reaper … and an asshole, there was a serious mutual attraction between them.

She had thought it was simply physical. Maybe it was. But, maybe it wasn’t. One-night stands were always easy for her to walk away from. There was no cuddling afterward. She rarely even kissed a guy. She couldn’t let herself get attached, knowing that she was just going to have to let them go in the end.

And here she was, facing the aftermath of wonderful, no … amazing, sex and she found herself wishing she could curl up in his arms and fall asleep. What in the hell was wrong with her.

Aiden was not the cuddling type, she could tell. Had she just made this attraction even harder to resist. She’d thought that maybe if they just got it out of their systems that it would make it better. Now a nagging feeling told her that had been the absolute wrong assessment.

But holy shit, the sex had been fantastic.

Still naked, she made for the bathroom so that she could take a shower and rinse the sex and chlorine off. She started the water, flipping the knob over to hot and let steam fill the room while she brushed her teeth.

In the mirror, she saw Aiden pass by the bathroom door, which she had forgotten to close. She was so used to living by herself that things like closing doors were easily forgotten. Like it mattered anyway, that Reaper had seen every inch of her naked body.

He paused, glanced in at her and their eyes locked in the mirror. She gripped her toothbrush tightly and then relaxed. “You can have the shower in a few minutes. I just need to rinse off.”

“It’s your shower. Take as long as you want.”

“I…”

He shook his head. “Don’t. Liv. I told you, it’s just sex. Acting like it never happened is what people do when it’s just sex.”

“This feels … awkward.”

He grinned. “I’ve seen naked women before.” His eyes glimmered mischievously as his eyes moved away from hers and ran the length of her, from head to toe.

“That is not the awkward I was talking about.” She rolled her eyes and stuck her toothbrush in her mouth to finish brushing her teeth. She expected him to leave, thinking that the conversation was over. But he remained, standing in the doorway, leaning on the frame and staring at her.

She finished brushing, rinsed her mouth and set her toothbrush in the holder and turned to face him. “What?”

He didn’t respond. He just stood there, his smoldering gaze holding her captive as he stared.

“Stop staring at me.”

Before she knew what was happening, he’d taken three long steps into the bathroom and had her pushed against the sink. His arms were around her waist and his lips crushed down onto hers.

Fire erupted all over her body and she didn’t even care. The burn between a Keeper and a Reaper, their weapon, their protection … it was no longer either of those. Now … it had become a raging fire that entrapped both of them within its flames.

Without missing a beat, Aiden reached for the shower door and yanked it open. Then, he gripped her waist and lifted her up so that she could wrap her arms and legs around him.

Any common sense she had was now gone. She clung to his amazingly muscular body while they kissed and he carried her, not so carefully, into the shower. Her back slammed into the cool tile wall as the warm, steaming water sprayed down over the top of them.

Somewhere in the shuffle, he’d taken off his boxers so the moment her back hit the wall, he thrust upward, entering her in one swift movement.

Unable to help herself, she moaned and threw her head back. Instantly, Aiden’s lips were on her neck, kissing and licking as he pumped his hips, thrusting into her, over and over again. His hands still held her legs, holding her up so she stayed in position.

This time was faster for both of them. Her orgasm came from out of nowhere and pleasure swept over every inch of her body. That, combined with the electric sizzle of the burn between them, made for one hell of a climax.

He came at the same time. She felt him grow even harder within her and then he released a loud moan before slowing to a stop.

They were both panting and breathless. The room had filled with steam and water continued to spray over both of them. Aiden released her legs but kept her pinned to the wall. She was glad he did, too. At the moment, she wasn’t sure that her legs would actually hold her. He buried his face in the crook between her neck and shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

A small laugh escaped her. “You don’t seem like the type to apologize after shower sex.”

He laughed too, a small chuckle that was muffled because his head was still bent into her. “No, I’m not. I guess there’s a first for everything.”

“That’s right.” She patted his back. “You’re a bad ass. Now what exactly are you sorry for.”

He lifted his head, pulling back just enough so that he was able to look her in the eye. “I didn’t mean to just …” He paused, appearing to be mentally searching for the words, “jump you like that.”

Surprise washed over her as she realized what he meant. “Oh. I see. First of all, I would have kicked your ass all the way back to the Empress’s dog house if I didn’t want it and you tried to force it on me. Second, I did want it, and I told you earlier that I like it rough. So relax, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

As she stared at him, letting herself look into his emerald eyes that were usually so cold, she found herself wondering what had happened to him. He seemed like a completely different person than he had been a few days ago. She didn’t know if she preferred asshole Aiden over softy Aiden, but there was definitely a difference.

“Well, since the water’s on and we’re both already in here, can I join you for a quick shower?”

“Of course, but we better hurry because I think the hot water is about to run out.”

While they showered, Liv took some time while shampooing her hair to admire Aiden’s body. She’d seen it when they were at the pool and in the hot tub, but she hadn’t taken much time to really enjoy the muscular physique that he obviously worked very hard for.

“Quit checking me out, Keeper,” Aiden joked when he caught her looking.

She shrugged. “I’m just enjoying the view.”

“I think you enjoyed a lot more than just the view.”

She nodded appreciatively, “That I did.”

After the shower, they both wrapped in towels and disappeared in their own rooms to dress for sleeping. Liv pulled out a tight camisole tank and a pair of cotton shorts. She was officially tired. They had stayed up far too late and needed to leave in about four hours. Not much, but what was one more night with barely any sleep.

She had just finished pulling up her shorts when she heard a soft rap on the frame of her open bedroom door. Aiden peeked around the corner, “Hey … I’m going to sleep now.”

The awkward was back. Normal people didn’t stay in the same house, have two rounds of mind blowing sex and then go to sleep in their own rooms. It felt like they should at least say something besides, ‘sure thing, see you in the morning.”

“Okay. I am too,” she answered.

He fidgeted for a moment in her doorway, looked down at the floor and then back up at her. “Cool. I’ll see you in the morning then.”

“Bright and early,” she agreed.

He spun on his heel and left. Confusion slammed into her. He acted like he wanted her to invite him in or something, but that was absolutely not going to happen. She couldn’t let herself get attached. It was bad enough that he was sleeping under the same roof.

She’d just slipped underneath the thin blanket and sheet on her bed and lay back into the blissful softness of her pillow when Aiden appeared at the door again, but this time he barged right in. “Fuck this.” He marched toward the opposite side of the bed and threw back the covers.

Liv bolted straight up into a sitting position. “What the hell are you doing?” she demanded.

Aiden, wearing only a pair of shorts, then proceeded to climb under the covers, making a show of pulling them up over his chest. “It’s feels fucking weird going to bed in different rooms after all that awesome sex.”

“It’s just sex, remember.”

“You don’t have to remind me.” He closed his eyes as if he were trying to fall asleep right then.

“Aiden. You don’t have to do this. We can’t fall asleep in each other’s arms. We can’t even touch without it eventually hurting.”

His eyes opened and he turned his head toward her. “I know that.”

“Then just go to bed.”

“I am in bed.”

“Oh my goodness. Seriously? What the hell is wrong with you? Where is Aiden and what have you done with him?”

He sat up as well, twisting his torso so that he was facing her. “For fucks sake, Liv. Your family is supposed to be helping me if I help them. I don’t think fucking their sister is exactly the best way to get on the good side of any of them. Shit, Even Jack would probably shun me for this.”

Her eyes widened. “So you’re in here to make sure that they don’t think you took advantage of me?”

“Yes … no … fuck.” He threw his hands up. “I’m trying, for once, to do the right fucking thing, okay! The whole thing with your family is true. No, I don’t want them to think I took advantage of you. I don’t want to ruin any relationships with them … or you.” He added the last part in a softer voice.”

Liv opened her mouth to say something and then changed her mind. It took a full minute before she spoke. “Aiden, we don’t have a relationship to ruin.”

“I don’t mean that kind. I mean friendships, partnerships … whatever they are between any of us.”

“And,” Liv pointed out, “If anyone took advantage of anyone, it was me taking advantage of you. I’m the one who started it.”

He nodded. “That’s valid. Still, I don’t think any of your family would see it that way. I’m the bad guy in this scenario.”

He was a bad guy. He was the guy who kidnapped her sister and was ready to turn her over to the Empress. He was a Reaper, who fed on the souls that she was born to protect. He was trained to kill people and not think twice about it.

But, he was also a man who was changing. It didn’t happen all at once. He helped them more than once when Hannah was in trouble, he helped them in the recent battle, and he was still helping them.

“I don’t understand how sleeping in my bed is supposed to make anyone feel different about you. Also, I don’t plan on telling anyone about this, so no one will know anyway.”

Aiden lifted a cynical eyebrow at her words. “You do realize we are talking about your family here. They are going to know.”

“Well, I’m still not telling them and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t either. Now I need to get some sleep, so if you want to stay in here then fine, but let’s get some rest so we don’t die tomorrow.”

“Deal.” He lay back against the pillow and closed his eyes again.

Rolling her eyes, Liv also lay back on her pillow. Only problem was that she wasn’t sure how much sleep she was actually going to get with him lying right next to her.

A cool breeze wafted in through the open bedroom window. He could hear the crickets chirping and the frogs croaking, and all the other noises of the night.

He couldn’t sleep. Liv was beside him, breathing deeply as she slept. They had both lay there for a long time, unable … or unwilling, to let slumber take them. Eventually, Liv drifted off, but he was left to the sounds of the night and his own thoughts.

He had made himself look like a total jackass. Liv probably thought he was all love struck or some shit. After he’d left her to go to his room, he hadn’t felt right about leaving. It was a first for him in many ways. He’d never cared one way or the other about staying or leaving, but he always left after a night with a woman. It was always sex, that was it.

He had told Liv that is all it would be between them, but even when he had said that to her, he knew it wasn’t true.

He liked her. As in, liked her enough that he enjoyed being around her, not just someone to use for his own good time.

And that was where his problem was. He had absolutely no idea how to act around someone he felt that way about since he’d never felt that way before. Sure, he had crushes when he was a kid, but nothing that was real.

Seriously, he had to get over this shit. He and Liv couldn’t even touch each other without feeling the burn between them. They came from warring factions that had been enemies for generations. This had to end.

He could run, get the hell away and leave the Keepers to deal with their own shit. But, that wasn’t his style. He didn’t know what he was going to do, but what had happened between them should not happen again, that much he knew for sure.

Liv stirred next to him and a tiny whimper slipped from her lips. He turned on his side so that he could look at her. Her dark red hair was spread out over the pillow and her lips were slightly parted. Her silver aura glowed brightly around her, pulsing with the rise and fall of her chest beneath the thin blankets.

Another small noise came from her and then she thrashed a bit, turning her head one way and then the other. “No,” she suddenly cried out her arms shot upward, covering her face.

Aiden sat up. She was having a nightmare.

Liv yelled again, shouting “No” to whomever she was dreaming about. And then, her arm came down in a slashing movement and her chest heaved with a sob. Tears spilled from the corners of her still closed eyelids, rolling down her cheeks and leaving her skin wet.

“Liv.” He reached over and shook her hip, careful to only touch her where the blanket covered her skin. “Wake up.”

She thrashed again, another sob wracking her sleeping body. “Liv.” He raised his voice and shook her a little harder. “You’re having a nightmare.”

With a start, her eyes flew open and she launched into a sitting position.

“It’s okay.” He pushed himself up so that he could also sit and held his hands up to calm her. “You were dreaming.”

Her eyes were wide with fear and confusion, but finally, her eyes focused and settled on him. “I’m sorry,” she said in a whisper. Tears slipped silently from the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

What in the hell did she have to be sorry about. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

She shook her head as if she didn’t want to, but after taking a deep breath, her wide, fearful eyes met his. “I … I killed that guy. I keep seeing it.”

“He would have killed you. You know that.”

“That doesn’t make it any better. I murdered him, and now he’s going to haunt me forever.”

Aiden didn’t have a lot of experience with comforting people over this sort of thing, but he did remember what it was like to have killed those first times after he had joined the Reaper Army.

Before considering what he was doing, he moved backward until his pillows were against the headboard and then, using the sheet, he reached over and wrapped her in the fabric, then dragged her over so that she was resting between his legs and her back was against his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her, keeping the thin sheet between them. She didn’t resist, in fact, she seemed to appreciate the contact by the way she snuggled back against him. He could hear and feel that she was still crying, though.

“Listen,” he began. “There are some things you won’t ever forget. Things that traumatize you, things that hurt and things that change your life forever. These things can be good … or they can be bad, but the memories of them stay with you, all the same. The trick is to use these things to drive you harder toward your goals. Use the bad things and make them good things. Suffering is what makes us strong.”

Liv sniffed and wiped at her tears. “I don’t want to suffer. I know that sounds selfish, but it’s true.”

“It’s okay to feel that way. There isn’t anything wrong with being selfish once in a while.”

She let out a rough laugh. “Yeah, you would know right.”

“Yeah. I’m not shy about it. I’m one of the most selfish people you will ever meet. Jack … and the Empress are the only ones I have ever put before myself.”

“I just want the guilt to go away.”

He nodded even though she couldn’t see him. “It will fade, but it probably won’t ever go away.”

She stayed silent, probably contemplating his words. Eventually, the silence stretched out so long that they both must have fallen asleep because he woke to both of their phones and an alarm clock beeping at them in different tones.

He peeled his eyes open and groaned a bit as he realized his neck was kinked from being tilted at an odd angle for so long. Liv was still wrapped in the sheet and tucked up against him. He leaned over, stretching his arm out in an effort to reach the nightstand where his phone sat.

Liv must have felt him moving because she stirred and then jolted upright. “Oh …” Her hands went to her hair, smoothing back the mussed strands. “I’m sorry, I fell asleep.” She rolled over to her side of the bed and slapped her alarm clock and snagged her phone so that she could turn that alarm off too.

Aiden finally reached his and frantically poked at it until the alarms stopped buzzing.

“Good grief.” Liv breathed the words. “I guess setting all the alarms probably wasn’t the best idea.”

He had to agree, but they did need to get up and start getting ready to go. They had a big day ahead of them and once again, they were going on only a few hours of sleep. He usually could function on only a few hours of sleep, but this was one of those days where he truly wished he could close his eyes for another hour or so. It was only 4:00AM and still dark outside.

He pushed the blanket away from his body slid out of the bed. “I’m going to go take a quick shower and get dressed.” He didn’t wait for her to respond, he simply left the room and turned down the hall to the room where his things were. Grabbing a fresh set of clothes, he hurried to the shower. Liv was going to want to use it soon, so he didn’t want to take too much time.

Once he was under the steaming hot water. He realized that he’d been a bit cold when he had left her room. Small talk and acting like he cared wasn’t really his gig. But, that was why he had left that way. For some fucked up reason, he did care about her feelings.

When he was done in the shower he dressed in a pair of black jeans, black tee shirt and a red zip up hoodie. He didn’t use his black one because they weren’t really going in on a stealth mission so he wasn’t worried about blending in with the shadows.

He found Liv in the kitchen, pouring the first cup of coffee from the pot into a mug. “The coffee is ready,” she informed him. “I’m going to take a shower now.” With those last words she headed back toward the hallway, carrying her mug with her.

Shit, he’d pissed her off.

He poured himself a cup of black coffee and took it with him as he went back to the room to get his weapons ready. He sipped the coffee and then set it down on the dresser. Already, Liv was invading his thoughts more than he wanted her to. He didn’t want to get attached. It was just sex he’d said. What he didn’t realize was that the sex was just him acting on the attraction that was already there.

He was so screwed.

He put his holster on under the hoodie and then strapped two knives onto the sides of his calves. He spent some time counting ammo and checking clips before throwing the rest of the weapons into one of the duffle bags. He had a decent selection of guns and knives, but he hoped that they wouldn’t have to use any of them.

The Empress had said that she was backing off, but he knew her, probably better than her own son did, and she was manipulative. She would know that they were going to go to the compound to make sure and he had a strong feeling that Reapers would be there waiting for them.

Alma crossed his mind briefly and he considered calling her again, but then tossed that thought aside. After the last call, he knew she wouldn’t leave unless he could tell her for sure that she was in danger.

They were just going to have to wing it and make choices as they went along. Grabbing his duffle, he slung it over his shoulder and then took hold of his coffee cup in the other and made his way back to the kitchen.

He was on his second cup of coffee when Liv entered the room. She had her dark red hair pulled back and braided into a thick rope at the back of her head. She also had on black jeans, but hers were fitted and tight against her form. She had on running shoes and a teal tank top. She had a black hoodie tossed over her arm.

A hip holster that held two guns and a knife rested on her hips. He knew it was wrong of him, but the sight of her wearing weapons turned him on. The thought wasn’t only wrong, but also strange, since he’d been around women who wore weapons all the time.

“You ready?” she asked, lifting her purse and slipping the strap over her shoulder.

He went to the sink and rinsed out his coffee cup and then turned to meet her eyes. She showed no indication of whether last night or this morning was bothering her. Her dark brown irises were flat and emotionless.

Forget it, Aiden. She’s just a Keeper. Just another woman who you spent the night with. Nothing more.

Those were the words he told himself. Because for the first time in his entire life, he was fighting his own emotions. He actually fucking cared. But those thoughts were thoughts he was going to have to address on a different day. “Yeah.” He nodded, “Let’s get this shit over with.”

Since Aiden’s SUV was still at the bar, he rode with her over to the farmhouse. She could barely look at him since they woke up. It was the first time she had ever slept in someone’s arms all night and she wasn’t exactly sure how she was supposed to go about the whole ‘morning after’ thing. This was not the time for her to worry about such things though, all her concentration needed to be on the mission.

She could feel him glance at her from time to time on the drive over, but he remained silent as well. He hadn’t said a word about the night before and she had asked him not to say anything around her family, so she hoped he would keep his mouth shut. The last thing she needed was to fight with her brothers and sisters about something that didn’t matter because it wasn’t going anywhere.

All morning, she had been telling herself that him acting like nothing had happened the night before didn’t bother her, but it actually bothered the crap out of her. Confusion was the most prominent feeling. She didn’t know what she wanted from him and she had told him that she didn’t want anything but sex, so he was giving her what she asked for. How could she be angry if he was doing exactly as she asked.

The farmhouse was already alive with activity when they arrived.

Just as Liv entered with Aiden following right behind her, James burst through the kitchen door. “It’s about time. We have to get moving.”

“I know,” Liv told him. “We’re here now.”

James, like most of the men, wore jeans and tee shirt. He had one gun resting in his single belt holster. She knew that he wore knives as well. Their family carried knives pretty much all the time. The knives were always made of silver, since the metal was poison to Reapers. It wouldn’t kill them unless they were stabbed multiple times, but once usually gave a Keeper enough time to run if they had to. The majority of the time, the Reaper was the one to flee if they were stabbed, since staying to fight would usually not end well for them.

James flicked his eyes back and forth between her and Aiden. “You look like shit. How much sleep did you get?”

“Not much.” She set her purse on the buffet table by the stairs.

Dan entered the room, obviously hearing the conversation. “Maybe you would have gotten more sleep if you weren’t making out in a public pool with a Reaper all night long.”

“Don’t start, Dan.” She warned.

He whirled and pointed at her. “I will start whatever the fuck I want to start. I fucking knew he shouldn’t be staying with you.”

“I told you, nothing happened. We were just swimming.”

“Yeah right.” Her brother glared at Aiden. “You better watch your step, Reaper. Just because she’s there doesn’t mean you can take advantage of her.”

Aiden glared back at him but didn’t say anything. Dan’s eyes widened. “What, no smart ass remark from you?”

James’ attention volleyed back and forth between Liv, Dan and Aiden. “Did I miss something? What the hell happened?”

“Nothing,” Liv seethed at the same time as Dan pointed at Aiden and said, “Last night, that mother fucker was caught by Sheriff Davis making out with our sister in the pool.”

Aiden stepped toward Dan so that her brother’s finger was pressed up against his chest. “Look, Keeper. I understand that you are protecting your sister, but I am only going to let this shit go so far. I fucking get it, I would be the same way if it was my sister. However … I won’t let you keep accusing me of taking advantage of her. I would never do anything with anyone who wasn’t fully consensual. I am an asshole, I know that. I’m well known for sleeping with women and never speaking to them again, but not once have I ever forced a woman to be with me. If there is even the slightest chance they are too drunk or even too fucking struck by my charm to make a conscious decision, then it doesn’t happen.”

Aiden took a breath. “This is the last time I will stand here and let you run your mouth, accusing me of something I didn’t do or have any plans on doing. So knock this shit off.”

Dan lowered his finger, but continued to glare. “I will never stop protecting my family from Reapers.”

“We’ve discussed this too many times to count. I’m tired of going in circles with you.”

“I’ll run those circles until it’s crystal clear to you.”

“Oh, it is to me. You’re the one who needs to fucking chill out and worry about yourself.”

Liv decided she had let them go on long enough and stepped between them. “Enough. We have bigger things to worry about today.”

Aiden immediately stepped away from her brother and relaxed his stance. But Dan, continued to glare. “I still don’t trust him around you.”

“Shut up, Dan. I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself.”

“Enough.” Greg entered the room, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. “Liv is right, she can take care of herself.”

“Thank you, Greg.” She breathed. Finally, someone on her side.

He nodded. “Personally, I don’t want to know who my sister is sleeping with.” His eyes went to Aiden. “But, she’s welcome to choose whoever she wants.”

Liv realized that Greg had just given his blessing to Aiden, but also told him with a mere glance that it was up to Liv to decide. Why was her personal life seemingly dependent on her family?

“Look, we have a mission that we need to be getting ready for,” she began. “I don’t know why any of this is even a discussion right now. It’s super early in the morning and I don’t want to talk about any of it because there is no reason to talk about it. Can we please just go now?”

Greg nodded. “Good plan. Let’s move.”

They packed up the duffels full of weapons and loaded up into Jacks truck. The truck was only supposed to hold six people but they decided that they had best squeeze the seven of them into the truck instead of taking two vehicles.

They could have taken her van, but the van didn’t handle the turns over the mountain as well as Jack’s truck did. So, she ended up sitting on Aiden’s lap because none of her brothers wanted her sitting on theirs and they sure as hell weren’t going to sit on another dudes lap.

After a bout of hugs and a passionate kiss between Lucy and Jack, Lucy, Steph, Hannah and David stood on the porch, waving farewell as they pulled away from the farmhouse. Liv stared through the window as they disappeared from view and silently prayed that they would make it back to see them again.

In the back seat of the truck, Aiden slid his arms around her middle and without realizing it, she settled back against him. Thank god Dan was in the front, she just didn’t want to deal with that shit right now.

Ethan was beside them though, and that wasn’t a whole lot better because he kept giving them the side eye. Aiden was right, everyone knew. If they didn’t suspect that they had been together already, then they saw the obvious attraction between them.

She thought she kept it under wraps, but apparently it wasn’t as discreet as she had originally felt it been.

Aiden’s arms stayed over her clothes, keeping the burn away, but his hands rested on her upper thighs. His breath was hot against her bare neck, and suddenly all she could think about was his lips against that tender skin. Flashes of the night began to play in her head … the hot tub, the shower, their bodies moving together. How in the world was she supposed to concentrate on the mission when all she could think about was how much she wanted him?

She squirmed a tiny bit, trying to rid herself of those thoughts when she felt him grow hard beneath her. Then, his lips were so close to her ear that she felt a sizzle as they brushed against her lobe. “Don’t do that,” he growled in a whisper.

And that made her even hotter. She wanted to tease him, she wanted him to want her. His grip on her thighs tightened, as if he were trying to hold her down and keep her still.

Holy crap, they were sitting with five other people in a moving vehicle. What in the hell was wrong with her?

Ethan glanced over at her and raised his eyebrows. She couldn’t help but feel like he knew what was happening, what had happened, and at this rate, what was bound to happen again. She raised her eyebrows back at him.

She loved Ethan. He was her brother even though he wasn’t by blood, an Estmond. He and Lucy had been through their fair share of things, emotionally, but she knew, just like everyone else in the family did, that he was still in love with Lucy.

He had put a stop to the sex a long time ago, thank god, because Lucy would never love him like he loved her. Now that Lucy was with Jack, she knew he was holding in all of his emotions and there was a bitterness that still ran deep within him.

Everyone knew that, up until when Jack came into the picture, Ethan still had hopes that one day Lucy would realize that she was in love with him too. Slowly, he was starting to understand that was never going to happen.

Liv, like the rest of the family, including Lucy, felt bad for him. They all knew that being a Keeper and having a relationship with someone who wasn’t also a Keeper, was not an easy thing to do. Hopefully he would find some peace with that eventually, but for now, she knew that he was hurting.

A shake of his head told her that he did know and he had heard Aiden’s warning not to move around. She shrugged and turned to face the window so that she didn’t have to endure his judgmental stares.

When she shifted, a sharp intake of breath from Aiden told her that he was struggling and probably had the same issues as she was having. Thinking of what they had done was a turn on and she wanted more. She knew he did too.

As they headed up the mountain, the natural twists and turns of the road caused her body to shift even when she didn’t want it to. She took hold of the overhead handle and held on, trying to hold herself steady.

Good lord, if Aiden didn’t get this shit under control he was going to have a serious problem when they got out of the truck. As they drove though, the hardness she felt beneath her disappeared as he grew used to having her on his lap. Thank god, the last thing they needed was Dan having a hay day with that. Aiden would never hear the end of it.

Time passed quickly as they traveled and finally Jack announced, “Almost there.” Soon after, they were turning into the long drive that led to the Reaper compound. Both sides of the paved road were lined with vineyards and the morning sunlight brimming over the horizon provided a reddish orange sheen to illuminate the fields of grapes.

“Are you guys ready?” Jack asked as he pulled up to the keypad. “If she changed the code we are going to have to park out here and walk in.” But, upon punching in the numbers, the gate swung open. Smiling triumphantly, Jack drove through and soon after, came to a stop in front of the massive compound owned by the Empress.

The reddish orange hue from the sunrise lay over the estate like a blanket. They all sat for a moment, inspecting the front of the building and the surrounding grounds. “It looks quiet from here.” Jack whispered, as if someone inside might overhear him.

“That’s because everyone is still sleeping, idiot.” Dan shook his head and pushed open his door. “Let’s get this over with.”

Liv was in agreement with that. She just wanted to get this part of it done so they could go home and actually relax for more than a few hours. The group piled out of Jack’s truck and stood in front of the steps to the compound.

Aiden moved to the front of the group to stand with Jack and looked at his friend. “Are you ready?”

Jack nodded, and withdrew his knife from the sheath at his hip. “I’m ready.”

They decided to go through the front door since they weren’t going for stealth, and they had just rolled right in the main gate. Anyone who was monitoring the entrance would have already noticed that they were there.

Liv subconsciously ran her fingertips over the blades at her hips. The knives were there, the guns were there, and knowing the weapons were close provided some comfort. She knew how to fight to protect herself, but she honestly hoped that they didn’t have to.

As much as they all tried to tell themselves that they hoped this raid on the compound would lead to nothing, she had a nagging feeling that they were all walking directly into a fight. The demeanor of the others told her that they felt the same way.

Jack and Aiden took the lead, since they were more familiar with the place than anyone else. Yeah, they had all been there when they had rescued Lucy, but that had been such a rush, Liv knew she would never be able to remember her way around.

They had decided not to split up, but to stay in one group to keep their numbers strong. If they were attacked, they wanted to be sure that they could outnumber whoever they were fighting.

Jack punched in the key code that would open the front door and then slowly turned the knob. Luckily, there was no issue and one side of the French doors silently swung open. He stepped inside, hand on the butt of his gun, ready to draw if anything happened. As quietly as possible, Liv followed along with the rest of the group as they entered the mansion behind him.

The second she entered the foyer, memories of the fighting washed over her. This was the place where she had engaged in the first real battle of her life. Sure, as a Keeper they all had the occasional scuffle with a Reaper here and there, but that fight … it was big and brutal.

Realizing that she was letting her mind wander, she shoved those thoughts aside and forced herself to get her head in the game. Thinking about that stuff wasn’t going to do her any good at the moment.

Jack and Aiden quietly led the way through each room of the main floor. The place was eerily silent. The kind of quiet that almost seemed to roar in your ears. Their careful footsteps were the only sound that she could hear.

Each room was empty and still, as if no one had been there for quite some time. Eventually, they approached a hallway tucked behind the kitchen. “Alma’s room is this way,” Aiden whispered, his voice barely audible. They checked each room along the way. Jack would open each door, followed by Aiden and Greg entering the room to make sure it was clear. So far, they had found no one.

Finally, Aiden halted before one of the doors and gestured that it was Alma’s room. That meant they needed to be careful, Alma was the only person they actually expected to find in the mansion.

Jack slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open. No lights were on within, but the room was illuminated by the morning sun streaming through sheer curtains that hung from a single window. The single bed in the center of the room was empty and the blankets and sheets were left in a rumpled pile in the center of the mattress.

“She’s not here.” Greg whispered, moving to leave.

Aiden shook his head. “This isn’t right. She would have told me if she was leaving. Also,” He pointed at the bed. “I don’t know her habits that well, but Alma sure as hell doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who would leave her bed like that on purpose.”

Jack narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Aiden shrugged. “But, she is meticulous about the rest of the house, I don’t see her not even pulling the covers up a little bit. That, looks like a struggle happened here.” He quickly strode over to the night stand and examined the top of it. Finding nothing, he moved to the drawer, opening it to look inside.

“Shit.”

Liv pushed past Ethan, Dan and James. “What is it?” she asked.

“Her cell phone. She wouldn’t leave it, not after I warned her about the dangers of staying here.”

Aiden looked heartbroken at the sight of that cell phone. Liv had to push away the urge to lay a comforting arm over his shoulders. “This means that…”

“That someone took her,” he growled.

“Aiden.”

“They better fucking hope that not one hair on her head is harmed or I will annihilate them all. Son of a bitch. Kidnapping an innocent old woman … how in the hell does that help them at all.” He slipped the phone into his pocket as he straightened to standing again.

Even though his question was obviously rhetorical, Dan answered him. “Maybe they knew you called her. If any of the Reapers … or the Empress knew that you were in contact with each other, they might have figured that she was at least a little important to you.”

Liv nodded. That made sense. “So, they took her simply to stick it to Aiden, because he cares about her.”

“Fuck.” Aiden’s face hardened as he stormed silently through the bedroom door and back out into the hall.

The rest of the group followed after him. “Look man,” Jack stepped up beside his seething friend. “We’ll find her if she’s here.”

“What if she’s not here, what then?” Aiden spat back. “I can’t even believe this bothers me so much.”

Beside Aiden once again, Liv lifted her hand to his bicep. “It’s okay that this bothers you. It’s okay to care about people.”

“I don’t even know her.”

“That’s okay.” She assured him. “Sometimes you don’t have to know someone very long, or at all, to have a connection with them.” She paused, realizing what she had said could be easily applied to their situation as well.

He stood completely still for a moment and then finally, he lifted his other hand and covered her smaller one that rested on his arm. “Thank you.” His response was short, but they didn’t have time for a lot of sentiment right now. He lowered his hand and she removed hers and then turned back to the others.

Everyone was staring at them with curious eyes. Except Dan, whose eyes were narrowed into a murderous stare. “See … I fucking told you guys.”

James threw up his hands. “I don’t give a shit, Dan. Liv can be with whoever she wants. So what, he’s a Reaper, so is Jack!” Her brother’s voice was a low whisper, but still conveyed his irritation. “Give it up, man. You have to stop worrying about this shit all the time.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “When a Reaper kills someone you love then see how you fucking feel, asshole.”

James was smart enough to let the comment slide. “Let’s move on,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, we still have a lot of ground to cover.” Jack agreed, but he was looking at Liv when he said it. He let his gaze meet hers, their eyes locked for a slight moment and then he nodded. Liv nodded back at him, understanding that Jack was just now realizing what was going on.

Liv slid one of her blades from its sheath and after wiping sweat from the palm of her hand, she gripped the handle so that it was pointed downward. Then, she followed the rest of the group down the hall, keeping her ears open for any sound that was not from one of them.

If she wasn’t determined before, she was now. Regardless of if Aiden knew Alma or not, if she was an innocent, they had to try and help her. Keeping her family safe was drive enough, now she had that little bit extra she needed to keep going.

They covered the main floor and found nothing, then, they went through the same motions on the second floor and again, found nothing.

“Looks like it’s empty.” James murmured up as they trooped back down the stairs.

Jack glanced back at her brother. “Not necessarily. There is still a basement that is about as big as this house and several outbuildings. We have to check those too before we write it off as clear.” He turned to Aiden as he hit the landing on the first floor. “If no one is here, we will make a new plan to try and find Alma.”

Liv had no idea what kind of plan that would be, but she knew it would involve one or more of them going to Florida to deal with Jack’s mother. Maybe that was what they needed to do anyway, gather more Keepers and take down the Reaper royalty in their own home. That would show them how it felt to have someone try and kill you on our own turf.

She tucked that thought away for later use. That was the last thing she wanted to do, but at least it was an option.

Greg, looking flustered at not finding anything, turned to Jack. “Where is the basement? Let’s check there first and then we can do the outbuildings.”

Jack led them to a door on the side of the house where the kitchen was located and pointed. “That’s the entrance.”

“Oh, hell no,” James declared. “I’m not going into a basement. What if someone traps us down there?”

“There are two exits from the basement aside from this one. We should be fine,” Jack assured him.

“I don’t know man, I still don’t like it.”

“Stay here then,” Aiden told him. “I’m going, who’s with me?” With that, he yanked open the door and began to carefully descend the wooden staircase that creaked and bounced like it was made a hundred years ago.

Liv followed directly behind Aiden. Jack was behind her. “You guys better wait till we get all the way down,” Jack told them. “These stairs don’t look like they will hold all of us. I don’t know what it is with basements and old fucking stairs. Geez.”

They had flipped on the light at the top before they had started down, so Liv could already see the huge racks that stood from floor to ceiling. From where she stood, it looked like the racks held wine bottles, but she wouldn’t know for sure until she was all the way down.

Aiden hit the cement landing and turned toward her. She nodded to him that she was okay when she stepped off the last step. Jack was right behind her. When he was all the way off of the stair-case, he turned. Keeping as voice as low as he could, but at a volume that the others could hear him, he called up. “We’re down.”

The others began their descent and Liv turned back to the room, her knife held up defensively, ready to strike should anything happen. She strode over to one of the racks and inspected it. Yup, it was wine. Lots and lots of wine.

“Which way?” she heard Ethan ask and she hurried back to the group.

Jack beckoned for them to follow him, but Liv heard something like a scratching noise. She halted and held up her hand. “Did you guys hear that?” she whispered, glancing first at her brother Greg and then to Aiden. Both of them shook their heads. Ethan, Jack and Dan all indicated that they hadn’t either.

She heard something. She was sure she had.

“Let’s move.” Jack gestured for them to follow. The group formed a single file line behind the Reaper, following him deeper into the cool, dimly lit space beneath the mansion. Both Jack and Aiden’s auras were brighter in the basement, and for the first time in her life, that red glow was comforting to her.

Maybe the noise was just a rat or something. This place was empty most of the time, right? So, there were bound to be critters of some kind finding their way in from time to time.

They were about to emerge from within the racks when the line halted and she bumped into Aiden’s back. “What?”

Aiden had already drawn his second weapon.

“We’ve got company.” Jack told them, his voice loud enough for them all to hear. “So, this is what you have been degraded to, hiding in the basement.”

“We weren’t hiding, you dumb ass. We were waiting for you.” A strange voice boomed.

Oh shit. She heard blades come out and guns being slid from their holsters. She looked behind her, both of her brothers and Ethan were facing the opposite way and then she saw the bright glow of Reaper red come into view.

Dammit, they were surrounded, trapped in the confining space of the wine racks. She held her knife at the ready even though she was in the middle and couldn’t really do anything.

“I’m gonna shoot this bastard.” Dan was on the other end of their line. “Not even joking. We shoot and we get the hell out of these fucking racks.”

“Maybe booze will be the death of you, brother.” Greg snorted.

Liv shook her head. “Inappropriate,” she scolded, then with more authority. “I agree. Shoot them.”

One gun fired, and then the shot from the other side echoed it. Her ears felt like they were going to explode as the shots echoed through enclosed space.

Jack ran out, followed closely by Aiden and Liv. Everyone else was right behind them. The group emerged and suddenly they were faced with eight Reapers, all glowing red and armed, some with guns, some with knives.

Quickly, Liv spun and found that Reapers were also in the wine racks. This wasn’t looking good for them at all. Just as she was considering swapping her knife for a gun, the shots started. She flicked her eyes back and forth, deciding the best course of action.

She was deaf from relentless shots cracking one right after the other. She was sure people were dying, and likely one or more would be someone she loved. She backed out from the gun fire, not to run, but to go for the Reapers behind them.

The nearest one stood at the entrance to one of the wine racks and happened to be looking toward where the gun fight was happening. Swallowing back every ounce of fear, she steadied her shaking knife hand and then charged him.

He didn’t see her coming and reflex caused him to drop his weapon when her blade buried itself in his side. She kicked it away, so he couldn’t go for it and yanked her knife out of his body. His mouth hung open as if he were going to call out but couldn’t. His eyes were wide with shock and maybe even fear.

Finish it, Liv. You have to finish it. She knew that she had to, that if she didn’t he might recover and live to hunt her family another day. Raising her knife above her head, she aimed for the heart. The Reaper was practically paralyzed, she didn’t know if it was from the silver or from the pain and fear, but he didn’t move to stop her.

The second she was going to bring her blade down, he lurched backward before she could strike. Suddenly, a dark red stain appeared on the Reapers white tee shirt. The blood bloomed outward, growing larger before her eyes.

Turning, Liv squinted and saw Aiden standing slightly behind her brothers, lowering his gun. Their eyes met and he nodded, then spun back around, raising his weapon to fight for her family again.

Before she could return her attention to the Reaper, something grabbed her arm and she lost her footing. Unable to catch her balance, she realized she was falling and clutched the handle of her knife even tighter so she didn’t lose it.

The Reaper had taken hold of her as he was going down, but they didn’t meet the floor, her body crashed into his and they both careened into one of the wine racks. He was dead by the time her body made contact with his, but as she pushed away she felt the wine rack tip, rocking slightly before it gave way and then the entire thing went over.

It was a domino effect nightmare as that rack hit the next one and the action repeated with the others. Where once the cracks of gun shots filled her ears, now all she could hear was the crashing of bottles as they fell to the ground and broke. The glass hit the floor and bounced back up in a spray of glittering shards. The cement floor became a flood of red as the wine puddled and ran outward, as if searching for a place to run.

She reeled backward, her arm raising instinctively to protect her eyes. She consciously knew that the gunshots had stopped, but she didn’t know what that meant.

“Fuck, grab him,” she distantly heard someone yell. She didn’t know who. Her ears were completely messed up from all the gunfire.

“Shit. That fucking hurts. Dammit. Fucking dammit.”

That was her brother James. Oh, my god, he’s been shot. She stumbled and turned, intending to hurry over to find him, but her legs gave way, probably due to equilibrium from her ears being all fucked up. She fell, her knees slamming hard into the cement floor. Pain like she had never felt fired throughout her entire body and she crumpled.

And then, someone took hold of her arm and hauled her up. She glanced up to see who had helped her and found Ethan standing beside her. His arm went around her to help her catch her footing. “You okay?”

She nodded. “I think so. James?”

“I think it’s his leg.”

“Reapers?”

“All but one are gone.”

She took a moment to survey the room. Reapers were everywhere, lying dead or severely injured on the floor. The river of wine wove its way around the bodies, pooling in some places.

Ethan helped her as she limped toward the others. The only Reaper left standing was the one that Aiden held tightly in his grasp, arms twisted behind his back at such an angle that it would only take one small movement to break his arm.

Jack glanced around the room, surveying the damage and then his eyes met Aiden’s. “Let’s get back up to the main floor.” He turned to James, whose calf had blood covering the entire lower half. “We need to get him to a hospital too.”

“I’m fine.” James grunted and then, after a couple of deep breaths continued. “There isn’t a bullet in there, it went right through. It can wait until we are on our way home.”

They began to walk as they spoke. Dan and Greg helping James while Aiden dragged the Reaper along as he spewed colorful insults at them.

“You good to walk?” Ethan asked her.

“Yeah. I should be fine. Thanks.” She followed behind the others as they picked their way out of the rubble. They had to find a path all the way on the other side of the room from where the wine racks had fallen and eventually they ended up at the stairs where they carefully made their way up.

Relief flooded through her when they arrived safely on the main floor. It almost felt as if it all hadn’t happened and there weren’t a bunch of dead bodies fermenting in wine downstairs. But, her brother was shot and that loud-mouthed Reaper was still spouting off, so the illusion didn’t last long.

Once they were in the kitchen Aiden found a chair and Jack handed him a length of rope that he must have picked up along the way. Shoving the Reaper into the chair, Jack held him down while Aiden secured the rope around his arms and legs. Then, he glanced up at the rest of them, meeting Liv’s curious gaze. “This might get ugly, I won’t blame you guys if you don’t want to stay.”

Greg and Dan dumped James into a chair nearby. “What are you going to do to him?” James asked.

“We need to find out where Alma is and he won’t talk,” Aiden explained.

Liv raised her eyebrows. “You’re sure he actually knows?”

The Reaper bucked under his restraints. “Oh, I know where they took that old bitch, but I’m sure as hell not telling you.”

Aiden turned and punched the guy square in the nose. A loud popping, combined with a disgusting crunch echoed throughout the room. Blood sprayed out, dotting the clean white tile with red.

“You’re going to have to kill me because I will never give you anything,” he laughed.

Aiden bent down before him and looked his former ally straight in the eye. “Oh, we aren’t going to kill you … yet. You are going to endure much worse than that. As a matter of fact, I assure you, there will be moments that you will wish that you were dead.”

“You don’t scare me, you fucking traitor.”

“No, I know you aren’t scared of me right now. But, you will be.” Aiden calmly rose, stepping away from the Reaper and strode into the kitchen area. He stopped near the island where two knife blocks sat in the center. Very delicately, he removed the biggest one, examined the blade and then put it back, glancing over at the Reaper as he did. “Too big, those are only good for chopping off fingers or toes. I don’t think we will need that right away.”

The Reaper narrowed his eyes, but didn’t say anything as Aiden chose the smallest in the block. “Ah, now this,” He said, turning the knife so that the light glinted off of the metal. “This is exactly what we need.” He stepped away from the island still holding the cutlery. “Can someone find me some toothpicks. I will also need a bucket of water and some towels.”

Liv watched closely. The man whom she had spent the night with had straight up turned into a stone-cold killer again. His eyes, which had begun showing some warmth, held absolutely no emotion whatsoever now. She knew she should leave, walk away, so she didn’t have to watch, but some sick part of her knew that she had to stay and see what he did to this man.

“I’m out of here,” Dan announced. “I’m okay with a lot of stuff, but I don’t know that my stomach can handle this.”

“I’ll go with you,” Ethan told him. “I’m not gonna be sick, but I’d rather not watch.”

Jack stood behind the Reaper with his arms crossed. “Anyone else?”

Everyone shook their heads and Jack nodded to Aiden. “Let’s proceed.”

“Here’s your toothpicks.” Greg slipped a small box into Aiden’s hand. “Let’s wait on the water torture to see what happens, okay?”

Aiden actually managed to look a little sad. “But, that’s my favorite part.”

Her brother clapped Aiden on the back and smiled. “Save the best for last, buddy.”

Though Liv chose to stay in the room while they tortured this man, she moved near the door, just in case she decided she wanted to escape while it was happening.

“Last chance, Asshole.” Aiden kicked the guys foot. “Where is Alma?”

When the guy didn’t answer, Aiden took the small knife and slowly circled the Reaper. “Silver.” Aiden nodded appreciatively. “Alma does know how to choose the finest cutlery, doesn’t she?”

The Reaper didn’t answer, his sassy mouth had finally gone silent as he realized that they did, indeed, mean to torture him.

“Jack. Would you mind untying one of his hands?” Jack did as Aiden asked while Aiden set the knife down and held the now free hand down on the table beside them. Once Jack was done retying the restraints, he took over holding down the hand.

Aiden then picked up the knife and without any warning, slammed it down into the spot between the thumb and pointer finger. A scream erupted from within the Reaper, causing all those who witnessed the act to jump a little. The blade had gone through the flesh so easily and with so much force that it stuck into the wooden table top beneath. Aiden did not remove the knife, nor did he act like he was going to any time soon.

“I ask you again, where did they take Alma?”

“Fuck … off,” the Reaper groaned through clenched teeth.

“Okay.” Aiden shook the little box of toothpicks. “Fun times we’re going to have up in here.” He set the box on the table beside the guys hand, where he knew that his every move could be seen. Delicately, he plucked a single tooth pick out of the box.

He rolled the toothpick back and forth between his thumb and forefinger for a moment and stared at the Reapers hand for a moment as if deciding which finger he wanted to do first. Liv held her breath. She knew she should look away, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She heard a sharp intake of breath from Greg and knew he was feeling the same way.

Then, Aiden bent, choosing the guys forefinger and slid the toothpick into the flesh underneath the fingernail. Another shout and a ton of obscenities expelled from the Reaper as he bucked and tossed his head in useless movement.

“Okay! Fine … they are taking her to Florida.”

Liv released the breath that had built up inside her lungs. Thank god. She didn’t know how much more she could watch.

“Which way?” Aiden demanded, not moving to remove the toothpick or the knife.

“The … they went over the mountain, through that shitty little town you’ve been staying in.”

Liv, Greg and Dan’s heads all snapped to look at each other at the same time and she knew their thoughts matched hers. Hopefully, they hadn’t planned a stop at the Estmond house.

“What are they driving?”

“White … white Lexus.”

“Perfect.” Aiden breathed in deep, as if relieved. Then, he turned to face Liv. “Why don’t you guys take James to the truck and we’ll meet you there.”

Liv nodded and went to help Greg with James. They had James wrap an arm around each of their shoulders and he used them as sort of a crutch as they hobbled him out the front door. Not two seconds had passed after the door shut behind them when the sound of a single gunshot echoed through the air.

Aiden desperately wanted to clean up the blood and other mess in the kitchen, but they didn’t have time for that. They had to get on the road if they were going to rescue Alma. Too much time had already passed, because he was sure the Reapers had left with her before they even arrived at the compound.

The only thing they took time to do was dump the body down the stairs into the basement so that he was with the others. He figured the Empress would simply call in a crew to clean it up. She wouldn’t bother with the authorities because that would put her at risk as well.

At least they wouldn’t be up all night digging holes for dead Reapers. That was a plus.

“You ready?” Jack asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

Aiden nodded, he was more than ready. They headed for the door and Jack speed dialed Lucy. He assured her that they were all okay, let her know about James being shot, and filled her in on what the Reaper had said about them traveling through Summer Hollow.

By the time he finished he was climbing into the driver’s seat of the truck. “Everyone put your seat belts on and hope to god we don’t get pulled over.”

James and Dan both took the front with Jack this time, so he squeezed into the back with Liv on his lap again. He didn’t have to worry about getting turned on this time, that was for sure. He may put on a good act about liking torture, but it wasn’t something he had ever in his life enjoyed. He actually felt a little bit sick to his stomach.

Liv sat down on his thighs and he slid his arms around her waist. She turned to the side a tad bit and hooked her arm over his shoulders. A feeling he hadn’t expected suddenly washed over him. It was comforting. Having her there, his arms around her and just feeling her close to him … it made him feel better.

Jack hit the gas and the truck lurched forward with a screeching of the tires. Liv leaned over, so close that her lips almost grazed his ear, and asked, “Are you okay?”

He nodded, but didn’t speak. He couldn’t concentrate on that right now. He wouldn’t feel better until they had rescued Alma from those insane Reapers.

Jack hit the highway and accelerated even more. Traveling far over the speed limit, the two-lane road was not made for passing, but he still went around each vehicle they came upon. He held his arm securely around Liv’s waist to keep her from sliding around every time the truck swerved to pass.

Their only hope in catching them would be if they stopped somewhere for gas or bathroom breaks. He was banking on that idea, otherwise they were pretty much screwed. If they missed them and the Reapers ended up taking Alma to the Empress’s home in Florida, it would be nearly impossible to rescue her without someone dying.

“James. How’s the leg?” Jack asked without taking his eyes off the road.

“It fucking hurts. How do you think it’s doing?”

Jack ignored the rhetorical question. “We don’t have time to take you to the hospital right now, are you going to make it?”

“I’ll be fine as long as I don’t get an infection.”

“There are some big ass bandages in the glovebox if you want to use those.” Jack waved a hand indicating the compartment in front of Dan.

Dan leaned forward and rifled through the messy pile of papers and random items until he found the square bandages and some medical tape. “Nice.” He held them up. “Let me see your leg, bro.”

James lifted his leg with both hands and propped it up on top of his brother’s lap. Dan opened his trench coat and withdrew his flask. He twisted the top off and took a long pull and then, before anyone realized what he intended to do, he poured it into the open wound.

“Holy fucking shit!” James slammed his back into the seat. “That fucking burns!”

Jack side eyed them. “Try not to get that on the seats please.”

Dan tipped the bottle again, letting the liquid spill out. James hissed, but didn’t cry out this time. Once Dan finished the old school disinfecting, he handed the flask to James, who eagerly lifted it to his lips and took a long drink. “Fucking hell, this sucks.” He continued to nurse the flask while Dan applied the bandage.

Aiden was glad they had those bandages. He didn’t know how long it would be before they could get James to a doctor. They also needed to come up with a story to tell the authorities at the hospital. Then again, maybe they didn’t even need to go to the doctor. Hannah had medical training, so she could look at it first and let them know how serious the injury was.

They drove and drove, eventually entering Summer Hollow, they slowed to the speed limit as they rolled through town. Aiden knew Jack’s foot was hovering over the gas pedal, ready to accelerate again.

“Should we drop James at the house?” Liv asked, concern coating her voice.

Jack shook his head. “I’d like to, but I really don’t want to waste any time. We’re already so far behind them.”

“I’m fine, seriously.” James assured her.

All heads turned toward the farmhouse as they passed. It looked the same as it had when they’d left that morning.

Greg let out a long breath. “Looks all right on the home front.”

Jack nodded. “Someone would have called us if there was a problem.” He said this just as they were passing the city limits sign and his foot slammed down on the pedal. Momentum pushed them all backward as the truck surged forward.

They drove for another twenty minutes and Aiden was starting to worry about what they were going to do when they got to the highway split. They would have to guess which route the Reapers had taken.

“Holy shit! There’s a white Lexus!” Ethan leaned forward between the seats and pointed. “

Aiden followed the direction that Ethan was pointing and sure enough, a white Lexus was traveling along two cars in front of them.

“I can’t pass these other cars yet,” Jack fumed. “Do not let that car out of your sight.”

Dan adjusted in his seat, trying to get a better view. “It could be a different white Lexus, though.”

“It could be, but it’s the best we got right now,” Aiden told them. “We’re going after it.”

Once they hit the double lane going up a hill, Jack punched the gas pedal again and they roared past the two cars that had been in between them and the white car.

Liv shifted on Aiden’s lap, turning toward the window. Aiden helped her switched the arm that was around her waist. When they rolled up along side the car he heard Liv’s breath catch. “It is them.”

She could probably see their auras. As for him, he practically pressed his face to the glass, peering through the dark tint. In the back of the Lexus, he saw two men sitting in the back seat and wedged in between them was the unmistakable form of Alma.

The Reaper who was driving happened to glance over right at that moment. He swerved a bit when he realized that he was looking directly at a truck full of Keepers and a couple of Reapers. Quickly recovering from the shock, he returned his gaze to the road and began to speed up.

“Shit, he’s gonna make us chase him,” Jack mumbled.

Aiden was seething. There was nothing they could do right now that wouldn’t put Alma or themselves at risk. He couldn’t shoot at them because they might wreck the car. Same went for ramming the car off the road.

The lanes merged back into two and Jack slid in behind the Lexus. Apparently, the Reapers who were holding Alma captive did not have the same worries about risk as he had. One of the Reapers heads appeared in from the window of the back. He pushed himself out until nearly half his body was out.

“He has a gun,” Dan informed them calmly.

Aiden rolled his eyes. “No shit, really.”

Jack narrowed his eyes and glared through the windshield as he slowed down. “I swear to god, if he shoots my truck…” The Reaper fired, the shot sounding more like a car backfire and suddenly the truck swerved as Jack tried to miss it, but the bullet hit the passenger side mirror. Jack cringed and everyone else ducked down. “That mother fucker, someone shoot him back.”

Dan, albeit reluctantly, slipped his gun from his holster and began rolling down his window. Before he could hang himself out the window and return fire, the Lexus took a sharp turn without slowing down at all. The rear of the car slid across the pavement as it tried to keep up with the front of the vehicle.

Jack slammed on his breaks, slowing enough to make the turn. They bounced and moved as one inside the cab, bending their bodies to one side as momentum pushed them over. As soon as the truck was safely on the side road, he hit the gas again.

“Try and get around them to block them,” Aiden instructed. More shots were fired, but none of them made contact. “I guess we can be thankful that guy is a crappy shot.”

“I can’t get around,” Jack responded.

“Fuck!” Aiden wanted to punch something, and he would have if Liv hadn’t been sitting on his lap.

A huge grin spread across Jack’s face. “We’re in luck!” He pointed ahead and Aiden saw what he was talking about. There, in the distance, he could see a bright yellow sign that read ‘Dead end.”

“Block them in.” Aiden ordered. “Once they can’t go any further turn the truck sideways in the road.”

This better work, Aiden thought. It was pretty much their only chance. “Everyone get ready to fight as soon as the truck stops. James, you stay in the truck and keep your head down.”

“Great, I’m the liability.”

“It could happen to anyone,” Greg assured his brother. “You’re not a liability.”

Aiden didn’t take his eyes off the Lexus. The driver apparently saw that the road was ending and a thick wooded area was all that was beyond them. The car braked hard and the driver must have tried to flip into a U-turn because the car skidded around turning sideways and kept sliding. It didn’t make it into the turn.

Aiden watched, horrified, as the car tilted onto its side and teetered there for a moment before tipping completely over.

“Shit!” he cursed as Jack blocked the road with the truck. “Let me out. Everyone out!”

The rest of the group bolted into action with their own commentary about the accident. He pushed open the door and Liv jumped down from his lap, pulling one of her guns as she did. He landed beside her and together, they ran toward the rolled Lexus.

Jack, Ethan and the Estmonds, sans James, were right behind them, all armed and ready for anything. As they approached, one of the doors creaked open and an arm fell limply out behind it.

She better be all right. They didn’t go through all of this for nothing, he thought as he approached the arm. Once he got there, he didn’t think twice, he grabbed the Reapers arm and yanked him out.

The guy was barely conscious. “Take him, disarm and restrain.”

“Alma,” he called out. “Are you okay? Let us know if you’re okay.” He moved to the back door, it was crunched so that it wouldn’t open. “Dammit.” Quickly, he held his face to the window and saw that both Reapers and Alma were unconscious. He stood looking over the top of the car and saw Ethan on the other side. “Does that door open?”

“No, I just tried it.”

“Shit. Okay, I’m going in the front.”

“I’m smaller,” Liv announced from behind him. He spun, finding her already moving toward the car driver side door.

“Liv.”

“It’ll be fine. I’m smaller, I’ll fit better.”

“I’m stronger.”

She smiled gently and bent to crawl inside. “I’ll get her out. It’s fine.” And then she was inside the car, crawling through the front and hanging her body half in the back seat, half in the front.

Aiden went to the passenger window again and shaded his eyes to see more clearly. Liv was currently reaching for Alma’s seat belt and unbuckling it. Once that was lose she pulled the older woman’s arms and rested them over the top of her shoulders and then slid her own arms underneath Alma’s armpits so she could drag her out. “She’s breathing,” she called out. “I’m lifting now.”

And then she hefted the heavier woman. It took a couple tries to gain the momentum and she finally rocked back and forth enough that Alma came with her. Liv fell backward, cracking her head on the dashboard in the process. Alma’s body lay limply on top of her for only a few seconds before Aiden reached in and pulled her out.

He gently lay her out on the ground beside the car and felt for pulse, then looked to Liv who was crawling out of the car. “Should we do CPR, she’s breathing, I don’t know what the protocol is for this.”

“I don’t know either.” Liv hunkered down beside him.

“Okay, I’m just going to do it.”

Suddenly Greg was there beside him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. If she was knocked unconscious, she will probably wake up soon. Give her time.”

“Are you sure?” Aiden didn’t know what to do. He had never been in this situation before.

“I’m not sure, but, I don’t think you should give her CPR if she’s breathing normally.”

A sudden movement below his hands had his attention and he glanced down to find Alma’s eyes fluttering open. “Alma,” he breathed. “Thank god.”

“Don’t listen to him. I’m not opposed to a little mouth to mouth.” Her voice cracked and she sounded as if she were in pain, but she was alive.

Liv laughed, but he didn’t think it was very funny. He viewed Alma as a motherly figure and the very thought of her inappropriate comment had him reeling. “Where else are you hurt? Let us check for broken bones.”

She shook her head. “I think I’m fine. I cracked my head against one of those neanderthals skulls I’d guess.”

“Why did they take you?” Aiden slid his arms underneath her body and lifted her up.

“All they told me was that the Empress wanted to talk to me in person because I’d been in contact with you. Nothing more.”

He set her in the truck beside James. “Okay, well, we will take you home to your family. I don’t want you to ever go back to the mansion.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” she agreed.

He left her there and turned back to the wreckage. Jack was holding one of the Reapers. The one in the passenger seat was dead, and the two in the back remained unconscious. “Knock him out and leave him in the car,” Aiden told Jack.

“Dude … we need to take care of this.”

“Not out here.” He turned to the still restrained Reaper and said pointedly, “They won’t come back and if they do, then we can … take care of it.”

“Fine.” Jack sighed and then slammed the butt of his gun into the Reapers forehead. Instantly unconscious, he crumpled unceremoniously to the ground. Jack holstered his weapon and stepped over the top of him. “Let’s go home.”

Aiden rolled his eyes and followed him to the truck. He knew that Jack didn’t want to kill the Reaper, but they were at a point where it was kill or be killed. Jack never liked the parts of the job that were violent. He did it when he was ordered to, but he didn’t like it. Which was merely one reason why Aiden always ended up doing the dirty work for him.

It told Aiden a lot that Jack had been willing to off that Reaper out in the open without a care as to what they would do with the body or that someone might see them.

This time, Aiden wanted to take the high road. There had been enough killing for one day. They had all made it out alive, and that was what mattered.

Liv had never been so happy to see the farmhouse. She was tired as hell and wanted to sleep for the next two weeks.

Her adrenaline rush had worn off and she was tanking fast. By the time they pulled into the driveway, she was practically staggering into the house. Her brothers helped James from the truck and into the house while Aiden assisted Alma.

Even through her exhaustion, Liv had to smile at how Aiden babied Alma. He kept trying to hold her arm and help her, but she kept swatting him away and muttering about how she could walk on her own.

The others emerged from the house and hurried toward them. Lucy bypassed all her siblings and Ethan, flying straight into Jack’s arms. He lifted her up and her legs went around his waist and then he buried his face in her neck.

Hannah was the first to approach Liv, jogging toward her. “We’re so glad you guys are okay.”

“All of us except James. He was shot in the leg.” Liv told her, gesturing to their younger brother.

Eyes wide, Hannah pulled out of the embrace and turned to look. “That’s right! We need to take him to the hospital.”

James had heard them from where Greg and Dan were helping him up the porch steps. Steph was hovering over him and not hiding her worry at all. “I’m fine. I don’t think I need to go to a doctor. I don’t want to explain how this happened to anyone.”

Hanna frowned. “James, we really should get it checked out.”

“There isn’t a bullet inside. I just need to keep it clean so it doesn’t get infected.”

She sighed and opened the front door for them. “Fine. But I’m going to check it out and get it properly disinfected and dressed.”

Liv gestured to Aiden and Alma. “This is Alma, she is going to hang out with us for a little while. We need to get our bearings and then we will take her home to her family.”

Hannah held out her hand to the older woman. “Hi Alma, I’m Hannah and this…” She turned to David who had appeared beside her after welcoming everyone else home, “is David.”

The others introduced themselves as they moved slowly into the house. Greg and Dan dumped James on the couch while Hannah went to gather medical supplies. Liv fell onto the cushions next to her brother.

“I’m so tired.”

He nodded and grimaced when Steph poked at his wound. “What the hell? Why?”

She shrugged. “I’m just looking at it.”

James leaned forward. “Hey, sis, did you feel anything? They always say twins can feel when the other is in trouble.”

She shook her head. “No, not a thing. But maybe you weren’t really in any trouble.”

“I was shot, Steph.”

“No, what I’m saying was the universe knew it wasn’t your time and you were always meant to make it out of there, so hence the reason I didn’t feel anything.”

James shrugged and mumbled, “So much for psychic twin powers.” Steph poked his wound again and his entire body jerked. “Stop it!”

Aiden had led Alma to one of the recliners and handed her a phone so that she could call her family and let them know that she would be coming to stay with them. After he made sure she was comfortable, he and Greg headed for the kitchen and then re-appeared with several bottles of beer, which they handed out to everyone who had just returned from mission.

“Why does James smell like whiskey?” Hannah had crouched down to examine his leg.

Liv accepted the beer from Aiden and twisted the cap off. “They used it for disinfectant.”

Hannah shook her head. “Unbelievable. You guys, this isn’t an old west movie. This is an actual gunshot wound.”

“It was all we had.” Dan shrugged off her concern. “It was better than nothing.”

Greg sat on the coffee table and guzzled down half his beer in one swig. “Well, we got that mission out of the way, but we definitely aren’t going to be in the clear for a while. From what we’ve seen so far, The Empress isn’t going to give up until either we’re dead or all her Reapers are wiped out.”

Everyone was in agreement with this statement. This was the whole reason Liv had been so adamant about going after the Reapers at the compound though. She was tired of their family being targeted and having to constantly live in fear. “I think we need a more pro-active plan. We need to plan a big strike against them. I think we need to make them the target.”

Jack nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that too.”

“You have?” Lucy’s head spun toward him.

“Yeah. So, hear me out.” He was standing, speaking to the entire room. “I’ve decided that I need to take my mother out of the equation.”

Silence sat heavily in the room for a moment. Liv glanced at Jack, then Lucy, and then back to Jack. “Are you talking about killing your own mother?”

He nodded. “She would have killed me. She cares nothing for me anymore … if she ever did in the first place.”

“I don’t know man. I wouldn’t feel right letting you kill your mother.” Greg interrupted.

“He wouldn’t be,” Aiden announced. “I won’t let him. I’ll do it.”

With a grateful, but stubborn expression covering his face, Jack pressed on. “I would have to go back to Florida, claiming that I want to return to my family.”

Lucy shook her head. “No. You’re not doing that.”

“It is what needs to be done, Luce. If I can get close I can do it and then, if my father has passed, then I am in line for the throne and I can stop all this. It’s not right for me to let them keep coming at us … at you, like this when I can end it.”

Liv had to admit, it wasn’t a shitty plan. It was dangerous, but definitely had plus sides. “I don’t think now is the time to be making any definite plans, but I vote that we at least consider this as an option.”

“Liv!” Lucy turned to her, appalled that she would vote in favor of Jack going back to the Reapers.

Jack took Lucy’s hand in his. “Listen. It’s not just us anymore. We have a baby to think about now and my mother isn’t going to stop. I will destroy anyone who poses a threat to my child, and that includes my mother.”

Plus, Liv could only imagine what the Empress was going to do when she found out that Lucy was pregnant. She’d probably plan to kidnap or kill the baby. A terrible thought, yes, but Liv knew the Empress was just that sick in the head.

Lucy made a pouty face. “I still don’t want you to go.”

Finished with his beer, Greg stood. “Like Liv said, we’re not making any plans right now. First, we need to recoup, relax and get our shit together.”

“Agreed.” Dan stood. “I’m going home.”

Everyone began to disperse and Aiden strode over to her. “Do you think you could drive us over to get my car. I need to take Alma home.”

“Sure. Do you want me to go with you to take Alma?”

He shook his head. “You don’t have to.”

Aside from making sure that Alma made it safely home, she wasn’t sure why she offered to go. “I know I don’t have to, I asked if you wanted me come with you.”

A shimmer of intensity flashed in his eyes as he stared at her. “I’d like that,” he finally told her, his voice low.

“Well, let’s get a move on.” She went to the buffet and collected her purse, slipping it over her shoulder. “Are you ready Alma?”

Alma pushed herself out of the recliner and stood. “I have been ready.” She glanced around at those who were left in the living room. “Thank you all for coming to my rescue.”

Everyone assured the older woman that it was nothing and they were happy to have helped her.

“Come on, Alma. Let’s get you home.” Aiden held out his arm for her and, once again, she slapped him away.

“Just because I got knocked out doesn’t make me helpless, Aiden. I can walk all by myself.”

Aiden lowered his head, and Liv smiled at seeing Aiden actually look sheepish. It was nice to see him showing a softer side, but at the same time, there was something about the bad ass side of him that she also liked … maybe more than liked.

They loaded up into Liv’s van and drove over to the bar. Aiden hurried in to grab his keys from Reese and then they drove both vehicles over to Liv’s house, where she and Alma joined him in the SUV.

On the way over the mountain, Liv asked Alma questions about her life and her family. About half way to Napa, Alma turned the tables and began asking Liv questions. “I know of Reapers, obviously. But, I have only heard talk of the Keepers. You are one of these Keepers?”

Liv nodded even though Alma couldn’t see her in the backseat. “Yes. Everyone in my family is.”

“Oh yes, all the gingers.”

Liv laughed, “Yeah, I guess it’s easy to tell which of us are related.”

“Indeed. So, tell me what exactly it is that a Keeper does.”

Liv hesitated a moment, catching Aiden’s eye in the mirror. He offered a brief nod and then moved his eyes back to the road. “So, you know that the Reapers have to eat souls to live, right?”

“Yes.” Alma cringed and glanced at Aiden. “I have heard this.”

“So, the Keepers job is to protect those souls from the Reapers at all costs. Our kinds have been waring for generations because of it.”

“It has always been this way?” Alma asked.

“Yes. I don’t know the whole history of the very beginning and how the Keepers and the Reapers came to be, but it’s supernatural, but also part of our genetics. The Reapers like Aiden produce a red aura and the Keepers have silver, like a mist. We have something within us that creates a sort of burn when our skin touches as well. So, it’s not like someone can become a Keeper. You either are one or you aren’t.”

“This is probably the most interesting thing I’ve ever heard.” Alma turned backward so she could meet Liv’s eyes. “So, if it is painful to touch, what about Jack and your sister?”

For a moment Liv was surprised and then she remembered that Alma knew Jack from before. “My sister and Jack … there is something different with them. They don’t feel the burn between them. It is only the two of them. For example, Lucy wouldn’t be able to touch Aiden without feeling the burn and Jack couldn’t come into contact with my skin either.”

Alma was nodding, taking in the information. “So intriguing. But it also sounds lonely, I can imagine you don’t have a very exciting dating life.”

Unable to help it, a laugh escaped from within her. “Why would you say that?”

She shrugged. “I would assume that being a Keeper isn’t something you go around telling everyone. If it were me, I’d worry about getting attached, so I’d probably end up not dating at all.”

Oh, how close to the truth Alma really was. “Yeah, that pretty much covers it. I own a bakery and I am a Keeper, that is my life.”

Alma frowned. “That makes me sad for you, dear.”

“It’s okay.” Liv reached over the seat and patted her shoulder. “No need to be sad for me. This is how I’ve grown up. I have my family, my business and the souls, that has to be enough.”

She caught Aiden staring at her in the mirror again and she felt the blood rush to her face. She probably shouldn’t talk about Keeper-Reaper relationships around Aiden. They were not in one, but that was the last thing they needed to be thinking about.

“Oh, Aiden.” Alma pointed. “This is the street.”

Aiden turned the SUV and they drove down a street with pretty houses and tidy yards. Alma’s family lived in a rather large, but older looking home at the end of the street in a cul-de-sac. He parked the SUV and came around to help Alma out.

She finally let him help her and then she leaned in and threw her arms around him. “Thank you. I’m sorry I didn’t have time to use our code word. They took me too fast.”

“Don’t even worry about that,” he told her. “I’m just glad we showed up when we did.

She pulled out of the embrace. “So am I. Now, you get that young lady home and you both get some sleep, okay.”

“Yes, Alma.” He stood on the sidewalk and watched while Alma dug around for her key. Finally, after she had disappeared behind the door, he circled back around the SUV and slipped into the driver seat.

Liv crawled up over the middle console and into the passenger side of the front. “She’s nice,” Liv commented.

Aiden nodded. “She’s more than nice. I don’t know what it is, I haven’t really known her that long, but I feel connected to her in a mother-son kind of way. I didn’t have a very loving or emotional childhood.”

“You should tell me about that.”

“About what?”

“About your childhood, about your family, about your life, I don’t know.”

“You don’t want to hear all that. It’s boring.”

Liv shrugged. “I don’t care if it’s boring. I just want to know more about you.”

Aiden kept his eyes trained on the road before him. “Not today. Maybe some other time.”

She didn’t push. There was no reason she absolutely had to know everything about him, and just because they had been together for one night didn’t mean she was entitled to knowing any of it either. “Okay,” she agreed.

The ride home was quiet. So quiet that she was surprised she hadn’t fallen asleep along the way. When Aiden pulled into the driveway and she saw her house, all she could think of was a glass of wine and relaxing in the hot tub before going to bed and then sleeping for about twelve hours.

“We’re here,” Aiden announced, as if she didn’t already know. Then, he reached over and touched her hand. She fought the urge not to pull away as the burn sizzled across her skin.

“I’m sorry you had to see all that.”

She crinkled her brow. “All what?”

“What I had to do to get information out of that Reaper.”

“Oh. That.” Liv shrugged. “He wouldn’t have told us otherwise. You did what you had to do to find someone you cared about. I get it and I would have done worse than that if it was someone I cared about.”

“I just … that isn’t who I am anymore, but I have done many things like it.”

She looked up and found his eyes. Guilt and pain were buried somewhere deep within those emerald depths. “Aiden. I can’t say I like any of that at all, but you are trying to make a new life for yourself. With all the fighting and attacks, that part of you is not going to go away in the blink of an eye.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything so Liv grasped the handle and pushed the door open. “Let’s go in.”

He followed Liv into the house and they both went directly to their rooms. He had to change clothes something fierce. The ones he currently wore were covered in blood, wine from the mansion fight, and who knew what else.

After changing into a pair of shorts and a thin white tee shirt, he wandered into the kitchen to see if he could find something to cook up for the both of them.

He couldn’t find anything quick and easy to cook as far as dinner food, but he did find all the makings for ham sandwiches, so he began pulling the items out of the fridge and setting them on the counter.

He had just finished making four sandwiches when Liv entered the kitchen. He was cutting each of the squares into four smaller squares and setting them on a plate. “Hey, I hope you’re hungry…” He glanced up and whatever he was about to say was lost to him. Liv stood there, wearing only a black polka-dot bikini. Her hair was tied up on top of her head in a loose bun and she was standing on her tip toes, reaching up into the cupboard above the coffee pot.

“Starved,” She murmured, moving her hand around as she searched for something she couldn’t see..

“What are you looking for?” He peeked into the cupboard. “Oh…” He reached in and extracted the bottle of red wine that was way in the back. “I bet this is what you needed.”

“Yes! Thank you.” She went to another cupboard and took out a wine glass. “Do you want some wine?”

He shrugged. “Sure, why not. I made sandwiches. Wine goes good with sandwiches, right?”

“Who cares if it goes together. I’m hungry and want wine. I’d eat just about anything right now.” She used a cork screw to open the wine and set the bottle on the counter and then eyeballed his shorts. “You going to take a hot tub with me?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Am I invited?”

“Of course. I just need to relax. As tired as I am, I still feel all amped up.”

“I totally know how that feels.”

“Let’s take the sandwiches and wine to the tub.” She was pouring the wine into gigantic wine glasses. “Just try not to get too many crumbs in the water.”

“Agreed.” He lifted the plate and followed her out the sliding glass door.

Like the first time he’d gotten into the hot tub with her, he wondered what in the hell he was doing. She obviously didn’t have any intent for anything physical, but he was still a man, and she was still a very sexy woman in a very tiny bikini.

And there was going to be wine.

She set the wine down beside the hot tub and slipped into the bubbling water. “Oh, my god, this feels amazing.” She turned. “Set the plate here so we can share.”

He did as she asked and then took his tee shirt off, throwing it down onto the deck before getting in beside her. She was already eating, holding one small square in her hand and her wine glass in the other.

She was right. The water felt awesome after the day that they’d had. For several moments, they sat in silence, letting the water bubble up around them and polishing off the sandwiches. Then, she turned to him, her dark brown eyes wide and said, “I lied.”

He sipped his wine and then put the glass on the deck again. “Lied about what?”

She inhaled deeply. “About just sex.”

He was confused. “I’m not following you.”

“I lied when I told you that what we did was just sex. Or, maybe it was then, even though it was only last night, but… Aiden. I think I actually like you. It’s not like … I’m in love or anything like that, but even with the burn as a deterrent, you are the only person I’ve ever been with or opened myself up to who knows my secret. I don’t know why I’m telling you this, I’m babbling.”

She … liked him.

Most women liked him, but they didn’t know who he was. This one, she had literally just watched him torture and kill people and she still felt the attraction that had been with them since they had met. How was it possible that she could want him for more than physical pleasure?

“And I know that you killed that guy in the basement so that I didn’t have to. You are a good person. I kept trying to tell myself that you were a bad guy and that I couldn’t let myself get attached. I tried to find every reason to ignore my feelings and I just … can’t. Can you please say something, either way, I feel stupid sitting here talking while you stare at me.”

“I…” He reached over and took hold of the wine, brought it to his lips and drank nearly half of it before setting it back down. “It’s hard for me to decipher real feelings sometimes. But everything you said about convincing yourself that we aren’t right, is exactly how I have felt.”

She let out a long, relieved breath. “I’m not saying that I want a relationship or anything…”

“Maybe I do,” he cut her off. “I’ve never had any kind of relationship. There is no woman who could have ever really known me or been okay with what my job was. Same as you with your life, you’re the only person I’ve been with who knows my secret.”

She leaned forward a little. “This is fast, right? Are we moving too fast?”

He laughed. “That ship sailed last night, I believe. While it might be fast, it’s really not. We’ve known each other for a little while and I don’t know about you, but I found you to be one of the most interesting women I’ve ever met, right from the get go.”

“Really? You did?” She smirked as if she didn’t believe him.

“I wouldn’t lie about that,” he whispered.

Never, in his whole life had he let his emotions actually take the front seat. She had been honest enough to tell him what she was feeling, so he had to show her that same respect. He found her gaze and looked her directly in the eye. “Olivia Estmond, I think you’re my weakness.”

She set her glass down beside the tub and glided through the water toward him. “I like that.”

“You like what?” His voice caught in his throat when her fingertips grazed across his leg.

Her lips formed a small smile. “I like that you are tough and bad ass, but there is way more than that on the inside. I like it that I am the only one you let see that part of yourself.”

He nodded, and her hand moved up a little bit more. He wanted her, not just sexually, but for the first time in his life, he wanted to know about a woman. He wanted to know what made her who she is.

“Liv. I can’t make any promises about what a great man I am. Honestly, you deserve far better than someone like me.”

Her eyebrow went up. “I am the only one who gets to decide what is good for me and what is not.”

“I’m just saying…”

“I know what you’re saying and you need to shut up, what you’re doing is degrading yourself again.”

How could he explain to her that he would never be good enough for someone like her, someone who always did the right thing? Who grew up protecting souls of people she had never even known?

She appeared to have read his thoughts. “I have faults too, Aiden. Everyone does.”

“Not like mine.” He shook his head.

“Well, there is always room for redemption, and you are off to a fantastic start with that. But regardless, I’m pretty sure I would still be attracted to you even if you weren’t trying to be a better person.”

He reached out and gripped her around the waist, pulling her onto his lap. Even through the water, the electric energy of the burn coursed over their skin. “So, you seriously want to give me a shot. I’m probably going to horribly disappoint you.”

She lowered her face down, her soft lips stopping only inches from his. “Like I said, why don’t you let me decide that for myself.”

Their lips met. Unlike the frantic contact the night before, this time was slow and soft. He pulled her even closer and her lips parted slightly. His tongue swept out, finding hers and grazing over it.

He grew hard beneath her, wanting her more desperately than he had ever wanted anyone before. As if she could read his mind, she reached down and took hold of him, caressing him through the shorts he still wore.

“Off,” she ordered as she backed off of his lap and stood up in the water.

He had his shorts off in record time and she had stripped out of her bikini, throwing it onto the deck by the wine glasses. Before she could say anything, he had her on his lap again and her lips found his once more.

She reached down and stroked him a few times before gently guiding him into her. Good lord, she felt amazing. No sex had ever felt the way it did with her. With his hands still on her waist, he forced her even further down onto him, thrusting his hips at the same time.

She moaned beneath his lips and that only made him harder. He tried his best to hold back the urge to move faster, but she was making it very difficult to do.

He felt her when she began to climax. Her core tightened around him and she threw her head back, her nails digging into the skin on his shoulders. That was all it took to send him over the edge too. He unwillingly cried out and bucked his pelvis in a hard thrust. “Holy … fuck,” he murmured as she fell limply against him. “You are amazing.”

“As are you,” she whispered back.

* * *

“So, you and Liv still doing okay?” Jack asked, picking his way through the graveyard beside Aiden.

“Yeah. The whole concept of having…”

“A girlfriend,” Jack supplied.

“Yeah that. Having a girlfriend, is completely foreign to me. Sometimes I don’t know if I’m doing it right.”

Jack stopped to glance at his friend. “Man, she liked you when you were a fucking assassin for the Empress. I highly doubt there is much you could do wrong. Just be yourself.”

“What about you? How is it going with Lucy and the pregnancy?”

“We went to the first appointment. Other than that, it’s mostly her being hormonal and sick. Honestly, I don’t know how women do that shit all the time.”

Aiden shrugged. “Well, the Estmond kid’s mom did it seven times, imagine that.”

“Hell to the no.” Jack shook his head. “We are having one, that’s it.”

Both of their cell phones suddenly sounded at the same time and they glanced at each other knowingly.

“Shit,” Aiden mumbled, reaching into his pocket and pulling his cell out.

Jack did the same and let out a sigh. “Well, the break was nice, wasn’t it?”

Aiden read the text, it was from David.

Reapers are at the bar asking questions about the family. We need to go take care of it. Meet you there.

“Dammit, I really hope Dan isn’t there right now.” Jack suddenly looked worried.

“I’m sure that David would have said if he was.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Jack nodded.

“Well, let’s get to Knight’s before he does get there.”

Aiden texted back really quick.

Jack and I are on our way.

Aiden smiled as they jogged to the SUV. Even though they had to go clear some Reapers out of the local bar, life was still damn good.

My heart pounded so loudly it echoed in my ears.

My footsteps fell hard on the earth beneath me as I ran. I could feel the evil reaching out for me, gaining on me. Fallen branches snapped under the pressure of my bare feet, piercing pain shooting through me each time. Leaves crunched and scattered around me as I mentally pushed myself to go faster. Only the light of the moon filtering through the trees illuminated my way through the thick woods. Sweat poured off of my face and blurred my vision, making what was already difficult to see nearly impossible.

I felt the soft fabric of my pajama pants catch on something, probably a tree branch, and tear as I kept moving. I couldn’t stop. No matter what, I had to keep moving.

Then it happened.

I felt the dip in the moist earth beneath me and suddenly my body was falling in what felt like slow motion. My knees hit the ground first, slamming into the dirt and leaves so hard that a jarring pain ripped through my body and a scream escaped my lips. I flailed my arms, desperately searching for something to catch my fall.

The next thing I knew, I lay sprawled on the forest floor. The side of my nose stung and I realized that the skin had been scratched open. The coppery taste of a renegade drop of blood confirmed that I had, indeed, obtained a cut. I had only taken a second to recover before trying to push myself up

However, that was too long.

A laugh echoed through the night. A dark, evil laugh that haunted every moment of my twenty nine years. My fingers dug into the dirt as I tried to force my exhausted body upward.

Then, ice cold fingers suddenly wrapped around my ankle. The prickles burned into my skin, freezing the flesh beneath and began to spread up my calves. I screamed again, trying to pull my legs from the frigid grasp that held me. Though my mouth opened, nothing sounded. It was as if I was on mute. The numbing cold crawled upward to my knees, and then my thighs.

There was no one to hear me anyway.

I continued to try and push myself up. Strands of my matted red hair fell down in front of my face, somewhat restricting my vision. I didn’t want to see what was going to happen anyway. The urge to give up began to tug at my will to survive.

Suddenly, the earth beneath me transformed, what was once firm and moist, was now slippery and slimy … and moved.

I twisted to the side and found my voice again as another scream erupted from so deep inside me that I had no idea how my body could produce such a sound. My head whipped back and I threw my hands out as I rolled fully onto my back in the pit of snakes that had appeared from nowhere.

My legs were completely numb, as if frostbite had rotted them away. I lay there on my back, unable to move as the snakes began to slither over my arms, into my hair and onto my face. In only seconds, they were even covering my chest and crawling beneath my shirt. Their reptile skin a sickening contrast to feel against my own warm flesh.

It was now fear that paralyzed me, not the cold that had numbed my legs into submission.

I could hear the laughter of the creature, mocking and eerily enjoying what was happening to me. It took every ounce I had, but I lifted my head and looked up, trying to see the monster who terrorized me night after night, but all I could see was a shadow and glowing, yellow eyes.

* * *

My eyes snapped open and I found myself screeching and writhing around on my sheets that were drenched in sweat and tears.

Rusty was on my bed, barking like crazy. But, not at me. He was turned away from me as if he were guarding me. My screaming ceased as I realized where I was and I stilled. I knew I was safe now, but that didn’t take away the lingering fear and pain. I simply turned to the side and brought my knees to my chest, curling up into a ball, and sobbed. The tears didn’t need to well, they were already spilling over before I even opened my eyes.

It was never going to end … never.

Rusty’s barking had silenced and my beloved golden retriever inched forward and began licking the moisture off my cheeks. “Stop,” I whispered, pushing him away from my face. He did stop with the doggie kisses, but lay down with his head on my side. I patted the soft fur on his head as if to say, ‘I love you too.’ You would think that he would be used to seeing me like this by now and simply ignore it.

All my life I had been plagued by these nightmares. Every. Damn. Night. I couldn’t even find rest in the day time. If I fell into a deep enough sleep, the horrid dreams came. Ever since I can remember I had only been able to manage non-REM sleep and sometimes stage one. If I hit stage two, the nightmares took over.

I finished crying and lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling, like I did every night, and wondering how this happened to me. My uncle had the nightmares, too. He died when I was six months old, but my mother told me that was it was almost exactly the same as what I endured, and mine began shortly after he passed.

When I was young, mom took me to every specialist known to man, from sleep studies, to therapists, to neurosurgeons, and they all found nothing. I was completely normal. No one could find anything that would cause the disruption of sleep.

The icy cold from the nightmare wouldn’t go away. I could feel it down to the bone throughout my entire body. The sweat and chilly, autumn nights may have also had something to do with that. Nevertheless, I forced myself to roll off the bed and staggered into the bathroom.

I peeled off my pajamas and stepped into the shower where I let the water rain down onto me and warm my muscles once again. For the longest time I just stood there trying not to think about how tired I was and how the dreams … nightmares, were always different, but the shadow was the common factor in all of them.

When I felt the water start to lose some of its heat, I quickly washed my hair and then lathered up my body with soap so that I could scrub off the sweat. The shower finally went cold just as I was giving my skin a final rinse. I turned off the spray and stepped out, wrapping myself in a towel, and then put on a new set of pajamas and went downstairs to make a pot of coffee.

While the coffee brewed, I turned on all of my downstairs lights and rummaged around for a snack. My fridge had pretty much nothing in it, mostly a bunch of condiments and a carton of milk. Since it was only me I had to shop for, I usually ate at the bar & grill so I didn’t have to cook anything.

I snagged the milk and pulled a box of cheerios out of the cupboard. The coffee was almost ready so I filled a mug and added hazelnut creamer, then sat down at the small round kitchen table. Rusty had followed me downstairs and lay quietly at my feet.

This was a nightly occasion, so my table was stacked with provisions. It held a romance novel I was in the middle of reading, a sketch pad, some colored pencils and my laptop. This time though, my eyes were drawn to the local newspaper that I’d dropped there on my way in from work the day before.

I shoved a huge spoon full of cereal into my mouth and chewed as I pulled the paper toward me. The front page was plastered with the coverage of preparation for the latest Saint’s Grove festivity. The next night there was supposed to be an extremely rare astronomical event, a total lunar eclipse and supposedly, the alignment of six planets.

With a sigh, I pushed the paper away and reached for my laptop. Of course I was excited about the Event, but the amount of people that were going to come out and see it was a little out of my league. I wasn’t a very social person, even though my job sort of required it. Most everyone who came into What in Carnation, was someone I knew.

Opening my laptop, I booted it up and sipped at my coffee while I waited. As soon as it was completely ready, I pulled up my word processing program and found my latest document. Before digging into the writing, I re-read a few of the passages that I’d written the night before.

This was my ultimate secret. My alter ego that no one would ever know was actually Molly McMillan.

Lola Whispers, author of erotic romance.

Writing wasn’t my day job, but the flower shop didn’t bring in that much money and I certainly had the time since I only managed a few hours of sleep regularly. Lola had come into existence because I needed a diversion to keep my mind occupied and off the scary memories of what happened in my nightmares. I began writing about love and romance because it was the complete opposite of what I experienced every time I closed my eyes. By the time the eBook boom and self-publishing hit, I already had seven full novels that were up and ready to publish. So, I took the plunge.

After a little while I tried my hand at some of the juicier stuff and people really liked it; that was when my books really took off. It actually amazed me how many people enjoyed reading the stuff I wrote. Heck sometimes it even embarrassed me.

In any case, I ran the shop during the day and love every minute of it. Because I dealt with horror and fear every single night, I filled my days with beauty. In the shop, the scent of flowers and earth surrounded me and I could somehow feel more alive. Flowers and the shop were my passion, the books were merely a hobby.

With Rusty at my feet, I worked on my latest book, the sequel to, A Knights Tail, until the sky began to lighten and I knew it was time to start getting ready for work.

Jennifer Malone Wright is best known for her short story series, The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter. Other works include the follow up to The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter series called The Arcadia Falls Chronicles and her vampire novel called Savior. Jennifer also co-authors a series called Once Upon a Zombie Apocalypse.

She resides in the beautiful mountains of northern Idaho with her husband and five children where she practices preparing for the zombie apocalypse. Just kidding!

But seriously, between the craziness of taking care of her children, Jennifer has little time left for herself. The time she does have left, usually leading far into the night, is spent working on her beloved fiction or chatting with her equally crazy friends.

Jennifer also loves coffee, has a passionate affair with red bull, wishes the sushi were better where she lives and dances while she cleans.

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Please visit Jennifer at:

www.jennifermalonewright.com

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