The plan, according to the guys, was to dangle me in front of Brian. When he took the bait, they somehow get him to talk then dangle him in front of Heller. Seems straightforward enough but from the looks of things, Reaper was not too impressed with the arrangement. I was still cross with him for leaving me behind, he hadn’t said a word to me since he and Swede returned.

I watched him play with Six and my heart melted.

Once the others left to gather what they would need—I suspect, more firepower—Reaper left the room with Six trotting after him. I waited, trying to figure out what my issue was. There was no mystery to why he’d done what he did. It wasn’t the end of the world—so why was I acting like such a petulant child?

Irritated with myself, I wandered the safe house until I located him in the bedroom. He was lounged back on the bed, laptop in his lap with Six settled between Reaper’s muscular thighs. When I entered, the dog lifted his head, I guess to make sure I wasn’t a threat, then lowered it again.

“Reaper?”

He didn’t look at me. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry.”

Reaper set the laptop on the bed beside him and scooted up. He folded his arms behind his head and leveled his beautiful brown eyes on me.

“I’m frustrated, Reaper. My house is gone. The car my father rebuilt with his own two hands—the only thing I had left of—all of it, gone. And I’m tired of feeling helpless. Like everyone else is controlling my world and I’m…”

“Star, come here.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect but I approached him. At the bed, he scooped me into his lap and cuddled me into his chest. Six took the moment to rest his head against my stomach and I sighed. I may be homeless but as I settled into Reaper’s embrace, I couldn’t feel any more at home.

“I may not mean anything to you, Nova. And when this is over you’ll go back to your world. But it would kill me if anything happened to you.”

“I take it you’re not a fan of the plan, then?”

“No. But, Swede made a great point. You need your life back and this is the best way right now.” Reaper kissed my head. “This is doubly hard because I now have to put my trust and your life in the hands of these men and…”

“They are not your old squad, Reaper,” I reminded him. “I know it’s your kneejerk reaction to this but you have to know Kujo and Swede would never let anything happen to me or you. You need to trust again.”

“Can this lesson come at a time when your life isn’t in danger?”

I smiled and eased up so I could frame his face. He pouted at me. I kissed his lips softly then settled back to caress Six’s head. There might be chaos soon, but this moment with Reaper was perfection.

“I could get used to this.” I confessed. “Lying in your arms while our dog snuggles into me seems like the perfect way to end a day. After a while, we make love then eat dinner together, naked on the floor.”

“You’ve thought about this, huh?” Reaper asked, bowing his head to nuzzle my throat.

“A little bit.” I blushed. “Only a little. I’m scared, Maverick.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want to be homeless anymore.”

“I know you have insurance,” Reaper said. “All you have to do is rebuild. It’s not going to be easy, but you can do this.”

I sighed.

We remained in our own world—my sins forgiven—in total silence. Six must have sensed our unease for he didn’t move. In fact, he seemed to have fallen asleep. In the safety of Reaper’s arms and the warmth of Six’s body, I wasn’t homeless. My entire world had not exploded behind me with the towering perfection of Reaper’s frame protecting me from harm. Right then, no one wanted my head on a spike and I was free to roam.

By the time Kujo and Swede returned, night was falling over the Crazy Mountains once more. While they gathered around to talk, I started making myself fancy. There wasn’t much to pick from—Molly had sent over a few pieces for me to chose from but with my curves, her clothes seemed to be a lot more revealing than they should. I settled on a short black dress that hugged my body, with a peek-a-boo back, red ruby earrings and a pair of heels that looked as though they had never been worn.

My hair was a bigger issue. Since I hadn’t really been focused enough to do much with it, it was a tangled mess. I used Reapers brush to work out as much of the knots I could, then braid it and wrapped it around in a bun for a high ponytail.

When I was finished I made my way back into the room and took a breath. “So—am I ready?” I asked.

All three guys looked up and smiled. Kujo whistled. Reaper smacked his shoulder and Swede laughed out loud.

“What Reaper is trying to say,” Swede said. “Is that you look—” He made a catcall whistle.

I giggled. “Aww, thanks guys.”

Reaper said nothing. He rose from his seat and picked up a gun from the table. He did the same thing he’d always done—checked it then shove it into the holster strapped around his very, sexy thigh. Kujo handed him another and after doing the same routine, he stuck that one down the back of his pants before hauling on a black trench coat. “Let’s do this.”

There was something different about him but I didn’t have time to question it. Soon, we piled into a SUV and was heading away from the ranch. I turned in the seat, watching the house for as long as I could. I stuck my hand back to absentmindedly stroke Six’s nose as he settled into the very back seat.

When I turned, Swede had been speaking.

“…everything will be recorded.” He was saying. “All you have to do is stick to the areas I laid out for you.”

“Um—I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.” I admitted.

“Star, you really need to focus.” Reaper admonished.

“And you think I don’t know that?” I snapped. “However this ends, all you guys do is go back to your lives. You go back to Climax and I’m still left with a shit storm. Sure, it’s a shit storm of my making but it’s still fucking stinks. So, forgive me for being a little bit pre-occupied.”

“Settle down, Star,” Kujo said. “No one is saying you’re not taking this seriously. Reaper is worried about how this will end so cut him some slack.”

Reaper twisted in his seat and leveled a hard stare on me. “Listen, throw as big a tantrum as you want, right now. Get it out of your system. Because once this starts, there’s no way to stop it until it plays out. You can’t pump a break and there’s no turning back. I need you at one hundred percent. My job is to make sure you’re still breathing at the end of it. Right now, I don’t care if your house blew up or if your name is on some list. All those things can start mattering again once this is over—got that?”

I said nothing.

“Do you understand?” Reaper growled.

“Grim…” Swede warned.

But Reaper ignored his friend and kept his dark stare like a laser beam on my face.

I nodded.

Kujo and Swede remained silent until we dropped off Kujo so he and Six could be our backup. Reaper took over driving and continued to the illegal bar. Swede and Reaper took turns explaining everything to me. My heart raced inside me so painfully, I winced a few times. This wasn’t something I was used to. Reaper walked through it all as if it was a second skin to him.

His penchant for violence should worry me. A man who was so quick to passion and could play my body better than Jesse Kinch on his guitar could also become war ready at the drop of a dime. I couldn’t blame him, I suppose. Our country trained him to protect it and that required some cold blood pumping through his veins.

Swede gained entrance first. Once the door closed behind him, I waited a minute, straightened my clothes and leaned over to Reaper. “I know you’re mad at me,” I said. “But for now, could we just call a cease fire?”

He said nothing. Instead, he curled his fingers against the back of my neck and kissed me deeply. “When this is over, I’m going to have to teach you some manners.” His voice was soft, husky.

I trembled, kissed him and climbed from the SUV. There was no time to catch my breath as I stuck my borrowed clutch under my arm and made my way up to the door. Following the instructions I had been given, I was finally able to get in. The putrid smell of stale alcohol mixed with cigarettes threatened to bring up everything I’d ever eaten. The air was clouded with smoke, no doubt from all the cigarettes lit around the room.

The first thing I did was locate Swede. He winked at me and suddenly I was stronger and braver. I made my way over to the only empty seat at the bar. Before I could order a drink, someone was behind me. At first, I thought it was Swede, but he wouldn’t be drinking so much while on duty so he’d smell like a brewery. I fought not to look back and continued my order.

“I’ve never seen you around here before.”

I shifted on my chair and came face to face with Brian Stromwell. A part of me wanted to throat punch him. Another part wanted to run. “Listen, I’ve had a shit day. Either buy me a drink or go away.”

I showed my indifference to his presence by moving my attention to the bartender now placing a bottle before me. I handed him payment with a tip and drew the beer toward me.

“All right then,” Brian said. “What are you drinking next?”

“Shots.”

“My treat…”

I managed a wry smile. Time moved, slowly, but still the clock ticked silently away. Eventually, I managed to talk Brian into leaving with me. It seemed he hadn’t learned from the last two women who’d gotten him drunk and took him for all he had that they could find. As he pressed a palm to the small of my back, I threw up a little in my mouth. His fingers didn’t send fire through me. It wasn’t Reaper’s touch. No, Brian’s hands were small, insignificant, dirty.

I exchanged looks with Swede and the moment I saw him rise, I was somewhat comforted. We stepped out into the dimly lit lot and began leaning me toward his car. My heart raced faster, it throbbed violently, sending blood rushing through my veins and caused a pain to pulse behind my eyes.

Reaper, where are you?

“Hey buddy,” Swede called. “You got a cigarette I could bum off you?”

“No, I don’t smoke. Filthy habit.” Brian casted a dismissive hand at Swede while the one against my back became more insisted.

We went by Swede but were stopped again. This time, when I looked up, the reason for pause was easy enough to spot –Reaper and a gun against the back of Brian’s head. I knew then why the lady at the bed and breakfast in Climax hadn’t told us Reaper was there. For such a large man, Reaper moved like a very deadly ghost.

Silent.

Grim Reaper.

I took that moment to step away from Brian and into Swede’s arms. The rage flaring in Brian’s eyes terrified me but I would never let him see the fear in me.

“Mother-fucker!” Brian grumbled. “The bitch tricked me! You set me up!”

“Well, what do you think was going to happen when you keep staring into the darkness.” Swede grunted.

“And you know what they say, don’t you Brian?” Reaper slid the gun down to the center of Brian’s back. “You look into the darkness long enough and sooner or later I look back.”

I walked over to Brian and stomped as hard as I could on his toes. He growled and tried hopping about but Reaper steadied him in place with a strong hand on his shoulder.

“You and I are about to have a conversation,” I told him. “And you’re going to do exactly as I say.”

“Why would I do anything for you?” Brian whimpered. “You can’t make me do shit.”

Laughter bubbled from inside me. At that moment I must have sounded like an evil villain. Brian’s eye bulged.

“Awww, that’s cute.” I teased then lowered my gaze to him. I ensured he saw the absolute wrath storming through my eyes. “You think this is a democracy. Let me explain something to you, dick-for-brains. You’ve fucked with my life enough. Now it’s time for me to demolish your existence.”