Page 18 of A Reaper’s Devotion (The Reapers #2)

O ne Week Later

With help from Hank, August, Nixon, and Daniel, he was able to get Willow moved in quite quickly. They were packing up the last of her furniture as Peter, the realtor, finished taking photographs.

“Do you think it’s going to be on the market long?”

“Nah, I’ve already got several buyers lined up. All locals, so don’t worry. It’s rare for us to sell many places to someone who isn’t local. Lost Creek has way too much negative energy.”

Cyrus laughed, but Peter said goodbye to everyone and headed back toward town.

“Well, that’s the last of it,” Daniel said. “I’ve got to head back to the bar. I’ve got shit I need to do.”

“Hey, uh, have you heard from my brother yet?” Cyrus asked.

“Ray? No, not heard or seen from him in over a year now.” Daniel gripped the back of his neck. “Your dad said you went to see him. That he’s changed?”

“Yeah, he has, and I know he’s sorry about what went down between you and Amy.”

Daniel sighed. “Look, I’m still pissed about that, but the fact is, we got it covered, you know. I’m all about forgiving and forgetting so long as he learned a lesson. Besides, he’s a local, and I don’t shit on the locals.”

Cyrus nodded. “So, if he did come back, you’d be okay with that?”

“Providing he didn’t bring a whole bunch of shit with him. I’m good.” Daniel shook his hand and left.

Nixon and August were next to go, leaving him with Hank.

“I guess it’s just you and me,” he said. Hank slapped the hood of the truck.

Cyrus was about to climb in when he saw Old Sheriff Billy rushing toward them.

“Where’s Daniel?”

“He’s heading back to the bar, but with the direction he went, I’m assuming he’s going to see Amy and his kid,” Cyrus said.

“Fuck!”

“Dude, you want to tell us what the problem is?” Hank asked. “We’re Reapers, after all.”

Hank whispered the word “Reapers,” so no one would know. Cyrus was starting to think everyone in town knew exactly who they were, they just stayed quiet about it, because they did a good thing in protecting the town.

Old Sheriff Billy did not look happy. He lost his sense of humor as he realized it was serious.

“You remember the guy that brought that girl into our town. Luke Smith?” he asked.

Cyrus nodded. “Yeah, kind of hard not to. We’re the ones who went with Daniel and checked out his home. We also found the other two women he stole, remember?”

Hank nodded his agreement, slapping Cyrus on the chest.

“Yeah, it’s kind of hard to forget that one,” Hank said. “Creepy as fuck. I mean, I get the whole tying women up, if they want to, that is. There was a phase, I read about it online, where a bunch of women wanted to have men dominate them.”

Cyrus blew out a breath and looked toward Old Sheriff Billy. Hank liked to make a bunch of shit up, but then it was also Hank, and he knew there was a lot more to the man than met the eye.

“What about him?”

“It was a fucking false ID.”

“What?” Cyrus asked.

“Everyone uses fucking Smith,” Hank said. “It’s always Smith.”

“Shut up,” Cyrus said. “What do you know?”

“I got a call last night from the boys that came and took him. Luke Smith escaped. Yeah, killed three guards that were transporting his ass. Once they had him in custody, they took his fingerprints and all that shit. Turns out Luke Smith doesn’t even fucking exist. The guy magically appeared out of thin air five years ago.

You want to know who went missing five years ago? ”

Cyrus knew he wasn’t going to like this.

“An even sicker fuck going by the name of Tyler Mason,” Old Sheriff Billy said.

“Never heard of him,” Hank said.

“Five years ago, his home was raided, and they found the bodies of three women. They had been brutally raped, repeatedly. There were some gruesome details, but they knew the women had been taken for years. What was more, they found several bodies in his backyard, including that of ... babies,” Old Sheriff Billy said.

Cyrus didn’t like this. “I think I preferred this guy as Luke Smith.”

“Wait,” Hank said. “You said he escaped.”

“Yeah, I’m about to head over to see how Charlie is getting on with the surveillance. I don’t know if he would be fucking stupid to come here, or just seeking revenge. I don’t know.”

“There’s no fucking security cameras at my place,” Cyrus said. He ran to the front of his truck.

“What?” Hank asked. “I thought you got them installed everywhere.”

“I did, but not at my fucking place.” It was the only part he hadn’t done.

“You don’t think he’d attack your place? There’s no way he would go there. He doesn’t even know where you live,” Hank said.

“I’m not willing to risk it,” Cyrus said. “Willow’s there today, waiting for us. She’s all alone, and she is the one that figured out about that woman giving the signal. You think the cops were going to keep that shit to themselves?”

Hank climbed into the truck, and at the same time, Old Sheriff Billy promised to round up the guys.

Cyrus had to get home to his woman. His gut was never wrong, but something was telling him he needed to get back to his place to protect Willow.

****

T here was a knock at the door and Willow frowned, getting up from where she was crouched down in the kitchen, sorting through the pots and pans. Most of them were her mother’s, and there was no way she was going to get rid of them. They held way too many memories. All of them good memories.

Putting them to one side, she made her way to the front door and opened it without checking to see who it was. She was surprised to see who was on the other side.

“Ray,” she said.

“Oh, hey, Willow. Uh, is my brother home?”

“Not yet. I’m technically moving in with him today. He wanted me here to receive my stuff. He and some of the guys are packing my things. You want to come in?”

“If you don’t mind?”

“Of course not. You’re Cyrus’s brother.” She stepped aside and offered him a smile. “Do you want anything to drink?”

“A glass of water?”

“Sure.” She closed the door behind him and made her way toward the kitchen. She found a glass as she was still getting accustomed to the main setup of the kitchen and where everything was.

She poured him a glass of water and then handed it to him. Afterward, she didn’t quite know what to do with herself, so she filled the kettle up. “So, uh, how have you been?”

“I’m doing good. You? Shit, I’m sorry. I heard about your mother. I’m so sorry. She was a good woman. I liked Bethany. She was kind. Sometimes truthful, but kind.”

Willow chuckled. “Yeah, that was my mom.”

“She would often tell me I had great things to give to this world, as long as I actually applied myself.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, that was Mom. So, are you back in town for good?”

“I don’t know. Possibly. There’s something I’ve got to do. I owe Daniel and Amy, and unless they’re comfortable with me sticking around, it’s up to them.”

She was surprised. “You’re going to let them decide.”

“I fucked up big time. Pardon my language.”

Willow chuckled. “You don’t need to worry. I’m going to be living with your brother and in case you didn’t know, he can curse as good as a sailor, or whatever that statement is.”

He smiled. “So, you and my brother, huh?”

“Uh, I don’t know if he has the time to tell you yet, but we are engaged.” She held her hand up for him to inspect.”

Ray whistled. “You know, he did always have a thing for you. I always wondered when he was going to get his act together and finally claim you.”

“Well, I’m claimed,” she said, and it felt weird saying that but also good. She didn’t mind being claimed by Cyrus. He was the love of her life, after all. The ring felt good on her finger.

“Do you want to go and sit down in a more comfortable seat? The dining room? The living room?”

“The living room sounds great.”

The kettle finished whistling, and Willow quickly made herself a cup of coffee to join Ray. Cyrus was not wrong about him. The man was totally different from what she remembered. The moment she stepped into the room, she saw Ray, but he was frowning toward the window.

“What is it?”

“What is that?” Ray asked.

Willow followed his gaze, and at first she didn’t quite make it out, but then there was no mistaking as he pulled out a large shotgun. She didn’t have time to start screaming as it was aimed at the glass, and then Willow was on the ground.

Ray had tackled her to the ground. “A friend of yours?” he asked.

“No, no, I don’t know who that is.” She frowned, not sure why the guy was shooting at her.

“Well, you pissed someone off.”

There was a break in the firing and Ray looked down at her. “We’ve got to move. Do you think you can do that?”

“Yeah, I’d rather do that than get shot.”

“Good. You haven’t lost your sense of humor.”

Together, they ran out of the living room, but the main door of the house was kicked in, and shots were fired. She felt Ray jerk behind her, and she looked to see he’d been hit.

On instinct, she picked up the nearest item on the stand beside her, which was a vase.

It was one of her mother’s that she had placed there this morning, but protecting Ray was more important than the vase.

Although throwing it at him broke her heart, she was able to connect with his head.

She didn’t have time to fist pump as she grabbed a dazed Ray.

He’d been hit in the shoulder. “Fuck me, that hurts,” he said.

“Come on.”

They ran toward the back, but then heard him starting to walk, and turned left, going toward the kitchen. Ray collapsed back against the shelves, and she reached for a towel, attempting to press on his wound. The moment she did so, he winced.

“Fuck.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“We need to call Cyrus, and Daniel, and the Reapers. I don’t know why the fuck he’s shooting at us, and to be honest, right now I don’t give a fuck. That son of a bitch needs to die.”

Willow couldn’t agree more. Ray’s wound looked bad.

“Where’s a phone?”

She patted her body and tried to think. Her hands were shaking. They were also covered in blood. Ray’s blood.

“Mine is out in the hall.”