Page 3 of A Reaper’s Devotion (The Reapers #2)

T he Reapers were not entirely convinced they wanted a civilian to monitor the town security cameras.

With no one willing to do it, and Willow not the kind of woman who would take a bribe, Cyrus argued her cause. After a good hour of having to deal with questions about emergencies and other ridiculous issues, George was onboard, as was Old Sheriff Billy. They all knew Willow came from good people.

Her father, before his passing, had in fact been a Reaper.

He’d not been a member for long, as illness had struck him soon into his initiation, and even though no one wanted him to leave, he didn’t believe he was a good candidate and declined.

They all hated it. But they knew if that’s what he wanted, then it was for the best.

They agreed to a probationary period. This was going to be on a month-by-month basis. He agreed he wouldn’t fight it if Willow appeared to not be very good at the job.

So far, on her first day, there hadn’t been a single hiccup. No unnecessary calls, nothing bad had happened. That was a good day as far as he was concerned.

When Willow opened the door, looking stunning in a blue wrap-style dress that shaped to all her curves, he was smitten.

“Good evening,” he said.

She smiled at him. “Good evening.”

“You look stunning,” he said.

“Thank you, and you look very handsome.”

This did make him smile. “You’re not used to being on dates, are you?”

“No, is it that easy to tell?” She chuckled.

“Not at all. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, yes.” She held her bag in her hand and stepped out the door. He waited as she locked it behind her, and when she turned to him again, he held his arm out for her to take.

She slid her arm through his, and they stepped out of her small front yard into the main street, and he started to walk her out of the cul-de-sac where she lived.

“It’s a nice night,” she said.

“How was work?” he asked, wanting to get her thoughts on the job.

“It was great. Nothing happened. I’m not sure if you were told. I know your name is on the list of contacts. Do you work for the sheriff or something?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Does Daniel Long as well?”

“Yes.” Daniel was the lead Reaper. He was the one in charge of keeping the town in line. They all followed his lead, and when he told them to be at a specific place at a specific time, that is exactly what they did.

He was a good man. An honest man. And Cyrus would do anything for him, even if it meant disowning his own brother because of the shit Ray pulled.

Ray nearly got Daniel’s woman hurt. He didn’t know if the men were going to kill Amy, who also happened to own the café they were going to for dinner.

Even if they weren’t going to kill her, they certainly intended to rape her and do all kinds of nasty shit.

He, Daniel, and several other Reapers stopped them.

No one hurt anyone in Lost Creek, and they certainly didn’t get away with it.

Willow had been given a list of emergency contact numbers. She didn’t know that the numbers she’d been given were all Reapers. Every one of them would respond to her call. Keeping the town of Lost Creek safe was a top priority.

Prior to The Reapers’ inception, the town had been a living nightmare, at the mercy of men and gangs that wanted to abuse and use the locals, and the town for their own pleasures and needs.

That had all changed when a female had been attacked. The Reapers had been formed, and since then, no danger or threat was allowed to build in their town. No one was even allowed to fucking sneeze without them knowing about it.

The tourists were also monitored without their knowledge, just in case. There were people who came through Lost Creek who were never seen or heard from again.

“Tell me about your day?” Willow asked.

Cyrus glanced over at her. Besides being a Reaper and protecting the town, he was also a qualified electrician and plumber, which meant he was always busy.

“It was a busy day.” Now that Willow was monitoring the town, he had a lot of jobs he could catch up on.

“I had to install a stove for Miss Beekman. The Treys needed a new electrical line, because their younger brother Toby had cut through it again. I keep telling them to cover it, but they refuse to pay the extra price for the cover because they are cheap-ass bastards.”

Willow laughed and he loved the sound.

“And then, I had to go and deal with a system error at the main high school. Just a bunch of kids setting off some alarms, and irritating the principal as they do.”

She shook her head. “I would never dream of doing something like that in high school.”

Cyrus laughed. “Were you a good girl, Willow?”

She gasped. “What is so wrong with that?”

“Come on, being bad every now and then is good for the soul. Did you not press a single fire alarm, knock something off the teacher’s desk, even give them the middle finger?”

“No.”

Cyrus groaned. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. I struggled through school, so I did stay focused on my studies, trying to get everything right.” She groaned. “I even sound boring to myself. Am I boring?”

“Not at all. There is nothing wrong with being too good.”

“I don’t know.”

“Did you ever catch someone doing anything bad?” he asked.

“No.”

“Would you have reported it?”

She shrugged. “I guess. I mean, I don’t know. If someone was beating the crap out of someone else, then yeah, of course. That has to be reported.”

“Of course,” he said.

“I don’t know about the rest. I guess if it was dangerous. I don’t know.” She shrugged.

He was aware that Willow didn’t have a lot of friends.

“Do you want to just take me back home and call this date over with?” she asked.

“Not a chance. So, you didn’t set off any fire alarms or piss the principal off. That’s all good.”

“Okay, now I’ve got to ask, what did you do?”

“Oh, I did all of those things. I pulled the fire alarms, pissed the principal off, I think I nearly blew up chem lab as well. The teacher didn’t quite say ‘don’t mix this chemical and this one together.’ All I heard was, ‘Cyrus, mix them.’”

She burst out laughing and damn, that sound was sweet music to his ears. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Yeah, trust me, my parents did not have an easy child with me. I was a bit of a menace, that’s for sure.

” When it came to his brother, Ray had been lazy since they were kids.

Even as a kid, he didn’t want to grow out of his pacifier, nor did he want to potty train.

At four years old, he was still standing there and crapping himself, much to their parents’ dismay.

It was only when he went to school and did it in front of the teachers, that he actually learned.

Ray thought he was in the right, and well, when all the kids started calling him Poop Boy, Stinky, Lazy, and Shitty Pants, well, kids could be cruel. Ray started to go to the bathroom.

Cyrus did everything he could to protect his brother, but the fact was, Ray didn’t do anything to help himself. He always behaved as if the world owed him, but also like he knew everything. It was a bit of a nightmare.

Either way, Ray was out of his life for now, and he was not going to allow it to upset his date with Willow.

They arrived at town, and he walked her all the way to Flynn’s Café. He had organized a seat, along with the meal. Everything was in place, and Amy was more than happy to help.

It hadn’t taken them long to get the café up and functional after she had been attacked a few months ago. The furniture had been replaced, the surfaces cleaned, and there was not a single sign that a thug had attempted to hurt Amy. Again, just what the Reapers did.

The men responsible were all dead. It was why they now monitored the town line. Cyrus had been the one to install all the necessary equipment to make sure they knew who came into town, and more importantly, who left.

The café had turned into a romantic setting. The lights were dimmed low, and the aromas in the air were intoxicating. Penelope was on the front desk and thankfully appeared to be in a good mood.

It wasn’t long before they were seated, and as he sat opposite Willow, he saw how nervous she was. Reaching across the table, he took her hand. She had nothing to be nervous about. He was here because he wanted to be here.

****

W illow had been to this café many times. Sometimes, like the other day, she sat in, enjoyed her coffee, and read the morning paper. Other times, she took a coffee and baked snack to go.

Never had she been on a date in this café.

Cyrus ordered them a glass of red wine, which she had never tried. She had never tried white wine. She simply didn’t drink, but there was no harm in trying something.

Glancing across the menu, Willow saw the meatballs and spaghetti, but she also saw the steak and potatoes with peppercorn sauce, not to mention the spicy chicken.

All the food looked delicious. Even the dessert menu was screaming to be tried.

Chocolate mousse, chocolate pudding, sticky toffee pudding.

The list was never-ending, and making her mouth water for every bite.

“I have no idea what to order,” she said.

“Tell me about it. I came in here thinking I’m having the prime rib, now the steak and potatoes are calling my name, and that peppercorn sauce is to die for.” He let out a groan. “How about we make a deal?”

“A deal?”

“We try one thing each time we come here for a date?” Cyrus asked.

“More than one date?”

“You don’t think this is going to end with just one date, do you?”

She opened her mouth and closed it, and felt her cheeks get warm. “Uh, in all honesty, I didn’t know what to expect.” She pressed her lips together. “Can I be honest with you?”

“Sure.”