Page 143 of Finders Reapers

Instead, all Maddox could remember was the way she looked in the silk shorts and camisole. The kind of underwear that a wife would wear for a husband back when he was alive—the kind of clothing that he had many years to grow used to, living in Las Vegas and all.

Somehow, even though he had seen hundreds of naked women, seeing Valentina on that narrow single had punched him in the chest.

Maddox had tried to reason that it was because of how utterly beautiful she was. Living and dead.

Then he tried to convince himself that she was utterly intolerable. The only thing keeping him sane in her presence was the magical bond that kept Reapers connected to their Grim—even though the Grim bond had never chafed in such a way before.

Maddox hated the person he had become when he felt her betrayal.

Blinded by rage.

Blind.

The word that Maddox kept coming back to.

Maddox had straddled the notion of apologizing to Valentina the moment that all of the contracted souls' nonsense was done, but even then, he wasn’t sure that she would still be around.

Charon had alluded to it. Even Valentina’s father had alluded to it. It was the only thing that made sense.

Charon wouldn’t care if a new Reaper was protected, but he sure as hell would want a drude to be.

There were no drudes in hell. They had all been eaten alive. The ones that lived in the ether were just echoes.

It explained Valentina’s ability to Lace. Even the shared emotions with the others in the Grim—that wasn’t the effect of a Grim bond, but a demonic soul bond in the making.

The journey in the elevator down to wardrobe felt like the march towards the noose, but Maddox couldn’t put his finger on why.

Oriax was a friend. A flamboyant friend who had been in the wardrobe department for as long as Maddox had been a Reaper. An innocuous presence, without gender, without prejudice. Oriax and Richard had been friends who drank bourbon together sometimes. Richard had always used to say that Oriax was the actual brains behind Quietus, but he’d never explained what that meant.

Maddox had to admit that his relationship with Ollie was not entirely friendly. Ever since Richard had been murdered by a Purger, Maddox had been on Oriax’s doorstep, trying to find out if there was a way to pull his friend’s soul out of the either and into another body. Ollie’s nickname was the Master of Metamorphosis, after all.

Maddox knew from gossip that if the price was right, Ollie was more than happy to skew the rules to make a trade.

Maddox had appealed to the demon's altruistic nature for weeks, to no success.

When Ollie had taken to Valentina like they had been best friends in another life, Maddox had felt suspicious—but he had told himself that he was jealous of their quick relationship. When more clues about Valentina’sThat demonic heritage came out, their friendship had made more sense. Demons liked to stick together, even if Valentina was unaware of what she was

Maddox wanted to have that same level of casual closeness with her when he felt himself grow more awkward and angry in Valentina’s presence, more so than with anyone he had ever met before.

He couldn’t help it! The woman never spoke her mind, save for the outburst when her soul was still raw from her death. Then, all of a sudden, Maddox felt like he was a man dying of thirst, sating himself on the raindrops of her slight facial expressions and gestures. All in the hopes of trying to learn what lived behind her beautiful but bored face.

Yes. Maddox was uneasy as the elevator ticked down towards Oriax’s office.

He knew that he had right to be when the doors swished open and the scent of copper and meat rose up to his nose. So thick and cloying that his memories of Nam flashed through his mind before he managed to stuff them back down in the little box at the back of his mind.

“You smell that?” Jamal placed his hand against his nose.

“Blood. Meat.” Rome replied brusquely.

Together, they stepped out of the elevator.

The room was lit red, which Maddox had always associated with a brothel. Though he noted that the color was convenient for hiding many bloodstains.

There was a lone figure amongst the body parts that littered the floor.

Maddox couldn’t stop himself. He rushed forward with one goal in mind.

Valentina.