Page 70 of Finders Reapers

Without thinking, I grabbed the back of Maddox’s jacket and heaved with a surprising amount of strength. He fell backward, his scythe caught on the door before it clattered to the marble floor of the reception.

Maddox landed on top of me.

Through the door, the demon dog prepared to pounce.

Maddox kicked the door shut.

“What the hell was that?” I asked, breathless.

“Purger.” He grunted.

I blinked in disbelief as Maddox pushed himself to his feet, grunting as he stood up and brushed off the front of his shirt as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Often attacked by demons, are we?” I asked sarcastically. “That thing tried to eat us!”

“I don’t know what that was about.” Maddox sniffed as he looked down at me still on the floor. He glanced over his shoulder. “Where’s that damn receptionist?” He muttered as he fished his phone out of his pocket and held it to his ear.

I stayed silent.

“Rome? Yeah,” Maddox said as soon as the call connected. “Did you set the ward when you left this morning? Yeah. Uh-huh. Fuck. Well, there’s a Purger in the suite. Possibly more. Doesheknow? I don’t have a clue. The suite needs to get locked down. Safehouse. Meet us there. Yeah. Valentina is with me. Okay.” He hung up and turned to me before stomping over to the reception desk and reaching over the partition. Maddox grabbed the office phone and dialed once.

“Charon.” He barked. “Meeting now.”

I was left scrambling as Maddox strode over to the elevators and mashed the buttons.

“I have no idea what’s going on,” I said as I scrambled to stand and catch up with him.

“Of course, you don’t.” Maddox laughed. The sound was filled with arrogance and disdain. “You didn’t know what a Purger was until thirty seconds ago.”

My eyes narrowed. “God, you’re bipolar.”

Maddox glanced at me. His nostrils flared. “Having an emotional range means I have a mental illness?” His tone was light but dangerous.

I growled in frustration. “It’s an expression.”

“Some expressions should die. Next, you’re going to tell me you’re‘so OCD’because you’re organized?”

My lips pressed together, and my chest felt heavy. I knew what he was saying. It made me feel an inch tall, and I had no recourse, so I stayed silent.

Maddox glared at the keypad of the elevator as if it had personally wronged him. A moment passed, and the doors swished open. When I didn’t move immediately, Maddox lifted both brows.

“Come on, Princess. Time is wasting,” Maddox said.

I trudged into the elevator. “Can I have the nice Maddox back? Bossy Maddox is kind of a dick.”

Maddox snorted a laugh as the doors closed. He clutched his side for a moment before playing the movement off as he adjusted his jacket. My eyes flicked down to his torso, but I couldn’t see any marks on his clothes.

Maddox cleared his throat when he realized I had been staring. “I’m going to be very clear about something,” He stated slowly.

I fastened my aloof mask in place, very aware that we were in a small enclosed space, and his hand was as large as my face and could probably snap my neck with little effort. Also, we were two people, of the opposite sex, in a somewhat private space, close enough to touch.

I really needed to get my body and mind to synch up because my erect nipples said ‘jump me full metal jacket.’ And my mind screamed, ‘danger danger high voltage.’

“We are business.” Maddox continued. “The Grim is the most important thing. I get that the magic messes with people’s minds sometimes. It’s designed to. It forges comradery and helps new Reapers acclimatize.”

“Okay?” I elongated the word.

“We need to be careful. We don’t want this to turn into something it’s not.”