Page 123 of Reaper

The sincerity in his voice has my worries easing a bit, even though I already know what he’s saying is true. It’s just somehow, he knew I needed to hear those words again.

“Thank you, Atlas. You don’t know how much I needed to hear that right now.”

He gives me a small smile and takes a sip of his drink.

Taking a deep breath, I step over and take another customer’s order and try to push my worries to the back of my mind for now.

A few hours later, I lock up the tavern and Atlas and I head outside. My gaze zeroes in on my car and my stomach knots when I see a dozen black roses laying against the windshield.

Stomping angrily toward my car, I pick them up and instantly curse when the thorns prick my skin, stabbing me.

“Fucking thorns. Fucking roses,” I mutter as I throw them into the trash can we keep out here for those on break.

“Let me see,” Atlas says as he gently grabs my wrist and rotates it so he can check out my hand.

I groan when I realize the thorns got me a couple of times and already small trickles of blood are running down my fingers.

“I’ll clean them when we get home,” I tell him.

He frowns as he releases my wrist, but I just want to get home.

“I’ll follow you. Like usual, call me before you start driving.”

I nod my agreement and get in behind the wheel. Starting up the car, I wait until my phone connects with the Bluetooth and call Atlas.

“Atlas?”

“I’m here. Let’s head home.”

Putting my car in gear, I slowly make my way down the drive and out onto the highway.

A few minutes later, I press the brake to slow down sooner than I normally would for the upcoming sharp corner because of the somewhat icy roads, but the car doesn’t slow down.

“What the fuck?” I curse as I pump the brakes repeatedly, but nothing happens.

“Lark? What’s wrong?”

“The breaks aren’t working. I think someone cut the line.”

Atlas curses.“Don’t take the turn, your car will roll if you do.”

“I’m not going to, but Atlas, the trees are thick.”

He curses again and the line goes dead. I start to freak out but then force myself to calm down. He’s probably calling the others.

My hands tighten on the wheel as I keep the car going straight and into the ditch. Suddenly, I’m cursing the lack of snow even though I had been happy the recent storm had only skirted us. The car jostles as I crest the ditch and I curse again. There’s nothing but trees all around me and they are too close together to go in between them.

“Fuck, this is going to hurt.”

I try to steer the car so that I don’t hit them head on, but then I hit a hole and the car bounces. I lose my focus for a second or two, but by the time I get my bearings, it’s too late.

The sound of crunching metal hits my ears right as pain explodes in my head as I hit the steering wheel and then the headrest. A moment later, the airbag deploys.

I groan, black dots dancing across my vision. My body aches and my ears are ringing.

Someone shouts but I can’t focus enough to figure out who it is or what they are saying.

A face appears in my window but my vision is blurry. My eyelids are getting heavier and it’s getting harder to stay awake.