Page 187 of Reaper

Anthony reaches over and places his hand over mine. It’s only then that I notice that my fingers are trembling slightly. He takes the bone saw from me and gives a chin lift to one of the guys. Punisher comes over with the acetylene torch and Darren screams as he cauterizes his leg and a few of his other wounds.

“Stitch him up when you’re done, but keep him alive for now in case we need more information from him later on.” Anthony gives the guys a look that I read all too clearly.

They can get their pound of flesh in so long as Darren doesn’t die.

“You got it, Pres,” Doc replies as he steps forward with a couple of syringes in his hand.

I let Anthony lead me out of the interrogation room. The guys waste no time getting their pound of flesh from Darren though. I can hear the sound of flesh hitting flesh before the door cuts off the sound. My mind swirling with the new information, however, something still seems like it’s missing.

Then it hits me.

Zac.

Where does he fit in all of this?

Or is he part of this at all?

I shake my head. No, he’s got to be tied to this somehow. Even if it’s only that he’s related to Luscious. But even as I think that, my gut says he’s involved in more than that.

But is he my other stalker? Or is it someone else?

I’ve still been getting random texts and voice messages, though the frequency has slowed down since Christmas. I wonder if part of that was because Darren had started to put his plan into motion or if it was because of something else. I know the texts and voice messages weren’t all from the same person. The verbiage wasn’t consistent, and you could tell that, while similar, the voices weren’t the same either.

As the door shuts behind us, I blink, clearing my hazy thoughts and slip out of my flats before putting them in a bag Anthony hands me. We head into the locker room and Anthony locks the door behind him. My mind spirals at the confirmation that Kelly and Richard are still gunning for my family’s land. I mean, I knew they wanted it, but to go to such extremes? Another thought has a shiver running down my spine. Would they have gone so far as to have me killed?

Turning on the water, I strip and place my clothes in the same bag as my shoes before stepping under the spray. Part of me wishes that Anthony would shower with me, but the other part of me still needs time to process everything. That and the shower stalls down here aren’t that big. He’d barely fit in here with me, and then I’d have a hard time making sure I got all of Darren’s blood off me.

With that thought, I lather my hair and wash it twice. Then I snag my bodywash and scrub my skin until it’s red. Next, I grab the coarse bristle brush off the shelf and scrub under my nails. Rinsing one more time, I shut the water off and take the towelAnthony hands me over the top of the shower rod. After drying off, I step out and am surprised to find a cubby kitted out with everything I use after a shower. Anthony’s cheeks pinken slightly when I look at him in question.

“I had a feeling you and Half-pint were made of the same cloth, so I made sure to stock everything you use down here.”

I pause at that and realize I hadn’t paid attention before, but the shampoo, conditioner, and body wash that are stocked in the shower are the same ones I always use.

“Thank you,” I tell him as I go up on my toes to kiss him before stepping back and squirt some lotion on my hand. Quickly, I put on the lotion before dressing and am surprised to find my cut in here. One of the guys must have brought it to Anthony while I was showering.

Walking over to the mirror, I comb my hair and put it up in a messy bun. In the mirror, I find Anthony watching me, his blue-gray eyes boring into me with concern. I give him a small smile, however all that does is make his concern grow.

“I’m okay, Hercules.” I pause and shake my head as I turn around and lean against the sink. “Okay, I’m actually fucking pissed at Kelly’s betrayal once again, but I kind of understand Darren doing whatever it takes to get his son.” I grit my teeth as my anger rises again. “I hate that his plan included kidnapping me with plans of breaking me and stealing everything my family has worked for for generations.” Taking a deep breath, I exhale slowly as I try to calm my anger. “I think it might be time that the three of us meet with our lawyer again. I refuse to let everything we’ve worked for be stolen from us.”

A thought comes to me at that, and I nod as I glance down at my engagement ring. But before I discuss that with Anthony, I need to talk to my family.

I shake my head as I switch my train of thought. “I still feel like I’m missing something, though. I’m surprised that Aiden wasn’ta part of this, but I don’t know if he’s truly innocent or if his part was more behind the scenes. I also don’t know if Zac is involved either as the second stalker or tied to Darren in some way, other than the relation factor that Python discovered.”

Anthony steps forward and pulls me into his arms. I rest my head on his chest as I exhale heavily again.

“Well, now that we’ve got Darren in the cellar, we’ll have to see what the second stalker does. See if he makes any moves. If he knows about Darren, he could ramp things up when he finds out he’s missing.”

I nod, knowing he’s right, but unease still pricks at me, and it’s not just about the second stalker. If Kelly and Richard were prepared to go so far as to support Darren kidnapping me, what will they do next when they find out Darren is ‘missing’?

Anthony pats my hip. “Come on, Darlin’. Let’s head home.”

Chapter 69

Lark

FourDaysLater~January 10th, 2024

As I sip my coffee, I watch Igor out the window as he plays tug of war with Anthony, and I can’t help but smile as I look back at the island to the gift bag I’d put together last night. Today is Igor’s birthday, or at least that’s the best guess the vet was able to determine when she’d first examined Igor when Anthony had found him. I’d gotten him some new toys and a dog friendly birthday cake as well as a little surprise. I chew on my lip a little at that. I hope the ladies I’d gone to hadn’t spilled the news to anyone in the club.