Page 48 of Reaper

For now.

“You don’t have to see him again if you don’t want to. Later you can reach out to Dr. Remington and get another referral.”

In fact, I think I’ll be making my own phone call to her to let her know exactly the type of man Dr. Ashcroft is.

An hour later, Lark crashes and once I know she’s fully out, I carefully slip my arm out from underneath her. My chesttightens as she reaches for me and I want nothing more than to crawl back in bed with her, but I need to do this. Grabbing the pillow I used, I put it where I was laying and she pulls it close to her. When she whispers my name, my heart damn near beats out of my chest, and the need to stay rises, but I push it aside for now.

Standing, I quickly text out a note to her, letting her know I had to leave and then I put her phone nearby. Quietly, I open her door and close it behind me. Down in the kitchen, I find Emma and Lottie, but thankfully, Zac doesn’t appear to still be here.

“He left in a huff not too long after you took Lark upstairs,” Emma tells me, almost as if she’s reading my mind.

“I was able to pull her out of it, and she’s resting now.”

Both of their shoulders slump in relief.

“Good,” Emma replies and I can tell she wants to ask, but I won’t betray Lark’s confidence.

“I’ll be reaching out to Remington to let her know what I walked in on and what I saw.” I clench my jaw as my mind goes back to how the fucker had enjoyed her pain.

Emma smirks at me as if she knows what my other plan is and gives me a nod, almost in approval.

“I’ll be back later to check in on her.”

They both say goodbye, thanking me for helping Lark.

Outside, I get in my truck and program in the address Python got me for Ashcroft. Apparently, he’s renting a little house on the outskirts of town which is perfect for me because it means less witnesses. As I drive through town, my rage grows at how he had treated Lark.

Pulling into his driveway, I’m not surprised to see Devil, Odin, and Punisher step out from the shadows.

“He’s home?”

They all nod.

“We followed him home and have been watching his house. He hasn’t left,” Punisher replies as he cracks his knuckles.

“Here,” Devil says as he hands me a small camera no bigger than a button. “Pin that to your cut or jacket. This way, if he tries to spin this back around on us, we can blast this and take it to whatever board he reports to.”

“Read my mind,” I reply as I pin it to my cut. “Now, let’s go have a chat with ol’ Ashcroft.”

We make our way up the sidewalk and I ring the doorbell. The guys stand off to the side so that they aren’t immediately visible.

He opens the door and his eyes widen when he realizes who I am.

My hand snakes out and I grip his shirt in my fist. I sense more than see my brothers stepping up behind me. His hands claw at my hand and fist as he tries to get free, but he won’t.

“Now, you’re going to listen to me and you had better do as I say otherwise you’ll be in for a world of hurt. You are never to go near Lark again. You are never to treat a patient like you did to her today. You got off on her fucking pain and you were even hard because of it. Now, I will be having a conversation with Remington about your actions. If we ever hear word of you doing this again, we will be going to whatever board you report to and will be filing a complaint. We will ruin you and you will never work as a therapist again.Ever.”

He almost seems relieved, but when I smile darkly, he pales and swallows hard.

“That’s on the business side. On the private side, if we ever find out you’ve pulled this sick shit again, you can bet your ass that you will find us on your doorstep again and I promise, it will be painful..” I pause, letting him see the beast inside of me and he pales even further. “Do you understand?”

He nods frantically. “Y-Yes, I understand.”

“And are you going to stop pulling this sick and twisted shit?”

He nods again, though he does hesitate a bit. “Y-Yes, I won’t do it again.”

“See that you don’t.”