Page 89 of Reaper

“Python,” Anthony barks out without even looking down at the phone. Brandy flinches at his tone and the hard look on his face.

Python takes her phone and flips through whatever ‘proof’ she thinks she has. He frowns after a moment and studies the phone closer. Then he taps away on it for a bit. Looking up from thephone to his face, it’s obvious that whatever he saw pissed him off. He pulls out his phone and after a moment, goes back to tapping on hers.

After a few seconds, he shakes his head as he tosses her phone onto the couch next to her.

“I cleared out the photos and videos. Your so called ‘proof’ was a sex tape and some pictures that were taken when Aiden was seeing Lark, not Kelly. It was all over town when Aiden asked Lark out, so those of us that actually use their fucking brains instead of listening to manipulating lies knows that Kelly was in the wrong the whole time, not Lark. As for the rest of your proof, those were pictures that were doctored using the sex tape and the pictures to make it look like she was fucking Zac. I know for a fact that Lark would never touch that fucking asshole, so there’s no way she’d ever fuck him.”

Brandy fumes after verifying that everything she had is in fact gone like Python said. My gut twists that he saw me like that but then my anger rises when I realize that Aiden filmed me and took pictures of me like that. Ineverconsented toanyof that.

“Where did you get those pictures and videos from?” Anthony asks her, his voice darker and colder than anything I’ve ever heard before. Wait, that’s not true. He used that voice the day he stood up for me at the supper club when he was talking to Richard and Aiden.

Brandy looks down her nose at me again. “Kelly’s my cousin. She gave them to me. And she’s not the one lying, that fucking fat bitch is the one that’s lying! My cousin would never do what you’re all saying she did. She loves Aiden and dotes on Grace. She’d never be a homewrecker like her,” she spits out.

I lean back in my chair and reach over, placing my hand on Anthony’s leg, trying to get him to calm down before he does something he might regret.

“I see Kelly’s continuing her manipulative ways. I guess you haven’t heard that Aiden’s been cheating on her since two months after they were married. Once Kelly had Grace and healed, she’s been fucking their pool boy. Everyone’s speculating that the baby she’s pregnant with now is his, not Aiden’s. Aiden and Kelly haven’t shared a room since he started cheating on her. And before you even ask, no I won’t reveal my source to you, but she saw everything with her own eyes. Your cousin has been feeding you a bunch of lies because she can’t stand to have an imperfect image. I should know, she was one of my best friends since she moved here in second grade.”

I pause as I wave my hand dismissively.

“But, judging from your face, nothing we say is going to change your mind. You’ve made up your mind about me before you even got to know me, so that’s on you, not me.”

“This is your first strike, Brandy.”

Brandy’s eyes widen and her mouth drops open in shock. “What? Why? She’s the one in the wrong here, not me!”

Anthony slams his fist down on his desk and I swear I heard the wood crack.

“Listen here and listen good. The fact that you’re too stupid to realize your cousin is a manipulative cunt is not our problem, it’s yours. If you ever go after my woman again like you did today, you will not like the consequences. Keep in mind that my woman is an expert bow and gun hunter as well as knowing her way around a knife. You hurt her again and I won’t stop her from making you pay for whatever you’ve done.” He pauses as he glares at her. “Now, if you can’t accept the fact that I will never fucking touch you or fuck you, then you need to pack your shit and get the fuck out,” he growls.

Brandy stares at him in disbelief and after a moment, her eyes turn glassy.

“But I love you, Reaper. Why can’t you see that I’m the one that’s meant for you? I can take care of you in ways that she never can. Why can’t you see that she’s the one that’s manipulated everyone? Not me. Not Kelly. Her.”

Anthony shakes his head. “But I don’t love you. I never have and I never will. Your beauty is only skin deep, and you’ve proven you don’t have the brains to even figure out that you’re the one that’s been manipulated. I’ve known Lark since we were kids. There isn’t a manipulative bone in her body. She is beautiful inside and out. So what that she has scars? I have them too. She’s the woman I love and will always love.” He pauses and looks over at me. The love shining in his eyes has me wishing we were alone, but that will have to wait until later. The heat in his eyes tells me he feels the same, and I fight not to squirm in my seat.

As he turns back toward Brandy, his eyes harden and burn with anger. Brandy shrinks back under his anger, and for the first time since we’ve been in here, she looks uncertain.

“It’s decision time. Are you going to let this go and treat my woman with the respect she deserves? Or are you packing your shit and leaving?”

Brandy swallows thickly as she looks down at her hands. “Stay,” she quietly replies.

Anthony nods. “This is your first strike. Lark deserves respect no matter what, but especially since she is my woman. The President’s woman. If I hear you’re causing problems, there will be repercussions. As for this one,” Anthony pauses as he looks over at me. He cups my chin and turns my face. It takes me a moment to realize what he’s doing, but I don’t say anything. “You caused eight scratches to my woman’s face. That means you have eight weeks of bathroom duty on top of your regular duties and it starts today. Do you understand?”

Brandy’s jaw clenches with anger as she glares at me. “Yes,” she spits out.

“Get the fuck out of here and remember what I said.”

Brandy leaves without a word and I bite back a retort as she fucking sashays her way out of Anthony’s office and flicks her hair over her shoulder.

Devil closes the door behind her. I’m fuming but I force myself to look over at Python.

“I need to see them.”

His shoulders tense but he fishes his phone out of his pocket, unlocks it, and taps on it. After a few seconds, he hands it to Anthony who hands it to me.

My stomach churns when I see the paused image of me on my bed and Aiden hovering over me. Making sure the volume is off, I hit play. My stomach rolls as bile rises in my throat but I swallow it down. When the video ends, I go through the pictures and when I get to the ones with Zac, I damn near throw up again. Remembering what Python said earlier about them being doctored.

“Look at the shadows, Lark,” Python tells me, most likely knowing that I’m trying to see what he saw.