Banging Reaper (4 page)

Chase. His name is Chase. At least that’s what everyone was calling him. It’s such a normal name for such a brutal guy.

It’s the strangest feeling walking out of the building beside Chase when I originally arrived with Ethan. For one, I think Chase has a couple of inches on Ethan, which just makes him feel insanely big.

Seriously, is he descended from giants? Vikings? Or was he grown in a lab?

For two, he’s been rather quiet but it’s not a comfortable quiet. It’s that kind of quiet that makes me feel incredibly self-conscious. I still don’t know why he’s even doing this. Maybe this is all just another jab at Ethan. Or maybe he expects a
thank you
fuck. I’m grateful that he’s willing to give me a ride home, I certainly don’t want to see Ethan’s face right now, but I’m not
that
grateful.

My head throbs and my eyes hurt. After everything that’s happened, I’m so done with tonight. So done with life in general. I just want to go home and crawl into my bed. I feel like I could sleep for a year.

“Which one is yours?” I ask as we walk into the back parking lot.

There’s a full moon out tonight which just figures. I wonder if it’s partly to blame for some of this evening’s madness. The parking lot is fully lit, and it’s easy to see that there're at least a dozen cars still parked. The cars range from dirty rust buckets to gleaming crotch rockets.

If I had to narrow his type down just by looks, I’d say Chase looks like a monster truck kind of guy.

“She’s just over here,” Chase says with a jerk of his chin and leads me over to a space in the very back corner.

“She?” I ask. Is there another girl or something? This night couldn’t possibly get any weirder.

Chase chuckles and leads me up to a black retro Impala parked in the very back spot, away from all the other cars.

“Yes, my baby,” he says and pats the car affectionately on the hood.

Muscle car would have definitely been my second guess.

I walk over to the passenger side, put my hand on the cool handle and wait for him to unlock the doors. Chase gives me a funny look which makes me feel even more self-conscious. What is it with him?

“Here, let me get that for you,” he says with a hint of laughter and walks over to me.

I frown and take a step back. He fishes a set of keys out of his pocket, manually unlocks the door, and swings it open.

I guess chivalry isn’t dead. I smile weakly, say “Thank you,” and climb on in.

Woah. The seat is weird. It’s just one big seat spanning across the entire front. It’s almost like a backseat, but there’s no little spot in the middle making a third seat. There’s just one long black leather bench. I’ve never sat in a car like this before, is this custom? I reach back, grab my seat belt and buckle up. Chase comes around the other side of the car, opens his door and slips behind the wheel.

After securing his own seatbelt, he sticks his key in the ignition and twists. The car roars to life causing me to jump a bit. Then I wince, my head is throbbing. The car is loud.

“Is there any way to turn it down a little?” I ask and rub my temples.

Chase frowns apologetically. “Sorry, this is how she purrs. Think some music will help?”

I shrug my shoulders. I don’t know if it will help or not. He reaches out, twists the dial on the radio and heavy rock music blares from the speakers.

“Shit! Sorry!” I hear him through the hands that I’ve slapped over my ears.

I close my eyes, gritting my teeth as the ache thunders in my head. The music changes, it goes from hard rock to country to rap then he settles the dial on a soft rock station. After a few seconds, I realize I actually recognize the song that is playing. As the singer croons and I actually start to feel better, I drop my hands.

“Better?” Chase asks.

I nod my head and offer him a grateful smile. “Yes, much better. Thank you.”

His face lights up with his smile. It’s so bright, for a moment it steals my breath. I quickly look away. I have to look at something, anything, but him.

That blow I took must have been harder than I thought.

“So where are we going?” he asks.

I stare out my window, so distracted by my own thoughts, so upset by how that smile of his affected me, I just respond with, “My place,” without really thinking about it.

We just sit there, the car idling, the singer crooning and I wonder why we’re not moving when he finally asks, “Where do you live?”

“Oh,” I say in surprise. My cheeks warm. I feel like such an idiot. Of course he doesn’t know where I live. It would totally be creepy if he did. “I live over on Elm. Behind the Thornton’s. Do you know where that is?”

He nods his head and puts the car in gear. “By the liquor store?”

I nod. “Yep, that’s it,” and stare out my window.

“By the liquor store?” I ask as I shift my baby into gear.

“Yep, that's it,” Avery says as she looks out the window.

Well, shit. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever had to ask if someone’s house is by a liquor store

I know vaguely where she is wanting me to take her but I have only been in that part of town a couple of times, usually as a short cut to somewhere much nicer. Trenton isn't the worst part of town really, but it sure isn't the best. Not by a long shot.

The music on the radio isn't my preferred type, but I can understand her wanting a bit of quiet. The lump on the back of her head has to be killing her.

“So, um, how long have you lived on Elm?” I ask.

“For a couple of years,” Avery says.

“Hmph.”

Elm Street is a long street. It runs from the lower end of middle class to the seedier side of town. There are plenty of liquor stores as it gets towards the seedier side. She lives between a lot of liquor stores.

I have to pull into the small apartment buildings driveway. It’s one of those eight unit buildings that doesn't even have a name.  The two guys sitting on the steps smoking something doesn't really lend any assurances that I am taking her to the right home. 

Though with the way she's dressed, she could fit in here more than I think she does.

It's just this place doesn't look like her at all.  She may be dressed like another easy ring girl but her attitude and the way she is carrying herself doesn't strike me as if this is the way she usually presents herself.

Shutting off the car, I quickly get out and walk around the front of the car, trying to get to her door.

I'm don’t think she even understands what I am trying to do as she opens the door up and gets out before I even get close to her.

“Thank you... Chase,” she says quietly as she moves to walk around me and into the apartment building.

“I'll walk you to your door.”

This place isn't exactly a dump but damn I wouldn't feel right about leaving even most of the guys I train with at the gym in a place like this.

“What’s up girl,” one of the young guys sitting on the steps of the building says to Avery, but thankfully he doesn't sound like he's hitting on her.

“Not much, James. Tell Maria I said hello,” she responds as she steps around the guys and walks up the stairs in front of me.

Damn she is sexy looking in those short shorts, her long legs showing their smooth lines. If she was into me at all, and this was my place... I would be running my hands up the back of her legs trying to see just how long they are and just how soft her skin is.

I give my head a shake as I continue to follow her up and into the building, watching her open the buildings front door and take the stairs up to the second floor.  Her ass is swaying seductively the entire time, but this has to be the first time I have ever seen a woman's ass move like that without it being intentional.  Damn, she can move. I bet in bed she isn't built for speed…

Fuck, I gotta get my head straight.

She walks to the back door on the right side and looks over her shoulder at me.  I can't tell what the look she has on her face is as she turns to face me, but it’s definitely not one of desire.

“Mind if I check inside before I leave you here?” I ask.

Shit, I don't feel good leaving her in this kind of neighborhood. I wouldn't even feel comfortable being here all the time much less at night by myself.

“There’s no need,” she says with a smirk and she shakes her head at me.  Those long black locks of hair flutter. “Anyways, Sebastian watches over the apartment when I'm not home.”

“Look, I…” start to say, but trail off not really sure where I’m going with it.

“Thank you for the ride home. Ethan, he's never done something like that before.”

She looks uncomfortable and in pain. It's all I can do not to wrap her up in my arms.  She’s small compared to me, but she looks like she would fill my whole world.

“No man should ever hurt a woman,” I say quietly.

“He's not normally like that.” Shaking her head, she frowns then looks up into my eyes. ”But thank you for bringing me home tonight.”

Turning towards the door, she unlocks it and steps in without another word.

Well, fuck.

I shake my head and turn back around. Taking the stairs slowly, I walk out to my car and get in. Starting up the engine, I give it a couple of seconds while she starts to purr. Pushing the peddle down, I pull out of the driveway and leave her, cursing myself the entire time.

“No man should ever hurt a woman,” Chase said and the words just replay in my head like a broken record as I lean against my door.

I listen to him walk out, his footsteps thumping down the stairs. Then a moment later there’s no mistaking the purr of his car. He’s leaving, good. Because damn if he didn’t look like he wanted to come inside.

And for some crazy reason, I almost invited him.

But it wasn’t a date, and he’s not interested in me… well the real me anyway. Hell, he probably just looks at me as some poor battered bimbo.

He swooped in, rescued me from Ethan’s moment of insanity, and now that he’s rescued me Chase probably expects me to repay him in sex. Or a blow job. Or both. But I’m just not that kind of girl.

And hey, even if he is a really good guy and all he wanted to do was check my place out, what would I have done anyway? I don’t have any tea or coffee. I doubt he would have wanted some water and a ketchup packet.

So it was good of me to send him on his way. It’s good to get this night over with. So why does it feel like a mistake? Why does it feel like I just missed the boat?

My head throbs with each step it takes to get to my bathroom. Thankfully, I have half a bottle of ibuprofen. After brushing my teeth, I toss a couple of pills back then chase it with some water directly from the faucet. My head pops up and my eyes lock on my reflection in the mirror. The girl staring back at me, I hardly recognize her. She looks so tired. Her mascara is running and her black eyeliner is smudged. Her red lipstick is now only a stain on her lips. I watch as she wipes the water off with the back of her hand.

God, she is such a mess.

I walk into my bedroom. After kicking off the ankle-breaking heels, I strip down to my underwear and climb into bed. I snuggle underneath my covers, pulling them tightly around me. It takes forever for me to fall asleep though. For whatever reason, I just can’t get Chase out of my head.

My head aches and I know I should let it rest.

I squeeze my eyes shut, but all I see is him. He looked so concerned, so honest. When he came out of nowhere, pulling Ethan away from me, enacting vengeance with his bare fists, he looked like some savage, bloody, avenging angel. For a moment, I could have sworn I was hallucinating. It didn’t look real. I watched as Chase punched Ethan in the face and body, over and over again, telling him “Never. Hit. A. Woman.”

And I felt safe. For the first time since my grandmother passed, I felt like there was someone out there looking out for me. Someone who would protect me. Someone who would do bodily harm for me.

I wasn’t alone.

I wake up to a loud banging on my door.
Is it the cops
, I wonder as I bolt upright. Usually the cops only knock that loud in this neighborhood. And I should know, I’ve heard it more than a couple of times over the past year.

The knocking grows louder if that’s even possible.

“Just a minute!” I cry out. “I’m coming!”

Fuck, I hope I get to them before they bust my door down. I can’t afford to replace the door.

In my haste to get up, I end up tangled in my blanket and roll out of bed, on to the floor. By a stroke of luck I land on my ass and not my head. It doesn’t make the pounding hurt any less though.

The knocking starts up again, quicker, louder, and definitely impatient.

“Seriously! I’m coming, just a second!” I scream as I shake off the blanket and run for the door.

I twist back my deadbolt, pull open the door and my mouth hits the floor.

“It’s you?!” just flies past my lips.

Chase is there. One fist is poised in the air as if he was just about to bang on my door again. He looks just as surprised, just as shocked as I feel.

I bet he’s feeling even more shocked as I slam the door shut in his face.

I need clothes. Oh my god, I’m half naked. I run back to the bedroom, grab up my blanket from the floor and wrap it around myself.

What is he even doing here?

I run back to the door and reach out to pull it open. Just as I do, half the blanket slides off my shoulder.

“Hi,” I pant out and yank the blanket back up. “What’s up?”