The Reaping (The Reapers Book 1) (32 page)

“I thought you might like to see your mom, and we’re going to have to go right now before Jed can stop us.”

“Won’t you get in trouble? I don’t want Jed to worry.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Look, I’m probably going to get in a lot of trouble for this, but I’ve got us tickets to go to Norfolk in two hours. We’ll only have one day to spend with your mom, before we have to fly to meet Jed and Cat. Jed will be pissed, but I’ll call him as soon as we land, and tell him not to worry.”

“I don’t want to get you in any trouble. Why don’t you just say I ran off—”

“I’m not letting you out of my sight. I think you should be able to see your Mom, and I’m willing to risk getting heat for it, but I’m not going to risk you getting hurt, or worse, because I let you go there alone.”

He glanced at me and smiled, and I couldn’t help but smile back at him. My mother and I might not have had the best relationship, but I was glad to have one last chance to see her and say goodbye. I couldn’t do to her what my father had done and just disappear from her life.

“If you want to see her, we have to go now.”

“Thank you.” I got in the car and buckled myself in. We had only gone about two blocks when I leaned back in the seat, closed my eyes, and went right to sleep.

When I woke up, we were in a residential neighborhood and Caleb was pulling into the driveway of a house. I sat up straight in my seat and looked around. It almost looked like my mom’s neighborhood, except for the two feet of snow on the ground. “I thought we were going to the airport.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. Cat called while we were driving and said they’d changed plans and found this safe house which is closer and easier for everyone. Since there was no need to fly, I didn’t have any way to explain us disappearing for a day.” He patted my knee. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you to see your mother.”

Something was off about him. His smile was bright, and his voice was gentle, and it all seemed false.

“Be very careful, Kelsey. I don’t trust him.” I whipped around to see Alice in the back seat staring at Caleb. Her expression was hard, and her mouth was set in a grim line.

“Something wrong, sweetie?” Caleb asked in that same honey warm voice.

Alice blinked out of sight the same moment I realized what was wrong. “You’re trying to charm me. I told you I hate that.” I knew I sounded snappy, but I was on edge and tired.

His eyes widened. “Oh, yeah, I guess I was. When I’m tired, I just fall into it.” He opened his door and stepped out. “We should get you inside. You’ll be safe there, but out here, you’re visible to anyone who’s looking.”

I opened my door and stepped out with him. “The ghosts can’t see me in there?”

He shook his head. “This house is spelled. No one who has passed from this life can see you in there.” He headed to the trunk and pulled out my suitcase and a small duffel that had to be his.

“Spelled? As in witches?” I thought of the woman who had been at the condo the night before and wondered if I had underestimated her.

“Yes, ma’am.” He carried the bags, put them on the stoop, and unlocked the door, before picking them up and heading into the house. Everything felt wrong about this. For the first time in my life, I was going to be completely free of ghosts, but that also meant that Alice wouldn’t be able to see me or help me if I needed it. I shook my head and laughed at myself. I was being paranoid. Caleb had saved my life, he was on my side, and he had no reason to hurt me. I followed him into the house.

The house smelled like cigarette smoke, but it was clean and furnished. It looked more like a hotel room than a house that someone actually lived in. There was a couch and a TV in the living room, but no knick knacks or even pictures on the wall. Caleb dropped the bags on the floor and plopped on the couch. He patted the seat next to him, and I walked over and sat without touching him. The couch looked nice, but I sank way down into it when I sat. Whatever support it may have once offered was gone.

“It feels good to be completely free of them, doesn’t it?” he asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close to him.

Before I could answer, he started kissing me with an urgency I hadn’t felt from him before. My body responded and I kissed him back, even though my brain was shooting off warning alarms. He pulled away from me as suddenly as he had started kissing me and said, “I love you, Kelsey.”

My eyes widened, and I moved away from him instinctively. My mind was whirring in disbelief. He
loves
me? I focused on his face, but what I saw there wasn’t love; it was fear. He smiled at me, but his eyes kept shifting to me and away, like he was searching the room for something. “I need to know that you love me, Kelsey. I couldn’t bear it if you went away.”

“Caleb, you barely know me. We haven’t actually spent that much time together.”

He stood and started pacing. “But it’s been enough, Kelsey. I felt it the first time I saw you. We are meant for each other, and together, we can take on anything.”

His voice had acquired that honey quality again, but I wasn’t impressed. The best he had was a series of worn-out clichés to try to win me over? “The others will probably be here soon, right? We should talk about this later.”

“No!” he shouted. He took a long, deep breath and steadied himself, but his voice was still hard and angry. “We have to talk about this now, while we have time.” His phone rang, and he jumped. He pulled it out of his pocket and hit a button without looking at it. “I need to know you’re on my side.”

“Your side?” My heart was racing with fear, and I felt sick with exhaustion. Something was very wrong here, but the others would arrive soon, and it would all be okay.

“Kelsey, you need to understand—”

I stood and walked toward the front door. “What I need is some more sleep. Please, point me in the direction of the nearest bedroom.” I needed to get away from him, where I could think.

His shoulders sagged, but he nodded. “Up the stairs. Take any room you want.”

I grabbed my suitcase before he could offer to help me and headed upstairs. I dropped it on the floor of the first bedroom I found, shut the door behind me, and flopped on the bed. The room was like the rest of the house, clean and bare. There was only the twin bed I was laying on and a small nightstand with a lamp. The comforter on the bed and the lamp were the same shade of navy. I reached for my phone to call Angelica and find out how close they were, but came up empty-handed. It wasn’t in my front pocket where I usually stashed it. I checked all the pockets in my jeans and my suitcase, but it wasn’t there.

My vision was blurring with exhaustion and panic when I opened the door of the bedroom to call down to Caleb and ask him about the phone. Before I could make a sound, I heard his voice raised in anger. I crept to the top of the stairs and listened.

“Listen to me, Jed, it’s fine. Kelsey wanted to see her mother, and I couldn’t tell her no, could I? We’re just going to be a day late to the safe house.”

There was a long silence, and then Caleb started yelling. “I can protect her, damn it, and I will. You are just like the rest of them. You think I’m worthless, but you’re wrong, Jed, and I’m going to prove it.”

I had heard enough. Caleb was lying to me and Jed. Nobody was going to be here soon. There would be no rescue from whatever Caleb had planned for me. I tiptoed back to the bedroom and closed the door silently behind me. I needed to figure out what to do.

I was staring out the bedroom window, contemplating the two-story drop, when there was a soft knock at my door.

“Kelsey,” Caleb called in a quiet voice.

I considered just not answering him, but he would probably just come in anyway.

“Come on in,” I called. “I’m not asleep yet.”

He opened the door and smiled at me. “Mind if I join you?”

I resisted the urge to tell him what I really thought with every bit of strength I had. He had the car keys, my cell phone, and he was blocking my only chance of escape. I needed to play nice. “I heard you on the phone with Jed. This isn’t the new meeting place, is it?”

Caleb frowned and leaned against the door frame. “I’m sorry. I should have told you… I just didn’t think that you would come with me if you knew what I really want.”

“What do you really want?” I asked, shaking.

“I just wanted some alone time so we could get to know each other better and see if you want to give this thing between us a real shot. I promise I’ll take you to see your mother, as soon as we’ve gotten to know each other better.”

My mind raced as I tried to figure out his game, but it just didn’t make any sense. I didn’t believe for a minute that all of this was just to give him more time to convince me I loved him.

“Can I just
call
my Mom? I’d really like to talk to her.” I reached into my front pocket and gave a little gasp when I found it empty. “I just have to find my phone.” I squatted to re-open the suitcase and look in there, but Caleb pulled me to my feet.

“Give me twenty-four hours. Please, Kelsey. I know you love me; you just need to spend more time with me, without Landon or anyone else interfering.” He hugged me tight and started kissing me again. He slid his hands under my shirt and up my back. The feel of his skin on mine made me shiver with disgust, but he must have mistaken it for pleasure, because he moaned and walked me back toward the bed. I tried to push away from him, but he just held on tighter.

There was a loud knock on the door, followed by the doorbell ringing repeatedly, but Caleb only stopped kissing me long enough to say, “Someone’s got the wrong house. Just ignore it.”

A loud crash and the sound of wood splintering was finally enough to stop Caleb. He didn’t let go of me, though. He turned me so my back was to his chest, wrapped his arms tight around me, and waited. The man who raced up the stairs and into that room was the last man I would have expected to see.

My own father.

His face was red and twisted in anger. He paused in the doorway long enough to catch his breath, and I realized what a giant of a man he was. In my memories, he’d been like a giant to me, but I had thought that was because I was so little. He was not anyone I would want to be on the wrong side of.

“Caleb, you little shit. Let go of my daughter.”

Caleb didn’t seem the least bit shaken. “Come any closer and I will snap her neck. You know I can do it.” He put one hand on top of my head and the other on my shoulder.

A cold fear washed over me and I stopped breathing for a moment. I was afraid to move, but my mind raced as I tried to understand how Caleb, once my friend, almost my lover, could now become my killer.

Len nodded and took a small step back. “And you know how quickly I can kill you if you hurt her.”

Caleb laughed. “You’d be doing me a favor. I’ve got a lot more clout on the other side than I have here.”

Len smiled, but his body remained tensed. “You’re as predictable as always. You still think power and influence is all that matters. How exactly does Kelsey figure into all of this?”

“If I’m so predictable, why don’t you tell me?”

“Well, I had a little chat on the way here, and I heard that you’ve been fired from Varius, so I’d guess you’re a little desperate right now. I’d say you figure on using Kelsey as a bargaining chip to get back in with the folks.”

Caleb snorted. “They’ve never appreciated me or what I can do. I’m done with them.”

“What can you do, Caleb? The only thing I’ve ever thought you had going for you was your charm, and your anger and resentment had worn that pretty threadbare when I knew you. I’d say you’ve got a whole lot of nothing, and Jed’s been covering for you this whole time. I don’t even believe you can really tell when there’s a fucking reaper in the room.”

Caleb’s arm tightened around my shoulders and I felt him take a deep breath. “You’re trying to piss me off, so I’ll get angry and do something stupid, but it’s not going to happen.”

“Oh, right. Those anger management classes are really paying off. I’m sure Reid would agree with me on that one,” Len said, calmly. He didn’t seem to be concerned about my imminent death.

“Reid got what he deserved. I’d think you’d be glad he was dead.”

“Dead?” I squeaked.

Len met my eyes for the first time. “I’m sorry, sweetie. Caleb killed him.”

“I did it for you, Kelsey. He was never going to leave you alone.”

Len shook his head. “I can’t imagine he’d have bothered her too much from prison, which was where he was headed if I know your brother at all.”

“He deserved to die,” Caleb said in a voice that didn’t even sound like his. I wondered if he’d been taken, but I was sure Len would be able to tell if that were the case.

“Why don’t we agree to disagree on this one, and you hand over my daughter?”

“She loves me, Len, and I love her and we won’t be separated.”

Len looked at me again, and I firmly mouthed
no
, just in case he suspected I had a thing for sociopaths. Len nodded subtly and returned his attention to Caleb. “You’ve got a funny way of showing someone you love them. You see, I know that I didn’t set that reaping in motion. I’ve never dealt with those fellows in Briarton before, and I didn’t even know Kelsey lived there.”

“Like hell, you didn’t,” Caleb said.

Len smiled. “Believe me, I tried to keep track of her, but everyone I sent to watch her liked her better than me. Alice hadn’t said one word to me until she popped up tonight and told me where to find Kelsey.”

So that’s how I ended up with a guardian, and she liked me better than my dad. I might have smiled, if I weren’t so scared that my teeth were chattering.

“You’re skirting the issue, Caleb. You set Kelsey up. You killed Landon and set the whole game in motion. Until tonight, I was sure it was Cat who had organized it all, because you just don’t have the skills—”

“I have connections.”

“And favors owed. I know how you operate. What I don’t know is why you let it go on so long. Kelsey could have been killed, and now she’s got a big fat neon bull’s eye on her. So I figure, you had one of your
connections
give Landon the game plan, but then you lost control.”