Page 64 of The Reaper

I nodded, but that was way too close for comfort for me. I glanced behind me, picked up the knife, and stabbed the archbishop’s chest, piercing his heart for all the pain he inflicted on Heath. “He’s fucking dead, and no one will ever lay their hands on you again,” I promised.

I brought our faces together, our lips finding each other’s. We kissed like there was no tomorrow. He quenched my thirst and fed my soul.

“How did you get in here?” he asked when our lips parted.

“I’ll tell you later. We don’t have much time.” I undressed the unconscious man on the floor, leaving him with just his underwear on. “Wear this.” I handed Heath the man’s clothes.

“Is he dead?”

“No, but we have to go before he wakes up.” I helped him stand and he winced, his whole body shivering. “Can you lift your arms?”

He nodded, taking deep breaths while I helped him put on the clothes.

“Take these too,” I said, handing him two handguns. “My motorcycle is parked in the woods south of here.”

Heath patted his pants, searching for something. “Here it is,” he said when he showed me his cell phone. “Where are we?”

“A fucking monastery in Maine,” I answered. “Can you run?”

“Yeah.” He tucked one of the guns in his waistband before grabbing my hand.

So we ran, tracing back the steps I’d taken to get to the dungeons.

I could finally breathe now that Heath was safe. I was so thankful I’d made it in time, that fucker was seconds from stabbing Heath with his dagger. I had so many questions for him about his involvement with The Firm, but those questions would have to wait because we had more pressing matters to worry about, like getting the fuck out of here alive. “Leave it to the Church to be so fucking barbaric,” I said. “A fucking dungeon? Really? Are we in the fucking 1700s?”

“It’s all about tradition, and these guys are old school,” Heath answered, squirming when he pulled the shirt away from his sensitive skin.

“We’re almost out of here,” I said, squeezing his hand. “I’ll take a look when we get out.”

“I’ll be okay. This is way better than the alternative.” He released the magazine of his gun, checking the number of bullets while we ran.

“Zero, can you talk to me?” I said into the wireless headset in my ear. “Zero? Damn it! The reception down here is shitty,” I whispered.

“Who’s Zero?” he asked.

“Zero is one of The Firm’s hackers. She’s tracking us right now to get us out of here. She’s already hacked into the security system.” I called Zero while following the van here. I’d let her in on The Firm’s secrets and asked her to check for herself. And because she was the best at what she does, she was able to hack into the email address I gave her. It was from the email Heath received before we headed to New Hampshire to meet with the archbishop. I had the foresight to memorize it then.

“Okay,” he said. “Where did you get your clothes?”

“The monks’ quarters. That fucking place is a giant sex orgy. You should’ve seen what they were doing.”

“I know all about that,” he said.

“Based on experience?” I asked, ignoring the sudden pang of jealousy.

“Nope.”

We stopped running, hiding behind the wall at the sound of pounding footsteps. “Shhh,” I whispered, placing my index finger to my lips before pointing in the direction of the sound. I peeked and found a group of men running in the opposite direction. Shit was about to hit the fan, especially when they found the archbishop’s body. “This way.” I led the way toward the round staircase. “I’ll take the top, you take the bottom,” I instructed, slowly making our way up, our guns drawn.

“Reaper, do you copy?” I exhaled upon hearing Zero’s voice. She was our lifeline.

“Yeah,” I whispered.

“Is he with you?”

“Yes.”

“Good. You’re three floors below ground, so take the steps as far as you can and do it fast. There’s an exit to your immediate right when you get to the top of the staircase,” Zero instructed.

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