Page 67 of The Reaper

“Oh my god.” His grandpa joined us on the small porch, watching his wife and grandson. “My boy,” he said between sobs. “Archer.” He held Archer’s face between his hands, wiping his tears away. “You’re alive.”

Archer attempted to free himself from his grandma’s tight embrace, perhaps to look her in her eyes, but she shook her head repeatedly. It seemed like her hold on him tightened.

“No, no, no,” she said. “I don’t wanna wake up from this dream.”

“This is not a dream, Grandma. I’m here,” Archer assured her.

Slowly, her wet face looked up into his. She pulled him down and peppered him with kisses. “How?” she cried.

His grandpa’s hand combed Archer’s hair before running his finger along the scar on his left eye. “My son. What happened to you?”

A red SUV with heavily tinted windows passed by. I followed its direction with my eyes, then turned back to the family reunion. “My name is Heath. I’m Archer’s friend,” I said. “Can we come in?” We needed to get off this porch.

Archer seemed to sober up from the tone of my voice, and ushered his grandparents in. “I’ll tell you all about it inside,” he said.

“I’ll keep watch,” I said, but Archer shook his head.

“Stay with me, please?”

I sighed. “Okay.” I checked for the SUV before closing the door behind us.

Archer and his grandparents sat around the dining room table while I stood in the living room next to the window, where I could keep an eye outside. As much as I understood the importance of this meeting, we needed to keep it brief and get going if we wanted a fighting chance against The Firm. A few more minutes, I told myself.

His grandpa slammed the table with his fist, shaking his head. “They killed your parents?”

Archer reached for his hand, holding it, while his other hand rubbed his grandmother’s arm, consoling her as she wept.

“How much more pain are they going to put you through? They have to pay for all of the things they’ve done,” she said, hiccupping. She rubbed her chest, and my heart broke for the despair in her face. She’d known so much grief.

“They will pay, Gram. I will make sure they do. That’s why I need you to come with me.” Archer’s eyes bounced between his grandparents. “I know what I’m asking is a lot, and I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but I need you to trust me, please.”

A buzzing sound coming from Archer’s pants interrupted the heartfelt moment. He pulled his phone from his pocket, glancing at the screen. He looked at me; he didn’t need to say anything anymore. “It’s Tobias.”

I nodded and took his cell. “Hello?”

“Who’s this?”

“This is Heath,” I answered.

“Okay … where is The Reaper?” he asked hesitantly.

“Archer is with his grandparents right now,” I said, walking closer to the window, peeking outside.

“He has grandparents? And who are you?”

“Long story, and I will have Archer answer them later, but are you here?”

“Yeah, red Tahoe a block from the address he gave me.”

Well, that was a relief. “Great. I’ll let Archer know. We’ll be there soon.” I hung up and joined the three of them, handing Archer his phone. “Tobias is here.”

Archer looked at his grandparents’ eyes, pleading.

“We’ll go with you,” his grandfather said.

“We don’t want to ever lose you again,” his grandmother added.

Archer exhaled his relief. He stood and rushed between them, wrapping his arms around their shoulders. “Thank you.”

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