Page 27 of The Reaper

“Pull over.”

It had been quiet in the car for so long that Orin’s rough voice startled me.

I peered at him. “What?”

He had craned his neck to look at an SUV parked up on the shoulder. I was so busy thinking about the fact that I’d been shot at three times in less than a week that I didn’t even notice the Rover.

The Rover with blacked-out windows.

He was already reaching into the center console, pulling out the gun I’d taken with us and checking it was loaded. “Fallon,pull over,” Orin said, his other hand already on the handle.

Before I could bring the car to a complete stop, he was out of the door. I put it into park, turning around in my seat to see what he was doing. With the gun raised, he approached the other car slowly, moving around the back and to the far side where I lost sight of him.

When he reappeared, he walked back to the car and stopped beside my window.

“What the hell happened?”

“The gobshite who shot at us in the hospital car park has had his brains splattered all over the interior of that car.”

“He’s dead?”

A grim nod. “Very.”

“Who shot him?”

“If it was an initiation into the clan, the clan member’s shot him after he didn’t succeed in killing me. I was the real target of the attack. The little fuck must’ve panicked when he took aim at you instead.” He turned his face back to the car, his expression darkening. When he finally looked at me, his black eyes were murderous. “I was going to hunt the fucker down in any case. The Bèar Clan just did me a fucking favor.”

I tried to not let his words warm my belly.

“Let’s get moving.”

Orin got back into the car, and I shifted it back into drive. We didn’t stop again until we made it to a town called Roscommon, where Orin began directing me.

“Is this where the safe house is?” I asked, taking the left he’d told me to.

“No. That’s closer to Galway. I wanted to stop here for the night.”

“Why?”

“Because you look like you’re going to be sick.”

“I already told you I’m fine.” The lie rolled out without a hint of hesitation.

But I wasnotokay.

I could already feel the panic building inside me.

“Fallon.” He said my name like he was ready for this battle—like he knew I would fight against this. “You were shot at.”

“I’m aware,” I snipped back. “And if you’ll recall, it wasn’t the first time, either.”

He ground his molars together. “We’re stopping, and I’m not having an argument with you about it. Turn right at the next street.”

I flicked on my indicator and glared at him. “Is this town even safe for us to stay in?” Apparently, there was a whole other set of rules for the clans in Ireland.

“It’s a neutral town,” he replied.

“Neutral? So, it’s not one hundred percent safe?”

---