Page 147 of Finders Reapers

I couldn’t force my gaze to meet his. Maddox had hurt me deeply. Whether it be from perceiving me as weak or scaring me with his anger.

After a moment, Maddox sighed and sat back in his seat.

“We can take the 40 through Fenner until we get back to Needles,” Rome said as he checked his rear-view mirror.

The familiar sight of the rugged squat rocks lined the horizon, painted orange in the early morning sunrise.

“Oriax knew about Needles.” Maddox pointed out. “We should find a new safe house.”

“Oriax is dead.” Fletcher snickered, speaking for the first time since I had woken up. “Besides, if Charon and Mr. Bub work out what happened, nothing in Hell or the Human Realities could stop them.”

“Are you sure we weren’t followed?” Rome sounded strange. Detached. Empty of emotion.

“What do you mean?” Maddox sat forward.

“We weren’t followed. We’ve turned off our locations on the Reaper app.” Fletcher tacked on.

“I ask because the temperature just dropped, and the air conditioning is not on.” Rome’s hands tightened on the steering wheel.

I craned my neck and shifted until I could see the windshield through the two front seats.

There was a lone figure in the distance. Standing in the middle of the road.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” Fletcher pulled his hood off his head. “Do you think that’s Charon?”

Jamal knocked on the parcel shelf. Everyone ignored him.

Two wings burst from the figure's back, large enough to stretch the width of the desert road.

Rome put his foot on the accelerator. “Oriax.” He snarled. “Great. A pissed-off fallen angel.”

Maddox gripped my shoulder. “Did you drink his blood?”

I thought back to the moment that Oriax had pinned me down and held his bleeding arm over my face. I nodded.

Maddox cursed. “He’s a fallen angel. Why did we think he’d die so easily?” Maddox turned to me. “I thought something attacked you both, and he protected you. It made sense. Mr. Bub set you up and took down Oriax in the process. Oriax has always sided with Charon.”

I shook my head vehemently but couldn’t speak a word they would understand. Whatever Oriax had done had affected my brain.

“Do you think Oriax is working for Beezlebub?” Rome asked.

“Ollie was in pieces!” Fletcher’s voice rose an octave. “What kind of creature can survive being ripped into pieces?!”

“I don’t know, Fletch.” Maddox snarled. “Perhaps one of God’s chosen.”

“Don’t shout at me!” Fletcher barked back. “You’re the one that picked up Vallie and booked it out of there.”

The Camaro revved its engine as Rome chuckled to himself.

The car lurched forward, taking to the single desert road like a rollerskate. Closer. Closer. Closer.

We bounced as the road weaved, and I could see Oriax’s blood-stained face, his eyes golden and burning with madness akin to hatred.

We were going to hit him.

Why didn’t he move out of the way?

---