Page 42 of Romancing the Reaper

I don’t have to pretend to be affronted by the comment. “Don’t you dare.”

Kieran laughs, and I take that moment to excuse myself and disappear into the bedroom that’s starting to feel just as much mine as it does his. I slide between the cool sheets and wrap my arms around myself tightly.

If I’m actually pregnant, I don’t want to raise that child in a world where my brother is not alive. I have to find the strength to face what’s going to come next but I feel like I’m have lost any shred of optimism.

All I keep thinking about is how I’m going to have to make some gut-wrenching choices and very soon. My brother and Kieran, who is quickly becoming equally important to me, hate each other. I have to protect myself, and the potential child that I might be carrying. For now, until I’m certain, I’m going to keep this secret to myself.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

KIERAN

Idon’t like leaving while Ada’s asleep. It makes me feel sneaky for some reason. It’s not like I need to report my actions to her, but I don’t like the idea that she’s going to wake up without knowing where I’ve gone either. I compromise with leaving a hastily scribbled note on the kitchen island. Maybe with some luck, I will be home before she even wakes up.

I leave my hideout to meet up with Liam. We have a lot of work to do in a very short amount of time. I have to make one quick stop beforehand. The jewelry store that I choose is the other way of where I am headed.

In a less than a half hour, there’s a slight weight in my pants pocket that I try not to think about too much. I have to focuson my work. Still, I wonder what she will say? I want to see her eyes light up when she sees the box and even more when I slide that rock onto her finger. It’s an generous size for a more than stunning woman.

It’s going to be a symbol no matter what. It’s going to show not only how serious I am about all of this, but also a sparkly mark of my ownership of her. I have claimed her body, and now I just need that one last piece of her mind before I can wholly make her mine.

I leave the garage on foot, feeling pain in every step, and head down to the location that Liam and I are meeting. I pull my leather jacket closer to my body, keeping the black ball cap on my head pulled low to keep from drawing too much unwanted attention to myself as I head to my destination.

The secluded warehouse that we are meeting at is something of a gem because it’s hidden in plain sight. Abandoned such a long time ago, it fell into disrepair and was mostly boarded up. Hardly anyone ever even gives the place a second glance as they walk past the various flyers and spray paint on the boarded-up entrance. I slip into the alleyway to the left and climb up the rusted ladder to the open window and hop down inside the dimly lit space. The scent of dust and old oil hangs heavy in the air. Liam is already here waiting for me. He’s leaned up casually against a stack of crates, his trademark smirk playing on his lips as I approach.

I want to be able to trust him, but now everything feels shaken. If he had never been in that office, our friendship would stillbe solid. Now, everything is precarious. I have to work with him, and I’m sure that he understands that it’s unspoken that he needs to earn back my full trust. That nagging feeling that somehow his father is in on this or knows about it is something that I just can’t seem to shake.

“Well, now that I’m here, what are you going to do with me?” I ask, the same teasing tone in my voice that Liam’s accustomed to. I’m willing to try so long as we both have the same mutual goal.

“Come now, we don’t have time for all of your sweet talk, cousin.” Liam grins, flashing almost too many teeth as he pushes off of the crates and takes a step toward me. “We will always have time to play later.”

The cheeky bastard winks at me. It makes me feel better, like everything is a touch more normal again.

“Good, I don’t want to be gone long.”

“You still think that it’s a good idea to involve her in all of this?”

I hesitate for a moment before answering. I don’t want to tell Liam too much of my plan so that I can remain cautious. Not until I’m completely certain. All this poses risks that I should never have to worry about.

Liam pushes just a bit further. “Our world isn’t really a place for somebody like her, Kieran. Is this the fate you want to resign her to?”

“Give her a little bit more credit than that, she’s stronger than you think.” I answer snappily. He saw her twice and he thinks that he knows her better than I do? Fat chance. Besides, Ada was raised in our world. Maybe not as involved as a princess as she will be as my wife, but this isn’t new to her. She knows the risks. Her eyes are open. “She’s not just a pawn to me, not anymore.”

Liam seems to study my expression, trying to find something there that I can only guess at. Irritation bubbles inside of me. Ada’s to be protected at all costs. She’s far more fragile than I realized but I’m never going to say that out loud. Least of all to Liam.

“Are you sure about that?” Liam asks.

It feels like he’s needling me. I cannot fathom why that might be. “How about you grow a pair and say what you really mean?”

There’s almost no space left between us now. I don’t have any desire to fight. But if he keeps running his mouth then I’m not going to have a choice but to put him in his place.

“I mean, are you sure that you’re the one that should be calling the shots here? How am I supposed to know that you have your head on straight? These are big fucking moves that we’re about to make, Kieran. I can’t have you fucking around. Ada’s anothertool for my father to use against you. You know that right?” Liam’s voice raises in pitch and volume the longer he speaks.

“So, this is what you think?” I seethe, my teeth clenching together.

“I think you have no idea what you’re doing. She would be better off without you.”

That does it. I grab him by his coat and pummel my fist into his face, my patient snaps and I lose control of my body. If Liam were any other person, it would be a brutal beating, but he’s been systematically trained since birth, just like I was. It might not be a perfectly even match, but it’s going to be enough of a struggle.

Somewhere deep down, I think Liam might be right. That only fuels my anger. I just want to keep her safe. I know how things started out, but my motivations aren’t the same, not anymore. I can’t imagine not waking up beside her. I need her slight frame pressed up against me. I need to know that she’s there waiting for me, being there for me. Just as I intend on being there for her. Whatever petty insults Liam throws in my direction, I don’t want to hear any of them. My rage pumps my blood like a drum against my ears. I can’t even feel the powerful punches that Liam is throwing right back in my direction.

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