Page 29 of The Reaper

She laughed. “Me? No I didn’t!”

“You work for the Bratva, you drugged me last night, you set the fire alarm, you were going to kill me,” he ground out. She yanked hard at this point, coming free from his grip, he whirled around to try to stop her.

“No, you’ve got this wrong, Jack. I honestly am who I say I am. Come on, it’s me, you said you trusted me.” She licked her lips, she realised she only had a few seconds to convince him.

“My name is Hannah, I’m a nurse here at Eastward Prison. I was being blackmailed, PC Roper, he was my ex… he said I had to smuggle drugs into the prison, or else my father…” she gulped, hot wetness on her face. “It’s true, and then when I found you later that day, all beaten up… yes I made up that I was your girlfriend, because you were a Reaper, so, knowing you by association would keep me safe…”

Jack looked away, hissing.

“-but I want you in my life, all of the things I said about how I felt, what we did… I want to be a part of this life… I can’t really put it into words but-”

“Good acting here sweetheart but you don't fool me.”

“Stop, honestly,” she scolded, bolder than she felt.

“I know, you’ve said it all before, I remember.” He rolled his eyes. “Do you have any idea how... ridiculous it sounds?” He grabbed her again, marching her down the corridor.

“The Bratva turned up, they’ve infiltrated the prison pretending to be MI5,” he said, reluctantly. “You know this, this was the plan, you set the fire alarm off, the gas leak wasn’t accidental-”

“Not true.” She corrected him. Her mind raced. “Everyone else, are they safe?”

He shrugged. “Safe enough. Unlike me, unlike you, Hannah, because you’ve served your purpose now-”

“No, I’m not working with the Bratva, Jack, I-”

The intercom crackled then. It was used for announcements, for staff to attend particular blocks, a little bleep for the end of visiting hours. It crackled now, a sound so familiar and yet she felt the hairs on her arms rise.

He yanked her along the corridor again.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To them. I’m going to bargain with them, trade you for me. If I give them you, they let me go. Let me get far away from here and not have anything more to do with the Bratva again. Your life or mine, Hannah.”

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN

HANNAH

“Wait!They won’t want me, I told you, I’m not with the Bratva! They think I’m with the Reapers.”

“Hmm.” He grunted and looked away.

They continued down the corridor.

She blinked furiously, hot, heavy tears were forming in her eyes. “They think I’m your girlfriend, Jack, I only said it to protect myself, my family, surely you can understand that? If you are a member of the Reapers MC, you’ll know all about family, brotherhood-”

He shook her lightly. “Oh yeah? Well, where are they then, did they come to claim me, to rescue me? No.” he answered himself. And Hannah could see the sorrow, the confusion he felt about that. Abandoned.

She took a breath. “ I came to claim you, Jack, I came to rescue you, just as you did for me.”

He looked at her long and hard. A shimmer of the Jack she had come to know almost bubbled to the surface. Warmth almost sneaked into those brown eyes. “I…” He blew out a heavy breath. “Fuck Hannah.”

A noise down the corridor made them both jump. A clanking noise.

Hannah cleared her throat. “Anyway, the Bratva aren’t here, it’s MI5 outside…”

“It's the Bratva,” he replied simply. He was stalking forward, silently, slowing her down, pulling her gently now, rather than quickly and roughly. It was so still, so silent. He paused, looked up and down the corridor.

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