Page 52 of Death Trap

She smiled. “Yes, you will. And thank you, Jade, for getting me out of there. For saving me.”

Then she disappeared through the door.

Now alone, Eli came up to me as the door’s glow brightened and dimmed again, signaling Lisa was now on the other side.

“You know…you’re a terrible reaper,” he said.

I turned to him, instantly annoyed. “What? Why do you say that?”

What a dick thing to say.

Still staring ahead, he smiled. “You put too much emotion into it. Reapers are supposed to cross people over. Not give an encouraging speech.”

“So I’ve been told,” I mumbled under my breath. I knew I sucked at my job, but I didn’t need to hear it all the time. And I definitely didn’t want to hear it from an angel, of all people.

“But it makes sense,” he went on. “You’re a terrible reaper because you were never supposed to be one. You’re empathetic for what being a reaper entails. But after watching you comfort Lisa like that, it’s clear you’re what the job needs.”

Okay, less of a dick thing to say.

When he turned toward me, there was a glimmer in his eyes that said he wanted to tell me more. Wished he could, but had to be very selective with his words because of the censor. He was holding a lot of secrets, by no fault of his own. If he could, he’d tell me right away. He wanted me to know who I was.

“Shall we?” he said, holding out his arm to allow me to go first, like always.

I pretended to curtsy and stepped through the door.

Traveling through the veil wasn’t the hard part. Freaky, yes, and a bit mind boggling but not hard. The worst part was managing to stick the landing. This time, my feet hit the ground first, but my weight came down all at once and my knees buckled, sending me forward. The side of my face met the ground hard, my cheek stinging and colors dancing before my eyes. I grunted as I rolled onto my back, looking up at the perfectly velvet blue sky, littered with too many stars and a huge full moon.

A pale hand appeared above my face, and when I tilted my head back, I found Eli standing there, offering me help up. I took it and let him haul me back to my feet.

“You know, I’ve been doing this for over a year, and I still can’t land on my feet. I’m jealous you can,” I said.

He chuckled. “You’ll get there.”

I dusted off my jeans and rubbed the pain out of my jaw. It was nice to be back in a place where pain was temporary.

All the wounds from the Halflings’ claws on Eli’s naked chest were closed and freshly pink with healing. Even my stray bullet’s mark had disappeared.

Since we had passed through the door while in Fairport, my apartment was nearby. I was happy for that, too, because every part of me seemed to ache after that fight with the Halflings. I wanted to shower, relax, and close my eyes. At least for a little while before I went back into that Hell hole by myself.

But what did that mean for Eli?

“Uh, where do angels go in this place? There’s a good bar in the next town over called Arrogant Bastard. Maybe go get a drink and relax a bit?” I suggested.

The bridge of Eli’s nose scrunched at the name. “I don’t drink,” he said.

“Oh…okay. Well…I’m going to go home and relax myself. I guess I’ll talk to you another time? Do you need the door to get out of here?”

Confusion passed over his handsome face. “I can’t leave you now. It’s my job to protect you.”

Holy cow. Was I going to have to pry this guy off my hip? What did he expect? To follow me around my entire afterlife?

Yeah, I don’t think so.

“You can’t just move in with me. I don’t know you like that,” I said.

He gave me a half smile, one that was full of mystery and a bit of mischief, too. “Actually, you do.”

What did that mean? Was he suggesting we knew each otherintimately?The image of his bare, muscular torso hovering over me as his hips moved against mine sprang to my mind, making sweat bead on my forehead. I quickly shoved it back into that dark box where I kept my sexier thoughts and coughed to cover the blush rising to my cheeks.

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