Page 32 of War Games

I let out a sigh, glancing around the massive refrigerator before finding a chair, and as Eagle curls up on the floor, completely defeated, I grab the chair and drag it to the center of the room.

“Here,” I say, reaching for her and helping her to her feet before wrapping my arm around her waist. I walk her over to the chair, and as she hobbles, I take the majority of her weight. Reaching the chair, I lower her into it, and she lets out a heavy breath, in more pain than I had originally thought. “You okay?”

“Think you broke a rib.”

“Shit. Sorry.”

With Eagle barely able to move, I fetch all of my weapons, putting them right back into place as I keep an eye on her. Once everything is secured, I find heavy chains and drag them over to Eagle before wrapping them around her ankles and wrists. “Sorry,” I say, still feeling so heavy about all of this.

“I get it,” she says. “I’d be doing the exact same thing if roles were reversed.”

“Do you need water or something?”

She gives me a small smile. “So I can piss myself when I die? No thanks,” she scoffs. “Can I just ask one thing? No—wait. Two. Can I ask two things?”

“Like what?”

“My little sister,” she says. “Is there any way you’d be willing to check in on her every now and then? She doesn’t know what I do for work, and she’s going to be crushed when she realizes I’m gone. I just . . . I need to know she’s going to be alright. Both our parents are gone, and it’s just been the two of us for so long. She’s not going to have anybody.”

I cringe, not really sure about this. “I don’t know. I’m not a babysitter.”

“She doesn’t need babysitting. She’s not a child. She’s twenty-two. She just needs someone to check in on her every few months to make sure she’s not making any terrible life decisions, which she will. She does it all the time, and they mostly have something to do with stupid boys who only want one thing from her.”

“Okay, okay,” I say. “I can check in on your sister.”

Eagle lets out a heavy sigh of relief. “Thank you,” she says.

“Dare I ask what the other thing is?”

Her gaze darkens as she lifts her head, staring me right in the eye. “Gasoline. I want you to end that bitch’s life as though she’d personally wronged you. She deserves the worst kind of death.”

“What happened with her?”

Eagle clenches her jaw and glances away, clearly not wanting to talk about it, but there’s no disguising the flash of fear that darkens her stare. Something terrible went down, and while I might never know what that is, that doesn’t mean I can’t get sweet revenge for Eagle. “Consider it done,” I tell her.

“Thank you, and Siren?” she murmurs, a heaviness entering her tone, realizing this is it. “Watch your back with that one. She’s not only clever, she’s vindictive and angry at the world. She’ll do what she can to make it as brutal as possible. And that includes burning you alive.”

My brows furrow as my heart starts to race. “Is that what she did to you?”

Eagle purses her lips. “Just watch yourself when it comes to her. I have high hopes for you. I think Reaper and Shadow might be an issue, but I like you. If anybody should come out of this alive, I want it to be you.”

A shiver sails down my spine just moments before a deep tone fills the room, the sound making my heart race. “Why are you dragging this out, Little Siren?”

Ahh fuck.

Eagle sucks in a gasp, her sharp gaze flicking around the room until Reaper makes a point to step out of the shadows, and all I can do is let out a heavy sigh. “You again? Really? Are you stalking me?” I ask, unable to keep from noticing the way his tight black shirt fits his body or the way his tattoos peek out from the neckline of that very shirt, leaving me desperate to see what’s underneath.

His gaze locks on me, barely noticing Eagle who can do nothing more than gawk. “Yes,” Reaper states flatly, not a hint of deception in his voice—a voice that just so happens to have me needing to relieve the ache between my thighs. “Why wouldn’t I? A beautiful woman who thinks she has the ability to take me down. What can I say? You’ve piqued my interest.”

That was more than clear when he had his body pressed up against mine in that back alley, but all that memory has done for me is send me spiraling every time I close my eyes. “Oh, lucky me,” I throw back at him, doing the bare minimum to act as though his very presence doesn’t have an effect on me, but this is Reaper we’re talking about. He can see right through my bullshit.

“Uhhh . . . What the fuck is going on here?” Eagle asks, looking between the two of us, unsure if she needs to be confused or terrified.

Glancing back at her, I risk taking my eyes off Reaper, but something tells me that he means me no harm. After all, he justadmitted to stalking me, which means he’s been more than close over these past few days. If he wanted to kill me, he could have at any point, and yet, for whatever reason, I’m still here.

Holding Eagle’s stare, I give it to her straight. “Someone—not naming any names—clearly wants to fuck me,” I tell her. “He saw me make one kill and now the arrogant prick is obsessed.”

“Fuck, girl. I know you’re incredible at what you do, but you realize who the fuck it is you’re taunting, right? That’s Reaper.Thefucking Reaper. You’re gonna get yourself killed.”

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