Page 18 of They Call Him Reaper

I’m nearing exhaustion when I finally cut myself free, but know that bleeding in the ocean is dangerous. The exertion to fix the jet ski has me worried about my ability to make it back to the island. Once I right the jet ski, I climb back on, intensifying the pain radiating through my hurt leg, but I must push through.

The blood loss is problematic and the fear that I might not make it starts to sink in. As the island comes into view, I’m losing consciousness. I fall with a hard thud when the ski hits land. Rain pelts down on me, but I don’t have the energy to move.

I’m slipping into the black when I hear my name in the distance.

My head pounds,and I have no desire to open my eyes. The solidness beneath me tells me I’m in my cabin. She’s singing a song, and it takes a few lines for me to realize she’s singing the chorus to “Fix You” by Coldplay. I’d roll my eyes if they were open. I try to move, but my wrists are handcuffed to the side of the bed. My suspicion rises and my eyes fly open to assess thesituation. Her hair is pulled back into a damp ponytail and she’s on her knees next to my leg, biting her lip as she sews the wound shut.

“Why am I cuffed?”

“Hmm?” she hums as she looks up from her task.

“Why am I handcuffed?” I ask again.

She shrugs like it’s not a big deal. “I was gonna rape you when I was done, but you woke up too early.”

“And the real reason?” I question her, ignoring her ridiculous statement.

“I didn’t know if you were the wake-up-swinging type and did not want to get punched while fixing your leg.”Makes sense.If it were reversed, I would have tied her up to shift the power and have her at my mercy, but everyone is different. She does the last stitch and wipes her hands. “Done.”

“Good,” I say and release myself from the cuffs, sitting up while ignoring the pain shooting through my body to look at her work. I studied her enough to not doubt her skill; I just want to see the damage. “Thank you.”

She’s staring at me with her eyes agape. “How did you get out? Never mind, that isn’t even the most surprising occurrence of the night.”

“What is?”

“The blood,” she admits as she starts wrapping my leg. “I’m surprised you bleed. I expected to find circuits and wires.”

“Shut up.” I chuckle at her stupid joke.

She studies me as she ties the gauze, then moves closer and rubs her fingers through my hair like she’s examining my head.

“Do you remember bumping your head?” she inquires.

“No, why?”

Sitting back on her feet, she looks at me curiously. “Don’t be alarmed, but you thanked me,andyou just laughed.”

The goofy look on her face is cute. Well, she’s cute when she’s not making a face. I’ve just never bothered to acknowledge it. I lie back down on the floor. The tarp underneath me explains how she got me back in here. I continue to allow the silence to stretch without a word, because I realize she’s one of the reasons I fought to come back, and it had nothing to do with vengeance. That’s not the only thing that bothers me. Why did she even bother? I would have left me outside, hopefully to drown in the rain.

“How did you know I was outside?” I finally ask.

“I saw you ride up. The sky looked ominous, and I was worried about you.”

She lies down on her side next to me after her admission.

“Why the fuck would you be worried about me? Aren’t you supposed to hope I’d die?”

“No, Dante.” Propping her head with her hand, she looks at me.

I’m convinced she’s the crazy one now. Her worrying about my safety doesn’t make sense on any level.

“Why not?”

She brushes some of my hair out of my face with her fingers, and I fight the urge to push her away. We’re not friends or lovers. She’s my captive, yet she still chooses to be soft and kind in moments like this.

“Because you are my everything.” I frown at her words, but she clarifies. “Not in the romantic sense, Dante. My life is literally in your hands. You knew exactly where to bring me to leave me helpless. I live by you, and I die by you. Our lives are intertwined now. I’m at your mercy. On this island, if you die, I die. My life depends solely on your will.”

I don’t respond, because what the fuck am I supposed to say to that? It’s true, I did choose a place to isolate her in a way where she couldn’t escape without my assistance. It’s easierthis way with less variables to control. It was my goal to make sure that she wouldn't have a whim to run because there wasn’t anywhere she could go. She gets off the floor and grabs the prescription of sedatives.

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