Page 13 of Reaper Flame

All I could see was his face. Rocky’s face. I couldn’t stop replaying the moment he fell to the floor like a video caught in a never-ending loop. Blood spilled from his body, and my face stared back at me in the crimson puddle, haunted by regret.

I thought I knew pain, but nothing compared to the deep ache in my chest that was crushing me from the inside out. It’d been hard enough to know he’d hate me for shooting him, but never having the chance to apologize or explain? The pain was agonizing and all-consuming. It swallowed me in a black hole I’d never be able to claw my way out of.

Rocky wasn’t the only one who died yesterday. My hope was slaughtered alongside the last part of me with any goodness left. Now, I was nothing butthis.A monster who killed her chance at happiness.

I deserved to suffer. Rocky’s blood was on my hands, and it was time for me to succumb to my fate. But I wasn’t the only person to blame for his death. If Zander hadn’t lied, we’d never have been put in a position where Rocky had to stand between me and Hiram. Spending my life with Hiram and marrying Giles was my punishment, but what about Zander? He needed to pay for his choices. Rocky went to his grave thinking I’d turned my back on him, but Zander would go to his wishing he never turned his back on me.

“Fuck,” I cursed as loud knocking erupted on the door.

I hauled myself into a sitting position. My limbs were heavy and moving drained the little energy I had. All I wanted was to curl back into a ball again and hide from the world. A world I didn’t know how to live in knowing Rocky wasn’t in it.

“Get up, Kitten,” Hiram ordered, entering my bedroom without an invitation. As usual, he wore a pressed suit and tie. It’s all he owned. “We have a guest joining us for breakfast.”

“I’m not hungry,” I mumbled, pulling my knees up to my chest and pretending to cough. “I don’t feel good.”

Hiram’s eyes narrowed. He saw through my act quicker than a porn actress faking an orgasm to cut the shoot early.

“Don’t keep us waiting, Kitten,” he hissed. “You have five minutes, or I will drag you out myself.”

He stormed away, and Giles’s laugh belted down the corridor like an unwelcome alarm. After returning to Blackthorne Towers after the wedding, I’d not expected to see Giles again so soon. Our union was a sham, so I assumed he’d only appear when Hiram called. We never ate together in the morning, so Hiram must be using the meeting as a way to lull Giles into a false sense of security. He made people comfortable before snatching everything away from them.

I dragged myself out of bed, threw on leggings and a tank top, then made my way to the kitchen at the end of the hall. The smell of Hiram’s chef-prepared food spread over the table made my stomach churn.

“I was beginning to think you weren’t going to be joining us,” Giles said, already busy piling his plate high.

I scowled and poured myself a cup of strong black coffee. My hands shook as I resisted the urge to throw the boiling liquid in his face and sat in a chair opposite the two of them.

Hiram’s brow furrowed. “You’re not eating.”

“I told you, I’m not hungry,” I replied, crossing my arms and zeroing in on Giles. “What doyouwant?”

“To see my wife, of course,” Giles replied, dabbing his face with a napkin and leaving behind a crumb of toast on his upper lip. “I brought you a present.”

I wrinkled my nose at his toast wart and snapped, “I don’t like surprises.”

Especially ones from assholes like him.

“You’ll like this one,” Hiram said.

Yep, now I was certain that it wouldn’t be good.

“An associate delivered this to me this morning,” Giles said.

He slid a white envelope across the table.

I eyed it suspiciously but didn’t move. “What is it?”

“Open it,” Hiram encouraged. “You’ll see.”

I snatched it up and tore through the paper. My eyes scanned over the words written over the thick white card. Hiram and Giles watched on. Waiting. Waiting for me to fuck up. I bit my tongue and took a deep breath, keeping my poker face in tact. I couldn’t show emotion. Not here.

“So, what?” I threw the invitation down and leaned back. “Do you expect me to care?”

“Don’t you want to pay your respects, Kitty?” Hiram asked. He flashed his sparkling white teeth in a smile filled with evil and malice, making my skin prickle. “We can put an old chapter to a close.”

“I guess,” I replied, shrugging. Underneath the table, my nails dug into my palms. He wanted to watch me squirm. “Who needs to go on a honeymoon when there is a funeral to attend?”

Rocky’s funeral.

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