Page 129 of Reaper Flame

“Yes,” I agreed, pulling my knife from my pocket and plunging it into his back. “I have.”

His arms still held me tightly as I twisted the blade into him. I stabbed again. Again and again. I stabbed until I lost count. His gooey blood oozed between my shaking fingers until I stepped out of his grasp and let him fall. Hiram groaned, collapsing to the ground. The damage had been done. It’d be a matter of minutes before he bled out.

“You are not my family,” I snarled, looking down at the man who tried to destroy and ruin every happiness I had. I wanted him to see me for who I was. The woman who took him down. His own flesh and blood. “The Sevens are my real family. Blood changes nothing, and I will fight every day of my life to be nothing like you.”

“Oh, Kitten, don’t you see?” Hiram smiled. A sight that would be burned into my memory forever. “You already are.”

His eyelids fluttered closed as the knife slipped from my hold. I kneeled down and held my fingers to his neck. His pulse slowly faded away until, finally, it stopped.

“He’s dead,” I whispered.

I stood up like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

“You heard Hiram,” I addressed his men. “I am his successor.”

They all looked around blankly at each other, unsure of what to do next. Their boss was dead. Who did the mindless morons answer to now?

“Drop your weapons and leave,” I ordered, “before I kill you myself.”

They had no choice. They dropped their holds on the Sevens and retreated. Their hurried footsteps faded into the distance, leaving me alone with the Sevens.

I collapsed by Hiram’s side and stared at the dead smile on his face. My body trembled as I let uncontrollable tears fall. This isn’t how I imagined it would feel. Killing Hiram had been my end goal. I expected to feel victorious, not likethis.

I’d killed my only family, and worse still? Hiram was right. I was no better than him. He may be dead, but that didn’t mean I’d ever be free. My blood was a curse, and whether he was alive or dead, I’d never be able to get away from him, just like he wanted.

Even in death, Hiram won. He always did.

TWENTY-SEVEN

TWO WEEKS LATER…

“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” Rocky wrapped his arms around my waist as I flicked through my new wardrobe of Vixen-approved outfits. “Are you sure I can’t tempt you back to bed?”

“Not unless you want Vix to rip your balls off for being late.”

He huffed. “After she and Mieko kept us up all night, she should understand we need sleep.”

There’s nothing like almost dying to kickstart your libido into overdrive.

“It won’t be long until they move into their own place,” I reminded him. “The wedding is only a month away, remember?”

After everything that happened, they decided to move up the date. That, and Vixen had secured Ash and the Basilisks to play on their big day. Marrying Mieko was already going to be the best day of her life, and seeing her favorite band play would make it even more special.

“How could I forget?” Rocky groaned. “Did I tell you she asked me to pick up flowers today? What do I know about flowers?!”

The light relief of choosing cakes and table toppers provided a slice of normalcy amongst the chaos our lives had become.

I smirked. “You’re the one of us who is green-fingered.”

“Weed is different!” he objected. “There’s a science to that.”

“I’m meeting with Zander’s accountant,” I said, finally settling on an outfit to wear. You couldn’t go wrong with a black dress. “Wanna trade?”

“Why doesn’t anyone ever tell you that being an adult sucks?” Rocky collapsed onto my unmade bed with a groan, forgetting even simple movements still hurt. “Do you remember when things used to be simple?”

“You mean, when the only thing we had to worry about was someone stealing my stereo, or where our next sugar hit was coming from?” I laughed, but it sounded hollow to my ears. “It’s been a long time since our lives were that simple.”

Rocky grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me down on the bed next to him. I didn’t resist. If I had the choice, I’d stay in bed all day and try to forget about everything else.

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