Page 78 of Reaper Flame

West groaned into his pillow as he looked me up and down hungrily. His eyes lingered on my pebbled nipples. “You look good in my clothes.”

A tent was pitching under the comforter.Look away, Candy!If I didn’t get up, I knew I’d risk staying in bed with West all day when we had to plan our next steps.

“Thanks,” I replied sheepishly, even though I thought I looked like a House Elf in his giant t-shirt.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join me?” he asked again.

My mouth opened and closed, but a knock on the door spared me from having to answer.

“Are you guys up?” Rocky called through. “We’ve got a delivery.”

“A delivery?” West sat upright and jumped out of bed at double speed, giving me a good view of his massive swinging package. He hastily put on clothes and opened the door. “What is it?”

“Zander’s waiting,” Rocky replied. I detected an edge to his voice. “Vixen and Mieko have just gotten back.”

We followed him down the corridor into the kitchen where Zander was frowning at an envelope in his hands. Mieko and Vixen were sitting at the breakfast bar opposite him, waiting for our arrival.

A wax seal embedded with a family crest kept the envelope shut. West took one look at it and his expression darkened. “What does Bryce want?”

“Hasn’t he heard of using a cell phone?” I muttered sarcastically.

Who still used the archaic means of letters to deliver messages? If he thought it made him look like a supervillain, it had the opposite effect.

Zander tore the letter open. His eyes scanned it quickly and they narrowed. “He wants to meet,” Zander said. “He’s been out of town with associates, but he’s back now… and he heard about the manor.”

Briarly Manor may have been a permanent fixture in Zander’s life, but it was more than that to Bryce. It was everything he’d worked hard to maintain. It was his reputation and family legacy. Something he’d killed for and would have done anything to protect.

“Meet?” Vixen pressed. “Where?”

“He doesn’t want to meet me,” Zander said, his lips pressed into a thin line. “He wants to meet you.”

“Me?” Vixen almost fell backwards off her stool. “Why?!”

“He requests you, and you alone,” he said. “Expressly says he doesn’t want any other Seven there.”

Mieko stroked Vixen’s knee to calm her, but she was already reeling.

“But why? The fucker’s spent my whole life pretending I don’t exist!” She shook her head furiously. “What could he say to me that he wouldn’t want to say to you?”

“I know my father,” Zander said. “There is always a reason behind his actions.”

“She’s not going,” Rocky said decisively, and West nodded in agreement. “It could be a trap.”

Mieko chewed her bottom lip nervously. “I don’t like it either.”

“He wants to meet today at noon in a restaurant,” Zander said. He checked his Rolex. “We’ve got an hour.”

“Don’t you want to see what he wants?” I asked. Bryce wasn’t the kind of person to reach out, and I couldn’t deny my curiosity at his invitation. Vixen was more likely to be asked to visit the White House than by Bryce inviting her somewhere. He had to have an agenda.

“Of course I do,” Zander snapped. “But this is about safety.”

“What if she didn’t go alone?” I suggested as a plan started to form in my mind. “I’m not technically a Seven anymore, right?”

“No,” West and Rocky said in unison, shooting down my idea.

“I want to go,” Vixen said suddenly. “The bastard spent my life ignoring me. If he wants to speak, then I damn well want to hear what he has to say.”

“Are you sure, Vix?” Mieko asked, taking her hand. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

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