Page 26 of Reaper

“Did you have access to his bank accounts or a cell phone?”

Natalie shakes her head. “No. He made me use a food delivery service. I would make a list of things, and he would place the order. The only number I had in my phone was his and the building managers in case of emergencies.”

My jaw clenches. William Danworth kept her locked up as if she was a prisoner.

“You know none of what you’ve said is normal, right?”

Natalie smiles weakly but doesn’t say anything.

God, what I would do to go back in time and meet her first. I wish I could have met her before he beat her down into submission.

“I wasn’t allowed in his office,” she says, pulling me out of my thoughts. “But one day he called and asked me to go in there for him. He needed a number he wrote down that was on a sticky note.” She licks her lips. “I don’t know what it was, but it wasn’t a phone number. I remember it if it helps.”

“What was it?”

“It was nine numbers. 123354897.” She shrugs. “I have no idea what it was for, but he asked me to shred the note after I gave it to him.”

I grab a receipt and pen off the dresser and write down the digits. I have no clue what they could be for, but I’ll pass it along to Trigger.

“This could be helpful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry I’m not much more help.”

“You’re fine. I promise.” I take in Natalie’s heavy eyes and stand. “How about you take a nap and I’ll check on you later, okay?”

“Sounds good,” she mumbles as she lays down, making herself comfortable.

I force myself to leave the room, even though all I want to do is crawl into bed with her to keep the nightmares away.

* * *

I hear a knock on the door and pause the TV. Listening, I wait to see if they knock again. With how many people are coming and going out of here, I really don’t want to get up only to find out it’s for one of the other rooms.

Knock. Knock.

“Coming,” I say as I stand. Opening the door, I can’t help but smile. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I had some time off, and I decided to stop by and see how you were.” Evelyn smiles as she steps into the room.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I tell her, even though I’m thankful to see her.

I’ve been here for a little bit. I’m not exactly comfortable. It’s like I exchanged one tense situation for another. Don’t get me wrong, Harrison and Jacob have made me feel welcome. It’s just everyone else. The main room is a little overwhelming with the amount of people coming and going.

Ever since Harrison laid down the law with that one girl, no one’s given me a hard time, but then again, I’ve made myself pretty scarce. I try to stay out of their way.

“I love this show.” She smiles at the TV. “Have you seen it all?”

“No, I’m just starting.”

“I’m a huge Gilmore Girls fan. Team Jess all the way.”

“I have no idea what that means.” I laugh.

“You will.” She winks as she holds out a bag. “I didn’t know what you were doing to keep busy, so I brought you a couple of romance and thriller books.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Have you eaten yet?”

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