Page 7 of Infinitely Mine

My Reaper’s fury lashed through my body, and I trembled, forcing him to retreat. I didn’t want to scare the little guy.

“I heard your belly,” I confessed. “You hungry?”

He gave me a funny look. “That skeleton monster won’t eat me, right?”

Skeleton monster?

“The one inside you.” He tapped my face. “I can see him, but he doesn’t look mean.” Jacob’s fingers touched my cheek, and he jumped back, dropping his gaze for a few seconds before his big pale green eyes stared me down. “I think he’s cooler than Batman.”

This. Kid.

“Batman used to be my favorite.” He shrugged. “But I like him better now.” He gestured to me. “What’s his name?”

“Why do you want to know?” I asked, filled with awe over this little six-year-old boy and his insight.

“Every hero has to have a name. It’s important.”

“Well,” I paused, scratching at the scruff on my jaw, “how about Reaper?”

He scrunched his nose, thought about it, and said, “Helkin.”

My Reaper loved the nickname and rumbled his approval.

“He likes it.”

“He does,” I agreed and cleared my throat. “For now, why don’t we keep this a secret between you and me?”

Jacob tilted his head. “Does it hurt my Mama if we do?”

I shook my head. “No. It keeps her safer.”

“Okay,” he quickly agreed as he pushed on his stomach. “My belly is getting angry.”

“I’m gonna take care of that real soon. Promise.”

Jacob gestured to the rest of the drawings. “Helkin will like the last one.”

Curious, I flipped through the stack, marveling over each drawing until I reached the final piece of paper. The Reaperstared through a child’s crayon drawing in his black robe and gray scythe, hovering above the ground. Below him, mouth open wide in a silent scream, a man with red hair tried to crawl from a hole in the ground. Flames shot up from the fissure in red, orange, and bright yellow.

Jacob saw a fucking reaping.

The Reaper’s amusement combined with curiosity and affection for little Jacob. He felt an instant connection to both mother and son. With the boy, fierce protectiveness. With Rowen, my body trembled as a complicated mixture of attraction, lust, possessiveness, and need took hold. The volatile mix churned inside me until I had to force myself to breathe and remember she had yet to open her eyes.

“I need to make a few phone calls. You think you could draw me a new picture?”

Jacob nodded and placed his drawings back inside his backpack. Excitement brightened his eyes.

He jumped inside the car and scrambled into his booster seat, pulling out crayons and paper as a determined look settled over his delicate features.

I knew I needed to call someone who could help Rowen feel comfortable once she woke up. Meeting a big motherfucker like me would scare the shit outta her, guaranteed.

Papa, a founding member of the Tonopah chapter and also my only living relative, donated his time with an organization that helped domestic violence and sexual assault victims. Papa and the others referred to themselves as Ghosts because they kept their identity a secret, relocating women and children all over the U.S. and settling them into new homes. They provided everything needed to start over in a new life, including donations, new jobs, IDs, and protection. On occasion, I’d helped out Avenger, Papa’s alias.

The newest Ghost, Raven, just happened to be Spook’s ol’ lady. She would know what Rowen and Jacob needed.

Keeping an eye on them both, I dialed Grim’s number first.

“You’re never gonna believe this, pres,” I began.

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