His brows lowered and he appeared deeply concerned. “There wasn’t time to take him outside.”
God, her bear was so literal. And when had he become hers?
When he’d killed for her. Maybe it was all an elaborate ruse so she’d drop her guard, but it was a chance she’d have to take. A death would bring one of her people to the area. They didn’t have much time.
“We need to get out of here. Now.” She ran for the door, but somehow he beat her to it. He really was fast.
“Let me go first.” He opened the door and peered out. “Clear. Let’s go.”
She’d never been more grateful to live above where she worked. She raced up the stairs with him right behind her. Her hands shook as she dug out her keys. Alexei simply reached around her, gripped the handle, and gave it a hard push. The door cracked, and the lock snapped.
As soon as it opened, she was inside. It took only seconds for her to grab the knapsack she kept packed for such an event. She took the time to scoop up her collection of earrings and toss them into an outer pocket of the bag. Then she quickly pulled on a heavy coat and slipped the bag over her shoulder before bolting down the stairs once again.
“Hurry.” She lengthened her strides, her boots crunching against the snow. She could almost feel a reaper breathing down their necks. The urge to use her abilities was almost more than she could resist.
Vampires might be considered undead, but their souls didn’t leave them during their transition to creature of the night. Now that his body was ash and his existence ended for good, his restless spirit hovered nearby, waiting to be shown the way.
If one of her kind didn’t show up quick enough to an unscheduled death—and it was unscheduled, otherwise someone would have been there when it happened—the restless spirit called. Sometimes the person’s essence slipped away, going into an in-between world where they’d be trapped. It wasn’t pleasant and was something everyone wanted to avoid.
Once again, Alexei asked no questions. The air around him shimmered. What was happening? His body began to change shape, his clothes ripping and falling away. He fell forward, and by the time he hit the ground, he was a massive polar bear with thick white fur.
Whoa. Talk about impressive. Fast, too.
She threw her hands out in front of her as deadly paws—the size of large serving platters—enfolded her and took her to the ground. The breath was knocked out of her, but she fought.
He simply chuffed so loudly her hair rippled and the snow around them swirled like the inside of a snow globe.
She stopped beating at his arms long enough to realize his razor-sharp claws were tucked away and his hold was protective, not crushing. He covered her like a big, furry blanket. With his head tucked down in the snowy landscape, he’d appear to be nothing more than a snowbank.
What is he doing?
Deciding to trust him, she went limp in his grasp. He pulled her under him, sharing his body heat. Barely daring to breathe, she waited and waited and waited.
There was a ripple in the air. Something called to her.
They’re here.
And they were trying to draw her out of hiding.
Instinctually, her body moved toward them. But Alexei wasn’t letting her go anywhere. With his huge furry arms around her and the bulk of his massive body resting on her, she couldn’t move.
And if they became aware of her presence, Alexei would be the one to pay the price. His death would be viewed as acceptable to keep this incident quiet.
She couldn’t allow that.
She tucked her face against his chest and clung to him, burying her fingers in his thick fur. He was all dense muscle and heavy bone and was very careful not to crush her. He didn’t move, staying as still as a corpse. More like a rock. Was he even breathing?
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, but was probably only several hours, he shifted, his fur receding, his limbs reshaping. Naked, he was as impressive as he’d been as a giant polar. The wind whipped through his hair. At least his beard would keep his face warm. But the rest of him…
She shivered and scrambled to her feet.
“They’re gone.” He stared down at her. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”
“Not particularly.” She rubbed the toe of her boot against the snow. Once she told him what she was, everything would change. He’d leave her and she’d be on her own again.
But it was the right thing to do.
Alexei was still waiting. He was good at it. She, on the other hand, was more impulsive.
One final time, she took him in from head to toe, enjoying the rippling muscles and especially the appendage between his legs, which wasn’t bothered by the cold one bit. She briefly regretted not sleeping with him last night when she’d had the chance. Now she’d never know what it was like to have sex with him.
And that was tragic.
Hands on his waist, he stood in the snow like another man would stand on a tropical beach. His blue eyes studied her intently.
She took a deep breath and gave him the truth. “I’m a reaper.”
Chapter Seven
Holy shit! He’d heard about reapers but only rumors. There wasn’t much information about them out there. When one appeared, someone was dead or dying, which was why anyone with any sense avoided them.
It had been reapers he’d sensed earlier. He hadn’t smelled them, but his hybrid senses had detected…something, so he’d followed his instincts and hidden them both in plain sight. Something no one would be expecting.
Cassie shifted nervously from one foot to the other. He didn’t scare her. Neither did a vampire of some age. But others of her kind did.
There was a lot he didn’t know. But now wasn’t the time to get into things. “Let’s go.” He held out his hand, but she gave her head a quick shake.
“You’re safer away from me.”
She was trying to protect him. If someone had hit him in the side of the head with a baseball bat he wouldn’t have been as shocked.
“I’ll keep you safe.” Screw killing her. Whatever was going on, he believed she was innocent of any wrongdoing. That was all that mattered. His skills worked both ways. He was a professional killer. He could be just as deadly as a bodyguard.
“You can’t.” Her words were blunt, her tone clipped. “Not from them. And if they know you’re with me, they’ll target you.”
“I know somewhere you can stay.” The words spilling from his lips shocked him. But it was the right thing to do. The only thing to do. He’d take her to his home. His real home.
The smile she gave him was tinged with such deep sadness it made his heart ache. “There is nowhere safe. If someone dies, they show up.” She peered at the roadhouse in the distance and shivered. “If there is an unexpected, unscheduled death, they come running.”