CHAPTER FIVE

BELLA (PRESENT)

Reaper comes back to the truck and gets in, turns the ignition, and takes off without a word. After nearly fifteen minutes of his silence, I can’t take it any longer.

“Why do you want to kill me?”

He turns to me with a smirk. “Your eyes. I’m fascinated, and want to see what they’ll look like when you die. I’ve never seen any more beautiful than yours.”

I laugh, because what else can I do?

“If I die, my eyes will too.”

If I have my way, I’ll never see him again, but he can figure that out later.

“No. I’ll keep them. Preserve them.”

What? Did he just say he’s going to kill me, but cut my eyeballs out and keep them? Like in a fucking jar or something? This guy is insane.

“Have you been diagnosed with a mental illness?”

It’s probably a stupid question, because clearly there’s something very wrong with him. Mentally balanced people do not want to kill someone and cut their eyes out. That’s an extra special level of deranged.

He chuckles loudly. “You would think so, but nope. I’m as sane as the next guy.”

I think that’s debatable but I don’t say so, mainly because it’s unwise to agitate the man that wants to kill me. If I can delay it, maybe I can run again, but this time I will go far away. Somewhere he’ll never find me.

“You didn’t scream,” he says as he turns onto the highway, “or cry,” he adds .

I’m struggling with how much truth I should give this man that deserves none, but ultimately I think the more I get him talking, the better the chances of my survival.

“You’ll probably do the same, but he tried to rape me.”

He arches an eyebrow. “You think I’m going to fuck you, living dead girl?”

I shrug with my free arm, because I really don’t know what his plans are, other than killing me.

Reaper chuckles softly. “You’ve never been safer than you are with me,” then he adds, “Sexually speaking.”

I turn my head to him in a quick movement, as I stare at him in shock.

“Oh my God. You’re gay!”

He smirks at me. “No, I’m not gay. I’ve just never been with a woman.”

“Have you been with a man?”

This time, he gives me a glare that makes a shiver travel down my spine.

“No. I told you, I’m not gay. I’m a goddamn virgin.”

My killer is a virgin? I’m not sure why, because I don’t know much about him, but this information shocks me to my core. If I could set aside the fact that he intends to kill me, he’d be hot. Bend me over and fuck me into oblivion hot.

“Why? You can’t be super religious.”

He chuckles. “I’m not. I’ve spent my entire life fascinated with ending lives. I’m not normal, if you haven’t figured that out yet. It’s not that I don’t want to, but every time I’m with a woman, I end up killing her, so it has never happened.”

I wince from the pain in my arm, from it being stuck in the air, handcuffed to the top of the car.

“This isn’t necessary. I’m not running. You’ll only find me again.”

“We’ll be where we are going soon, and then I’ll undo the cuffs. ”

He takes the third exit off the highway. I’m trying to keep him talking to me, but also trying to be aware of landmarks so if I can run, I’ll have an idea of what direction to go in. When I told him I wouldn’t try to get away, I lied. I’m not going to sit around waiting for this psychopath to kill me.

“How many people have you killed?”

He shrugs like I asked his favorite color, and it means nothing.

“I haven’t kept count, really. A hundred or so since I was nine years old.”

“Nine!” I blurt out, clearly revealing my shock. How the hell does someone make their first kill at such a young age?

He nods, like he’s proud of doing something so terrible as a child, when he should’ve been innocent.

“My family is a mafia family. Someone tried to hurt my mom. I wasn’t going to allow that to happen. The first time I saw the light leave someone’s eyes, it was powerful. Magical. I knew I’d do it again.”

Again, I’m sure shock registers on my face.

“You’re in the mafia?”

He chuckles as he pulls through a gate to a massive property.

“Not exactly. Apparently, I’m too unhinged for the mafia.”

I can’t help but laugh, because how can that be possible? Aren’t they the worst of the worst? Involved in drugs, trafficking, and yes, murder. It seems to me he’d fit right in.

“Is this your house?”

He shakes his head.

“You ask a lot of questions, living dead girl.”

After parking his truck, he gets out and comes around to my side, and undoes the handcuff holding my wrist up. I rub my sore skin, and he grabs my arm and yanks me out of the vehicle.

“You’re hurting me, dick.”

Narrowing his gaze at me, he smirks .

“You don’t need to savor it. I promise you, there will be more where that came from.”

“Great.”

He chuckles like he is having a great time. I’m glad one of us is. He walks me through a long covered courtyard, and then into the huge gray stone covered house.

I try to get a look at the kitchen, as we walk through it, and then the living room, but he pulls me to a spiral staircase.

“Your house is nice. All two seconds you allowed me to see of it, anyway. Maybe next time.”

Gripping my bicep tighter, he growls, “You won’t be seeing it. Where you are going, you will die.”

“No need to sugar-coat things, Nico. Just go ahead, and tell me how terrible things are going to get.”

He yanks on my arm, and I trip on the steps, and he yells at me.

“Jesus. Can you fucking walk?”

Pulling me back to my feet, he stares into my eyes like he’s inspecting them.

“Be more careful, please. I don’t want your eyes to get scratched.”

Right. Because he’s going to fucking keep them. I’m trying hard to not be afraid, but I’d have to be as much of a psychopath as he is, for me to not be terrified right now.

“Please tell me you’ll cut them out after I’m dead.”

We make it to the top step, and he pulls me into a bedroom and throws me down on the bed, before moving me closer to the headboard. Pulling his handcuffs out of his pocket, he silently cuffs each of my hands, while he is over me, a leg on each side of my chest.

Do I notice how hard he is? Sick fucker.

He backs away from me and smiles a devious grin.

“That’ll do until I get back with supplies. To answer your question, I think you have to be alive so they are living organs still. If I kill you first, I think they will look dull and gray. ”

So he’s going to cut my eyeballs out of their sockets before he kills me. That sounds rather painless. Fucking fantastic.

Reaper winks at me, and if my hands were free, I would punch him in his ugly face.

Except it’s not ugly, but I’m going to pretend it is, because he has brutal plans for me. Things no human should do to another.

“Be right back, baby.”

“I am not your fucking baby! And where the hell are you going? You can’t just leave me like this.”

He storms back and leans over me. Grabbing my face in his hand, he smirks at me for a long minute before saying anything.

“I can, and will, do whatever I want to you.”

A grin overtakes his mouth.

“There isn’t a fucking thing you can do about it, baby.”

I scream at his back while he walks out of the room, laughing.

Fuck, Bella. What the hell are you going to do?