Reaper's Fall

“Bedroom?” I whispered when he finally gave me a break.

“Food,” he said, offering a rueful smile. “Today’s been crazy, and on top of everything else my phone ran out of power right after I messaged you—haven’t eaten anything since that donut I had for breakfast.”

Sighing, I stepped back because the man really did deserve a chance to eat. The roses caught my eye.

“You don’t happen to have a vase or anything, do you?” I said shyly, picking them up. Not much damage from the fall—a couple bent petals here and there . . .

“What makes you think those are for you?”

I froze. “I’m sorry—I thought that—”

He started laughing, then caught my face in his big hands. “Of course they’re for you.”

Then he gave me a soft, sweet kiss.

“I’m gonna get changed,” he said. “There’s fixings for tacos in the bag. Think I remembered everything.”

• • •

You know those rare moments in life when everything is perfect? The first half of that evening was one of those beautiful times . . . There’s no real way to describe it, because nothing special happened. We ate dinner together and then he had me come down to the studio so he could sketch me in his T-shirt and nothing else. Naturally that led to other things, and we were just getting to the good part when someone knocked on the door.

“Shit,” Painter muttered, reaching for his pants. He threw me a sheet that he used as a drop cloth and I pulled it over my half-naked body as he walked to the door. “Yeah?”

“This is Kandace Evans,” a woman’s voice rang through. “I’m your new parole officer. Please open the door.”

“I thought your parole officer was a guy,” I whispered.

Painter frowned. “He was. Be ready to call Picnic, okay? I got a bad feeling about this.”

He ran a hand through his hair, then stepped over to peer through the peephole.

“I’m opening the door,” he announced, turning the dead bolt. A tall woman with dark hair pulled back behind her head waited outside. Behind her were two cops. The look on her face wasn’t friendly.

“Levi Brooks?” she asked, looking him up and down. Painter crossed his arms over his bare chest.

“I’m Levi.”

She peered around him to look at me. “And this is?”

“Melanie Tucker. My girlfriend.”

She stepped inside, staring me down.

“What’re you hiding under the sheet?”

I coughed, looking away. “Um . . .”

“She’s naked,” Painter said bluntly. “You caught us in the middle of something. I don’t know you. Where’s Torres?”

The woman turned back to him, expressionless.

“Chris Torres is on administrative leave, pending further investigation.”

“Why?” Painter asked, frowning. This couldn’t be good news for him . . . shit. I needed to get dressed and find my phone. Call Reese. There was something seriously fucked up going on here.

“He and four others have been accused of taking bribes, including his supervisor,” she said, her voice cold. “His files have been reassigned to me. I’ve reviewed yours, and it’s very clear that he’s been giving you a pass. Where were you this morning, Mr. Brooks? Around eleven a.m.?”

“Work.”

“No, you weren’t,” she said, and I caught a hint of triumph in her voice. “I checked. And you just lied to me about it—that’s a parole violation. Your second violation, because according to your file, you were pulled over out of state without permission, yet Torres only sent you to jail for the weekend. You’ll be spending more than a few days inside this time. I still have nearly a month of discretionary detention time left and I plan to use it. Now. The officers are here to take you into custody.”

“You’re just taking him away?” I asked, stunned. “You can’t just do that—he was working, it just wasn’t down at the shop. He had to get supplies for a commission.”

“Parole is a privilege, not a right,” she replied, her voice smug and satisfied. “The Reapers have been holding themselves above the law for way too long now. Time for that to end, starting with Mr. Brooks. We’ll be searching the entire apartment as well. You’ll need to leave.”

“But . . .” I looked to Painter, feeling almost panicky.

“Call Picnic,” he said, his voice firm and reassuring. “He’ll get it all figured out. Go up and get dressed and grab your stuff. I’ve given up my right to a search without a warrant, but you haven’t.”

“I’ll send an officer with you,” the parole officer said. I narrowed my eyes at her. I didn’t like this woman. Not even a little bit.

“I’d like to see some identification first,” I said.

She strutted over to me, holding out a badge.

Kandace Evans, sure enough.

“That name looks familiar,” I said, frowning. Kandace cocked her head.

“You probably read about my brother, Nate,” she said, her voice cold. “He disappeared a little over a year ago. We don’t know what happened, but he was investigating the Reapers and then suddenly he was gone. Isn’t that an interesting coincidence? Now get your things and get out of here. Run off and tell Reese Hayes that I’ve got his boy here, and he won’t be the last Reaper to go down. Then I’d suggest you find a new boyfriend. This one’s future isn’t looking bright.”