Page 18 of Trust the Fall
Reapers are their own entity. They simply place souls in their destined location. They don’t have allegiances with either side of the good-and-evil paradigm. Some choose to live on Earth, while others float between dimensions.
They’re wanderers. Loners. Untouchables.
You wanna touch him.
“Ugh!” I bellow.
River loses the battle with himself and chuckles. I turn my death glare back on him. His hands raise in surrender.
“Breathe, Victoria.”
The way my name rolls off his tongue, husky, alluring... sexy as sin, scatters shivers over my skin.
“God. This place is doing a number on you.” He says this absently, not directly to me.
I ignore his words, focusing on the fact he knows my name.
“How do you know me?”
He frowns, looking at me like I’d just said the dumbest thing possible. “Everyone knows who you are. The angel who grabbed Lucifer by the balls is a pretty big deal.”
“I didn’t... grab him anywhere.” I roll my eyes. “Well... maybe once, but it wasn’t like that.”
He smirks. “I really don’t need to know.”
I take a deep breath, nodding my head.
“I mean... unless you’re needing to atone. If you want me to play priest and hear about all your sins, I’ll gladly hold a confession right here.” His grin lights up his face and both dimples pop. He truly is gorgeous.
We stare at each other for several moments, neither saying a word. The silence presses around us and I can’t take it anymore. I spit out the first thing that comes to mind.
“What are you doing here?”
I hadn’t thought about it before, but now, I wonder what he’s up to, considering he’s here and there isn’t any damned soul to be found. Had he thrown the rules of the reapers aside and joined Nolda? “You sound a little too familiar with that rogue demon.”
He shrugged. “Not sure yet.”
“Not sure why you’re here or if you’re siding with Nolda?” I press, suddenly very interested. If any of the reapers joined Nolda’s cause, it could be very bad for not only Hell, but Earth.
“Both? I did deliver a soul, but I’m sticking around for reasons I don’t quite understand yet. Nolda wants an audience, and here I am,” he says, lifting his arms out to the side.
His honesty takes me by surprise. He’s not trying to deny that he’s considering an alliance.
“You understand what working with him would mean, right?” His eyes narrow in consideration, and I plow ahead. “He’ll end humanity. Hell will bleed into Earth. Is that what you want?”
He bites his bottom lip, eyes still narrowed.
“I’m not sure that it concerns me or any of the reapers.”
I huff out a humorless laugh. “Don’t you live on Earth? Last time I checked, that’s where most reapers choose to reside.”
“Keeping tabs on the reapers, princess?”
“Ugh, don’t call me that. If I weren’t without my powers, I’d kick your ass and you know it.”
He chuckles. “It would be a decent fight, but I’m pretty sure I’d come out on top.”
“Care to wager?” I snarl.